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.

These are pictures of the people in my family where we look like the most awkward and desperate folk you ever saw, poster children for the human condition.

You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments of grace or joy or transcendence, to make real or imagined events come alive. But you cannot will this to happen. It is a matter of persistence and faith and hard work. So you might as well just go ahead and get started.

You are going to love some of your characters because they are you or some facet of you, and you are going to hate some of your characters for the same reason.

Presents can make up for some of the disappointments that life doles out, such as it makes almost no sense and is coming to an end more quickly than ever.

No matter what circumstances, it's hard to be a parent and maintain a sense of self and identity in the world.

You should not bring more items and hurdles to the obstacle course.