So I have a new book out today.
In case you’re keeping count at home, YES, this is my 74th book to come out in the last ten months. Some days I wonder why I have felt so tired and burned out and all out of words and then I remember I WROTE THREE BOOKS IN ONE YEAR. I realize this is probably significantly less books than Francine Pascal wrote in a year during the height of the Sweet Valley High series, but WHATEVER. It’s a lot of books for someone whose life motto could be summed up with the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder”.
Well, either that or “What can I binge-watch on Netflix this week?”
This new book, Fearless Faith, is a 100-day devotional for tween girls and the truth is that I originally did not want to write this book. My reasons were two-fold:
1. I had just turned in the manuscript for my Everyday Holy 100 day devotional for women.
2. See above about Netflix.
But God wouldn’t let it go in that annoying and endearing way that He has when He’s trying to get my attention and so I finally agreed to it. It also helped that I have a daughter in the target age group and I am fully aware of how much our girls need to have faith that is fearless in this world. I so want these girls to know how much God loves them and that he is the source of everything that will bring them joy and contentment and peace as they live in a world that is constantly trying to tell them something different and all the ways they could be better. So I essentially wrote down everything I’ve ever shared with Caroline about God and who he is and how he loves her. How different could this next generation of women be if they really learned to believe it?
As it turns out, Fearless Faith is maybe my favorite thing of all the things I’ve done. Isn’t it funny how that works out?
First, look how pretty it is.
Can we talk about that lion? He is magnificent. I would like to call him Aslan but I assume the estate of C.S. Lewis would have copyright issues with that. But that’s what he is to me…the perfect depiction of Aslan. Strong and beautiful and loving and majestic. A big thank you to Heather Gauthier for continuing to go above and beyond with my cover art.
Second, I followed the same themes and scripture references for Fearless Faith that I did for Everyday Holy. The idea is that they could be great companion pieces for a mother and daughter or aunt and niece or mentor and mentee to do over a 100-day period together and know they are learning some of the same verses and truths about God.
Third, several people have asked and I know the “tween” description can be vague. I would say Fearless Faith could work for girls as young as 8 years old through about 16 years. There are activities throughout the book that might feel silly to older teens, but the daily devotions were written in a way that I hope will appeal to them. I will tell you that Caroline has been reading it over the summer and she has really enjoyed it. Or maybe she’s lying to me. But she seems sincere and I’ve noticed that she’s put up Post-It notes all over her mirror with various scripture references from the book.
Finally, I thought it would be fun and encouraging to spend this fall doing a 100 Days of Everyday Holy and a 100 Days of Fearless Faith read-along because I believe that committing to spending 100 days of fall, reading truths about who you are and who God created you to be are the very heart of what can make us view everyday as holy and have faith that is fearless. Those five minutes a day could change your life and the life of a young girl or girls in your life. My prayer will be that we will look back on this fall as a time when God grew us and challenged us and made us more than we were before.
Here’s what that looks like:
Day 1: September 4 (This is the Tuesday after Labor Day and everyone will be back in school by then.)
Day 25: September 28th
Day 50: October 23rd
Day 75: November 17th
Day 100: December 12th
There will be no official group or anything that fancy, but just a lot of girls and women reading either Everyday Holy or Fearless Faith over those 100 days. And we can all share what we are learning and what God is teaching us by posting and using the hashtags #100DaysOfEverydayHoly or #100DaysOfFearlessFaith to help us all stay accountable and on track
And then we’ll celebrate on December 12th with a fun giveaway for two people that will be chosen at random from everyone who participates with the hashtags on social media.
What do you need to join?
-A copy of Everyday Holy and/or Fearless Faith or both!
-Five to ten minutes a day
-A journal might be good for writing thoughts down, but not necessary
-It might be fun to have some real life friends join in as well but, again, not necessary
-If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them or find people who know the answers.
So if you’ve wanted to do something like this but needed the push or if you’ve wanted to do it but didn’t want to do it alone or if you want to invite friends to all do it together as part of a small group, this is the time. I so hope you’ll join in with us starting September 4th. And in the meantime, get your copies of Fearless Faith and Everyday Holy anywhere books are sold.
You can find Fearless Faith here on Amazon and here on Barnes & Noble.
You can Everyday Holy here on Amazon and here on Barnes & Noble.
I’ll be posting reminders as we get closer to the start date, but in the meantime you can go ahead and get your books and mark your calendar for September 4th. It’s going to be a great fall.
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Congratulations on the new book! And Yay for this great idea. I have 100 Days of Holy and have been waiting to start it. Really looking forward to this. Blessings!
So excited about this – I may try & see if my youth group wants to do the 100 days together 🙂
Congrats on another book – & it is so BEAUTIFUL!!!
You are awesome in every way, and I am begging you to do a devotional for that in between age… the college and young twenties. I have two daughters in this stage and it feels lost to me… high school youth groups are too young, and the young couples groups are too old. I see it in their friends- male and female- this age is desperate for wisdom and guidance, even still.
I completely agree. After college I was lost, too. It’s a hard time for a young person who is finding their footing in this world.
I recommend seeing if they can find a local college campus ministry. My college was small but there were many Bible study groups happening all over campus on various days and times of the week. And if their church doesn’t have a ministry for that age, perhaps they could start one! My husband and I mentored a college aged ministry at our church for years, but they were the true leaders of it! Blessings to you.
Congratulations on your book release! I have read Everyday Holy and just bought Fearless Faith for my 13 year old daughter. I can’t wait to do the read along with her! Thank you for obeying God and sharing another wonderful book with the world. We are all so thankful.
I wish you the best of luck with this book, Melanie. I know it will bless many girls. The cover is beautiful, too.
I have started reading Everyday Holy already, but count me in for starting over for the 100 days this fall!!! I could re-read these devotionals many times!! I am a stubborn Christian woman and sometimes it takes me reading scripture 1-100 times before it sticks!
My copy of Everyday Holy literally arrived on my doorstep today. As a teacher it seemed like a great way to start off the school year and the idea of reading it along with so many others is brilliant! Thank you for your inspirational words brought in such an approachable and lighthearted way. Looking forward to the live Popcast in Chicago!
Congratulations on your next book release! I have read each one and am so proud of you! Thank you for obeying God and sharing another wonderful book with the world. I am so thankful of your wit and the wisdom God imparts!
Melanie,
This is why we love you! Your faithfulness inspires us! Thanks for thinking of these girls. You are right. We all need each other during this time in life and we all need God most of all!
I walked into Chapters with a cup of Starbucks in hand and as I moved past the aisles to the Spirituality/Religious section, I prayed the Lord would direct me to a book He wanted me to read. “Everyday Holy by Melanie Shankle”. I spotted it immediately, pulled it out, read a few pages and was hooked by Him, by you. Everything I read resonated. And something else. I am just in the throes of beginning to write and how you write is how I write. It was both confirming and affirming to me to take hold of the plan He has for me to write which I have put off for much longer than I care to admit despite His nudges and those of my family and friends. Thank you, Melanie. Above all, I thank the Lord for using your voice to push me through to use my own. I look forward to all that you have to say in the days ahead as I join your plan to read starting Sept 4!
Love it! Is it here an app to download electronic version for phone?
This sounds awesome, I’m in, how and where do you want the post on social media…under your blog posts, or Facebook, instagram ???