Dear Friends, Some of my earliest writing was poetry. It wasn’t good, but it rhymed. And working on the words helped me learn more about language, rhythm, and meter at a young age. Thanks to a supportive teacher, I was a published poet in the seventh grade and won a national writing award for my poetry that same year. So when I wanted to blog about the Colorado Christian Writers Conference in a fresh way (read last year’s “Top Ten Reasons NOT to Attend the CCWC”) , I went back to my old standby: verse. This won’t win any awards, but I hope it does convey at least a bit of the joy of the CCWC as well as the foolish excuses that keep people from attending. Enjoy–and I pray you will “meet me on the mountain” in a few more weeks! For His glory, Marti Sam-I-Am and the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)   ©2015, Marti Pieper   That Sam-I-am He wants to go To a writers’ conference Don’t you know? Which should he choose? What will it be? He’s headed off to CCWC! In Colorado, So you say? 13th-16th Days of May? Sam-I-am, I Can’t come with you I’ve got too many Things to do. Oh sure, I like to write and all But share my words? That’s not my call. Now, Sam-I-am Don’t mess with me I will not come Just let me be. I’m sure the setting’s Gorgeous, yes. I’m sure the teaching’s Bound to bless. And agents, editors, Authors, too Are all prepared To meet with you. But Sam-I-am I don’t know how I can afford it. Tell me, now. Marlene says God Will make a way? Since she’s in charge, I’ll have to pray. And if I go I’ll learn so much And use my words The world to touch? Oh, Sam-I-am I just don’t know How I could come to Colorado. But yes, I long To see God do Great things in me, Great things in you. I want to write What others need. I want to offer Truth they’ll read. So Sam-I-am, I’ll go with you, To Estes Park The conference, too. We’ll listen, learn We’ll pray and praise, We’ll see God’s glory, Learn His ways. But one more question, Sam-I-am. Does the dining hall serve Green eggs and...

Dear Friends, It’s been a while since I’ve posted a speaking schedule update. And although I don’t have a great number of items to add, I am serving on faculty at three fantastic writers’ conferences over the next three months and want to draw your attention to them. The first is the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, which takes place May 13 – 16, 2015 at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado. I’ll help my friend and fellow author Ava Pennington run the appointment desk here along with teaching an Early Bird Workshop called “Rhino Skin: Why You Need It; How to Get It” and a new workshop on “Ethics for the Christian Writer.” I’ll also serve on a Saturday panel for Teens Write (this conference offers a wonderful one-day conference for teen writers, and I love connecting with them). In June, I won’t have to travel far to attend the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association’s conference in Orlando, Florida June 26 – 28 just before the opening of the International Christian Retail Show June 28 – July 1. For AWSA, I’ll help with the mentee orientation and also teach a mentee (new writer/speaker) class on “How to Get Published.” I look forward to this time of connecting with and learning from seasoned industry professionals as well as assisting others. Late July will find me traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference July 29 – August 1. Again, I’ll serve at the appointment desk alongside Ava, but I’m also excited about the opportunity to teach a continuing session called “Master the Memoir.” Over the past few years, I’ve grown in my love for both writing and teaching this genre, and I look forward to helping others learn to share their stories via the creative personal reflections memoir affords. Of course, I recommend any and all of these conferences; please check out the links for more information on each one, and watch for this Thursday’s post about the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, too. There is still time to register for each event, and I’d love see you at any or all. For His glory,  ...

Dear Friends, Many of you know that last week, I was buried in cinnamon rolls. Well, almost. I baked more than seventy dozen of them as a fundraiser for my daughters’ mission trips to Panama and Peru this summer. As college students, they have little extra time to fundraise, so my husband and I are doing what we can to help. You could say that missions runs in our family. That’s why I want to make sure to send you to “No More Chicken,” my article in this month’s issue of Book Fun Magazine (the link will open to the magazine cover; then just click on my photo or the article title to read. But there’s lots of other great stuff there, too!). If you’ve served with me a on a mission trip, you’ll see some photos and read some stories from places you recognize. I hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes glimpse. And even if you haven’t served with me, you’ll have the opportunity to see how God transformed me from a stay-home chicken to a go-anywhere-He-sends missionary. Have you serve in short- or long-term missions? I’d love to have your comments or prayer requests here or on other social media.   For His glory,  ...

