PRAY: Pink Ribbon Prayer
A few months ago, I started posting prayers on my Facebook page. Well, not exactly prayers, but prayer-thoughts or notices about prayers I was praying. I asked God to show me a particular need, prayed, then posted a brief summary on my blog (“Marti Pieper is praying for . . .:) At first, I hesitated to do this. It’s too easy for prayer-publishing to become prayer-trumpeting. And if you’ve read my recent Disclaimer post, you know I’m far from a prayer expert. For those reasons, I kept my prayer-summaries short (one sentence) and simple (no explanations). God has a way of shining His glory through small things. And that’s what He did with those prayer-thoughts. As time passed, more and more people responded, so I posted them more often. Some thanked me for my prayers. Others blessed me with their honesty as they admitted a need. Still others told me my words prompted prayers of their own. And some gave a “thumbs-up” of affirmation (who doesn’t need a thumbs-up every so often?). Of course, I experienced the blessings of those prayers as well. God and I agreed: I wouldn’t post a prayer unless I’d first prayed it. And His grace kept me praying it throughout the day. I don’t plan to stop my prayer-summaries anytime soon. But the response and His quiet voice have led me to move beyond the summary. So far, I’ve used the PRAY days of my blog to teach some things God’s taught me about prayer. I’ll still do that sometimes. But today and in others to come, I want to post an actual prayer. Please know I intend these only as one small way to speak to God, to direct others’ thoughts and prayers, and to allow Him to use my words as He desires. Feel free to comment with a prayer need or other note. Thanks for reading, following, and especially for joining me in prayer. Father, Thank You that you are a great God and a great King above all gods. Today I come to You to lift up those who are victims of breast cancer. The pink ribbons are precious, the publicity incredible, but the disease itself is horrible. I see the enemy’s hand every time I learn of another friend who’s received this vicious diagnosis. Dear Jesus, be with those dear women (and men) today. No matter where they are in the cancer journey, their lives will never be the same. Thank You for the bodies You have fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank You for the medical expertise which has yielded this diagnosis. God, give these precious ones gratitude in the midst of their suffering and peace in the midst of their storms. For each painful moment, give them an overflowing measure of grace—with an extra portion of faith to cover their fears and hope to carry them step by step. Strengthen them for any therapies, surgeries, treatments, and drugs they must endure. Bring healing in a way that points straight to You. For those in remission, sustain their joy. Allow them to comfort others with the comfort You’ve given them. Jesus, don’t let the enemy derive further glory from this disease. Use it instead to lift Your name high by bringing people closer to You. I surrender to You...
read moreWRITE: Interview with Yvonne Ortega
Note from Marti: Today I’m posting an interview with Yvonne Ortega, author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer (Revell, 2010), a recent review in the READ section of my blog. If breast cancer has touched your life in some way and/or if you have an interest in writing, keep reading. CONTEST: Want to win? Leave a comment before midnight Eastern tonight. I’ll draw one winner who will receive a free copy of Yvonne’s book. I’ll announce the winner early next week. You share your very personal journey through cancer in this book. What made you decide to have your story published? I began to journal to pour out my emotions in a safe place. I asked God to use my bout with cancer for good in my life and the lives of others, for His honor and glory and for furthering His kingdom here on earth. I never dreamed a book would come from cancer. When I was in the hospital after my second chemotherapy treatment, I wrote a devotion on notebook paper. The nurse read it and wanted to have a copy for everyone on the oncology floor. She and the other patients told me I should write a book. So I kept up the journal and transformed it into a manuscript for publication. Another reason was to let people know it is OK to go through anger, fear and depression. God won’t love us less or disown us because of these emotions. He knows how we feel anyway. So we might as well talk to God about these emotions and allow Him to help us work through them. How did you handle feelings of powerlessness and fear during your journey and keep moving forward? At first I struggled with feelings of powerlessness. I thought I controlled my life and didn’t want to give that up. The funny part is I never did have that control. When I asked God for help in this area, he reminded me of Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through him who strengthens me” (NIV). From then on I relied on his strength, not mine, and God proved Himself faithful. After I received my diagnosis, fear almost swallowed me up. Two cousins had died of breast cancer, and I didn’t want to be next. I journaled and prayed about my fear and asked others to pray for me. God honored my honesty and answered our prayers. Fear seemed to dissolve once it was brought in the open and dealt with. You also talk about feeling the freedom to cry in the midst of your circumstances. How were you able to accept that as a part of your journey? The Psalms give examples of David crying and soaking his pillow with tears. In Psalm 42:3 David says, “My tears have been my food day and night.” Yet God called David a man after his own heart. God made us with tear ducts, and I used mine during my bout with cancer. Did you ever have trouble accepting help from others during your treatment and recovery? How did you handle that? Like many Americans, my belief in the self-made person and independence interfered with asking for and accepting help from others. My doctor told me round-the-clock care would be necessary the...
