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| Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
Category: EBooks
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $5.00 (33%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  207 reviews
Sales Rank: 126
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
ASIN: B001EHEBW6
Publication Date: March 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together. But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing? Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional tale of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader or listener will ever forget it.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 202 more reviews...
Don't catch and release this book too soon! November 20, 2008
Great book chosen/read for a book club (of all white women) I read this over a 4-day holiday and it brought me to tears a few times. It's emotional and historical, modern and joyful. I didn't feel the references to religion were so overt that someone like me (a non-practicing Catholic) was inundated to feel a certain way. I can relate to some of the books spiritual moments (from my own life) and it's interesting to see how they're written.
My personal take away is a better understanding of the homeless persona; how my volunteering in those environments may be mis/construed and received by the other parties. I think this would be a decent book for young adults preparing to volunteer as well as ALL of us and friendship. We're so superficial anymore, finding and keeping friends is important to our sanity. More than likely we give up (catch and release) one another too quickly because of petty things. We need more investment in ourselves and others- this book may remind us of it.
I'm not a book connoisseur so I can't dissect character forms or flawed themes, but I know what I like and this book was something that I'd like to either keep for later reading or pass on and allow others to enjoy as much as I did.
Life Changing Story November 17, 2008
I could not put this book down once I got into it. It has enabled me to understand the true nature of God and I have become involved in a Church that has many stories that echo the story of Ron, Deborah, and Denver.
Inspiring November 8, 2008
Wow. This was a powerful story on so many levels. It challenged me in my perceptions of people. It also convicted me about "catch and release" friendships. In ministry it is easy to view relationships as a means to share the gospel rather than a lifelong committment to a person. I don't think this is always wrong per-say, you can't be all things to everyone, but maybe God wants to do something more in both my life and the life of someone else. It is a powerful idea to start of thinking of truly loving and learning to trust to the point of becoming "family" with someone who is so much "the same kind of different" as me. I would highly recommend this book!
 Get out the tissues! November 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ron's wife, Debbie Hall was a woman called of God to step outside the boundaries of $1000 per plate charity dinners and high society to take follow in Christ's steps and take His love to "the least of these". Devoting herself to working with the homeless community of Forth Worth, Texas, she related to those she met as individuals and people with a purpose, loving them for who they were.
This flowing, authentic love was much more difficult for her husband Ron Hall to grasp hold of. Coerced into joining his wife's ministering efforts, his initial attempts were stilted. Focused more upon assuaging guilt and generating a warm, fuzzy sense of do-gooding, it was only when his friendship with Denver Moore blossomed that he experienced the depths of true compassion.
Raised in informal, modern-day slavery, Moore worked hard growing and picking cotton until some time in his late twenties when he left the only life he knew in search of a better one. The new life he found resulted in thirty years on the streets, homeless and without work. Over these years he became angry, his heart hardened and he slipped into darkness.
When God placed the Halls in his life he resisted their tapping at his heart. Survival skills learned from years on the streets launched his automatic defense system. Through prayer, persistence and love the lives of these three individuals would weave a new story that would inspire and touch the lives of thousands.
While God's importance in this work is never minimized, no clear presentation of the gospel is present. There are also some experiences related that some readers might feel uncomfortable with; spirit visitations and visions are clearly a part of who Denver Moore is and his understanding of God. While these may appear as superstitious to many, it's likely that these beliefs are common to those with Denver's upbringing.
That being said, books like these aren't read to inform your theological position. Read it to see the joy and fruit of being Jesus' hands and feet in this world. Read it to learn about striving to serve Him with love and spreading that love to those who have fallen through the cracks. Read it to experience the deep love between a husband and wife, the power of God to soften and change hearts and His ability to take grief and use it as a seed that will grow, flower and touch the lives of many. A beautiful story that warms and wrenches the heart; you'll want tissues on hand for this one.
When asked if they had any additional thoughts on the book the authors responded:
"Ron: Most of our thoughts were included and the book was never meant to be a self-help or instructional book. Ours is merely a story about how a Godly woman with a dream followed it to the point where a city was changed. Denver and I are not preachers or teachers, but sinners with a story to tell.
Denver: I didn't have any thoughts for this book, I just told my story. I just want to encourage folks to be more like Miss Debbie."
I'd say that about sums it up.
Powerful story of friendship and faith October 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore is a different kind of love story. Two men, who couldn't be more different, are brought together by their love for one woman who has a powerful love for God. Ron Hall is a successful art dealer in Dallas, Texas when his wife, Deborah, hears a message from God to serve the homeless in a dilapidated shelter. He goes along with his wife, only for love of her. But when Deborah tells him that she has seen a vision of a man who will change the city with his wisdom, and that the man is Denver, one of the biggest, most frightening men in the shelter, Ron struggles to believe as well. Through Deborah, the two men become friends, of the forever kind, and God will use that friendship to change the city. This nonfiction tale of friendship is wonderfully written in alternately chapters in Ron and Denver's voices. Denver, who was a sharecropper in Louisiana, never learned to read or write, but has a deep sense of right and wrong, and he manages to teach Ron and Deborah both what true Christianity means. This is the kind of book that makes you long to have a deeper relationship with God so that you can see miracles the way these two men have. Denver says, "I'm just a nobody tryin' to tell everybody about the Somebody who can save everybody." Amen!
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