Invest in experiences
“Don’t invest in things; invest in experiences”
This quote, or something similar, was mentioned by Mark in his message this morning. And what a great piece of advice! In fact I would say this principle is one of the key ideas in how I try and live my life and bring up my kids.
I’m currently reading a great book by Donald Miller, the author of Blue Like Jazz. That 
book is one of my all time favourites – a book that presents Christianity in a real, down-to-earth, imperfect, not knowing all the answers kind of way. Don has written a few other books since then, but non have come close to catching the vibe of Blue Like Jazz until his newest, called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. A major premise of this book is that we should lives our lives as a story, not just moving aimlessly from one day to the next, but being intentional about the plot of our life and our character development. The chapter I was just reading fits perfectly with the quote above – Great Stories Have Memorable Scenes. We better remember things that happen to us if there is an interesting backdrop, or an unusual experience to go along with it. Making our lives “interesting” in this way requires intentionality, thinking about how we can invest our time and resources to move out of the mundane and construct a meaningful story out of our lives.
I want to make sure that when I get to the end of each year I can look back and say that that year has advanced the story of my life in some way – decisions made, journeys or adventures embarked upon, lessons learned. Life is a gift, and it’s too short to waste it.
Anyway, I’ve hardly done it justice but check out that book – it’s fantastic. And also do yourself a favour and read Blue Like Jazz if you haven’t already done so. Some of the best Christian books this century!
Tags : a million miles in a thousand years, blue like jazz, books, donald miller, story
Categories : Personal, books | 1 Comment