read moreREAD: SUSIE Magazine
Normally on READ days, I post book reviews. I’m actually caught up with that task for the moment so I decided to share a little bit more about a unique printed piece. Please see this not as a commercial (I don’t profit from the magazine sales or subscriptions) but a heartfelt endorsement. Long before I began writing for SUSIE or any other magazine, I was a mom of girls—four, to be exact, along with one son. Our children have grown up to share their parents’ love of reading. We’ve encouraged that along the way through countless bedtime books and stories, regular library trips, and years of sharing books through homeschool. We’ve also subscribed to magazines appropriate for our kids’ ages and stages. For a while, five Focus on the Family magazines came to our mailbox each month. Brio, the teen girls’ magazine, was high on that list. Our then fourteen-year-old had received Brio for only a few months when Focus on the Family dropped all their teen publications in January 2009. At the time, they said the magazine would move to online-only (so far, that hasn’t happened). But my daughter wanted a print magazine—something she could hold in her hand, lie on her bed to savor, and store in a special folder. That’s how I found SUSIE Magazine—not because I’m a writer, but because I wanted my daughter to have a magazine that could take Brio’s place. What do we like about SUSIE? First of all, the content. Check out Seventeen or any of the other secular teen magazines. You’ll find articles and images that leave little to the imagination and much to be desired. SUSIE has a strong faith element but also contains articles any teen girl would enjoy. You’ll find columns on fashion, health, and relationships as well as features about popular media stars or teens who’ve made significant contributions. We also love the design. I’m always amazed at the way the graphics team puts together work to match the words in such a fresh, appealing way. I love the creativity I find there every month. Finally, we love SUSIE (the magazine) because of our trust in Susie (the writer, editor, and Christ-follower). She spent nearly twenty years making Brio an award-winning product. She’s published more than forty books, many geared toward teen girls and/or their parents. As I’ve come to know her both personally and professionally, I’ve realized how seriously she takes her role. She encourages her writers to think of themselves as big sisters or brothers who whisper words of encouragement, admonition, and hope to their young readers. In a day when many magazines are folding or moving to online only, I applaud SUSIE Magazine. I encourage you to subscribe for a daughter, granddaughter, or other young woman (target ages 11-19). The magazine should grace every church library and many youth groups. Check out SUSIE Magazine online (some articles are available; others require a subscription to the online portion) and notice the subscription link. $23 a year seems a small amount for a year’s worth of faith- and fun-filled content. And yes, make sure to read “Through Obie’s Eyes” along with a few other Marti Pieper bylines. I can’t wait to see the November issue which features our Guatemala missions trip. SUSIE‘s ads say,...
