The story essentially comes down to one question: how do you write a better story? In the middle of working with the film directors who were turning his book Blue Like Jazz into a movie, Don realized that his life story was, well, a little boring.
So what do you do to write a better story? To be a hero to someone who needs it. To take up a cause bigger than yourself. To have epic experiences that are worth writing about. And then remembered. For Don, it meant taking a chance with a girl he loved, biking across America (!) and starting a new organization to help provide fatherless children with mentors.
What does it mean for you and I? If our life was made into a movie, would anyone want to watch it?
Great questions. Ones that I find myself asking myself more and more since reading this exceptional book.
Hope you had an awesome Easter. Some randomness I enjoyed over the long weekend...
• Sweet 16! My Easter treat came when Ramar Smith made amends for being benched earlier and banked in a shot to put away Butler, sending the Vols to the Sweet 16. If I didn't bleed Orange though, I would totally be a Butler fan. I mean, they practice in the same gym that the film Hooisers was shot in. How could you not be down with that?!? I'm just trying to pinpoint the exact moment that UT became a basketball, not a football school. Sweeeet!!!
Donald Miller has preached at Rob Bell's church and been called "Anne Lamott with testosterone." Good enough for me. This is the first book of his that I've read, and it is outstanding. It's a memoir-style account of his journey into a life of faith. And Miller has had quite a journey. He lived in the woods for a month with hippies, attended a University (Reed) known for it's "pagan festivals" and grew up having met his dad only a handful of times. As the back cover says, "For anyone wondering if the Christian faith is still relevant in a post-modern culture, this is a must read." Here's a sample, and one of my favorite paragraphs in the book. Miller is commenting on our celebrity-obsessed culture, after a friend of his mentioned she "loved" the actor Ethan Hawke, but couldn't comment on any of Hawke's beliefs:
"Thing thing I have to work on in myself is this issue of belief. Gandhi believed Jesus when He said to turn the other cheek. Gandhi brought down the British Empire, deeply injured the caste system, and changed the world. Mother Teresa believed Jesus when He said everybody was priceless, even the ugly ones, the smelly ones, and Mother Teresa changed the world by showing them that a human being can be selfless. Peter finally believed the gospel after he got yelled at by Paul. Peter and Paul changed the world by starting small churches in godless towns. Eminem believes he is a better rapper than other rappers. Profound. Let's all follow Eninem."
• And while we're on the topic of Detroit musicians...I don't know if it's just because I bumped into him at a salad bar recently...but I'm digging the video for Kid Rock's new single...Amen. Some good messages. Who'da thunk it?
I just finished the new Donald Miller book, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. It is outstanding! And, what do you know, here's an excerpt of it on Don's web site you can read for yourself.
