I found this book to be full of insightful words. It was a look at how we look at ourselves. How we compare ourselves to others. A reminder of the importance of the small things. And how these moments are just as important as the big events in our lives.

Hurray! A female Christian author who isn’t writing in a patronizing tone! Those are hard to find these days, I think. This book is a mix of memoir and inspiration and, what surprised me, laugh out loud, often self-deprecating (and completely relatable) humor. I will definitely check out the authors other books.

Her best book yet!!! I couldn’t put this book down , she had me laughing and crying . She’s got heart for God and family. A must read!

Melanie’s writing style is so welcoming. Reading her books is like sitting down to coffee with a good friend. I smiled and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this latest work.

I LOVE Melanie Shankle and her previous books have left me laughing out loud. Her newest book is no exception! I will read any book Melanie writes, and I wasn't disappointed by this one. She has the perfect mix of humor and truth. One page I'm laughing out loud at her hilarious stories, and the next page I'm hit with a profound truth. Love her, definitely read this one!

The author seems relatable and funny but I didnt grasp the big picture of the book from the get go. What was its purpose? To Entertain? Inspire? Inform? Without knowing its "vision," I couldnt care what the story was about, its message or purpose. The book was too slow paced than what I am used to. There were metaphors and hyperboles that were there for the laugh (some funny) rather than to move the story forward. It just failed to capture my interest. It just seemed like reading an extended blog post rather than a feel good memoir. Maybe part of it was that I was expecting so much more than I got since she was recommended by an author I like.

This is the first book by Melanie Shankle I have read, but I have admired her sense of humor and interview style for years.

I enjoyed the variety of short stories throughout this book and laughed out loud a couple times. The style of this book felt like having coffee with a friend whose a couple years ahead of me in life and who acts as an older sister in my life. There are moments of tenderness amidst the humor that give the book some heart and weight.

This book is perfect for a cold afternoon read!

Melanie Shankle's 4th Book, Church of the Small Things is an encouraging, funny, and sometimes poignant read. Filled with humorous vignettes from her life, Shankle shows the reader that not everything has to be a huge, social media-worthy accomplishment-sometimes it's the small things in life that make the most impact.

Dit boek moet je lezen, Echt waar, het laat je zien hoeveel de wereld van ons verwacht. Je hoort het verhaal van de 5 broden 2 vissen. Wow wat heeft Jezus gedaan ermee, Wat lief dat de jongen het deelde. Maar hoe zit het met de moeder die de lunch heeft gemaakt. Jou kleine dingen die je doet kunnen een grote inpacked hebben op de wereld. Daar heb je geen hoge functie voor nodig, Jij als moeder die de nieuwe generatie klaar stoomt voor deze wereld is zo belangrijk.

Worthwhile read, encouraging, possible great gift for the right person

Full disclosure: I received a free e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. Shankle is a popular blogger at the bigmamablog.com and the author of two other books. Her premise is that sometimes God’s biggest things start out in the “smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness.” She also writes how early experiences in the small things can influence us.

Recommended for public libraries and small group discussions.

While I love Melanie Shankle, and have read her previous books, I struggled through this one. Maybe I went into it with a preconceived notion, but I didn’t find the content supporting the title. I enjoyed the stories she told, but I didn’t always see how they related to the what the book is supposed to be about.

I'm enjoying this book so far.

I am also participating in an online study which made the reading much more interactive than my typical reviewing processes. (I received a free copy of the text for reviewing purposes).

I love the author's initial example of the "small thing" that became major form of ministry. (No spoilers here😀).

The text is very easy to read and has a conversational tone. Prepare to curl up with a nice cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea and before you know it, you'll find yourself smiling or laughing aloud while feeling comforted/encouraged by this text.... I know I did!

This book is a fun memoir that reminds us that it is the small things in life that really matter. In this day and age of social media when it's easier than ever to see glimpses into people's lives and think they are doing bigger and better things while you seem stuck in a rut and doing the same mundane tasks over and over again, this book reminds us that the small things really do matter. She shares real life experiences that have helped to shape her into who she is today. As with all of Melanie's writing she makes you laugh and cry while at the same time sharing some sort of spiritual lesson within her story.

