Hitting the Right Note

June 7th, 2007

Hitting the Right Note

Please know that my family’s thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to let us know.

I appreciate you trying to work through it bro. I will be praying for you.

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your grandmother. I know you will endure and come out of this a stronger man. God loves you.

Hello Jonathon. I am so sorry about the loss of your grandmother. I was very close to my great grandmother who passed in 1997. I remember how devastated and angry I was, too. I pray God will give you the peace He gave me in my grief. I hope to talk with you soon.

Johnny, I always appreciate how you express your true feelings, you remind me of David. David wrestles with God and always came out with God (Psalm 13).

I'm really sorry about your grandmother. I pray for God to give you comfort and strength. I'll be praying for you and your family.

Thanks for sharing your heart about your grandmother's death. It is never easy to lose a loved one. When our daughter died, it was on a Sunday morning, early. We went to church and the minister began the service stating that all of us, despite our grief, would worship God, because that was what Christians do. He quoted from Job: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him..." KJV That little phrase from Job set my heart up to decide to trust God no matter what. God is on your side Johnny. And God loves your Grandma more than you do! (Hard to believe isn't it?!) You can trust your grandma's soul with God! He loves her...He will do what is just and right.

For me, when someone I love dies, I realized that the most difficult thing is that they will not be here physically to share with me in the major events of life. For example, I really missed my dad this weekend. I dearly wish he could have attended my son’s and daughter-in-law’s wedding...it is making me cry now. A friend suggested to me (nine years ago when dad died) that I could go to God in prayer and ask God to allow my dad to experience things like the wedding and know our joy. It is not the same as him being there but it gives me comfort to think that he is aware of wedding.

Our loved ones will die some day and leave us behind in our grief and loneliness. What comforts me is that God will never leave me or die! I will always have my relationship with God and the hope of eternal life and the joy of seeing loved ones in eternity!

God did not cause your grandma's death, sin and Satan are at the root of death, but Christians have the hope of eternal life with God. Please take comfort in these thoughts and know that God loves you and He loves your Grandma very, very much.

I pray that your grandma's death will bring you closer to God. I know that is what God wants and that is what your grandma, who has now seen God face to face, would want for you!

It is a spiritual journey, you will feel many conflicting emotions, you will grow a ton in your faith! You will become more like Jesus because of your suffering and learning to make sense of death...

I love you and will be praying for you and your family.

Normally I don’t post responses in a quiet time. I just felt I should on this one, because this has had an impact on me.

Psalm 13:1-6 (NIV)
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

And I can relate so much to this scripture. I most certainly can.

Job 13:13-22 (NIV)
“Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may. Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face. Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him! Listen carefully to my words; let your ears take in what I say. Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated. Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die. Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from you: Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply.

Job 13:13-22 (NCV)
"Be quiet and let me speak. Let things happen to me as they will. Why should I put myself in danger and take my life in my own hands? Even if God kills me, I have hope in him; I will still defend my ways to his face. This is my salvation. The wicked cannot come before him. Listen carefully to my words; let your ears hear what I say. See, I have prepared my case, and I know I will be proved right. No one can accuse me of doing wrong. If someone can, I will be quiet and die. God, please just give me these two things, and then I will not hide from you: Take your punishment away from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and you answer.

It’s brilliant stuff. I can’t really elaborate on what is already said. It’s like my pathetic heart stops in awe… I guess that is all I can say. Thanks so much from everyone with all the encouragement. I am more than grateful to have friends and family who care so much.

You're All I Have

March 30th, 2007
April 2nd, 2007
April 3rd, 2007

April 6th, 2007

“You’re All I Have”

Strain this chao$, turn it into Light.* I've got to see you one last night before the lion$ ** take their share, leave us in pieces, scattered everywhere. Just give me a chance to hold on. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto. ***

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear **** 'cuz you are all that I have.

You're cinematic razor sharp: a welcome arrow through the heart. Under your skin feels like home, electric shocks on aching bones. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear 'cuz you are all that I have.

There is a darkness deep in you… a frightening magic I cling to. ***** Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear 'cuz you are all that I have.

* 1st John 2:8
** Daniel 6:16-23
*** John 8:31-32
**** 1st John 4:18
***** Ecclesiastes 4:12

I love you!

This is something my wife sent to me yesterday. I’m not sure that I am going to email this out to everyone on my distribution yet. I will make that decision as I go on. This is a song by Snow Patrol, by the way. The asterisks and scripture are, of course, by my wife. It’s kind of a little piece of home-work for me, I guess.