read morePRAY–Disclaimer
The disclaimer posted on my blog informs readers that sometimes I receive free books in exchange for reviews in the READ portion of my blog. I don’t allow this to affect my review, but I want people to know the truth. Today, I want to give a similar disclaimer about PRAY. For some time, I’ve known God had made me an intercessor—or, as Henry Blackaby puts it, a “knee” in the body of Christ. The same creative, perceptive qualities that make me a good writer also make me a sensitive intercessor. My reading, writing, and prayers have long been intertwined. That’s how the READ.WRITE. PRAY brand came to be. BUT (this is the disclaimer part): I’m not a prayer expert.I have a deep concern that I not be seen as some kind of super-spiritual person, a person who knew God in way others couldn’t or didn’t. Jesus makes Himself accessible and available to all. He leaves none of us as orphans; He comes to us (John 14:18). And once we know Him by faith, the Holy Spirit gives us constant access to His ear and His heart. So Marti and her prayers are only as special as everyone else and theirs. This disclaimer follows a sad occurrence. I’m preparing to teach about prayer in November at iGO, Awe Star Ministries’ annual missions conference. It’s one of my favorite events of the year, one where I gain more than I give. But as I prepare, I face battles. Apparently, I need to recognize what I don’t know so I can teach it. Yesterday, God made my inadequacies all too clear. In the midst of a busy day, I received a phone call. I’d already shuttled children back and forth to work and classes, taught my daughters, and needed some solid writing time. I knew I only had an hour at home before I had to leave again. The person who called me had a health concern. Now, she often has a health concern, and often blows it out of proportion. I had a busy week with multiple writing assignments looming. I had those excuses—not my Savior or my caller—first in my heart and mind. I listened with half an ear, gave some pat answers, rolled my eyes, and hung up as quickly as I could. And then—God grabbed my heart. And what He said left me unable to write for the remaining time I had at home. Marti, you plan to teach about “the least of these” and how prayers for them connect to my heart. Don’t you know the one who called you is the least of these? Dear child, if the call had come from a close friend, a church member, or a college student in need, you’d have sounded so different. Your voice would have overflowed with warmth, compassion, and kindness. And you’d have ended the call with a prayer, not a promise to pray and a quick, “Talk to you soon.” Jesus says when we serve the least of these, we do it unto Him. When we fail the least of these, we fail Him, too. I was impatient with my Lord yesterday. I spoke to Him as if he didn’t matter. I didn’t take time to show Him I care. Yes, He loves and forgives...
read moreWRITE: Frequently Made Errors #4–Failure to Follow Through
“My teachings flows from my mistakes.” If you hear me teach at a writers’ conference, you’ll probably hear that statement. In my journeys through the publishing world, I’ve often learned the hard way. I hope that by sharing my mistakes, I can keep someone else from making the same ones. The problem I describe today plagues many new writers. We want to get it right. We want to nail that query, land that column, catch that editor’s eye. So we review our work over—and over—and over—and over again. We tear it up in disgust and start fresh. We put it away for a few days and reopen it. We change a word or two or perhaps entire paragraphs. We fix it. And refix it. And sometimes—we close it up and forget about it. As part of a writing class I took in seminary (one of the few our school offered at the time), we had to write a query letter. I chose to write one to a denominational magazine. My professor made some suggestions and I sent it off (electronic queries hadn’t happened yet). I didn’t receive the expected rejection letter. Instead, the editor loved my idea. She suggested a way for me to improve my initial concept and asked me to submit the full article as soon as possible. I read her note. I smiled. I pondered ways to follow her instructions. And I never did a thing. I didn’t follow the editor’s suggestions. I didn’t add more personal stories. I didn’t finish the piece, and obviously, I didn’t submit it. As I look back, I wonder, “Why?” At the time, I told myself I was too busy. I was taking a heavy load of Master’s-level classes and working part-time as a dental hygienist. I had a husband, also a student. Your circumstances may not match, but feel free to substitute your own “why I don’t write” excuses. You see, the main thing I did was something I didn’t do: I didn’t follow through on the editor’s request. I didn’t demonstrate professionalism. I failed to trust myself and my work enough to let it go, to complete it, then release it to the editor’s care. I’m not sure exactly what paralyzed me, but I know I kept that query letter for years. I don’t know if I saw it as a symbol of hope—or destruction. Follow through. Finish your writing, then submit it. My writing and editing clients know I will always find “one more thing” to edit or adjust. But I’ve learned to stop, take a deep breath, pray, and let it go. If you never finish it, they’ll never read it. Make a commitment to follow through. Have you had an experience like mine? Do you have a stash of uncompleted articles or half-written manuscripts? Or do you have a success story where you took an unfinished piece and followed through? Please share your experience. It will encourage the rest of us—and may prevent another writer’s...
read moreWelcome
I've asked God to use my writing and speaking to count for eternity. I'm passionate about relationships and creativity.
