Marti Pieper

In March of 2016, after seeing the movie War Room, I looked around my house, trying to find even a small corner that I could call my war room. After coming up empty-handed, I came up with a great idea: I would make my war room a journal. Not only was creating a war room journal

Today is Halloween. It’s tempting to post about it. Logic-smart people would expect me to. It’s the logical thing to do. Maybe they’d enjoy hearing the different perspectives on why some Christians don’t have their children participate in the holiday. Word-smart people might like me to research the history of the word “Halloween.” And, we could read

Being an advocate for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, I recognize the many terms thrown around when discussing the issues they face. There have been times I wanted to scream listening to the continuing identification of people with disabilities as being different than other people. When someone looks at my Grace Anna, I don’t

We’re in the midst of repurposing the basement area of our home as the original space it was intended to be—a family room. We envision hosting extended family gatherings, small groups from church and fun time with friends and family. Since we move to this house 18 years ago, the basement has served to house

When people hurt, do you notice? I want to get better at being aware and fully present. I don’t want to turn away or walk away. And I want people’s pain to affect me. What about you? Are you good at this? Are you able to feel people’s pain? Willing to feel it? Prepared to

Who are you? Whoever you are, does your vocabulary reflect your identity? Or are you masquerading as someone you’re not? Lately, I’ve been hearing Christians say things such as: “Sending good thoughts your way.” “What’s your sign?” “Sending you good vibes.” “You’re so lucky!” “Bad karma will get him.” But what are we communicating? Does

I’ll never forget watching this young woman belt out her battle cry on America’s Got Talent. My family and I were sitting in our living room relaxing. My husband was flipping through channels on the TV and landed on a replay of America’s Got Talent. A young girl with cropped hair got up and shared

It was happening two lines over from where I stood in line waiting to pay for my groceries. A mother was yelling at her child. “Behave, or I will whip you,” she said for the fourth time. “That’s it. I’m never bringing you out of the house again! You can just sit home alone while

Do you believe that who you are is more important than what you do? If you’ve followed me a while or heard me speak at an event, you know I feel strongly about this. Do you agree? If not, why not and what would it take for you to change your mind? Also, I wonder if your children

It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I clued into the difference between joy and happiness. So often I, like many other people, used those two words interchangeably. But through a long process, I discovered that happiness is fleeting. It changes with my mood and my circumstance. It leaves me without any substance

I did it again. Sigh. You’d think I would be more careful. But for several weeks, cleanup from Hurricane Irma has required us to step into overgrown areas to clear downed trees. Those overgrown spaces were also full of Brazilian pepper vines. For those who are not familiar with Brazilian pepper plants, they’re in the