To me, the human experience does involve a great deal of anguish. It's joyful, but it's bittersweet. I just think that's life.

People are going to come into your life that need you, and being there for them makes the day worth living. People are going to come into your life that you need, and that's the really crazy thing.

But now it's kind of a given that a 15-year-old would have a record deal and sell a quarter of a million records. No one's expecting her to answer any deep theological questions. And I'll tell you, I was asked some deep theological questions from the git-go.

There's a beauty to wisdom and experience that cannot be faked. It's impossible to be mature without having lived.

There is not a formula for the way that God heals. There's not a timetable.

Depending on what day of the week it is and what time of the month it is, I'm a good friend or not a good friend. I'm more or less a good mom or not a good mom, more or less a good mate or not a good mate. That's just life, whether or not you're public.

I think the first time you try anything in a public way, you feel really exposed.