I do not have deep theological understanding or opinion, but I do not read the Bible as the literal word of God.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.

Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.

Dogs are the closest we come to knowing the divine love of God on this side of eternity.

... the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. [pp. 65-66]

Sometimes I think that Jesus watches my neurotic struggles, and shakes his head and grips his forehead and starts tossing back mojitos.

Nothing heals us like letting people know our scariest parts: When people listen to you cry and lament, and look at you with love, it's like they are holding the baby of you.

Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.

I thought the secret of life was obvious: be here now, love as if your whole life depended on it, find your life's work, and try to get hold of a giant panda.

Human lives are hard, even those of health and privilege, and don't make much sense. This is the message of the Book of Job: Any snappy explanation of suffering you come up with will be horseshit.

I am a hopeful romantic. - Charlotte, In the Shadow of Angels

Friendships in childhood are usually a matter of chance, whereas in adolescence they are most often a matter of choice.

The older Mercedes is absolutely beautiful. It's got that lovely purring feeling as the engine ticks over, which you just don't get in a modern car.

Poetry is an extra hand. It can caress or tickle. It can clench and fight.

I live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.

Ya' know, these days kids seem to be getting younger and younger.

Best feelings are when you dare to say words to someone you love.

Fame alone raises herself to Heaven, because virtuous things are in favour with God.

The truth is to be found nowhere else other than within ourselves.

It's a hard process to navigate... to figure out where your kid ought to go to college.