I’m No Superstar

I’m No Superstar is a blog for people like me who want to make a difference in the world but know they aren’t activists. Each post contains a social action idea that most of us could do, a book that’s worth reading, or a link to a website that offers other ideas. Oh, and it’s all introduced by a sometimes quirky story from my life.

Life Interrupted

2020 was going to be a hard-charging year. A brave year. I blogged about it in January, putting it out in the world. We all know what happened. Life was interrupted in a humungous, global, full-stop. This week, as I listened to the fabulous “Hello Goodbye 2020–2021” podcast and used its accompanying workbook, I had

We don’t even need restaurant gift cards this year

We love to eat. (I’m referring to my husband, Les, and me, but maybe it’s true for you too.) We love to go out to restaurants, to try new dishes, new flavors, new ethnic dishes. And we have some old favorites, too, restaurants and dishes we return to again and again. Anyone who has gotten

Be the light (and help keep the lights on)

I love Christmas lights. I’m thrilled when people want to decorate their homes like the Griswolds’ in Christmas Vacation. One of my favorite “dates” with Les at this time of year is scoping out well-lit neighborhoods. You know what it takes to run Christmas lights? Electricity. And Americans are facing a crisis over electricity. 17%—that’s

We’ve come undone

We’re fraying. “We” collectively, as in, all of us.  I’ve had multiple conversations in the last weeks with individuals feeling uneasy. For many, it’s hard to concentrate—even for those who were ultra-productive when shutdowns occurred in the spring. For others, a sense of anxiety seems to pervade. We worry about the kids—are they learning anything,

Want to change the world? Start here.

In April of 2014, the Boko Haram kidnapped 276 Chibok schoolgirls. An internet challenge was issued asking us to pick one girl off the list of those taken and to pray daily for her by name. I accepted the challenge. I began to pray for Rebecca Luka. Some girls managed to escape right away. Over

If we’ve had Prime Day, it must be Christmas

Last week Amazon hosted two Prime Days. Walmart and Target have launched Black Friday–like events.  Christmas shopping is going to be weird this year, folks.  Many stores are reversing a decades-long trend and choosing to be closed on Thanksgiving Day. (Yay!) Traditional Black Friday super sales will be curtailed because of the fear of COVID crowds.

Can we put this over the top?

Books are my friends. I love getting lost in a good book. I explore new worlds. I learn so much (from nonfiction and fiction). I escape to someplace exciting when life gets too hard (2020, anyone?) My love of reading is what took me into the world of tutoring in elementary schools. I want kids

Four ways to make connections

A few weeks ago, my husband Les preached a sermon called “Seeking Man Up a Tree,” about the Bible character Zacchaeus (found in Luke 19 in the Bible). It was, of course, a good sermon (😄). It reminded me of the first magazine article I ever sold, called “The Zacchaeus Principle.” Published in the long-defunct Virtue magazine,

What Are You Looking At?

I had to stop for a fresh accident today. By “fresh” I mean close enough to when it happened that the road was still partially blocked, and while the police and ambulance were already there, the fire truck and tow truck were still arriving. Since it occurred in a four-way intersection, the police were directing

 

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An accomplished and flexible speaker, Carol tailors her topics to fit the theme and timeframes of your meeting, conference, seminar or retreat.