Melanie talks with Shawn Smucker, author of the new novel, The Day the Angels Fell. They cover Shawn's Amish roots, his connection to Auntie Anne's pretzels, his harrowing RV experience in Willie Nelson's old touring bus, developing relationships with Syrian refugees, and his incredible new book. Shawn is a fantastic storyteller, from the pages of his book to his conversation on this podcast, so listen in and lighten up!

Melanie talks with Heather Avis, author of The Lucky Few: Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places. They rank kids' movies from tolerable to "please, God, I can't take it anymore,” and they discuss parenting kids with Down Syndrome. They chat about how Heather’s kids are a light in their community, and she says, "I've understood the heart of God more fully in the places that have been hard for me." 

Melanie talks with Catherine McNiel, author of Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline. They talk about the greatest popcorn in the world, how they find time for spiritual disciplines, finding God in the chaos -- in changing diapers, in washing dishes, in driving to work -- and also how they need to lighten up about other people's advice about their parenting. They also dig into the importance of bringing women's voices into the forefront, and Star Wars bad lip reading, so listen in and lighten up!

Melanie talks with one of her favorite podcasters, Sarah Bragg, of Surviving Sarah. They unpack Sarah's extreme deer fear, that's right, her fear of deer, like the kind with spindly legs and antlers, and Melanie shares her own irrational fear…it’s too weird to write down. They also process living on a sailboat, what Sarah loves about podcasting, and lightening up about school and homework.