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?

I should do what more often, you ask? Stay organized. Being organized is an amazing feeling when it actually happens. Today, a thoughtful friend suggested that i make a “to do” list to organize the chaos currently taking place in my brain. So i did. And on the back of my list i made another list of the things i wanted to accomplish today. There is a much greater since of accomplishment when i can cross things off the list. I added a few more things as the day went on, but i also got to cross a few off and that felt good. Someone please tell me this: how do you find the discipline to stay organized consistently??

Are you organized?

P.S. I just realized that packing is not on my list. That one should be the obvious one, but maybe it helps you see how chaotic these days really are.

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.

I have a few more pictures from Encounter. I hope you will enjoy. Thanks Scott!

You may think you can roll into town and ruin my day by dumping your cold rain on everything, but quite the opposite is true. You, my tropical storm friend, have given me an excuse to be productive. Because of you i have read a book, written a paper and watched a movie. Because of your winds and constant rains i have stayed inside and enjoyed it thoroughly. You even tried to ruin it for me by turning the power off, but that only made me become more productive.

So, Fay, thank you for coming and helping me enjoy my Saturday. But don’t overstay your welcome, i will need you to leave by tomorrow.

Wow! More than 1,000 college students showed up to declare the grandness of God and say that they are ready for an awakening on the campus of Auburn University. As Jason led us in “Hosanna,” the roar of the people could probably be heard for miles. During that moment i looked around the room and all i could find in my heart to say was, “God, do this around the world… awaken your people.”

If you didn’t make it, don’t worry, it’s every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in the new Foy ballroom at Auburn University.

Were you there?

(Thanks Scott Fillmer for the photography)

I have some heartbreaking stories to tell you soon, but in the midst of heartbreak we have hope. I can’t wait to share more. For now, let’s think through this:

Justice is what love looks like in public.

The Background:
When i lived in Auburn i worked for a college ministry and my job was to coordinate/produce our weekly gathering of about 1,000 college students. Essentially my job was to produce a weekly concert-style worship gathering. Lights, sound, visual projection, etc. It was a lot of fun and certainly challenging.

Ok. Now that you have the background i can tell you that Encounter starts tomorrow night. And because i’m fortunate to be in town i’ve been put back in the saddle. I’ve been spending my days finding lighting, scouting out the new venue (yep, i said new venue), figure out where to find volunteers, and basically just stressing out. Oh, one more thing, Matt Dean is the speaker and his wife is only days from having a baby so now i’m on deck as the backup speaker. I love it. Seriously, i love it.

We all have high expectations for what will happen in the hearts of college students tomorrow night and we’re trusting that what needs to happen will happen right on time.

We’re trusting God to give us favor to figure out all the small details. Our hope is that the 1,000+ college students who show up tomorrow night won’t walk away talking about our lights, our band, our venue, but that they walk away awakened to the grandness of God.

Maybe i toss around the word “awesome” too much… but this time i mean it, the weekend was amazing. People love bullet points, so again, i give you my weekend in bullets:

• Undefeated in ping pong!
• Ate Al’s fine greek cuisine….twice
• Hung out with the hipster scene (see post below)
• Most productive board meeting yet with Bedouins International.
• Photo shoot = awkward, yet awesome
• Hung out with Jeremy and Wes from Thalon and She Dances (a non-profit battling against human trafficking).
• Met an Aussie that loves to pound the drums.
• Good times with Nate and Stephen from gi inc.
• Amazing… yes amazing… worship with Jason and Daniel at Workplay.
• Following Workplay was a great dinner with Daniel, Jason and band. Good times, lots of laughs and inspiring conversation.
• Seriously, if you haven’t downloaded Daniel Bashta’s album, go to www.danielbashta.com and do that now… for free.
• Got back to Auburn at 1:00 a.m. It was worth it.

I hope you’ll click around on some of those links and give my friends some love.

Last night a small group of us went to the premier of a new skate movie. I think the title is, “New Blood.” (update) I’ve been corrected, the title is, “Ride the Sky.” (end of update) I’m not really sure about that title. I only know that i must have been among the oldest in the room. The one good side is that i rediscovered my joy for people watching. This venue was packed with people that i like to called “hipsters.” The term used to be “scene kids.” While sitting there awkwardly out of place, i pulled out my handy iPhone and made a list of the requirements to be a hipster:

To be a hipster:

• Must have a trucker hat that says something meaningless and it must be at least 3 sizes to small. The bill should remain flat or bent up.
• You should only wear the dirtiest clothes you can find. You should look like you’ve been outside rolling around on the ground.
• Can only go out in public if you have not showered in the last 3 days. The dirtier your hair, the better.
• The experienced hipsters wear a wool beanie even during the hot summer months.
• Three letters: PBR
• You should work hard to obtain a very attractive, yet very preppy girlfriend.
• If you’re a rookie to the scene then you’ll carry around your skateboard as a way of proving that you’ve got street cred.

If i knew the lingo then i would end this post with a hip farewell.

Update in response to Wilki’s comment:

Here is the best and only photo i took. Just check out the hat. I seriously went shopping today to find one.