Book Review: Listen, Love, Repeat by Karen Ehman – a call to action!

This post was inspired by the new book: Listen, Love, Repeat by Karen Ehman which releases 15 November! You can purchase a copy at http://listenloverepeatbook.com

Karen’s down to earth practical voice rings throughout this book and I’m sharing a cup of coffee with her over the kitchen tables she loves so much. Her wisdom, based in biblical truths, is memorable and enlightening. I feel enabled to take my journey of faith to a new level of living as Christ did. I loved the prayers at the end of the chapters, the recipes are amazing and I found the things to try encouraging, practical and challenging. There is love and humor throughout but I appreciated that Karen didn’t avoid the tough topics.

Karen inspires us to follow Jesus as the early Christians did, I loved her reference to origin of the word “little Christs” and to be as Paul was, living testimonies of the gospel. She inspires one to consider our “one-line eulogy”, our purpose here on earth as God’s vessel of love. Her sign “scatter kindness” will be erected in my home as a daily reminder of the importance of this message. Intellectually, I was challenged to weave well-known and memorized scripture with my daily living. Karen’s insight and examples illustrated how vividly the one another verses should be reflected in my life. However, what I loved, she didn’t just leave me enlightened, she gave me practical how-tos, not just in memorable tick lists like “Love God. Love others. Love yourself” but in a list of “go out and do its”. A great book from start to finish and one worth reading several more times!

Without a doubt, this is one of the most practical Christian non-fictions I’ve read! The topic is relatable, the chapters managable and the writing engaging. Karen is both uplifting and challenging. She encourages one to deepen one’s relationship with Christ whilst living out His ways and making Christianity more practical than church and small group. I think this book will be particularly successful in the small groups as it has several sticky statements and activities around which leaders can build engagement posts and encourage the participants.

It’s hard to think of negatives for this page-turner, life-changer! I’d say if anything, I felt a little less for not having a husband and kids to share this with, or a huge family to do the surprise presents with, it felt assumed I would have those. But, I have plenty of people who I can expand the challenges to and intend to dub them all “family”!

A couple of my favourite phrases:

“Hearing a heart drop is an art we must lovingly cultivate. It can lead to the most wonderful times of encouragement…”

“Remember that your job is obedience. God’s job is results”

“We need to focus on the face in front of us”

“1. Love God. 2. Love others. 3. Love yourself.”

Book Description:

Our culture is self-obsessed – in our schedules, relationships, and especially online. (Can you say selfie?) But in this near-narcissism, people are less content than in decades past. Why? Because we forgot the joy that comes from putting others first. Doing so requires us to live alert, listening for “heart drops,” hints from those in our lives who need a helping hand or a generous dose of encouragement. Living alert lifts our own spirits, showing us that blessing others blesses us even more.

Listen, Love, Repeat offers biblical teaching and suggests doable actions that are simple, heart-tugging, sentimental, even sneaky and hilarious. This message:

• Presents scriptural examples of those who lived alert, including Jesus, who noticed those who least expected to be seen.

• Gives creative ideas for showing love to friends and family, and suggests practical ways to reach out to the lonely, the marginalized, the outcast, and the odd duck. Additionally, it helps you comfort the grieving, showing what you can do when you don’t know what to say.

• Provides inspiration for blessing the “necessary people” in your life, those often-overlooked souls who help you get life done every day, and teaches you how to hug a porcupine by genuinely loving the hard-to-love.