I’ll go ahead and admit it. I am a huge Don Miller fan. I love EVERYTHING I’ve read that he has written. And I love EVERYTHING I’ve heard him say. His words simply resonate.
I read Blue Like Jazz when I was in my late twenties and pretty skeptical of the religious rigamarole. Don’s candor and sense of humor made me want to reexamine my religion, and more importantly my faith. A few years later I devoured A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Again, Don challenged my thinking and encouraged me to explore what it means to live a great story.
Always warm and engaging, Don feels like a kindred spirit, walking just a few steps ahead, talking me through the path he has taken, and subtly warning me of its pitfalls.
That is why I can’t wait to read the rerelease of Searching for God Knows What. (I know, I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet, either.)
I’m also jazzed because my buddy, and Thomas Nelson editor extraordinaire, Bryan Norman crafted this amazing game that I can play (and potentially win prizes) while I read. So for the next several weeks I’m going to read, play-along, and possibly blog about the journey.
Would you like to join me? Details about the game are below.
Twelve games played over eight weeks are built into the book Searching for God Knows What. Each game requires you to sleuth, decode, think, and find…well…God knows what. Be one of the first to decipher the clue and claim your reward: Incredible prizes exclusively for those who play the game. Plus, you’ll find new opportunities to connect with Don directly, meet other fans, and earn points with every action you take. It’s fun, easy, and addicting. So take just two minutes, and let’s start searching!
Starting the week of July 19, 2010—for eight weeks—you will receive clues.* Each clue will lead you to a game hidden in Searching for God Knows What. To play the game, here’s what you need to do:
Step One: Go to www.DonaldMillerFan.com and sign up for an account or use your Facebook account to sign in.
Step Two: Take actions, create groups, and get new clues each week.
Step Three: Decode the correct answers and enter them at www.SearchingForGodKnowsWhat.com to solve the puzzles and be eligible for prizes.
Step Four: Win!*If you’re joining the game late, no worries. All clues will be available at SearchingForGodKnowsWhat.com until the end of time so you can play whenever you want.
I’m also very excited to be giving away 20 copies of Searching for God Knows What.
If you’d like to win a copy, leave a comment below sharing a few words about an author that has impacted your life.
Winners will be selected on Monday at 12 PM.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 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.”
Update: Winners Selected and Notified on July 19th. Thanks everyone for your comments. I loved hearing what authors have impacted you.
For awhile I was a single mom of two boys, and two girls, Don’s book To Own a Dragon, now Fatherless Fiction spoke to every fiber of my spirit. I would look for clues as to what my boys were feeling, facing, and missing based on his experiences. I was so blessed by the honesty and transparency on the pages. Kevin Carroll’s book Red Rubber Ball has been a second great find, the power of play is an excellent addition to living a great story!
I rebeled a bit against some of Don’s work when Blue Like Jazz hit the Christian mainstream (you, know the whole seminary student being too good for “pop theology”), and realize now how big of a mistake it was and how wrong I was about Don’s work. His writing has inspired me a great deal. The most obvious answers for me are Lewis and tolkein (I didnt read much at all until they hooked me), but in the last five years I have really enjoyed the work of Miroslav Volf. His writing on reconciliation is brilliant. If we could learn to practice much of what he writes, the world would really be a better place.
A bit of a newbie in regard to Donald Miller, heard of him for the very first time last April when I saw him speak at conference called Catalyst. But in a relatively short period, his writings have stirred me up, provoked me to good works if you will. There's a quality to his writing that draws you in, an invitation to slightly sarcastic, but better way of living.
The most influential author to me has been Richard J. Foster. 'Celebration of Discipline' and 'Freedom of Simplicity' are both profound yet make complete sense. And much like Donald Miller, invited me to a deeper way of living doesn't rely on manipulation or self righteousness to make their point.
I’m a new fan of author and paster Timothy Keller. Keller released his first book, The Reason for God, in 2008 as a guide for those who are skeptical of Christianity. As a believer who sometimes struggles with their faith, I came to find hope in this book. It spends the first half tackling common objections to Christianity and the second half discussing the reasons to believe. The way Keller approaches these topics comes with great knowledge and research, while also staying true to what the Bible preaches. More recently Keller has released two other books entitled The Prodigal God and Counterfeit Gods. I recommend them all, go check em out!
