Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Peace in the Process
    • Bringing Home More Than Groceries
  • Contact

Church of the Small Things

October 4, 2017 by Kristin 18 Comments

I know God’s will for my life. That’s what I remembered while reading “Church of the Small Things” by Melanie Shankle. Of course, I laughed as she told stories that made me think we’re friends.

But, really, most importantly, this book reminded me that I know God wants me to follow Christ as I embrace the life He’s given me and through it all He’ll change me from the inside out so He can be glorified. Of course, the circumstances and details of this change moment by moment because I don’t live in a bubble all alone. But God uses it all to that ultimate purpose.

“The bottom line is,
she didn’t do the glamorous thing;
she did the faithful thing.”

— Melanie Shankle in “Church of the Small Things“

{Tweet that.}

Honestly, just saying that aloud makes me take a deep breath and loosen my grip. Knowing I’m in the midst of God’s will frees me from trying so hard to get to the next big thing. Believing He had a purpose in all the small, everyday things lets me rest in the One who truly holds it all together because when I get really tired when I try to control it all.

“Church of the Small Things: The Million Little Pieces That Make Up Life” is made up of stories about the seemingly small things in life that change us from the inside out. Melanie makes “Friday Night Lights” references, tells stories like friends would tell sitting on the porch together, and brings it all back to our faith in the God who weaves all the moments together.

“The truth is, we can spend our lives waiting for the big thing to happen, the dream to come true, the thing that will change everything. And then it happens and it’s nice, but guess what? No matter where we go, there we are. The world tells us that true success is a certain amount in your bank account, a certain number of cars in your driveway, maybe that all kinds of people know your name and you write a book that inspires an entire theme park and a line of collectible figurines. But true success and prosperity come when you are right where God wants you to be, doing what he has called you to do.”

— Melanie Shankle in “Church of the Small Things“

If there’s an author who can make me cry and laugh on the same page, it’s Melanie Shankle. I recommend this book and then highly suggest you follow that up with her three previous books, if you haven’t read them yet: “Sparkly Green Earring: Catching the Light at Every Turn,” “The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life,” and “Nobody’s Cuter than You: A Memoir about the Beauty of Friendship.”

About the book

Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner?

It’s been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take.

Melanie Shankle tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, “Church of the Small Things.” Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one.

The million little pieces that make a life aren’t necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness — and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch.

Through humorous stories told in her signature style, full of Frito pie, best friends, the love of her Me-Ma and Pa-Pa, the unexpected grace that comes when we quit trying to measure up, and a little of the best TV has to offer, Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.

This 224-page hardcover is published by Zondervan (Oct. 3, 2017). Learn more about the book at its website.

About the author

Melanie Shankle writes regularly at The Big Mama blog and is the New York Times bestselling author of three previous books. She is a graduate of Texas A&M and loves writing, shopping at Target, checking to see what’s on sale at Anthropologie, and trying to find the lighter side in every situation. Most of all, she loves being the mother of Caroline, the wife of Perry, and the official herder of two wild dogs named Piper and Mabel. The five of them live in San Antonio, Texas.

*****

I received a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for being on the launch team. This review is full of my own opinions.

*****

Kristin Hill Taylor - Porch Stories
 Loading InLinkz ...
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: books, Porch Stories Tagged With: faith, life, review

Comments

  1. Joanne Viola says

    October 4, 2017 at 6:28 am

    Like you, I have so enjoyed every one of Melanie Shankle’s books and will be ordering this one as well. We need books which remind us to be faithful in the small things because many times, they truly are the big things in disguise 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:03 pm

      Yes, indeed! Life is sneaky like that sometimes. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Becky Hastings says

    October 4, 2017 at 7:04 am

    Loved this book! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:02 pm

      There are so many good books right now! I’m glad you’re here, Becky!

      Reply
  3. Michele Morin says

    October 4, 2017 at 7:24 am

    I have yet to read one of Melanie’s books. Thanks for sharing this one. She (and the book) sound amazing!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:01 pm

      Her book on friendship called “Nobody’s Cuter Than You” may be my favorite, you know, if I had to pick one. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Debbie Putman says

    October 4, 2017 at 7:25 am

    I’m adding this book to my “must read” list!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:01 pm

      Yay! Hope you love it, Debbie!

      Reply
  5. Lisa notes says

    October 4, 2017 at 9:50 am

    This sounds like such a delightful book. I feel like my whole life has been just a series of small things, but that’s okay! 🙂 It’s good stuff. Thanks for sharing this, Kristin.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:00 pm

      Totally okay! I have a quote in my house that says, “One day we’ll look back on the little things and realize they’re really the big things.” Thanks for being here, Lisa!

      Reply
  6. sue says

    October 4, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    I love the quote you wrote – that we reach our dreams, theme park and all, and that is not what counts. I want to be and do what counts -I know you do, too! thanks for sharing, Kristin.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:00 pm

      Indeed! Thanks for being here, Sue!