Time to dig…

1st John 2:8
Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Strain this chao$, turn it into Light.*

My wife is telling me, encouraging me to be more like it, to be righteous with the finances. She knows this is something I desire. She knows it is God’s desire. Based on the last quiet time I sent out, she simply is building on something that I have expressed. Turn the mess into something good. The darkness is passing and the light is starting to shine through…

Daniel 6:16:23
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"

Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

I've got to see you one last night before the lion$ **

“…because he had trusted in his God…” I love that statement. And yet it is so convicting to read and think about. It is getting a little more comfortable to wrap my mind around, though. I am working on trusting others, and my wife and I discussed about how God always trusts people. God ALWAYS trusts people. It is a fairly simple guess to say that a few of the 6 ½ plus billion people in this world let him down on a daily basis. Let’s say that there are people who always trust God. Let’s also say that there are some people who do not God at all. And there are some who trust God “some of the time”, so they make mistakes here-and-there. And being that the “not trusting God” people are going to let God down on a high scale, let’s say the average per person of “letting God down on the trusting level” is three per person per day. That would be 19 ½ billion times in just one day where people betray Gods trust. Multiply that by 365 and that would be how many times in a year. Just 19 ½ billion in one day is a huge number. And here is the kicker… God still HAS A HEART TO TRUST the next day. Irregardless of the garbage put in his way, he still trusts; me, my wife, you, he still trusts. And I have been hurt a few times and can’t get past it. God’s been hurt 19 ½ billion times in ONE DAY, and returns to trust the next. WOW!

John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Just give me a chance to hold on. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto. ***

The key part here is “hold”. I have to “HOLD” to Christ’s teaching. It’s an action word. It is from the Greek work “men'-o” that means to stay, dwell, remain, and endure.

Hold (verb): menō

• To stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): - abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for).
• To remain, abide
• In reference to place; not to depart, to be held, kept, continually
• In reference to time; to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure, of persons, to survive, live
• In reference to state or condition; to remain as one, not to become another or different
• To wait for, await one

Hold (verb):

• To have and keep in one's grasp
• To keep from falling or moving; support
• To retain (one's attention or interest)
• To make accountable; obligate

I have to keep Christ’s teaching within my grasp. I have to retain it within my mind and make it an obligation so that it can hold me accountable. I have to keep from falling or moving from his teaching. I have to support his teaching.

And that’s just from the dictionary. And guess what? There’s plenty more definitions on hold in there. I just took but a mere few. But the Greek says that I should not depart from the teaching of Christ but be there continually. That’s a constant basis. I personally wouldn’t take the word “hold” as seriously when reading something, even in the Bible. I’m just being honest. But when I think about the phrase “do not depart” or even the scripture “pray continually”… those things sink in a bit deeper for me, and I take them very much seriously. The real point is: the Bible is serious. Every book is serious: every chapter, every verse, and even down to the word choice. When it gets down to translating it into English, maybe something gets a little lost, and that is why there is so much debate about it in today’s society. I really don’t know. I try not to get too caught up in it anymore. Idle arguments are the devil’s work, they say. Just agree to disagree and move on, has been the advice I was given. And it really helps me sleep at night instead of wondering what to say to a person who simply wants to argue and frustrate me. I fell off topic here – sorry about that. The Greek brings it back home. That is how it was written originally. And not much debate can be made about that. My wife wants me to give her a chance to hold on, I believe by me holding onto Christ’s word in a stronger and more dedicated way. And that is something that is just going to have to happen.

1st John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear… ****

Fear (noun): fob'-os

• (To be put in fear); alarm or fright: (be afraid, exceedingly, fear, terror)
• Fear, dread, terror
• Reverence for one’s husband

It is interesting that fear is considered reverence for a wife towards her husband. That to me is strange. The reason I think it is strange is becuase to revere someone is to look at them with awe and devotion. Where does fear come into play with that?

Fear (noun):

• A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
• Concern or anxiety; solicitude.
• Reverential awe; Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
• A feeling of disquiet or apprehension.
• A reason for dread or apprehension.
• A feeling of profound respect for someone or something.

Looking at the fear definition from dictionary.com is really helpful when comparing it to the Greek definition. "A feeling of profound respect for someone" and "reverence to one's husband" and then I think about how I am to fear God. I'm also to love God. So, I'm supposed to love and fear God at the same time. The fear is a profound respect and awe toward God, not some kind of trembling and being afraid, not wanting to pray or go toward God. That would be conterproductive, and missing the point completely. The same goes with a wife fearing her husband. You want it to be a healthy fear, one that's of an awe and profound respect. And the husband is to present the wife as a shining beauty, radient in every way. Isn't that cool? Good scripture. My wife isn't afraid, but I believe she has the healthy fear...

