The person that was closest to me growing up was my sister, who died at 19. She was an incredibly powerful girl, deeply committed to art and literature.

We are delightfully trapped by our memories. I can't drink a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape Vieux Telegraphe without revisiting a hotel bistro in Luzerne, Switzerland, where I ate a large bowl of a peppery Basque baby goat stew. A sip and a bite. A bite and sip. Goose bumps come with the divine conjunction of food and wine.

The only durable sense of success is if you've followed your calling.

I became aesthetically obsessed with language. And 'literary artist' - poet and novelist - is a calling. You are called to it the way preachers are called to preaching the gospel.

Playing Kunta Kinte is an emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental journey.

God moves in mysterious ways. All gods do. It's the only way they can work.

Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.

Christians must share their faith in obedience to the Great Commission, because we are only seeing the fruit of sin this side of death.