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Welcome to the world, Church of the Small Things

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Before I say anything else today, I have to express how deeply heartbroken I am for Las Vegas and those who were tragically killed and those who are fighting for their lives in the hospital. My prayers go out to them and their loved ones as we all struggle to wrap our minds around this tragedy.

I hadn’t heard what happened until I arrived at the T.V. studio after I’d dropped Caroline off at school and then I immediately saw the headlines on all the screens in the waiting room. And all I could think is that it feels like there is heartbreak everywhere right now. As a nation, in just the last month, we’ve watched the devastation left by hurricanes, the constant fighting about anything even remotely political, and now this latest tragedy in Las Vegas where so many lives were cut short.

Honestly, it all feels like too much. Too much hurting, too much fighting, too much sadness and too much tragedy.

But it also embodies the very heart of what I wanted to share as I wrote Church of the Small Things because what we’ve also seen are neighbors helping neighbors, ordinary people stepping up to make a difference in the lives around them in a million small ways. What’s going on in the world right now can seem so overwhelming and too big for any one person to handle, but each of us can impact our small corner by loving our family, our friends, and asking God to show us what he’d have us do this day right where we are with what he has given us.

David killed a giant with a slingshot he already owned.
A widow saved her family with a little bit of olive oil that was already in her house.
A young boy shared his lunch and it fed 5,000 people.
Jesus changed the world with twelve men. He didn’t even have an Instagram account.

That’s the heart of this book. Never underestimate what God can do with a willing heart in the midst of our seemingly small lives and offerings. Let’s love our families and friends, let’s treat each other with kindness, let us embrace this one brief, wild ride we’ve been given on this earth and make it count in a million small ways.

This is my fourth book and I still can’t wrap my head around this whole process of launching a book out into the world. I cannot thank you enough for all the love and support so many of you have shown as you have pre-ordered and shared the word. I hope you love it.

And I hope as it gets delivered to your doorstep or downloads on your Kindle or after you pick up a copy at your favorite bookstore that it makes you laugh and cry and think and maybe remember how great movies were back in the days when entire plot points revolved around a mechanical bull riding contest. But most of all, I hope that it makes you realize that God has more for us than we could ever imagine in the church of the small things. We just have to look for him there.

There are still signed copies available at Barnes & Noble and in most Barnes & Noble stores with exclusive bonus content and a bullet journal in the back. You can order one online here or pick one up in the store.

And you can find it on Amazon here.

And you can find all other buying options here.

Thank you a million times over for supporting me and cheering me on. You’re the reason I get to do this and I am forever grateful.

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  1. Congratulations!!! This was by far my favorite book of yours. So insightful, full of so much truth, and hilarious per usual.

  2. I, like so many others, have no words…..this feeling in the bit of my stomach is too often there anymore. I do know there is more light and love in this world than we see and know God is there and we need to lean on Him. I need some light in my day so I am heading out to buy The Church of the Small Things. We are all searching for light right now and your books comes out today……thank you. God’s timing is always perfect.

  4. Congrats on your 4th book. I pre-ordered, and was so excited to get the email this morning that TODAY IS THE DAY! Keep on serving, Jesus, Melanie Shankle. You’re doing a wonderful job!

  5. Yay! I woke up to your book on my Kindle!
    Melanie, your book, a small slice of happy for me, couldn’t have come at a better time in light of all the ugly in the world. I was thinking yesterday that God really is great because he continues to love us when everything is so awful.
    I’m looking forward to reading your book and I hope this day is an exciting, fun day for you.

  6. I can hardly wait to go home and hopefully have my book there! We do need your book now! We need to get back to God and all his goodness. Thank you!

  7. This might be my favorite trailer ever. It makes me want to fly to SC and bring back all the slides my parents gifted me with when they downsized, and just relive those precious years while i still have time… and especially to be inspired by your new book to do what I can still do – even though it’s not as large-scale as it used to be, even though my nest is empty and my world getting smaller, even when it’s “I can’t make the chicken and dumplings tonight but let’s treat our friends to Sorrento Italian and love the time together.”

    Big blessings to you as you launch this new baby. So proud to watch you develop your talent over the many years since I found your blog. Hope you celebrate big today! Much love.

  8. Waiting for my hard copy to be delivered! Can’t wait and I look forward to sharing with others!!

  10. That trailer was so great:))) The sentiment of your book, as you described it, is the answer. Evil wants love to be difficult to understand. Make it simple and we center ourselves again. Bravo Melanie. So proud when I see amidst the struggle, we are holding each other up!

  11. GOT mine!! And my Shankle oil!! Which I seriously after only 1.5 days I think has made my skin so soft. Doing a test with back of hand and feel a difference already between treated hand and untreated one. 🙂