Donald Miller is a writer I MUST mention in my influences. He knows how to connect with people. Recently, I’ve started to get into Malcolm Gladwell. His psychological focus give a lot to ponder. Tolkien is brilliant, as is Lewis. Emily Dickinson I had mixed feelings about in the beginning of our relationship, but the further we progressed, the fifteen readings it took to understand one poem, the more I appreciated her. It seems she is speaking jibberish at times, but she has really just found a way to communicate the things that seem impossible to communicate. And for those frustrating times that I’m trying to express the inexpressible, she gives me hope that my thoughts can be understood with ’15 readings.’
One author who has impacted me is actually a friend of mine, Tass Saada. He wrote the book, Once An Arafat Man. The book reads like you’re having a conversation with him and its so great to see how God works in us and even through us before we are even acknowledging or following him. I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you haven’t read it before.
John Grogan, the author of the popular book and eventual big screen movie, “Marley and Me,” has a wonderful memoir that he wrote about two years ago entitled “The Longest Trip Home.” I read this book in December of 2008 per the suggestion of a dear friend of mine who told me that as a Catholic, I would absolutely love the book.
The book is a memoir of Grogan’s life growing up in an overly Catholic family living in Michigan. It recounts most of his childhood and adolescence in terms of his relationship with his father and mother who worked so hard to raise their kids in a Catholic faith that John eventually became jaded to – a story not far off from my father’s. It’s really quite a lovely book and Grogan is an exquisite writer, so I suggest you read it.
The reason this book impacted me though was because of how tangiable and relatable Grogan’s story of his family was. When I read that book I saw my father in it, who, like Grogan, grew up in a staunch Catholic family in Akron, Ohio and later fell away from the church. So many of the humorous Catholic school stories that Grogan tells in his memoir seem to directly mimic ones that my father shared with me as I grew up. More than anything though, Grogan’s book taught me how to reconcile my father’s jaded faith with my fresh and vibrant one that was tailored by the youth group in my Catholic church community growing up. My dad and I came from such different places religiously but Grogan’s book legitimately helped me to fathom how I could bridge that gap between us. I think that alone goes to show just how much of an impact author’s and their writings can have.
An author who has greatly impacts me is Fyodor Dostoevsky, who has most powerfully impacted me in the way that he creates and contrasts characters. There is almost nohing that helps me to understand and ponder humanity more than being thick in the plot of one of his novels and seeing his characters, who so often represent prominent world views or demeanors, interact. In contesting selfishness with selflessness, guilt and innocence, or revenge and forgiveness, Dosttoevsky forces me to examine the motives of the characters, and in doing so, hold them up to the world around me. There is no author who forces one to exam themself in lugh o he story they are experiencng. Where, I must ask myself, do I fit in? Most terrifying of all is when the answer is rarely on the side of the hero.
Donald Miller's book "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years", along with "Blue Like Jazz" has encouraged and challenged me to do the impossible, to do things you are told, and think cannot be done. I also have been impacted by Francis Chan's "Crazy Love," Rob Bell's "Velvet Elvis," and Erwin McManus' "Chasing Daylight"
Well, honestly speaking, the author who has impacted my life the most has been Don Miller. He’s inspired me more than any author I’ve read.
He showed me that I could still live out my faith in a real and honest way without being forced to adopt strange and overly-religious practices that frankly made me rather uncomfortable. Since I first read Blue Like Jazz (I’ve read it right through at least 6 times now) I’ve learned a way of living my faith that is uniquely me, yet resonant of those how inspire me (such as Don). It feels good to know that if I ever spoke to Don I think it would feel like I was chatting to an old friend who knew me better than anyone else.
Anne Jackson. I've been reading her new book Permission to Speak Freely to review it for my blog. It's been rocking my world in a really good way. I believe Permission to Speak Freely could have a huge positive impact on the Christian community and especially those within it who are hurting or struggling
I love Donald Miller too; another favorite is Brennan Manning, particularly Ruthless Trust. It's like he takes my heart, turns it inside-out, spills it on the page and then creates something better out of it. His book on Jesus, The Importance of Being Foolish, is also awesome. 🙂
My recent post I get real about punching the mother clock
One of my friends pushed a copy of “Blue Like Jazz” into my hands one evening when I was fussing about having nothing I was currently reading. Since reading (and returning) her copy, I have purchased six of my own…and I still don’t have one on my shelf! There are so many people I know who I felt would share the impact of what Donald Miller shared, I kept giving my copies away!
