There was always a guitar hanging around the house when I was a kid. It was a much lower impact instrument than me playing the drums, which is what I really wanted to do. My mother put a stop to the drumming.

So what if America loses its empire? We never should have had one in the first place.

I've written songs everywhere, and I think the place does matter.

I got really sick of playing just, like, 'Bop-bop-bop-bada-bop-bop-bada-rapa-pah.' Just playing that 190-beats-per-minute punk-rock songs, I didn't feel it anymore. And I always loved melody - when you looked back on those early records, there's always a hook buried in there somewhere.

I can tell you from experience that God's help and presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good-without Him, we can do nothing of true value.

It may seem like we have the ultimate plan for our lives, but it's not in the same galaxy of what God's plans are for His people.

There's nothing heavier than the weight of sin in our lives. It's crushing. What a luxury to know the burden of it can be lifted off our shoulders if we repent and give it to God.

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.