I like to read away as much of the afternoon as possible, until real life rears its ugly head.

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.

Christmas is taken very seriously in this household. I believe in Father Christmas, and there's no way I'd do anything to undermine that belief.

It is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened.

Yes, across the board, these gentlemen understand they have the power to make a difference and even educate people to injustices that are occurring in their worlds.

There is no progress toward ultimate freedom without transformation, and this is the key issue in all lives.

It's always great to have a great mascara that makes your lashes look thick and full. That's a definite must have.

You have to trust your instincts. There is a moment when an actor has it, and he knows it.

Graphic design is the spit and polish but not the shoe.

In all negotiations of difficulty, a man may not look to sow and reap at once; but must prepare business, and so ripen it by degrees.

Your god is dead and only the ignorant weep. And if you claim there is a hell, then we shall meet there!

And then something truly bizarre happened. I could feel his touch through our eyes. I couldn't look away from him.