I just finished reading "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller (thanks for the recommendation Pete!). He is really honest in what he says and how he says it. A very simple style of writing with just the right number of words while still conveying some depth of thought.

Reading about his life adventures made me remember how it felt to be in college or atleast in my early twenties. It made me long for a life without responsibility. Being single or living in the woods with a bunch of hippies. Sometimes I wish I hadn't grown up so fast. It is a really nice time when you first begin to realize your freedom and think about life on a larger scale. You want to change the world and you actually think that you might be able to do it. I had a friend not too long ago that also made me feel that way when I talked to him. He gave me a renewed sence of youth. He was just finishing school and came to work for our company as a graphic designer. He still had an idealistic view of the world. I think everybody is a liberal when they are in school. You haven't paid taxes yet or experienced the "real world" yet, and the influence of your teachers is still fresh in your mind. You get to be mad about injustice but don't have to actully think about the reality of trying to fix it. Don't get me wrong, I still want to save the environment and feed the poor, but eventually you figure out that you don't want the goverment to do those things for you. It's easy to be generous with someone else's resources. The essense of "tax and spend" liberalism or this new "borrow and spend" conservatism is all about getting other people to pay for your own causes.

anyway, back to the book... For a few hours I got to forget about reality and go back in time to the mind of a student. Don Miller has some great insight on community and what it means to love one another. Not that he said anything new, but he really gave me a fresh perspective. I've been without a close group of friends for well over a year now and this book made it in my life at just the right time. I've made some really great new friends in the last few months and I'm getting back into church again. I think this book will effect the relationships I am forming and help me avoid the same traps. It is good to start over occasionally. I feel like I have a fresh start with some really great people that God has placed in my life. Let's see how long it takes for me to screw it up this time.