Are you bored with your daily routine? Threatened by depression? Do you want to find more purpose, and reclaim the Joy in your life? Or maybe you have some people in your life who suffer with this, and you have no idea how to share the Joy in their lives. Karen Ehman’s Book, “Listen, Love, Repeat”, gives practical, creative ways to scatter kindness to these people in our lives.

In my previous blog, 5 Truths to Get You Through This Season of Motherhood, I pointed to the great hope that is ours, that one day, we will be 50 – 80 years old, with lots of wisdom, and we can help other Moms in their 20’s and 30’s.

Ok, maybe listen with a grain of salt.

I also said that Mentor Moms are the way to go. Go. Find them! Older Moms, find us!

Luckily for us, we can also find them through books! And I found an awesome Mentor-Mom named Karen Ehman. She is a writer through the Proverbs 31 Ministries, and I fell in love with her through her latest book, “Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living In a Self-Centered World.”

Always a big fan of practicality, I am a BIG FAN of this book. I first came across it listening to a Focus on the Family daily broadcast titled, “Engaging Others with Love, Kindness, and Service.” From there I learned about listening to heart drops – little hints or clues that people drop that give you a peek into their heart. It may be through actual words, or you may pick up on a feeling, perhaps sadness or loneliness. (pg.15-16) Her book is about living alert in our daily life so we can notice those people around us who need noticing. She is short, to the point, doesn’t use this as a soap box, and provides practical ways to implement her ideas at the end of every SHORT chapter!

As a Mom, I approve, and have been implementing this in my life ever since reading it. And it has radically changed it. I no longer stick to my daily routine, but have been grasped by boldness and purpose.

As a Stay-at-Home-Mom, I didn’t know what to do. If my life was going to be centered around only my children all day long, I was going to go crazy. I love my children, but I can only take so much playdough time. I need more. I needed purpose. My selfishness was reigning over my life. I didn’t want to live a selfless life towards my children.

Karen Ehman opens up “Listen, Love, Repeat” with this quote by C.S. Lewis

I can’t come up with any phrase that describes this whole book better than this quote by C.S. Lewis.  Each chapter is about loving others, being selfless, and making it a daily routine.

This is so important to teach to our children. To make it a habit. To look at your life and be able to say, I loved others just as much as I love myself.

If you are for that, here is a great book to step towards that.

I am tired at the end of each week. But I am so full of joy, because my weeks have been filled with listening to heart drops, and looking for those lonely and unloved in my community.

What would your community look like if you loved a little bit more out of your comfort zone?

Buy it below on Amazon, or donate your money here at Focus on the Family where your money can go a little bit further. Receive her book by donating ANY AMOUNT!

I love it so much and want you to know what you’re getting into before you read it, that I have listed a general sum up of each chapter for you based on its message and practicality offered in each chapter.

Here is a sum up of each chapter.

10 CHAPTERS IN TOTAL

1. LIVING ALERT – How to Hear a Heart-Drop
   1. MESSAGE: “Living our lives prayerfully, preparedly, purposefully, and perceptively will help us to tune our ears to the heart drop of others, so we can respond to their deepest needs in a meaningful, Spirit-centered way.” Pg. 30
   2. PRACTICALITY: She gives great tips on how to tune into everyone in a special way at the end of the chapter. I have used all of them already!
2. FIND YOUR WHY – Pssst…It’s All About Relationships!
   1. MESSAGE: “Finding your purpose –  in serving others. The ones with whom we share bloodlines or last names. The ones we encounter daily as we go about our routines. The ones at work. Or in our neighborhoods. Yes, even the random strangers or grumpy drivers. They are on-purpose May we find our why in our relationships with them.” Pg. 51
   2. PRACTICALITY: At the end, she includes a prayer, 39 Verses from the Bible about Relationships with One-another, and a personal story to relate to.
3. IT’S ABOUT TIME – Giving of Yourself.
   1. MESSAGE: “Have you ever had a friend who interrupted her day in order to spend her time doing something kind for you? Think about a time when someone used her time to touch your heart. What happened? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that same effect on another person today?” (pg. 63)
   2. PRACTICALITY: She provides 6 ways to help your friends in a meaningful way, a personal story, and 5 Fab Freezer Meals to make for people in need.
4. WHO MAKES YOUR DAY – Noticing the Necessary People
   1. MESSAGE: “…there are necessary people all around us whose lives might be deeply touched by a random, out-of-the-ordinary act of true kindness.” Pg. 91
   2. PRACTICALITY: She provides examples of “Necessary People” that are in your life and 9 ways to “reach out and show them that you care, and that you are grateful for the service that they provide…”, a Prayer, and a list of things to do or say whenever you bump into a “necessary “ person
5. THE SICK AT HEART – What To Do or Say When You Don’t Know What To Say or Do
   1. MESSAGE: During times of grieving, there are ways you can “…reach out to someone and let them know that you notice their grief.” Pg. 108
   2. PRACTICALITY: 4 ways to interact with those that are sorrowful, Different Grieving periods to be sensitive to, 5 points to keep in mind as your interact with those who are sick at heart.
6. CHIPPED CROCK POTS AND STAINED CARPETS – Living A Life of Welcome
   1. MESSAGE: “Living a life of welcome – opening your heart and your home – means your stuff getting used. And reused, Over and Over again…Well-used items often mean that we have loved well.” (pg. 130)
   2. PRACTICALITY: 7 ways to make your home a Haven, 7 Ideas for Cooking for a Crowd
7. THE LONELY AND UNLOVED – How to Be Their Family and Bless Yours Too
   1. MESSAGE: “God’s plan all along was that people would do life in community. To be connected to others. To share joys and concerns. To live out the great vertical fellowship with their Creator through the horizontal connections with their fellow humans….especially the Lonely and Unloved.” (pg. 153, 155)
   2. PRACTICALITY: 6 Ways to Love the Lonely and Unloved, A Prayer, 5 Places to Look For the Lonely and Unloved
8. THE CRANKY AND CANTANKEROUS – How to Love the Hard to Love
   1. MESSAGE: “I wonder just how many big bad people would have their ivy cold hearts melted by a little dose of undeserved love.” (pg. 176)
   2. PRACTICALITY: 7 Things to Keep in Mind When you Try to Love these People, Prayer, How to Discern the Reason Behind their Behavior, and How to Deal with it
9. NEAREST AND DEAREST – How To Really Care for your Clan
   1. MESSAGE: “Loving our Own Families can be Tricky.” 193
   2. PRACTICALITY: 7 Ways to Foster A Sense of Family, Prayer, 6 Ways to Show Your Family Love Through Words
10. SCATTER KINDNESS – Others Centered Living in a Self Centered World
    1. MESSAGE: “It’s not what you gather but what you scatter that tells the kind of life that you have lived. – Helen Walton” pg. 213
    2. PRACTICALITY: 6 Ways to Sprinkle Love, 4 Ways to Practice, Prayer,
11. BONUS MATERIAL
    1. 1. Memory Verses
       2. Quotes from the Book to Clip and Post Around the House
       3. Recipes for Reaching Out
       4. Gift Tags

    If you like my blog, Subscribe here!  If you want to read others, check out these others! 7 Ways to Stop Being an Angry Mom (free cheat sheet attached!), How to Get Your Husband to Do What You Want, 14 Activities to Fill Your Day as a Stay-At-Home-Mom, MOPS; A Group for Moms with Preschoolers, How To Be a More Nurturing Mom, Find Out Exactly What’s in the Entertainment Affecting your Kids

Follow me on Pinterest and Instagram @whatevermoms