It is not uncommon for me to buy and read everything an author writes, if I have been moved to such excitement by the first work of theirs sent my way. Most times, the first thing I lok for is the first book an author put out, even if it is out of print. If that first work moves me at all, I go for everything the author puts in print. Though I do think for myself, and subsequently do not wholeheartedly agree with every word of another, I am hard pressed to find anything that wrinkles my brow in Donald Miller’s works. His style, his unique insight, his wit and humor, his eloquence in presentation, all appeal to me in a way that is REAL. This author makes me feel as though I’m sitting on his couch with him discussing the reality of being ‘in this world, but not of it’.
Each book I’ve read has something that so moves me, it is easy to share with people I know and love, people who don’t normally sit down to read any book, people who are confused and frustrated in their faith, people looking for ‘the real deal’…I’ve bought and given away at least one copy of each one of this author’s writes because he is a ‘regular guy’, he doesn’t pretend to have it all figures out, he is a grand encourager. Donald Miller has effected my walk, and subsequently that of others in my path, with his works like no other author. This girl is so thankful to have been introduced!
As much as I've enjoyed reading Don Miller's blog the last year or so, I'm sad to say I've never read any of his books. So this would be great.
A book/author that has impacted me: John MacArthur's "The God Who Loves". It made real to me tha fact of God's love for me, His child.
CS Lewis
It's amazing that books written many years ago are still highly relevant and contemporary today!
C.S. Lewis. I know I'm one of millions touched by this author, but for me he has been a spiritual godfather. His writing made subtle inroads to my heart and mind during my youth, but it was during the summer before my senior year of high school when his influence ignited my faith. My soul was at the climax of the battle between atheism and faith, and I read Mere Christianity on a friend's recommendation. His words kept sticking to my reason and my conscience, and I had a sudden epiphanic moment when I realized I was simply running away from God…and God was chasing me. I've been following Jesus ever since, and Lewis' words have been my constant companion and guide along the way.
My recent post Two kinds of writers
CS Lewis has greatly impacted my life. As a child, I read and reread the Narnia Chronicles oblivious to their symbolism, but drawn to them, knowing somehow they held a secret power, a magic, that I wanted to get my hands on. As an adult, I've reread all the Chronicles with much greater insight. Mere Christianity answered so many of the questions I'd been asking for years. CS Lewis' word choice is impeccable. His power to explain something as confusing and powerful as God blows me away. I've purchased more copies of Mere Christianity and given them to friends who were doubting God than I can count. Now, I'm sharing Narnia with my own children. Every now and then we open up the wooden wardrobe in my bedroom, pull out the clothes and knock on the back wall. It hasn't given away yet, but we won't stop trying.
I'd have to say that most recently that person has been Brennan Manning. I was just turned on to him a couple of years ago and find his writing consistently slices through the clutter, and brings grounding to my walk with God.
One author that I love and have meant a lot to me is Henry Nouwin.
He has really been an author that read and read again.
Love his heart and the way he is open and honest.
My recent post The Redeeming Quality of Pornography
Great contest! If I were choosing an author who has most impacted my life, I would also choose Don Miller, for many of the reasons listed above. But, to mix it up, here are some others who have influenced me with their words: C.S. Lewis, Khalid Houseni (probably spelled that wrong – author of The Kite Runner) and Ron Rash.
It's official. You have the coolest job EV-AH!! {big cheesy Grin!}
My recent post A time to zip the lip
Hi! I'm heare from Lisa-Jo's site. An author who has impacted my life? C.S. Lewis. Dude can WRITE. And make me think.
looove donald miller.
love the idea of that game!
xo
My recent post people
I want to sound extra smart and say Kant or Derrida, but I'd be lying.
Shel Silverstein. There I said it. Yes, he's a children's author, but his books are so layered and deep and moving and emotional.
