It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now ­­– the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly ordinary days.

Alone-in moments of prayer or meditation, or simply in stillness-we breathe more deeply, see more fully, hear more keenly. We notice more, and in the process, we return to what is sacred.

Solitude is the soul's holiday, an opportunity to stop doing for others and to surprise and delight ourselves instead.

Growth and transformation occur not by changing who we are, but as we summon the courage to be who we are.

I can only bring peace to my children when I possess it myself.

We are the windows through which our children first see the world. Let us be conscious of the view.

Now I see that the journey was never meant to lead to some new and improved version of me; that it has always been about coming home to who I already am.

In stillness, we find our peace. Knowing peace at home, we bring peace into the world.

Stay focused on what is beautiful and abundant even as illness carves more and more of what you love away

Life finds its balance. Children grow up. Second chances come along. In the meantime, I could choose to savor this moment. What good would it do to allow annoyance to interfere with gratitude?

When we focus on what is good and beautiful in someone, whether or not we think that they "deserve" it, the good and beautiful are strengthened merely by the light of our attention.

The gift of salvation set me free from all my sins.

And though he had almost flunked in Greek, his thesis on 'Sixteen Ways of Paying a Church Debt' had won the ten-dollar prize in Practical Theology.

Everyone knows what it's like to feel like the underdog. Everyone wants to be accepted. Ultimately, everybody wants to be loved.

I am not afraid of my enemies, but by God, you must look out when you get among your friends.

I grew up believing that the willingness and ability to work is the basic ingredient of successful farming. Hard, intelligent work is the key. Use it, and your chances for success are good.

Today something interesting happened. I died.

Nothing attracts me like a closed door. I cannot let my camera rest until I have pried it open.

My writing is remarkably non-confessional; you actually learn very little about me.

I used to collect hockey cards. It was like Vegas at my school. You'd go to school with your box of cards, and at recess and lunchtime there were all these games we'd play.

I look at scouting reports, but don't let them dictate what I'm throwing.