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New International Version)

• Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

There is a darkness deep in you… a frightening magic I cling to. *****

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (The Message)

• By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New Century Version)

• An enemy might defeat one person, but two people together can defend themselves; a rope that is woven of three strings is hard to break.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (GOD's WORD Translation)

• Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.

Now, if I am able to upload an art-piece I created, it will show a three strand colored piece of rope labeled God (Purple, a royal color), His (Blue) and Her (Red). The pieces are all inter-twined and work together to make the rope strong. Without God and woman, man is weak. Without God and man, the woman is weak. God has the Son and the Holy Spirit, so in a sense, he has three strands already with him, so it would be hard for me to say that he would be weak without a man or woman... it wouldn't make much sense to me. And he's already proven that he can wipe us out (IE: The Great Flood, plagues on Egypt). So the thing is, God is already committed to being apart of this rope. There's already one strand committed here. My wife is committed, that's two. And I'm committed, That's three. And a triple-braided rope is not easily broken. That's awesome!

Trust Fund

March 27th, 2007

Psalm 40
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me. May all who seek to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!" Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

That was from the NIV. This is from the New Century Version.

Psalm 40
I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many people will see this and worship him. Then they will trust the Lord. Happy is the person who trusts the Lord, who doesn't turn to those who are proud or to those who worship false gods. Lord my God, you have done many miracles. Your plans for us are many. If I tried to tell them all, there would be too many to count.

You do not want sacrifices and offerings. But you have made a hole in my ear to show that my body and life are yours. You do not ask for burnt offerings and sacrifices to take away sins. Then I said, "Look, I have come. It is written about me in the book. My God, I want to do what you want. Your teachings are in my heart." I will tell about your goodness in the great meeting of your people. Lord, you know my lips are not silent. I do not hide your goodness in my heart; I speak about your loyalty and salvation. I do not hide your love and truth from the people in the great meeting.

Lord, do not hold back your mercy from me; let your love and truth always protect me. Troubles have surrounded me; there are too many to count. My sins have caught me so that I cannot see a way to escape. I have more sins than hairs on my head, and I have lost my courage. Please, Lord, save me. Hurry, Lord, to help me. People are trying to kill me. Shame them and disgrace them. People want to hurt me. Let them run away in disgrace. People are making fun of me. Let them be shamed into silence. But let those who follow you be happy and glad. They love you for saving them. May they always say, "Praise the Lord!" Lord, because I am poor and helpless, please remember me. You are my helper and savior. My God, do not wait. For the director of music. A psalm of David.

And last, but not least, this is from The Message. I want to get a spectrum of versions on this. I will tell you why in just a minute.

Psalm 40
I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God. Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs on the world's "sure thing," ignore what the world worships; The world's a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes close to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you.

Doing something for you, bringing something to you - that's not what you're after. Being religious, acting pious - that's not what you're asking for. You've opened my ears so I can listen. So I answered, "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me, And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me." That's when God's Word entered my life, became part of my very being. I've preached you to the whole congregation, I've kept back nothing, God - you know that. I didn't keep the news of your ways a secret, didn't keep it to myself. I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough. I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth For myself alone. I told it all, let the congregation know the whole story.

Now God, don't hold out on me, don't hold back your passion. Your love and truth are all that keeps me together. When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn't see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out. Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help, So those who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face, So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced, So those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy. But all who are hunting for you - oh, let them sing and be happy. Let those who know what you're all about tell the world you're great and not quitting. And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you've got what it takes - but God, don't put it off.

I will be honest. I am not a fan of “The Message” translation. I don’t think that it is all that great of a translation in comparison to the others that are out there. That’s my personal opinion. But even with that said, I like some of the things that it says in the translation on Psalm 40. In fact, all three translations here create a really great picture of Psalm.

Again, I have to be honest. I didn’t dig up this Psalm by myself. My wife read it to me last night. You see, I have discovered that I have been struggling with trust. I prayed with her about it on Saturday and then heard a wonderful message from Marvin on Sunday about having a child-like heart. One of the things that really stabbed deep into my rock-like heart was when he brought up trust. I was thinking, “Was he outside my window when I was praying or something?” Another friend gave me a book titled “Called and Accountable” and I again wondered: WHAT’S GOING ON?! How do they know? I even asked my wife about it. She responded that they didn’t, but God did. She’s right. I did marry a smart woman. It was one of my requirements.

