Poppin' Peppers is a reminder that you can find strength in the smallest of places. For me, it was my pepper plants. After receiving a brain cyst diagnosis in September of 2021, I felt completely lost and scared. Watering the four pepper plants that survived the Arizona summer became my therapy and once they started to produce fruit...my spirit came back to life.

I was able to share over 150 jalapeños with my family from two pepper plants - and it was the very first jalapeño that surprised me because...it was "ANYTHING, BUT MILD!" Once the words left my lips, it became a phrase that resonated with me. I started to see myself represented in these peppers and wanted to share the same joy and healing they brought to me with others.

It has also reminded me that I should be anything, but mild in my faith. Being lukewarm is something that I've struggled with and I'm trying to be someone who produces the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 has become one of my favorite bible verses.