I realized that both the military and religious orders depend on discipline to shape people - which routine does, in a lot of ways.

Beginning to write, you discover what you have to write about.

Constant, indiscriminate approval devalues because it is so predictable.

I should probably confess that I get bored easily, which explains my reluctance to work with formula, tropes, whatever.

Constant indiscriminate approval devalues because it is so predictable.

Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books.

I would exchange every painting of Christ for one snapshot.

I'm not always a positive person. I wake up grumpy, I read the newspaper and I get furious that the world is still at war.

Self-love exaggerates our faults as well as our virtues.

Most people who are trying to write kind of sit in their basements and pull it out of their imaginations.

Twitter, for all its good, is a hate amplifier.

I work out every day. It's part of my life. That's one of the benefits of having kids in school full-time.

Wherever women are true to their feminine natures and magnify their opportunities for loving service, they are learning to become more like God.

During the late '20s my father left us. My mother was in a complete hole with no money, and we were evicted.

Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?