So, what is trust? What does it mean to trust someone or to trust God? It is one thing to say it; it is another to do it. God prefers action, over words (see James). This is going to be filled with a plethora of definitions on trust. I am going to look at the dictionary and the thesaurus. I may even check out the encyclopedia, if time is willing. I will check out the Hebrew dictionary on this, however, just to get a full understanding. This should be good and enlightening.

Time to dig…

Trust (noun):

• Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
• Confident expectation of something; hope.
• A person on whom or thing on which one relies.
• Reliance on something in the future; hope.
• Custody; care.
• Something committed into the care of another; charge.
• The trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others.
• Complete confidence in a person or plan.

Trust (verb):

• To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something.
• To have confidence; hope.
• To have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.
• To believe.
• To expect confidently; hope.
• To have or place reliance; depend.
• To be confident; hope.
• To place in the care of another; entrust.
• Allow without fear.
• Have confidence or faith in.
• Be confident about something.

Synonyms: assurance, certainty, certitude, confidence, conviction, credence, credit, dependence, entrustment, expectation, faith, hope, positiveness, reliance, stock, store, sureness.

OK, so I do trust, but I don’t trust enough. I know I trust myself. YEA!!! Oh, wait, that’s not a good thing. I mean, self-confidence breeds arrogance. Who likes arrogant people? Arrogant people are definitely not humble. And people who aren’t humble don’t go to heaven. That was a double negative, but it works.

This is from WikiPedia.org: In the social sciences, the subtleties of trust are a subject of passionate debate. In sociology (and psychology) the degree to which one party trusts another is a measure of belief in the benevolence and competence of the other party. A failure in trust will be forgiven more easily if it is interpreted as a failure of competence rather than a lack of benevolence.

From this perspective, trust is an internal state, and cannot be measured. Only confidence, which is expressed as behavior, can be measured. Trust may be considered a moral choice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_%28sociology%29

It does go on, but it seemed to talk about more about a trust in computers from there… I’m not really sure why. But at least that part was good.

(Added March 28th)
So here is what I think and know about trust.

• So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16:11)

God won’t give me heaven with him unless I handle my finances here. That’s what it says.

• “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1)

It is a command to trust in God and Christ.

• As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Isaiah 28:16; Romans 10:11)

This sounds like a promise to me. I should place my promise on Christ, who the scripture is referencing, and when I do so, I won’t be put to shame. I will not carry with me shame if I trust in Christ. And trust is depending on Christ, it is believing in Christ, it is relying on Christ.

(Added March 29th)

• May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

There is a certain peace and joy that comes with trust. With trust, there is an overflow of hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t indicate that it is a promise, due to the word “may”, but it is something that can happen. I’m sure that it is more of a normalcy and not more of an exception. But then, you never know.

• It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1st Corinthians 13:7)

It, of course, is referring to love. Love always trusts. I’ll leave it at that and expand on my next scripture.

• Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1st John 4:6) And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1st John 4:16)

God is love. Love always trusts. God always trusts. God loves me. God always trusts me. WOW! That is convicting. Again, that convicts into my deepest core of my being. I have this overwhelming heartbreak of what I have held back and yet God and Christ haven’t withheld anything.

This past week has been difficult and eye-opening. It has been a learning experience and I’m still learning. I can’t say that it has been easy in the slightest. I know this is a really long quiet time to read. If you read it all, I hope it encourages you. If anything, maybe a little more learned about me. Anyway, have a wonderful. Until next time, Johnny Out.

Starting Over

1st Corinthians 13 says:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

And then, in 1st John 4 is says that God is love. So then it can be said:
God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.

Now the real struggle begins with this. I’m supposed to imitate God in every way, right? Christ is my example, Christ is God, therefore I am to imitate God.

Johnny is patient, Johnny is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Johnny does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Johnny always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Johnny never fails.

There are many things wrong with that paragraph, but I’m working on it. How much did I trust today? Was I self-seeking? Did I rejoice in someone’s misfortune? Did I bring up old issues from the past? Have I given up on hope? Have I stopped trying? Did I allow myself to FAIL? If I answer yes to any these, then I’m saying a big no to imitating God in that area. As my Dad has once said, “you don’t have to wait till January 1st to start things over, you can just start now.” I think that’s a pretty good statement.