He thought about the story his daughter was living and the role she was playing inside that story. He realized he hadn't provided a better role for his daughter. He hadn't mapped out a story for his family. And so his daughter had chosen another story, a story in which she was wanted, even if she was only being used. In the absence of a family story, she'd chosen a story in which there was risk and adventure, rebellion and independence.

Do I still think there will be a day when all the wrongs are made right, when our souls find the completion they are looking for? I do. But when all things are made right, it won’t be because of some preacher or snake-oil salesman or politician or writer making promises in his book. I think, instead, this will be done by Jesus. And it will be at a wedding. And there will be a feast.

I asked God to help me understand the story of the forest and what it means to be a tree in that story.

If honesty is the key to intimacy, it means we don't have to be perfect and we don't have to pretend to be perfect.

Flattery has a short battery life, but reminding people they are amazing and precious and wanted and works of art can truly change their lives.

We don't need as much as we have. Hardly any of us need as much money as we have. It's true what they say about the best things in life being free.

When a relationship is right, it is no more possible to wake up and want out of the marriage than it is to wake up and stop believing in God. What is, is what is.