Episode 102: Melanie Shankle

 

I was so happy to have Melanie Shankle join me on the show again for Episode 102. Many of you may know her as Big Mama online. She is an author, speaker, wife and mother. You may remember her from Episode 50 where we chatted about friendship. 

 
 

This time, she joins me at the table to talk about small things. You see, she wrote a book called Church of the Small Things which talks about learning to love the ordinary life you have. Do you feel like you aren’t doing enough or that what you are doing matters? If you’ve ever answered yes to those questions, then this episode and her book is for you. In this conversation, we talk about enjoying your ordinary life, how God uses ordinary and how to be faithful where you are.

Links:

Melanie's Survival Kit:

  • Building margin into her life. Monday’s are her new Saturdays.
  • GAP sleep leggings (similar here and here)

(Amazon affiliate links used when possible--purchasing through these links is an easy way to support the show. Or shop using www.SurvivingSarah.com/amazon and a portion of the what you buy will go back to the show.)

Connect with Melanie:  Website //Instagram // Facebook // twitter

Takeaways From Our Conversation:

  • This message about ordinary really struck home with me. One of my takeaways, was the idea of being faithful where you are. God put me in this season with these roles for a reason. I want to be like the mother of the boy who had the fish and bread. @@Doing the tasks that seem insignificant matter@@. So this week, I want to look around at my ordinary and ask God to help me see the beauty.
  • How can you start to find contentment your ordinary life? It begins by recognizing that as chaotic as it can seem, all of this is all fleeting. It can all change. It starts with a perspective change.
  • Stop waiting for you life to begin. Take stock of your life. I bet all of what you have that is chaotic is what you prayed for. Stop comparing what we have to what we thought we wanted or to what others have.
  • Sometimes we can struggle with thoughts like "Am I enough?"; "Does this life matter?"; "My life isn’t glamorous." But you never know how God will use those simple acts of faithfulness. @@Get up and be faithful to do what is in front of you@@. We can feel like a beige person driving a mini van, but @@the daily faithfulness matters@@. We can make an impact when we just love the people around us. We start to think that the big things are what are noticeable, but its really the little things.
  • This can be a great season of ordinary. @@"Don't underestimate how God is using all of those little things.”@@ Are you going to trust God with what you have right now? Before you go further in the journey, you have to be able to trust God with what you have now. God is preparing you for the bigger things in the small things.

12 Day Holiday Hustle with Body by Hannah

Hannah wants to help ME AND YOU redefine with healthy means. The holidays are upon us and we thought it would be the perfect time to prepare our bodies and minds for what lies ahead. Let me introduce the 12 day Holiday Hustle to you.

The 12 day Holiday Hustle with Body By Hannah is geared to keep you on track with your health and fitness goals through what can sometimes be a stressful holiday season or a season full of too much merriment! This challenge provides you with a simple nutrition plan to follow, exclusive workout programs from Hannah, a supplementation option for those with weight loss or energy goals, Surviving the Holidays tips from life expert, Sarah Bragg and daily mindfulness homework. This challenge is $24.99. The challenge will begin on Tuesday, November 28. 

What did you enjoy about this episode? What was your takeaway. Let's continue the conversation  on Instagram or Twitter or you can send me an email here. 

Thank you for following along life with me. I love being apart of your day. And as always, I hope this show helps you survive a little easier.

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