When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again.

I don't have very sophisticated taste in music. I listen to a lot of folk music. I like reggae.

Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.

I am a terrible and lazy Christian. I do not believe that the Bible is the literal word of God. I just skip about a third of it.

Let’s think of reverence as awe, as presence in and openness to the world…Try walking around with a child who’s going, ‘Wow, wow! Look at that dirty dog! Look at that burned-down house! Look at that red sky!’ And the child points, and you look, and you see, and you start going, ‘Wow! Look at that huge crazy hedge! Look at that teeny little baby! Look at the scary dark cloud!’ I think this is how we are supposed to be in the world – present and in awe.

When we search for something larger than our own selves to hook into, we can come through whatever life throws at us.

Teenagers who do not go to church are adored by God, but they don't get to meet some of the people who love God back.