Diary

It is now officially just one week out from the release of Church of the Small Things, which means I am doing a lot of deep breathing and hiding out in my house. I’ve had October 3, 2017 circled on my calendar and by that I mean that I’ve had it marked on my iPhone calendar for almost two years so it’s a little surreal that it’s almost actually here. I guess part of me thought maybe Jesus might come back before I had to live through another book release.

The truth is I’m excited about the book and about the message that small things matter. And so I thought it is fitting to have today’s excerpt read by none other than Gulley. The thing about Gulley that I don’t think you know unless you know her in real life is that she teaches preschool.

Every day Gulley teaches three-year-olds how to stand in line and wash their hands and share their toys and not throw sand and to make it to the bathroom in time. This is my version of hell. But she does it with so much love and dedication and every time one of her little tiny students sees her around town it is like they have seen a rock star. They can barely contain their excitement. Seeing the way she loves her students and the way they love her is proof that the biggest difference we make while we walk this earth can usually be found in the smallest acts of faithfulness.

Her other ministry is that she makes me laugh every single day.

If you haven’t ordered it already, you might as well go ahead and order now because you only have to wait a week to get your book. Plus, you can still get all the free stuff for pre-ordering here. (If you have pre-ordered and never got your link with all the stuff, please email me with your order number and let me know!)

There are still signed copies available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble with exclusive bonus content and a bullet journal in the back. You can order one here.

And you can find it on Amazon here.

And you can find the book trailer and all other buying options here.

Today we have an excerpt read by my dad, also known as Bops. He decided before Caroline was born that his grandpa name would be Pops, but Caroline pronounced it as Bops when she was a little over a year old and so Bops it is. He is the best.

Also, this is a picture from about four years ago that is exhibit A of how much they favor each other.

There are still a few signed, first edition copies available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble (Did I mention I signed my name until my left hand fell off and I nearly died?) and they are currently 30% off which makes them just $16.07, plus they have exclusive bonus content and a bullet journal in the back. You can order one here. Once they are gone, they are gone forever so if you want a signed copy for yourself or to give as gifts, this is your chance.

And you can find the book trailer and all other buying options here.

If you pre-order, don’t forget to go enter your order number here to get all your pre-order bonuses, which include downloadable prints by Heather Gauthier, the amazing cover artist, five of my family recipes, the first three chapters of the book and the first video session of the Church of the Small things Bible study. (If you have pre-ordered and never got your link with all the stuff, please email me with your order number and let me know!)

Have a great Wednesday!

Last spring we filmed various people reading excerpts from Church of the Small Things for me to share leading up to its official release on October 3. There was a time that I regularly posted videos of Caroline, but those days are long gone now that she’s a teenager and not really interested in being on any kind of social media unless it’s her own. However, she agreed to read an excerpt from the book and I am probably biased but I think she’s the cutest.

I’m ignoring the fact that she already looks significantly older than this even though this was filmed just four months ago.

Bangs. I know they work for some people but we are not those people. Remember when Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress Oscar for playing June Carter Cash in Ring of Fire? There are some people who would feel that is her greatest accomplishment, yet I believe these bangs are significantly harder to achieve.

I carried this photo around for years in the mistaken belief I could achieve this. Never mind that I look nothing like Reese Witherspoon in any way, shape or form. Oh, and I also don’t have a team of stylists to fix my bangs every day.

Anyway, you can read another excerpt from the book here about my grandparents that was featured on Country Living this week.

There are still some signed, first edition copies available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble and they are currently 30% off which makes them just $16.07. You can order one here. Once they are gone, they are gone forever so if you want a signed copy for yourself or to give as gifts, this is your chance.

And you can find the book trailer and all other buying options here.

If you pre-order, don’t forget to go enter your order number here to get all your pre-order bonuses, which include downloadable prints by Heather Gauthier, the amazing cover artist, five of my family recipes, the first three chapters of the book and the first video session of the Church of the Small things Bible study.

Thank you for pre-ordering and for accepting me even though I suffer from bangs insufficiency. I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Fashion Friday.