Then the singing enveloped me. It was furry and resonant, coming from everyone's very heart. There was no sense of performance or judgment, only that the music was breath and food.

I do not know much about God and prayer, but I have come to believe over the last twenty-five years, that there's something to be said about keeping prayer simple. Help, Thanks, Wow.

Good therapy helps. Good friends help. Pretending that we are doing better than we are doesn't. Shame doesn't. Being heard does.

Prayer means that, in some unique way, we believe we're invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.

I'm human, you're human, let me greet your humanness. Let's be people together for a while.

Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.

A big heart is both a clunky and a delicate thing; it doesn't protect itself and it doesn't hide. It stands out, like a baby's fontanel, where you can see the soul pulse through.