Church of the Small Things, by Melanie Shankle

Several weeks ago, I was picked to be on the launch team for Melanie Shankle's newest book, Church of the Small Things.  I have been a reader of the Big Mama Blog (her blog) for years now, and when she started writing books, I was thrilled.  Nobody makes me laugh like Melanie Shankle.


Her first three books were, The Antelope in the Living Room, Sparkly Green Earrings, Nobody's Cuter Than You, and this one that has yet to release.  This latest one releases on October 3, but you can pre-order it now for some great deals and coupon codes.  To read more about that, go here.

This is my blog tour day (actually, I don't know if it is or not, I cannot remember the day I signed up for) and I thought I'd share a few quotes I loved from the book.

This was a theme throughout the book.  Something I loved reading in this book was the encouragement to look for the opportunities that God has for us in the everyday, ordinary life moments.  For instance, I have always kinda been envious of people that have obvious ministries in their life.  That's not something I really felt like I had until I read this book.  Sure I know that being a wife and mom can be that, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was something more.

While I was reading this book, the Lord was so sweet to show me a huge ministry that I have in my life, and it's so ordinary, that I have overlooked it for a long time.  That is that people come into my home all the time.  It can be teenagers who are either friends of my kids, or who I help lead and disciple.  My boys love having people over, and I love to welcome them in.  This means that I usually have a stocked pantry and refrigerator.  I want them to come in and to feel totally welcome here.  Sometimes they all go upstairs right away, or sometimes they hang out here with me.  I also have friends who come over pretty often, and who know they're always welcome.

This quote is probably one of my favorites from the entire book.  I love this because of where God has me right now: as a homemaker, homeschooling mom.  I know that God uses me in these everyday, mundane moments, and for that, I am thankful.

This was a book that made me laugh out loud, made me cry, and made me utter a prayer for the Lord to open my eyes to what or who is around me.

I loved every single page, and want to encourage you to read it for yourself.  You can go to the website that I gave a link to above, or you can pre-order on any of your favorite book selling websites.

Love to all.