[Closed] Book Review and Giveaway!

"Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons."
-Thomas à Kempis

Kevin Harvey is a friend from church. We've known him and his family for at least five years now. We see them weekly at a dinner club started by my mother-in-law (years ago when my husband was in middle school! but that's another story for another day). Our kids are close in age and play together weekly. We appreciate their friendship and the ways they minister to our church! Recently, Kevin wrote a book. He asked me if I would read it and do a review on POH....

I'll be honest, I was not super excited about the idea because I am FAMOUS for not finishing books for various reasons. But, Amy (Kevin's sweet wife) assurred me it was an easy read! And I'm here to say now that she was so right! I finished the book in less than two days and really enjoyed it.

The quote I posted above was taken from the blog of my friend, Jenn. (Also a friend of the Harveys and also did a blog review of the book. :) When I read it, I thought it was perfect. She was sure to point out that she is not calling Kevin "insignificant." But it was meant to be a reminder to not dismiss a writer you've never heard of. This book is a truly refreshing read and Kevin is a great writer!

Before I get to my quick review, here's the description of the book from Kevin's website:

For too long, the body of Christ has been focused on too many things that, quite simply, haven’t been working. The answer to a lasting, true revival in today’s world isn’t going to come from a continued focus on what we can and cannot do, which denomination has the most biblical theology, or achieving victories in social issues such as definition of family and the right to life. Instead, what our attention should be fixed upon is that the Son of God said the second greatest commandment we’ve been given is to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In this book, Kevin Harvey has taken a biblical approach to help the body of believers define just who their neighbor is and what it means to truly love them as Jesus intended. If the body of Christ began to focus daily on following that one simple idea, then maybe—just maybe—the world would finally begin viewing the church as the salt of the earth and light of the world that Jesus had in mind.

Basically, Kevin related to seemingly unrelatable books of the Bible. Jonah and First John. He uses the story of Jonah to illustrate how we are fleeing from God's "second greatest commandment" to love our neighbor. It was a really wonderful and different look at the book of Jonah. I definitely walked away with some fresh convictions on how I fall short in loving my neighbors. The verses from First John were especially convicting when used to supplement the story in Jonah.

Here's how the book is set up. Each chapter looks a different part of the book of Jonah and is broken into three sections. The first section in each chapter is basically Kevin's summary of what the scripture from Jonah is saying. The second section he calls "The Unavoidable Red Letters" and are the teachings of Jesus that relate to the passages of Jonah covered in that chapter. The third section is "A Friendly Reminder" and is a breakdown of passages from First John that also relate to Jonah.

Kevin uses tons of scripture - even apart from the passages of Jonah, the teachings of Jesus and the verses from First John. He does that too, while writing in a way that you'll feel as though you're sitting in a room with him discussing Jonah. (And I'm not just saying that because I know him and can literally hear him saying many of the lines I read in the book!)

The end of each chapter contains a section he calls "Take it Personally" with questions for individual and group reflection. This book would be great to read on your own or with a group!

If you'd like to get your own copy - you can go to Kevin's website to purchase the book.

OR you can win it here! Kevin gave us a copy of his book (titled Jonah, John, and the Second Greatest (but most avoided) Commandment - since I haven't written that once in this review!!) to give away to one of our lovely POH readers. Be prepared to be challenged in your view of who your neighbor is and whether or not you are loving them as God calls you too!

All you have to do is leave a comment here! (Be sure to leave a way for us to contact you - especially if your blogger profile isn't public!) I'll pick a winner next Sunday, May 30th.