A GivStory by Donald Miller – Best Selling Author and Founder of The Mentoring Project

I want to share something with you that’s changed my life.  I’ve discovered that the elements that make up a great story are the same ones that go into a meaningful life.  These elements have the potential to shove us out of our plain, mundane story lines. They can allow us to have an eternal impact—to actually live stories worth telling.

 If you read my book To Own a Dragon  you know I grew up without a father.  In the absence of a real father I had a cast of characters that were sometimes hilarious, pitiful, perfect, kind, and some of them were very wise.  I gained something from all these people, but the central truth I learned about life is that I could never do it on my own.  Humans just don’t do well independently. We need each other.  One generation passes life and wisdom to the next.  At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work.  But what happens when it doesn’t?  What happens when a young boy is left fatherless—without a mentor?  It’s frightening:

•  85% of all young boys in prison grew up in homes without a father
• 80% of all rapists come from fatherless homes
• 75% of the boys in substance abuse centers are from fatherless homes
• 71% of boys who drop out of high school had no father figure
• 63% of all teen suicides are from fatherless homes.

 Boys need fathers, it’s that simple but it’s not always possible.  That’s where a mentor can step in. 

 Mentoring is about you being willing to change your story to help a child change theirs. It’s making the decision to give the best of your life so “Danny” can reach the best in his.  It isn’t about transforming his life to look like yours, but about providing him with the tools he needs to get where he is going—to become the best version of himself. This is why I started The Mentoring Project and this is part of the new story line I’m asking people all over America to consider writing into their lives.

 For years people have been saying that our government shouldn’t be taking money from some of us to help others of us. That’s the job of the Church, and I’m OK with that.  But, let’s do it then.  The government can’t meet a need the Church has already met, the government can’t build a prison for prisoners that don’t exist, and if the next generation of children in our country has mentors, there will be far fewer prisoners.  The solution to our problem isn’t going to come through grumbling and protest; it’s going to come through YOU.

 This is a big task.  People have told me it won’t work, I tell them you don’t know my audience. You don’t know what I know.

 I know you believe in justice, I know you believe that where you live should never determine whether you live. I know you believe that just because a boy doesn’t have a father doesn’t mean we can afford to discard him, to allow him to become just another statistic.

 Will you help me?  That’s the question, straight up.  Would you be willing to rewrite your life’s story?  I know we don’t know each other, but I think I know this about you: You won’t turn your back on the swelling tide of fatherless children in our country. Let me make it real simple for you, What if it were your child?

 www.thementoringproject.org

Yes, it’s true, and we can hardly contain our excitement! The well known Blue Like Jazz author, Donald Miller, is giving his fans a FREE Download of a  Pre-Released  Audio Chapter from his new book: A Million Miles and a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. Just click the FREE Download button on the bottom right of the Donald Miller widget (posted above) to get your download. Please consider sharing the love and passing this FREE EXCLUSIVE offer on to your friends by clicking the “Get & Share” button. I mean, what else are you going to do while you are waiting for Donald to download?

This is Donald’s first book tour with MaxxLive and World Vision. Everyone is very excited about the new partnership and the help it will bring to children in need. Any Donald Miller fan knows that he has a particular passion for helping kids and especially young boys without fathers.  This issue pulls tightly on Donald’s heart strings as he also grew up without the guidance of an earthly father. Because of this passion, Donald recently founded his own non-profit in addition to his partnership with World Vision.  Donald’s vision “The Mentoring Project” exists to inspire and equip the faith community to provide positive male role models to boys between the ages of 7 and 14. Because of Donald’s platform, all of the World Vision sponsorship packets for his tour will be males.  If you get a chance to come out to one of Donald’s shows, please consider sponsoring a World Vision child. If you do, Donald is going to give you a free copy of his new book!  So, you better check Donald’s tour schedule above to see if he is coming to your city.

You won’t want to miss it!