As a child my father would read The Giving Tree to me and get choked up as he finished the last page. As an adult, I read the book and get choked up becuase my FATHER is the giving tree Shel spoke about. I hope to be the giving tree to those around me.
My recent post devotionals and taco bell…
oops – i was too excited about donald miller to contribute my faves…anne lamott is probably my very favorite writer, but you have to be able to handle some of her stories. brennan manning is a personal friend/father/mentor of mine and he.is.PRECIOUS. and his books move me to tears, probably because he reads the way he speaks and anyone who knows him or has heard him speak knows his stories. and then i commented on rachel's page about john & stasi eldredge. i read 'captivating' at least once a year, but i equally love all of their books.
xo
My recent post people
An author that impacted me? Fynn, who wrote "Mister God, This is Anna."
I 'accidently' stumbled upon this book in Barnes&Noble in high school and have loved it ever since.
The subtitle sums it up: "The true story of a very special friendship…" of a man who finds a lost little girl on the street, Anna, and takes her into his family like his little sister. He discovers, that she has a special relationship with God, and simply demonstrates the power of a child's faith. "Mister God goes right through my middle I go right through Mister God's middle."
Fynn's story of Anna inspires me to stay childlike and enjoy God relationally.
A short book, and such a small treasure. I've yet to meet another person who has also read this.
Lindsey, I too was in my early 20's and really figuring out what my faith looked like for ME. I had grown up in church and had always just lived this life but wasn't really confident of who I was in Jesus. Blue Like Jazz changed that for ME!
Just finished Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and I’m eager to read more from him. Came over from The Gypsy Mama! 🙂
Thanks for the contest Lindsey!
J.R.R. Tolkien always inspires me. In the Lord of the Rings, his characters show me courage and suffering; his mythical world opens my mind's eye and restarts my imagination. I go back to his books year after year, and they never lose their potency.
"To Own A Dragon" helped me so much to understand more of the young men in my ministry group!
Wow, so many authors have impacted my life. One that has challenged and encouraged me through her fiction is Liz Curtis Higgs.
I haven't read any of Donald Miller's books, but he is on my reading list. Many of my friends adored Blue Like Jazz.
Tamara
Miller is definitely one of my faves. I give away his books more than anyone else's. In secular fiction, Elizabeth Peters has impacted my life the most as she writes about strong woman characters.
I have all of Donald Miller's books and agree they are wonderful. However, the author whose impact on me I'd like to mention is Norman MacLean. Whether MacLean intended it or not, I can't say, but his A River Runs Through It reminds me so much of the wonder of God's creation. The writing is phenomenal — my favorite — and is an example of how God's incredible plan includes the creation of amazing artists for us to marvel at and enjoy. I wrote a tribute to my dad once, who was an incredible outdoorsman, and closed the letter with this quote from MacLean: "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters."
My recent post Camp Countdown!
Lately it's been your pastor Pete Wilson's book Plan B that has been resonating with me. So many of his thoughts in the book have come at times this past year during some pretty big transistions and helped me look at the situations from a different perspective.
My recent post For the Love of Trains
The first book I read actually was "Searching for God Knows What." Don's incredibly personal portrayal of the gospel blew my high school mind, especially his new take [at least new to me] on the fall of man and the role of nakedness in the garden of Eden. The end revealed GOD's love to me to such an extent that I've never felt so whole and complete. Immediately picking up "Blue Like Jazz" afterwards made me realize how much I wanted to spread that love to others. Thanks to Donald Miller's books, he put me on the fast track in discovering my purpose and call to be a missionary.
First let me say, I'm so late to the game that I've never read Donald Miller. I WANT to, I just haven't yet…
The author who impacted my life the most is John Eldredge, and he managed to do it in one book. Walking with God completely changed the way I pray. My prayers are no longer monologues made up of lists of things I want. Now they're conversations about what God wants for me.
My recent post It’s all because of Jesus
Mother Teresa without question has impacted my life more than any other author, specifically “No Greater Love.” Her words are so on point!
I have loved other authors like Francis Chan, Don Miller is a recent favorite, Shane Claiborne, Bob Sorge, but Mother Teresa has an element of wisdom and experience which is unparalleled.
