I spent most of Wednesday with the Novák family in their home.  It was a beautiful day, so we spent most of it in their garden.  Everything is green and in bloom.  Honza grilled steaks to go with the mashed potatoes, salad, and fruit dessert Pavla made.  Duty the five hours that followed we laughed, reminisced, prayed, studied, and planned together.  It was the kind of visit only friends of many years who have shared both ups and downs can experience.  In addition to looking at some challenging passages from Ecclesiastes 9, we discussed a book entitled Leadership and Self-deception.  I had mentioned it a week earlier, so he had already purchased and read much of it.