This morning at about 1:30AM I finished Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz”. I had been reading the book for a couple of months but finally got “into” the book enough to read it through in just a couple nights.

I like reading again.

The book is amazing. By amazing, I mean that it is totally different than any other book I’ve ever read. It’s almost like you’re reading a book by a person who decided to write every single word that came to his mind as he sipped on a latte at his local coffeeshop.

Donal Miller is a Christ-follower – his words met my heart over these last few nights with the kind of “meeting” that says – “hello, I’ve felt that way before”. There isn’t a lot I DISAGREE with in this book, except maybe the fact that I don’t know how many beers Donald had to drink while he was writing.

It still amazes me how “anti-drinking” I am at this stage of my life – I guess I’m just a Wesleyan through-and-through..

Anyways – the book carries the subtitle: “Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality” – and that is exactly what it is. Don Miller talks like a preacher’s kid – with his insight to the “Christian subculture” and his outrage with it. It’s an exciting book for me to read and it will take another reading to even scratch the surface of what great stuff this book is made of.

So I read another small book this weekend. When I say “small”, I mean it – in fact, the reason it’s called a “guide” is probably because it’s not “really” to be classified as a book – being only 151 pages.

It was a good “guide”, though – I learned some pretty funny stuff in the process of reading…

The book guide was written by Matthew Paul Turner – former editor for CCM (Contemporary Christian Music Magazine) and is absolutely written MUCH like the way my brain works – very hilarious, with a touch of seriousness.

I’m still not sure that I would recommend my parents read this book – they may be offended, but the TRUTH inside this “guide” made me think, once again, about where I’ve come from, and honestly how “diverse” the church of Christ really is.

The warning inside the first few pages makes sense: “If those of you with no sense of humor are still reading: Yes, I do passionately love Jesus and look forward to spending eternity with Him and most of you.”

The book is published by RELEVANTbooks and is available pretty much anywhere!