Sometimes, when you're reading a book or watching a movie, you can feel your heart shift. You sense yourself making decisions beneath the surface because truth has been spoken and there's nothing else you can do with it; ignoring it isn't a long-term option.

I didn't know what to expect, really, from Donald Miller's new book. I really like every other book that he puts out. In this one, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Miller has polished his writing style in good ways. He rendered great phrases and captures important scenes well. There's quite a bit of self-deprecation, which is to be expected. Some of the advertising about the book (even some of the blurb on the back) is a bit misleading, I think. But the book, almost a memoir about memoirs, rings true.

Your life is a story. You choose the kind of story that you live. If you find yourself living a lesser story, if you've "checked out" of the story God wants to tell through you, you need to rethink your life. That's the gist of the book. Miller gives his thoughts a narrative arc that works well. He had me hook, line, and sinker with this:

I knew a story was calling me. . . and once you know what it takes to live a better story, you don't have a choice. Not living a better story would be like deciding to die, deciding to walk around numb until you die, and it's not natural to want to die.

I'm not sure how overtly "Christian" the book is, which is fine. I also fear that Miller will turn out to be a single-adult version of John Eldredge. For now, though, Miller's observations and assertions ring true in a good way, a challenging way. It's more than just "carpe diem."

I'll try to get a little more down about the book and my reaction to it tomorrow. I fly out Monday night for about 11 days on the mainland: Seattle. It's something that fits quite nicely into the story God is allowing me to tell.