I'm a big fan of Melanie Shankle and this book did not disappoint. I laughed, I cried and I laughed while crying a couple of times.
Hidden in the middle of all that laughter and stories that brought a tear was so much biblical truth.

Not once in my whole life and most of that has been in the church, have I given one thought to the mother of the boy who brought the fish and bread lunch. Without her that story wouldn't have happened. As a SAHM to 4 kids I so often feel forgotten or less then. That what I do doesn't matter at all. But it does and God is using this book to help remind me that these small things I do really do matter in the big picture.

This is Melanie's fourth book, and she's one of those authors I read every time she comes out with a new one. Church of the Small Things felt particularly timely. We live in a chaotic world where we hurt one another with our Facebook responses, with our tweets, even Lord-have-mercy with mass shootings. This book reminds us there's still a world of good we can do. I loved her reflections on her growing up experiences, but also her thoughts on parenting and marriage and community.

In the book Church of the Small Things, author Melanie Shankle, tries to encourage people to see and respond to the small things in life. I love snarky humor but Shankle takes it to a level that I did not enjoy. The writing was very choppy and not even conversational. Kind of felt like she was trying way to hard and it did not engage me.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read one other book by Melanie Shankle and thought that it was funny enough to pick up her newest one.

This book was both hilarious and heartbreaking. Honest and relatable. It will make you laugh and cry. And right in the middle of it all she throws in nuggets of truth that remind you about the important things in life.

I would recommend this book, the only thing I didn’t like is the length. I felt it could have been a tad shorter. There were a few times that I was ready for it to end.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read every book Melanie Shankle has written, so I was thrilled beyond thrilled to be chosen to be on the Church of the Small Things launch team. Melanie came to fame as a blogger, but her first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, is about motherhood. It knocked me off my feet. Then, she wrote a book on marriage (Antelope in the Living Room). Next, she wrote a book on friendship.

Now, she has a written a book (Church of the Small Things) that contains aspects of each of these themes. The book is just as great as her previous books, and you are going to wait to add it to your bookshelf. Let me tell you why.

Or let me allow Melanie to tell you why this book matters: “We are a generation of women who have never worked harder to have it all, yet go to bed most nights worrying we aren’t enough.”

In Church of the Small Things, Melanie tells story after story where she recognizes that the everyday, small, often unrecognized things are actually the things that make a life. It is easy to wonder if what you are doing really matters. Melanie assures us, yes, it matters. The small things build a life.

The book is a joy to read because Melanie is so relatable. She made me laugh out loud several times, and she made me cry. She made me think about the meaning of things and delve deeper into my faith. Just last night, I was discussing fear and faith with my girlfriends – and especially how easy it is for me to not trust God with the small stuff. But, this book reminds me that God is even in the midst of those small things and He is using them in ways I fail to see.

She believes that God continuously uses the small things to shape us and prepare us for the big things. It is all those daily mundane things that make us who we are. It is the small things that shape our children (changing diapers, making meals, giving kisses). It is the small things that shape a marriage (holding hands, forgiving stupidity, sharing a dessert). According to Melanie, “The church of the small things is where the majority of us live every single day.”

Church of the Small Things

The Million Little Pieces That Make Up a Life



by Melanie Shankle

Zondervan Non-Fiction

Zondervan



Christian

Pub Date 03 Oct 2017

I am reviewing Church of the Small Things through Zondervan and Netgalley.

We tend to celebrate the big things in life, the big victories but in The Church of the Small Things we are encouraged to celebrate the smaller victories as well.

This book is written with both heart and humor, and deals with everything from Faith to Motherhood.

Melanie Shankle encourages us to celebrate the little victories in life, as well as to overcome our mistakes, through Faith.

The book also deals with more serious issues, like life-altering sicknesses, death, with compassion as well. Leaving us with a book that not only deals with The Small Things but also with the life changing moments as well.

I give Church of Small Things five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!