Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
[On book promotion:] The reward for writing well appears to be not to be able to do it for a long time.
Celibacy used to offend family-values conservatism; now it offends equally against the opposite spirit.
People don't trade money for things when they value their money more highly than they value the things.
Somehow, it always worked. Kneeling at the side of my bed and talking to the Lord made everything okay.
It is good to live in a country where all are immigrants ... the newcomer is simply the latest arrival.
Common sense, the half-truths of a deceitful society, is honored as the honest truths of a frank world.
We are graced with a godlike ability to transcend time and space in our minds but are chained to death.
God has not always answered my prayers. If He had, I would have married the wrong man -- several times!
I have in my bones, and in my blood, the knowledge that you have to help the people who are persecuted.
I'm all for any place, any way, any media that can help people connect with somebody and not be lonely.
The primary goal in the education of children is to teach, and to give the example of, a virtuous life.
I think, certainly in the more civilized societies, women's roles are growing in power all of the time.
Most of the people who live in Washington come from other places and you can learn something from them.
Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make when in the presence of religious dogma.
Any conception of human well-being you could plausibly have, the Taliban patently fails to maximize it.
Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches.
Adultery is an obvious violation of the rights of another. You are stealing what doesn't belong to you.
We all love best not those who offend us least, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.
I never knew a writer yet who took the smallest pains with his style and was at the same time readable.
'Slow Heat in Heaven' was my 'breakout' or 'crossover' book, and I loved the freedom I felt writing it.
I think there is just a vein of humanity that really loves animals and really loves to read about them.
When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume.
You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.
I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world.
There is no control and perfection is arrogant. Practice messiness, letting go, and doing things badly.
Overcoming the difficulties of an ultramarathon reminds me that I can overcome the difficulties of life
It was strange, how readily authority could be conjured with nothing but a bit of strutting jackassery.
There cannot be any greater challenge to the law than trying to adjudicate mass crimes like war crimes.
There's no reason to do anything twice, and certainly no reason to do something that almost killed you.
Who wants a life of ease? And who wants a life in the office that you hate, and who wants to play golf?
How do men act on a sinking ship? Do they hold each other? Do they pass around the whisky? Do they cry?
Getting picked is fine if it happens to you. But it's not a plan. It's a version of waiting and hoping.
Your art is the act of taking personal responsibility, challenging the status quo, and changing people.
The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.
Success brings with it the fear of blowing it. With more to lose, there's more pressure not to lose it.
Contrary to his infallibly "honest" image, Abe wasn't above lying so long as it served a noble purpose.
Once you adopt a value-investment strategy, any other investment behavior starts to seem like gambling.
If you've just stared into the abyss, quickly forget it: the lessons of history can only hold you back.
A pastor friend of mine said, "Our problem is that we no longer have martyrs. We only have celebrities.
Mother Theresa always said, "Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta."
The time has come for a new kind of conversation, a new kind of Christianity, a new kind of revolution.
Somebody is looking at you - and someone needs to see you walk this journey of following God's calling.
When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life.
In many cases, change is not a function of life's cruelty but instead a function of God's graciousness.
Life is like a great jazz riff. You sense the end the very moment you were wanting it to go on forever.
Other people have all kinds of information about you that is invisible to you. How do you get feedback?
No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you.
One doesn't lose a self, like a pair of gloves or a pine. We learn and change, or we harden into stone.
When we help ourselves, we find moments of happiness. When we help others, we find lasting fulfillment.
The challenge of the unknown future is so much more exciting than the stories of the accomplished past.