A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

Yes I'm back. Haven't posted anything for months. But for our anniversary a few weeks ago Ann gave me the book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller. A few years back I read "Blue Like Jazz" by the same author and it really helped me when I was floundering spiritually and emotionally.

This book has meant a lot to me as I've read it. In fact I just finished it and really would like to read it through again and write down my thoughts on here as I go.

Basically the book chronicles what happens to Miller as he is approached by people who would like to make a movie of his memoir ("Blue Like Jazz"). The subtitle is "What I learned while editing my life."

The book challenges readers to evaluate the story they are living in light of how it might be made into a movie. Would it be a compelling story? Would it be going somewhere (would it have a point?) Would people care about the main character? Would they root for him/her?

Here's the foreword that Miller starts with:
If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn't cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn't tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you'd seen. The truth is, you wouldn't remember that movie a week later, except you'd feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.

But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either.

I don't want my life to be a meaningless story.