It blew my mind that what I was thinking was actually applicable to people's lives, and it certainly revolutionized family.

I think this is when most people give up on their stories. They come out of college wanting to change the world, wanting to get married, wanting to have kids and change the way people buy office supplies. But they get into the middle and discover it was harder than they thought. They can't see the distant shore anymore, and they wonder if their paddling is moving them forward. None of the trees behind them are getting smaller and none of the trees ahead are getting bigger. They take it out on their spouses, and they go looking for an easier story.

Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.

I took William Zinsser's advice that you write to yourself and you hope that there are people out there who are like you.

I loved the fact that it wasn't my responsibility to change somebody, that it was God's, that my part was just to communicate love and approval.

Believing in God is as much like falling in love as it is making a decision. Love is both something that happens to you and something you decide upon.

I don't read a lot of inspirational books for life. But for writing, I think the two best books are The War of Art and William Zinsser's On Writing Well. I read a lot of classics.