FF: Church of the Small Things

Hello and Happy Friday!!! Today for Faves on Friday with Andrea, Erika, and Narci I am sharing all about the recent book I read, Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle! I hadn’t yet realized how much I truly loved and believed in the message behind this book until I was writing this post

 

Here is an bit about the book I pulled from her website: “In Church of the Small Things, Melanie Shankle reminds us that God does extraordinary things in our most mundane moments of faithfulness. Through her hilarious reflections on being a mom, wife, and writer, Melanie helps us embrace a meaningful life as we find the beauty and the laughter that lie right beneath the surface of every ordinary, incredible day. God uses the smallest acts of faithfulness to love and influence the people around us – and sometimes that looks a lot like packing sandwiches for lunch, working in a cubicle, or playing tea party one more time even though you feel like gnawing your arm off.”

 

Honestly I’ve learned the most about living my best life from our beagles Hank & Hal, having read Church of The Small things has been a good reminder of many things and helped me build an even better motto for life. Hank & Hal are both rescue dogs that were strays before we all became a family, you can read more about their stories here. These 2 show endless appreciation and love for all that they have! Living out Church of the Small Things like Hank & Hal is sitting outside and just appreciating all that I have, its not taking for granted any tiny little scrap of toy I’ve been given, its no matter what I’ve been through still trusting there is good and loving anyway.

 

Life is lived right in the regular ‘ol everday moments and I try so very hard to appreciate all of it. With our Beagles I already know our time with them is limited, we missed out on their early years by rescuing them and well dogs just don’t live as long as they should. So, I don’t yell or get mad at them when we return home from work to find another piece of decor or other item of mine chewed up on the floor. I try to say yes to walks and adventures as much as possible. We let them bark at 6am (well okay, maybe because we literally just can’t stop them). I always keep homemade treats stocked and share any food that is dog safe that I’m preparing for dinner. We fry an extra egg or two on the mornings when we’re making ourselves eggs. I stopped trying to keep our home free of dog hair and only pick up the fluff from the toys once a week. I do it all because it makes them happy which makes me happy too! Coming home to their wagging tails, happy faces, and loud baroos is all part of my church of the small things – those moments I treasure and reflect one when we’re all snuggled in at the end of the day!

And if the description above and how the book impacted me doesn’t get you then I can guarantee this trailer for the book will! LOVE!

I was selected to be a member of Melanie’s Launch Team and have been so blessed by this opportunity! It has been SO MUCH FUN! The book releases October 3, but you can pre-order it now and get all of these goodies =] Even though I received an advanced copy I still pre-ordered to get all the perks! And while you’re waiting, I’d recommend her other books too – I just reread The Antelope in the Living Room, or there is Sparkly Green Earrings and Nobody’s Cuter Than You!