I think I'm a lot like other moms out there who feel like if we don't have the pecan pie we have every year, then it just won't be Christmas.

Children are easily influenced, and I always want to do things I can be proud to show my kids someday.

I don't know why 'happy' can't be a story.

Nashville is one of the greatest places for the best songwriters in the world. It's been fantastic to live there and to raise our family there. It's a great town.

I think beauty comes from within. If you're happy and look at life in the best way you can, even when there are problems, it can make you beautiful on the outside.

Nashville was totally different than I ever dreamed. I had only seen the music business on television and been to a couple of concerts. I had no clue.

I have this strength that comes from knowledge.

Country music is the people's music. It just speaks about real life and about truth and it tells things how they really are.

It's not complicated to embrace life. You just have to make the choice.

A little bit of stage fright, then I'm ready.

It's okay to take time for yourself. We give so much of ourselves to others and we need to be fueled both physically and mentally. If we are in balance, it helps us in all our interactions.

No two moments are identical in a conscious being

At the heart of most things that look bad is something that can be good and useful.

A lot of guys have muscles. A lot of strong men in this world. I think it's important to show that even under all this strength there's a fragile side, a side that can be affected.

I'm obsessed with politics, and I talk about it any chance I can get. I have strong opinions about how the world should be run.

I love being a part of something that is grassroots, and you can see the actual changes, the effect of what people do.

They can give you all the pills on earth and do whatever - and you're still yourself.

Celebrities are the doormats to power.

When I was at college there were two things I vowed I'd never do. One was go to a funeral and the other was deal with computers. And then I ended up being a computer programmer in a morgue.

When I was very young every grownup was a hero. It's been all downhill since then, and I have only two left.

Each morning needs to start with a good sweat. I'm either working out at home or on set, depending on my call time.