I don’t own “Searching For God Knows What” but I have continually heard people praise it! For the past two years I’ve been wanting to read it and now that I have been recently turned on to “Blue Like Jazz” I would love to keep reading Don Miller! He is definitely changing my perspective!
The author that has most impacted in life would have to be my Mom, Georgiana. Although not published in book form, her writings of living life to "Embrace Positive Passion" daily have influenced, encouraged and motivated many people all over the world online at embracepositivepassion.com
It amazes me how even the small things that we think are insignificant can have an enormous and reaching impact on the lives of others. I'm so very proud of her!
Brennan Manning's way of explaining God's grace changed my life. Through A Ragamuffin Gospel I learned to accept my ragamuffin-ness, which only brings me closer to God.
Mark Batterson's "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" has altered the way I look at risk. His words have inspired me to be bolds and how I need to look for ways God wants me to take chances. As an author, he has truly opened my mind and given me the encouragement I need as I enter a phase of my life where risks and opportunities are abundantly waiting for me.
I have heard about Miller's books through other blogs,but haven't yet read them. The book that inspires me is C. S. Lewis' "The Four Loves." I appreciate Lewis' candor about the various forms of love and how we learn to love.
Max Lucado has impacted my life. When I was a child, his 'You Are Special' picturebook was used as an important story in Sunday School. When I was in my late teens, I revisited this in order to reconcile a vision of my relationship with God. Since then, I've been amazed by the simplicity of Lucado's books pitched at older audiences. Scripturally-based, they tug at the heartstrings. I wouldn't be the first person to say that I enjoy reading his books as much for the content as the way he uses words. His ability to clearly communicate without arrogance is helping my own writing as much as it nourishes my soul.
I love free books! Brennan Manning has probably impacted me more than any other author.
Erwin McManus has inspired me to dream more and to actually take the steps to achieve some of those dreams.
My recent post A day in the life of a Wade volunteer…
David Platt is a current pastor turned author that is having an impact on my life. I am reading his book Radical and it is really turning my world upside down and making me reexamine the value I place on being comfortable and safe often at the expense of growing in my faith.
John Ortberg and Chris Tiegreen have both have a profound impact on how I view the world and God. Based on your recommendation I love the ME I want to be. It opens up a world to me in my thinking. I am using this book in my discipleship materials now. I also love Chris Tiegreen's Feeling like God, the emotional side of discipleship and Fixing Abraham. These books really bring a new aspect of the personal side of God to light.
My recent post Worship flows from God
Michelle McKinney Hammond has been an influential author for me with her humor and casual, but realistic, discussions on living as a Christian single. She doesn't tip-toe around her topics, and keeps me laughing when I get discouraged. Craig Groeschel is another author that has recently been a favorite of mine. Again, his casual conversation-style writing keeps me engaged and smiling as if I was sitting in his living room.
So far I've only read "Father Fiction" by Don Miller along with following his blog, but would love to read more of his work. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
First – I would have to say I would have guessed you are still in your late twenties!
I would have to say that Joyce Meyer has had an ongoing effect on my life starting with her book Battlefield of the Mind. And then more current would be Ken Ham with Already Gone — His insight to the effect or should I say lack of effect of the Christian Culture in kids that have grown up in the church.
Right now, John Green is probably most impacting me. I really admire the way he can discuess afterlife, death, life as it is now, and come from a place that makes people of all religions comfortable. In Looking for Alaska, the thematic question is “How can we escape the lybrinth [of suffering]”. The main character says he wishes neither hell nor heaven existed, which would allow us to love God for the sake of loving Him. He then makes a comment on how there has to be something to come because we’re more than genetics, slabs of skin and bone, even more than just our experiences. The way we respond to events in our lives is rooted in that something else. He questions everything; no one scolds him; no one tells him it’s wrong to doubt, and I feel that more Christians should be this way. God doesn’t strike us down for our inquiries.
I think Donald miller has a similar style, in that he doesn’t force people to apologize for posing questions and doubts. I really appreciated Blue Like Jazz.
I'll be honest. I've never read any of Donald Miller's books, in fact, I didn't really know about him until he came to my church a few months ago. I'd really love to read what he has to say in his books. Thanks for the opportunity.