I like not only to be loved, but also to be told I am loved.

When I was a kid, we used to play 'Madden' and 'NCAA Football' all the time. I have two brothers, so we grew up on these games.

I listened so hard because it felt like, while she was telling me stories, she was massaging my soul, letting me know that I was not alone, that I will never have to be alone, that there are friends and family and churches and coffee shops. I was not going to be cast into space.

When I walked into the Christian section of a bookstore, the message was clear: Faith is something you do alone. Rick does not have much tolerance for people living alone. He's like Bill Clinton in that he feels everyone's pain. If Rick thinks somebody is lonely, he can't sleep at night. He wants us all to live with each other and play nice so he can get some rest. Tortured soul.

I didn't want to need his affirmation. But part of our selves is spirit, and our spirits are thirsty, and my father's words went into my spirit like water.

It's a phone call in the morning to pray about our day, a text-message to say I'm thinking of her, a handwritten note, a postcard when I'm out of town on business, remembering what drink she likes when we're at a bar, asking follow-up questions about her friends, and not hiding behind humor when it's time for a serious conversation.

The last thing I learned about relationships by swimming in the pond was there are more lifeguards than sharks. What I mean is, for the most part, other people aren't out to get us.

When a person has no other persons he invents them because he was not designed to be alone, because it isn't good for a person to be alone.

Storytellers use the guide character to encourage the hero and equip them to win the day.

A hero needs somebody else to step into the story to tell them they're different, they're better. That somebody is the guide. That somebody is you.

We didn't become the best of friends, but he was my best friend. By best friend I mean he was the best person for me to talk to. Every time I walked away from a beer or a lunch with him I was, somehow, a more centered person. He never let me control the conversation with distractions. He'd just laugh them off and repeat the question I was running from.

What if the story of our lives is less about what we build and more about who we build up?