The songs are inspired by my experiences. Sometimes they are more than my real-life and, conversely, my life is more than just my songs.

You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are.

Be strong, believe in who you are; be strong, believe in what you feel.

It was tough being a single mom. It was tough being in a divorce with children. Very, very hard.

Don't let anyone tell you that you have to be a certain way. Be unique. Be what you feel.

The sign says do not enter, no trespassing allowed. With visions of redemption I walk against the crowd.

We are getting older, and we are getting wiser, and we are getting freer. And when you get the wisdom and the truth, then you get the freedom and you get power, and then look out. Look out.

I can be a rock star with a television show and still have a self-esteem problem. So it's nice to have your dad go, 'Hey Melissa, I'm proud of you - you're doing good.'

There will always be someone else with a different view than you. I appreciate them and would never say that they are wrong. I hope that they would give me that courtesy also.

I feel my heart break to see a nation ripped apart by it's own greatest strength - it's diversity.

There's a point when your tape of life runs off the reel and there's this stillness of your own - I got to know myself.

When our embarrassment level is exceeded by our desperation level, we are a good candidate for God's grace.

The church that weds itself to modernity is already a widow within postmodernity.

When I come to visit my mom - every two or three months - I generally spend five or six hours with her each day. She's always immensely glad to see me, her eldest child, her only son.

Of all that is written, I love only what a person hath written with his blood.

I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.

One nuclear war is going to be the last nuclear - the last war, frankly, if it really gets out of hand. And I just don't think we ought to be prepared to accept that sort of thing.

You can be an artist, work hard for your work and also share while trying to create community with other artists.

We need realism to deal with reality.

It's not that the film is violent, it's that people have an issue with violence right now.

What is it like to be a bat? What is it like for a bat to be a bat?