During the summer I tried to review a different book each week as part of the weekly Friday Focus series. Each of the books reviewed was a book I recommended from my personal library. Sometime during the past year I was offered the opportunity to receive free books in return for providing a review (see below). I will be honest, the reason for my post today is that this book is long overdue for its review. Additionally, every time I review a book I get to pick another one to read. Since I am eagerly looking forward to choosing a new book I offer the following about Same Kind of Different As Me. I think you will find it worthwhile reading as I did.

Ron Hall and Denver Moore are two men whose life paths would normally never meet. However, as a result of his wife’s insistence on helping those less fortunate, Ron meets Denver in a homeless shelter and in the end a bond is formed. Their story highlights the fact that underneath our often very different exteriors, we are often more like one another than we care to admit.

This book humanized what is often a mere stereotype regarding the less fortunate. It was also a reminder of the hypocritical nature of many people who are quick to piously offer a helping hand during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays but often demand during the rest of the year that those same “welfare bums” get a job. Sometimes, as Ron and Denver so aptly illustrate, the best way we can help someone is to offer our love, trust, and genuine care. As Jesus Christ himself said, the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself”. Ron and Denver are living examples of showing that kind of love year round and not just during the holidays.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”