I don't know where to start," one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O' Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. Maybe your childhood was grim and horrible, but grim and horrible is Okay if it is well done. Don't worry about doing it well yet, though. Just get it down.

The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.

Laughter is the key that grace has arrived.

No one can appropriate God, goodness, the Bible or Jesus. It just seems that way.

Small is how blessings, healing, progress and increase occur.

Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere... You don't have to dress up, for instance, and you can't hear them boo you right away.

Having a baby is like suddenly getting the world's worst roommate.