Are you living a good story?
His first book, “Blue Like Jazz” (if you haven’t read it, do it now!) was a favorite of mine. I’ve probably read it three times. The thing I loved about it was that it seemed to push a lot of envelopes. It wasn’t a self help, feel good, Scripture quoting book … and although there is nothing wrong with those, “Blue Like Jazz” seemed a lot more raw, a lot more real. To be honest, I’d never really read anything quite like it before.
Because I liked “Blue Like Jazz” and his next book, “Searching for God Knows What” so much, I was thrilled when they sent me Don Miller’s latest book.
But it was nothing like the first two I had read.
Not even a little bit.
It’s kind of like Don Miller grew up. And I don’t mean that in a bad way … it’s just that this new book was more reflective and ultimately more passionate than the first book. More life changing certainly for him and perhaps for me.
I don’t want to ruin it for you (because I really do want you to read it!) but basically Don Miller questioned the story he was living. This process came about because a movie maker wanted to make a movie about Don’s life and essentially came and lived with him for awhile. And they kept having to make stuff up for the movies storyline.
As a result, Don began to wonder … am I living a good story? How can I change my story? How can I make my story matter?
One of my favorite antidotes from the book was when one of his friends had a teenage daughter who was making some poor decisions. He decided to make some changes in his family and a few months later when Don ran into his friend he said “my daughter is better.” And when Don asked why, his friend said … “my family is living a better story.”
I love that idea of living a better story. Makes you wonder what you can change or do differently. Makes you question if the story you are living is the best it can be.
But Don Miller also brings up the point that essentially humans don’t really like change. Oh, we might say we do … even say we’re good at it, but at the end of the day most of us stick with what is comfortable. He cited facts that said that women in domestic abuse situations often go back to the man who abused them. When the interviewers asked why, they basically found that they returned to the situation because, as bad as it might have been, it was familiar. In other words, the women were afraid to choose a better story.
You’ll have to read the book to find out how Don Miller changed his story, but the bigger question you’ll have when reading the book is this:
Am I living a good story?
I hope you find the answer.
P.S. It’s another give away!!! I want to send you a copy of this book. Post a comment (on the blog … if you have trouble email me and I’ll help you) and I will once again do my totally random pick by sticking your names in a hat and drawing one out. Then I’ll mail you a copy. At the same time I will also mail the book from the last giveaway that I haven’t taken to the post office yet because I have to build up my patience before I head to the post office. I’m almost ready though.
If you don’t win you should still read the book. And I’d love to hear your comments when you finish. Hope you enjoy it too!