Donald Miller’s new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years—What I Learned While Editing My Life, begins with this pointed comment, “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.”
Ouch! If you’re like me, I often think my life story wouldn’t even make a lousy “B” movie.
The premise of this book is that making your life count isn’t about what you accomplish, but about embracing your challenges; and if you have no worthy obstacles, find some. Difficulties, says Miller, are designed to change you. If you ignore, tolerate, or avoid problems, you’re missing the point of a life well lived and a story well told.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years takes you through Miller’s own story of embracing and conquering his difficulties, some chosen, others thrust upon him. Along the way, you’ll cry, laugh, and even curse yourself for reading this book, because now you’ll realize you need to do something about your life. And it won’t be comfortable.
Well written, thoughtful, and very humorous, this is one book I will buy for my children and friends—if I loan it out, I might not get it back!
Read it yet? If not, why not? Do you have any contemplative musings or radical ravings about this book? How has it impacted your life? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
For more information on this book, click here.
(I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)
This Post Has 6 Comments
So when do I get to borrow it??? 😉
I bought you one. I don’t want to loan mine out.
Hi Sue,
This book rocked me. I mean… I think I tend to think that if I am “crossing all my T’s and dotting all my I’s” and check off my metal checklist, than I am doing pretty good. Then a good book like this one intercepts me and broadsides me. I say “intercepts me” because I didn’t look for this book… my best-bro Scott bought it for me and ruined my life.;-)
I am convinced that you can live a “good” life and still live a wasted life. Donald does a great job proving this concept without even saying it. This books stretched my soul to uncomfortable levels, made me ask hard questions about my mediocre existence, challenged me to stop holding life at an objective distance and dared me to jump into THE subjective story… God’s story for me… a story part of His Story.
By the end of book I was faced with some serious questions I had to ask myself: Am I content with my “story”? What am I going to do about it?
Read this book if you need your heart prodded out of your comfort zone.
-jer
Donald Miller did a number on me in his book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”. What’s with this title, I thought? He explains that early on and it made perfect sense. Donald did an excellent job of taking you out of your “couch potato” world and dares you to enter into a story that is meant for you. Have done this for very brief periods of my life, but he calls us (without really demanding) to something significant on a regular basis. Caused me to question my story and asking if I could do something really significant with the rest of my life. Found myself beginning to weep as I read the waitress who gave him $20 for his cause. Then he rides his bike to the Atlantic Ocean and I had to hold back the tears.(Actually wasn’t able to keep from crying, but being in a public place I had to restrain from losing control), then hearing the LORD say “I cried too! when Donald got to Atlantic.
I too found myself asking “what can I do with my life Lord”? Get me out of this comfort zone I’m in and may I make a life well lived.
This book will challenge you!! If not, you may be on life support.
I thought one of the best quotes from this book was ” If you aren’t living a good story, nobody thinks you died too soon; they just think you died. But my uncle died too soon.” This line cuts me to the heart, because he has a point and although I long to live such a life I find it hard.
Part of me wonders if he wasn’t right when he said ” If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation”. After all Jesus said he came that we may have life and have it to the full.
My prayer is that we don’t let this moment pass us, but rather we act while we see clearly that acting is what we must do, not simply surviving.
Jeremy, James, and Bud–Thank you for each sharing such vulnerability and opening windows to your souls for us all to gaze through. If someone doesn’t want to read this book after hearing your input, they must, as Bud said, be on life support. Deep stuff, guys, and very challenging.