“You don’t want to pick a fight with just the guy at the deli, [you want to] pick a fight somewhere in the world and just run towards it. Run because the fight is going to go on without you if you miss it.”

God wants us to kick it down. Or perhaps just sit outside of it long enough until somebody tells us we can come in.

God finds us in the holes we dig for ourselves. We see failures; He sees foundations.

Love like there’s no tomorrow; live like there’s no yesterday. We’re forgiven; now go love people like we believe it

When you love people like Jesus, you get messy. But messy looks good on you!

The battle for our hearts is fought on the pages of our calendar.

Selfless love is always costly; fear can’t afford it, pride doesn’t understand it and friends never forget it.

The way we love people we disagree with is the best evidence of what we really believe.

Something happens when you feel ownership. You no longer act like a spectator or consumer, because you’re an owner. Faith is at its best when it’s that way too. It’s best lived when it’s owned.

I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.

You can quit anything on a Thursday.

Courage doesn’t mean we’re not afraid anymore, it just means our actions aren’t controlled by our doubts.

Live your life like you’re exactly who Jesus thinks you are.

I don’t know every step I’m supposed to take. I think Jesus just wants me to take the next step.

A hope that makes us brave and expels darkness with light. That’s what I want my life to be all about – full of abandon, whimsy, and in love.

Words people say not only have a shelf life but have the ability to shape life.

Whimsy doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is that you are on your way.

There is no force more liberating than the knowledge that you are fighting for others.

As I now often tell my daughter Lila, no matter what stage of life you’re in, when you want something – no matter how impossible it seems – you need to fight for it. When you believe in something, fight for it. And when you see injustice, fight harder than you’ve ever fought before.

If something’s working, you lean into it. You don’t fight it.

If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and it would do a lot more than massive carbon cuts to fight warming and save lives.

Id have to fight for an Australian role over an American actor, and I already have to do that overseas, so why would I have to do it back at home?

Democracy doesn’t begin at the top; it begins at the bottom, when flesh-and-blood human beings fight to rekindle what Arlo Guthrie calls ‘The Patriot’s Dream.

Especially today as we fight the war on terror – against an enemy that represents hatred, extremism and stands behind no flag – we need to remember the sacrifices that have gone into protecting our flag.

Giving a 10-year mandatory minimum for a second offense fist fight is not going to reduce the chance that someone will be stabbed 16 times when you are not funding any of the programs that are desperately needed to actually reduce juvenile crime.