If I had my life to live over again, I'd run barefoot, relax a bit more, I'd talk more to children, and I'd learn how they laugh.

That happened when I was a freshman in high school. The guy reading it [the Bible] was dating my older sister. I thought he was the cutest thing that had ever happened in Nashville. He was nine years older than me and I thought, 'Mimi, I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to steal this guy away.' So I went to this Bible study thinking I was going to make this guy fall in love with me. I was fourteen. Hey, you know. But I was so overwhelmed by what they were talking about at this Bible study. I became a very serious, committed Christian.

It's human nature to be curious about people, and to be more curious about young people than old people. We want to cheer something on at the same time we want to tear it down. That's just so normal.

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.

If it all just happened overnight, you would never learn to believe in what you cannot see.

Since I travel so much, it's always great to be home. There's nothing like getting to raid my own refrigerator at two in the morning.

I just think music is such a beautiful thing. It lifts the heart and buoys up your spirits - all kinds of music.