Nothing can be delicious when you are holding your breath.

Rest and laughter are the most spiritual and subversive acts of all. Laugh, rest, slow down.

When he sees little kids sitting in the backseat of cars, in those little car seats that have steering wheels, with grim expressions of concentration on their faces, clearly convinced that their efforts are causing the car to do whatever it is doing, he thinks of himself and his relationship with God: God who drives along silently, gently amused, in the real driver's seat.

Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship

I have a very dark sense of humor. I swear. I have a very playful relationship with Jesus.

Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?

One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around.