don miller revisited

Today was a nice day of relaxing which included some perusing for books; this included destinations of both the dickson st used bookstore and the fayetteville library. Both are huge favorites of mine. I came home with seven books (4 bought & 3 borrowed) and four dvds (all borrowed, all documentaries). I must give props to Amber for the gift certificate to the DSUB.

So I couldn’t help but start reading Don Miller’s book prayer and the art of volkswagen maintenance. This is the first book he wrote, prior to his more now famous books blue like jazz & searching for god knows what. Like both of those, it seems like this book is just filled with tons of great quotes. If I was one of those people that could just memorize quotes and repeat them all them time, I would definitely quote Don Miller all the time. So since I can’t do that, I’ll just paste them on the internet. Hopefully you can enjoy some of these from my first short bit of reading so far.

Tonight we are travelers in the truest sense of the word; a slim notion of a final destination and no schedule to speak of. We are simply moving for motion’s sake.
Our plans were shared with friends, but few understood. “Going off to find yourself,” was the standard interpretation. I don’t think that is really our point. We are shaped by our experiences. Our perception of joy, fear, pain, and beauty are sharpened or dulled by the way we rub against time. My sense have become dull and this trip is an effort to sharpen them. p.10

But theirs is an existence under the weight and awareness of time; a place we are slowly escaping; a world growing fainter by the hour and the mile. Our letters will arrive like messages in bottles from shores they may never know. p.14

I want to grow beyond my childish understanding of God into an adult reality: A faith based on the facts of Scripture and the knuckle-grinding reality of a day-to-day existence. I need more than a bedtime story. I need more than a youth group God. I am looking for a savior. A guide. An existential answer to my questions about purpose and meaning. I want true fulfillment in my Christian faith. I am looking for joy. p.19

Dallas is the Seattle of Texas. It is what Chicago used to be and wants to be again. p.29

It gives me great confidence and pride to think that, had the Israelites been influenced by German engineering, Paul and Timothy might have journeyed in an old Volkswagen camping van. But the timing was all wrong and they were left with foot travel and… p.32