      Reply
  7. Katie | My Joy in Chaos says

    October 4, 2017 at 4:09 pm

    Oooh, I’m adding this to my reading list and just submitted a request to the library to purchase it. Thanks, Kristin!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      October 4, 2017 at 4:10 pm

      Good call! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Melanie says

    January 25, 2021 at 10:55 am

    Does anyone know why she changed the title of the book?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      January 25, 2021 at 12:55 pm

      I noticed that too, but I’m not sure why.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hurricanes R Us – Adventures in Florida says:
    October 4, 2017 at 6:53 am

    […] with Holley, Kristin, […]

    Reply
  2. Hope in God With Each New Day - Words, Photos and Art says:
    October 6, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    […] linking up with: #porchstories, #LMMLinkup, […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Me

Telling stories is my therapy and I love sharing them with friends on my porch.

The main characters in my stories are my entrepreneur husband, our high school girl who never forgets, our middle school boy who has no fear, and our joy-filled first-grade girl. As we live out our stories, we seek God as the author of them all.

Learn more about my story here.

Subscribe for Updates

Recent Posts

  • How to host a party
  • All the places she’ll go
  • Cruising for Spring Break
  • How to take care of yourself
  • How to recreate favorite foods

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

On Instagram

🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness 🎶 All throughout my history / Your faithfulness has walked beside me / The winter storms made way for spring / In every season, from where I'm standing / I see the evidence of Your goodness / All over my life … 🎶 @joshbaldwin in “Evidence”

I love summer. But my summer has started off busy: appointments, book edits deadline, establish new habits with the kids at home. All that’s necessary and good, it just cuts into my down time beside the pool. 

Today we have two open gyms for our basketball players, my book study with a few friends, a new weekly high school girls’ book study at our house, and a monthly dad-son character study. 

I long for a little more white space on the calendar, but I also wouldn’t change a thing because the kids are only 16, 13, and 7 once. This summer will only be this summer once. And I’ve already learned time flies with big kids. 

So here we are finding out footing, singing praises with church friends on our porch, grilling delicious chicken, and squeezing in the wide-open spaces when we can. This is evidence of the good stuff. 

#84daysofsummer #poolpeople #momlife #momconfessions #faithlife #livingfaithfully #favoritethings #choosingJOY #countryliving #reallife #PorchStories
The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat ha The Hill family reunion at @shelterpointretreat has become a favorite tradition to kick off summer! The weather was perfect and everyone enjoyed one another. 

#familyreunion #lakelife #kentuckylake #kylake #getoutside #familytime #memorialday #memorialdayweekend #favoritethings #84daysofsummer #summerisbest #choosingJOY
Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ #TeamTaylor #girl Hello, #84daysofsummer! ☀️ 

#TeamTaylor #girlmom #boymom #momlife #reallife #summerisbest #siblinglove #countryliving #poolpeople #getoutside
First of all, who else has read this book? The plo First of all, who else has read this book? The plot was promising as a thriller and the setting really worked. There were some good twists, and then there were ridiculous twists. I skimmed the end only because I wanted it to make sense. And it didn’t. It was too weird for me. 

But this made me wonder: how do we know if a book is going to be weird, contain elements we don’t like, or go places that don’t make sense? I don’t like to read much about a book before I read the book. Usually, I do a better job of picking books for myself. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #donotrecommend #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth
I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant we I needed this low-key weekend that was pleasant weather, a mixture of productivity and rest, and had plenty of wide-open space to enjoy our property and each other. 

#weekending #TeamTaylor #poolpeople #countryliving #favoritethings #choosingJOY #maydays
And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watch And that’s a wrap on soccer season! I love watching them both play. 

#soccermom #weekending #springtime #momlife #girlmom #boymom
On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a On Mothers Day, I wanted to sit by the pool with a book, but I didn’t know what I wanted to read. Whenever I have indecision about books, picking up a thriller usually helps because of the story’s pace. 

“The Only Survivors” worked well because there was a lot happening! Lots of creepy, mysterious moments. Only so many people could be guilty of infiltrating a small group who had lots of secrets! 

I loved the timeline of this one. The back story about an accident was told in seven one-hour segments. The present mystery was told in seven days. 

#KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #latergram #bookofthemonth @bookofthemonth #poolpeople #mothersday
Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ And Y’all we are very ready for summer. ☀️ 

And when I say summer, I mean we are ready to shake up the routine, mentally regroup, turn off the alarms, establish some new habits, soak in the sun, and catch up with friends we’ve been crossing paths with too quickly. 

I want to savor the #84daysofsummer and I want to embrace this new season. And it’s almost time. Three more days of school. (Deep breaths.) 

Meanwhile, I’m going to keep collecting the moments — the hard, hurried, happy, and heartfelt. The seasons do change, but this is the life we are living. 

“The moments you collect may not be loud or flashy. They might be quiet or covered or a far-off view you were lucky to catch. But this I know to be true: A moment savored says to your soul, ‘You have lived something beautiful.’ And it keeps you buoyed. It sustains you when you’re running empty. It lifts you up and carries you forward.” — Joanna Gaines in @magnolia summer 2023 journal issue no. 27 

#momlife #reallife #momconfessions #livingfaithfully #summerisbest #teenagedriver #choosingJOY
I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but t I’ve read quite a few World War II novels, but this one by Soraya M. Lane focused on three nurses, their friendships, and how the war changed their lives. It’s a hard story, but it’s full of love and hope despite the destruction around them. 

And it’s the second historical fiction audiobook I’ve listened to in a row! #KHTreads #bookstagram #booklover #audiobooks #Audible #KindleUnlimited #historicalfiction
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Favorites

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 Kristin Hill Taylor | Design by Traci Michele | Development by MRM