Donald Miller is the author of several books on christian spirituality such as: Blue Like Jazz, Searching For God Knows What, To Own A Dragon, etc.

Donald was asked to do the benediction prayer and the Democratic National Convention on Monday night. Simply put, the prayer was beautiful and purposeful. I’m not sure what i would say to God if i were asked to pray at the DNC, but i picked a handful of one-liners from Don’s prayer to share with you:

We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.

Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.

Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.

Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.

Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.

Do you know what you would say?

Starbucks quote cups are awesome:

The world is smaller than you think, and the people on it are more beautiful than you think.

– Bertram van Munster

Improvisers don’t look at change as an obstacle; we look at it as fuel. We know that the next great idea lies just on the other side of the change. We are constantly asking ourselves, “What can I do to incite change?” Well?

– John Sweeney

Christi is so gonna miss me!

Thank you: Bek, David, Brant, Trey and Laura Beth for coming out to lunch today. It meant a lot to see you. And Rachel… thank you so much for coming to meet me at the mall. I always look forward to our time together. Your friendship means so much.

“Do they have car washes in China?”

I get a lot of questions about China… but never have i heard that one.

Here is a short story about a member of John Calvin’s 16th-century church in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Calvin was a strong believer in practical and living theology, and he encouraged his parishioners to apply Christianity to every aspect of their daily life. One day, a stranger entered a shoemaker’s shop run by one of Calvin’s congregation. When the stranger found out that the shoemaker was a Christian, he said, somewhat sarcastically, “Oh, well then you must make Christian shoes!” “No,” the shoemaker quietly replied, “I don’t make Christian shoes, but i make shoes well.”

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it careful round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is Hell.”
-C.S. Lewis

How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life.

- Annie Dillard

So what does that mean for today?