I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. The fear that brings shadows to an otherwise-bright day. The self-doubt that keeps us from embracing a promising opportunity. The pain from the past that makes the future seem bleak. If you find yourself trapped by fear, if someone you love can’t seem to “just get over it,” if it’s taking you too long to do what you know you must do, then this prayer’s for you and the people you love: Father, today I lift up those who need to push past their fears. Whether they recognize it or not, fear has a choke-hold on their lives. It tightens its grip on their hopes and threatens to strangle their dreams. It’s ugly. It’s awful. And it’s wrong. You tell us in your word, Lord, that you have not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. So these we claim today as we cling always and only to you. We may have every earthly reason to fear. But we know that you are greater, greater than any inability, insufficiency, or lack. Stronger than any problem. Bigger than any battle. Deeper than any wound. Higher than any obstacle. Wider than any gap. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Come to us in our insufficiency, in our trembling, in our fear. Come to these who are weak and weary. Bring them all of your power and might. Bring them all of your grace and mercy. Bring them all of yourself. Bring them an overwhelming measure of faith, for faith counters fear. Bring them a perfect view of yourself so their faith becomes the sight that allows them to move forward. Thank you in advance for the courage you will bring, the mountains you will move, and the darkness you will cast out. Thank you for the victories that will be won, not because of this prayer, but because of your perfect faithfulness. It is in that faithfulness and in your name that we pray today. Amen.    Is there someone specific who needs this prayer? Feel free to let me know via a comment here or on other social media or through the “Contact” link at the top of the page. As always, it is my privilege to hold others before Him in...

Dear friends, Today I’m sharing part 2 of my “was blind, but now I see” story. It will make much more sense if you read Part 1. Next step: surgery: one eye at a time, two weeks apart. I hoped I would end up with decent vision. Maybe my glasses wouldn’t need to be as heavy, or maybe I could go back to my contacts. Maybe I wouldn’t need glasses for driving. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but based on how little I could see with my left eye, I knew to expect some sort of improvement. I had a clue after the first surgery** when they wheeled me back to the recovery area and I could read a clock on the wall from about fifteen feet away. I don’t ever remember being able to read a clock without corrective lenses. I smiled. My smile expanded as the week progressed. I had no pain. I had no light sensitivity—even the first day. And when I laid my glasses on my dresser after returning from the first surgery, I never picked them up again. “God must love you a lot,” Dr. Hunter said at the one-week checkup. “Of course He does!” I responded. Dr. Hunter then explained that something rare had happened: my near vision improved much more than anticipated for this type of surgery, to 20/20. No wonder I didn’t need my glasses! The second surgery went almost like the first with no pain, no problems. I told my husband I thought maybe the results weren’t quite as good, but since I had a little miracle the first time, I was more than satisfied. I was right. When I went for my one-week checkup, the vision in the right eye was 20/25. Not quite as good—but again, much, much better than anticipated. This time, Dr. Hunter said, “You have the special blessing of God on your life.” I’ll take that. And I am, and I do. Because today—almost three weeks after the first surgery and one week from the second—I have 20/15 vision in both eyes. And Dr. Hunter has no medical way to explain this. “You have the results people pay thousands of dollars to get—without paying thousands of dollars,” he told me. He also said, “You have the best results for this type of surgery of anyone I’ve ever seen.” Although he’s a person of faith, Dr. Hunter didn’t call what happened a miracle. But I do. I think eye surgery is a miracle in itself. And just as Jesus chose to heal some people with a word, some with a touch, some with mud made from clay and spittle, he chose to heal my eyes...

Dear Friends, [I apologize for my delay in posting. March has ended up as my health month with lots of appointments, tests, and procedures as I make sure I maintain my temple. The winner (chosen at random.org) of last week’s review copy of The Caregiver’s Notebook  is Tiffany! Congratulations, and I’ll make sure to get the book out to you soon.] Blessed. Grateful. Awestruck. Those are the words embossed on the thin brass clasp bracelet I wear on my wrist. I wear it every day because these words describe the way I want to live. A few months ago, I knew I had to do something about my vision. The small cataract my optometrist had observed in my left (weakest) eye more than a year earlier eye had grown to the point that I could no longer wear my contacts. I knew I was depending almost completely on my right eye. We all need to see. But as someone who works with words and spends a great deal of time dealing with visual detail, my eyes are extra-important to me. And I’ve had serious vision problems since early elementary school. Ever since I got my first pair of (even then) thick glasses in second grade, I’ve been grateful to live in an era where vision can be corrected. I would read Bible stories about “the man born blind” and recognize that, had I lived in that era, I might have ended up begging on the street. I can’t say I loved my glasses or contacts, but I loved being able to see. And as of late last year, I couldn’t see much—not with my right eye, anyway. When I first visited Dr. Joel Hunter’s office this February, I had to say “I can see the screen” more than once during the vision test. And by that, I meant the screen was all I could see. No chart, no big letter E, nothing. “Well, you’re not faking it,” was the first thing Dr. Hunter said to me. (Exactly how do you fake a cataract, anyway?) He explained that the cataract on my left eye was a rare type and, if I waited for the surgery, it would worsen just as much in the next few months as it had in the past few. He and his staff did a great job of explaining the options. My eyes didn’t make me a candidate for the top level of surgery. But I could have chosen laser-assisted, or “precision” surgery had I wanted to pay almost $2000 per eye, the amount my insurance wouldn’t have covered. That would have brought my vision closer to perfection. But with three children in college/training school along with a mortgage and other family...