“What is to be done? There was no solution, but the universal solution which life gives to all questions, even the most complex and insoluble. The answer is: one must live in the needs of the day -- that is, forget oneself.”

“The mere fact that this thought has sprung up among different nations and at different times indicates that it is inherent in human nature and contains the truth.”

“If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.”

“Mainly, though, the Democratic Party has become the party of reaction. In reaction to a war that is ill conceived, we appear suspicious of all military action. In reaction to those who proclaim the market can cure all ills, we resist efforts to use market principles to tackle pressing problems. In reaction to religious overreach, we equate tolerance with secularism, and forfeit the moral language that would help infuse our policies with a larger meaning. We lose elections and hope for the courts to foil Republican plans. We lost the courts and wait for a White House scandal. And increasingly we feel the need to match the Republican right in stridency and hardball tactics. The accepted wisdom that drives many advocacy groups and Democratic activists these days goes like this: The Republican Party has been able to consistently win elections not by expanding its base but by vilifying Democrats, driving wedges into the electorate, energizing its right wing, and disciplining those who stray from the party line. If the Democrats ever want to get back into power, then they will have to take up the same approach. ...Ultimately, though, I believe any attempt by Democrats to pursue a more sharply partisan and ideological strategy misapprehends the moment we're in. I am convinced that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. For it's precisely the pursuit of ideological purity, the rigid orthodoxy and the sheer predictability of our current political debate, that keeps us from finding new ways to meet the challenges we face as a country. It's what keeps us locked in "either/or" thinking: the notion that we can have only big government or no government; the assumption that we must either tolerate forty-six million without health insurance or embrace "socialized medicine". It is such doctrinaire thinking and stark partisanship that have turned Americans off of politics. ”

“Encouragers are people who have been successful themselves. They are people who stepped up and took risks and were able to accomplish things they may not have believed possible. Encouragers are the kind of people you can share your goals with and they will encourage you to go for it. Encouragers will also share their own mistakes with you and tell you how they overcame them to achieve success.”

“يشعر الكثيرون أن الله كامن في مكان سري يتصيد لهم الأخطاء. وأنهم حالما يخطئون فإن سعادته تكتمل وهو يصرخ لهم بزهو: "ها قد أوقعت بك".وأنه منتظر ليسقطوا فيقول لهم:"ألم أقل لك". إنهم ينظرون إلي الله وكأنه الكائن الكوني الذي يتصف بالسادية والنكد. والذي يستمتع بأن يفشل خططنا. ودائماً ما يجد الطرق التي ينتقدنا بها، ويوجه بها الاتهامات لنا.وينتقم منا. ولكن الله نفسه يقول: "لأني عرفت الأفكار التي أنا مفتكر بها عنكم، يقول الرب، أفكار سلام لا شر، لأعطيكم آخرة ورجاء."  (إرميا 29:11) لا يوجد من يريد الأفضل والأصلح لك أكثر من الله. لا أحد يعلم ما هو الأفضل لك. وليس هناك من يجعلك تتمتع بالسعادة الحقيقية أكثر منه. الله لا يريدك أن تخاف منه.إنه يريدك أن تسرع إليه، لا أن تهرب منه. في الواقع يذكر لنا الكتاب المقدس 365 مرة أن الله يقول :"لا تخف". واحدة لكل يوم من أيام السنة. فما الذي تخاف منه؟ لا أحد منا يعرف ما الذي سيواجهه خلال العام. لكن يمكننا أن نعرف أن الله يحبنا، وأن الله معنا، وأن الله لنا (أي في صفنا) . إن الواحد منا مضافاً إلي الله يصبح اغلبية في موقف.  فمن أين إذن ينبع خوفنا من الله؟ هناك مصدران أساسيان ضمير مذنب، وجهل بطبيعة الله. يقول الكتاب المقدس : " لا خوف في المحبة، بل المحبة الكاملة تطرح الخوف إلى خارج لأن الخوف له عذاب. وأما من خاف فلم يتكمل في المحبة" (يوحنا الأولي4:18) الذنب يجعلنا نشعر بعدم الأمان.”

“lot of people are good at starting, but they are not good at finishing. The reason is simple. Emotions get us started. They are always there to support us in new things. We get a word from God or someone prophesies to us, and we are off and running. The question is, how long do we keep running once the emotions wear off?

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 NIV”

“Nowadays, as before, the public declaration and confession of Orthodoxy is usually encountered among dull-witted, cruel and immoral people who tend to consider themselves very important. Whereas intelligence, honesty, straightforwardness, good-naturedness and morality are qualities usually found among people who claim to be non-believers.”

“No matter what the work you are doing, be always ready to drop it. And plan it, so as to be able to leave it.”

“The main “food” God has given to strengthen us is the Bible, the Word of God.”

“When politics and home life have become one and the same thing, [...] then,[...] it is evident that we will be in a state of total liberty or anarchy.”

“The body, learning a thing is good for it, interprets the flavor as pleasurable—slightly euphoric. And, like life, never to be truly synthesized.”

“I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools (in America) that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn't there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.”

“A few years ago, honesty was the hallmark of a man of good character. But it’s been set aside for an “It’s all right if you don’t get caught” philosophy.”