Miracle Margaritas

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  “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy” (Mark 4:16 NIV). Margarita is my name in Spanish––for Margaret. It’s also the word for daisy in Spanish. On a spring day, I found miracle margaritas (daisies) in a most unlikely place. Our world is a rocky place right now. It’s hard to see the bright side and the beauty of things during the Covid 19 pandemic. The suffering around the world is heartbreaking, and fear of the virus paralyzes life with lockdowns and isolation. But God gives us hope through His Word…

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Bolivian Cemeteries—Customs and Comforts

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  “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 NIV). Recently, I attended a gathering in our village to remember the life of a church member who died unexpectedly. Arriving late, I sat in the back. Everyone wore black and wiped tears that fell profusely. The lady was a friend of mine also––my husband and I bought land from her. Everyone in the crowd hailed from…

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Making Holiday Memories

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Making Holiday Memories Thanksgiving was a traditional family gathering at my in-laws’ home. The siblings came from near and far with their families. Entering the snowy driveway, we’d see the house with seven gables high on the hill. The roar of snowmobiles coming from the fields nearby let us know nieces and nephews were enjoying Grandpa’s toys. Beautiful horses galloped in the fields near the red barn. Approaching the house, we caught a whiff of the baking turkey; then Grandma opened the door and lavished us with hugs. As we sat at the table beautifully set with china and crystal,…

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Spinning Out of Control

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“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV). Spinning is a popular form of exercise almost everywhere now. Although, in my neighborhood, spinning has a totally different connotation. When I hear the word spinning, I immediately visualize a gym with a spinning class. Don’t you? But in my neighborhood, bicycles are not used for exercise per se. Yes, they are a means of exercise for my neighbors, but their primary purpose is to provide transportation by spinning to and from their alfalfa fields before sunrise. As I watch my neighbors spinning by my house in the early…

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Find Your Proper Place

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Where is home? Is it where your family lives? Where your work’s located? How do you find the comfort of home? Do you sometimes feel out of place? Living in two cultures brings a sense of not belonging anywhere. I not only live in a foreign country but also in a Quechua village in Bolivia where three cultures and three languages collide—making the mix even more interesting. Feeling out of place is an understatement. Yet, somehow I am at home. When I arrive in the States for furlough, I feel at home. I can speak English, my mother tongue. Yay!…

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Fresh Focus

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“I the Lord, do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NIV). Tumultuous circumstances jolted me out of my usual schedule. My routine changed drastically on a rainy Sunday morning. A call from our neighbors woke me from a deep sleep. “Your classrooms are flooding!” Torrential rains caused the river over the mountain to rush into the valley irrigation ditch that runs behind our property and overflow downward directly into our classroom building on our mission base––narrowly missing our house. Shocked at the sight of six inches of water in the classrooms, my husband and I splashed our way through and commenced the…

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What is your secret talent

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What are your secret talents? “And the special gift of ministry you received…keep that ablaze! God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible” (2 Timothy 1:6-7 MSG). I think my secret talent is related to my hair––blonde with streaks of white. Can hair be a secret talent? Maybe. But…maybe it’s not my hair that’s a secret talent. Perhaps it’s what my hair can do––attract little girls like a magic magnet. Living in a country where blondes are not seen often, little girls stared and smiled at me. I accredited all the little…

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Let Him Shine

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  Do you ever wish for more time in the day? God can do that––extend your time. He did do it. The Bible says so. “The sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies” (Joshua 10:13 NIV). God still does miracles today. Maybe the sun won’t stand still, but we can find more time to shine. He can do a miracle in our life so that He shines through us, letting others see His miracles in us. How to make that happen: Realize. What is our spirituality? It is God in us—serving each…

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Let Him Reign

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Don’t you love a spring shower? Refreshing. Relaxing. Rejuvenating. But what happens when it doesn’t stop raining? Flooding. Only one kind of flooding refreshes, relaxes, and rejuvenates––the reign of God flooding our heart. How do we know He reigns in our heart? When He reigns in our heart, His praise flows from our lips. “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad” (Psalm 97:1 NIV). Our great God overflows from his creation. We can see His greatness through his creation. We are His creation. If He reigns in us, He flows through us. We not only experience refreshment but also…

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A Chat with Author Peggy Cunningham

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October greetings from Marti Pieper in lovely Mount Dora, Florida, where fall is in the air—not because our temperatures have dropped significantly but because of the growing number of pumpkin spice products available at local stores and coffee shops. I’m not quite sure what season it is where today’s interview guest, Peggy Cunningham, lives, and you’ll see why in just a few moments. I first met Peggy at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference and am delighted to have her join us on the CAN blog today. Welcome, Peggy. Please tell us about your new book, Dancing Like Bees: 31…

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