Lewis encourages his cancer-stricken and temporarily depressed wife that uncertainty rather than hopelessness is our cross.

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.

I know lots of people who are educated far beyond their intelligence.

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

There's no such thing as being too Southern.

The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.

Baptists never make love standing up. They're afraid someone might see them and think they're dancing.

It's better to have died a small child than to be a politician who gets caught in a scandal during a slow news month.

You call to a dog and a dog will break its neck to get to you. Dogs just want to please. Call to a cat and its attitude is, 'What's in it for me?'

Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and give her a house.

I have layer upon layer of thoughts in my head and the bottom one has nothing to grip on to.

The coming together of people I find obscene as a principle. It is not human. It is not a natural thing as some people would have us believe.

There is a common theme, though, in the stories I have told, which are usually associations of characters or families that are formed outside of a family circle.

Without rebuilding the confidence between parties, you will never succeed.

Empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing.

The language Mr. Obama uses is refreshingly different from that of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

I'm working on a new novel, in its 3rd draft, but it's hard to write while doing 7th Heaven.

I don't really map anything out. I just let it happen [while writing]. But once it happens, it's always there. If it's laid, it's played. If I get to page 300 and it's not working, I junk it.

I am also committed to providing city employees with housing assistance.

God's grace meets us in messy places because messy places are all that there are.