30 Day Project: Day 23

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

A Million Miles in A Thousand Years! Best book ever. I pretty much guarantee that you will love this book and it will challenge you to live a better story! It is thoughtful, thought provoking, powerful and well written. When I first started reading it, I couldn't put it down until I finished! It is a MUST read!

Donald Miller Conference

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This is a two day conference in Portland Oregon at the The Gerding Theater at the Armory right down the street from Powells! How great does that sound? It will be hosted by one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller. It is based on the idea from His book “A million Miles in a Thousand years where he takes the elements of story and applies them to his life, thereby changing his own story forever. So at this conference you would actually get the chance to dialogue with Miller about writing a better story with one’s own life! I really want to go i know it would be of great benefit for me and it would also be great to talk to Mr. Miller himself. I don't know... I'll be thinking about this one!

Meeting D. Miller

I walk into the church and the first thing I see is a selling point for Donald Miller Merchandise. I stopped by really quick to purchase his new book. I had been waiting for months to get my hands on it, and I finally had it. I found a seat and cracked the book, studying its every word. As I started to read the prologue my sister went to the bathroom. When she returned she grabbed me by the shoulder and gave me the news, Donald miller was signing autographs outside! I quickly grabbed my book and took off. I stepped into the line and there was the man himself, Donald miller. He looked younger than he did in the pictures I have seen. It’s weird to so see somebody in a picture and then to actually see them in person. They always look a little different but you feel like you know them when in reality you have no idea who they are.
For a second I began to think about my interaction with him. What if he was a superstar? What if he was a conceded jerk and my interaction with him made me want to return his book and stop recommending his writing to all the folks I knew? When I got to the end of the line, a sudden burst of bashfulness shot through me and there I was, staring at Donald Miller and I had absolutely nothing to say. As it turns out, D. Miller was actually pretty nice, greeted me. When I actually mustered up the words to say to him, what came out was the declaration that I was a fan of his work and he replied with a thank you. And that was all I could think of to say. Luckily some guy came and took him away just as I had run out of things to say; it was time for him to go on stage. As he stood up to go on stage I asked if we could take a picture and he said, “ yes, of course.” So here is my pic to remind me of when I met Donald Miller!

A Million Miles in A Thousand Years...

A Million Miles in A Thousand Years, the title to Donald Millers yet to be released book due this fall, is striking the first time you hear it. However it is the premise of the book that really seemed to grip me. Three reviews and an early released chapter of the book have me thinking that this book just might be a huge part of my life. The main premise: If his life were a story, it would be a boring one. Then he asks the question. “What if we're not truly living the story we were born for?”
I believe all writers think of life’s events in the form of a story. We view people in our lives as potentially important characters; each conflict that takes place as a possible story changing moment; each lesson learned as a possible main premise for a story. And yet it’s amazing that nobody had put this thought of treating and living your life as a story, into a book.
The two reviews that I read were a mixture of criticism of Millers bland life (which I think is the whole point to the book) and a praise of the premise to the book. Both critics stated that the book left them pondering their own life and one even mentioned that it was a catalyst for changes he needed to make in his own life. Now how could a book that was terrible leave them with such thoughts?
What I have noticed about Millers books is not their exceptionally outstanding and entertaining stories but his observations about normal situations and his ability to speak what everybody in the room is thinking about said situations. His stories seem like the experience of the average Joe and his thoughts about these stories are what draw people to his works. He has a way of making the average person feel as if he is writing their own story down, making their lives book worthy.
Aside from reviews I personally can not wait to dive into Millers latest work. I’m sure it will be as amazing as the rest of his memoirs and just as thought provoking.

Burnside, homie!!!!

So you should check this Blog out! It's called the Burnside Writers Blog. Its a series of very well written articles from a variety of writers from Portland, OR. Its a perfect mix of Christianity, Liberalism, random articles, humor, political issues, etc. Interesting, I promise... check it out!

Review: Blue like Jazz

"The most difficult lie I ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me."

i read this book a while ago but it has been on my mind lately so I thought i would share a little about it.

Blue Like Jazz ia an autobiographical book by Author Donald miller. In this writing Miller attempts to show a more humanistic point of view on topics such as God, the church, Politics, etc. The book, appropriately subtitled “Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality,” takes the reader through a series of experiences from childhood to adulthood that have challenged the writer to believe In God in an entirely different way that what he was originally taught. Failures on behalf of the church and Christians drove him away from the church only to return irresistibly drawn to the true love of God as discovered through various experiences mostly on the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon, with friends Christian and unchristian alike. Miller tackles subjects such as social consciousness, romance, forgiveness, religion, self-involvement, and Jesus in a non-religious point of view that leaves only pure, benevolent love as the answer to our questions about the true meaning of life and the true nature of God. Miller asks the questions that sometimes Christians dare not and also finds appropriate, biblically accurate responses to said inquiries. I definitely recommend this book to everybody out there.