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.

The Church of Us vs. Them—I beg you to read it

Over the last several years, I’ve gotten more and more distressed by social media, like Facebook and Twitter. I’m as snarky as the best of them, but it’s flown way beyond sarcastic. It can only be described as hate-filled. Someone posts something that reflects their political or social issue view; people react. They don’t simply

The Key We Need to “Speak the Truth in Love”

“Instead, speaking the truth in love . . .” Ephesians 4:15 NIV I hear it said (or read it) over and over. “I’m just speaking the truth in love.” Just search Twitter. Perhaps I’ve even said it. Maybe you have. I’ve discovered it pretty much means I disagree with you, and I’m going to tell

Why Am I Doing This?

“He settled in defiance of all his relatives.” That phrase, which I read in Genesis 25:18 in my Bible reading time this morning, stopped me dead in my tracks. It’s talking about Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, but not the son of promise. Things had been rocky in Ishmael’s relations with the rest of his father’s

Static Faith and Active Grace: a Vlog

Here it is— my first-ever vlog, or video blog. Creating one was one of the scary, stretching things I was going to try this summer. So here it is—and now I can cross it off my goal list!

Just As I Am

Moody magazine published this article of mine back in 2001, and I believe it’s still relevant, so I’m sharing it with you today. “If I just can’t accept this faith of yours, will you still like me?” To hear Barbara, the self-confident businesswoman, speak those words stunned me, but her fear was real. “The only

Vanquishing the Vampires: Conquering the Fear that Sucks the Lifeblood Out of Us

I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen, particularly Pride and Prejudice. I own the book, several of the film adaptations and just about every prequel, sequel and reimagining of the story there is. The only ones Les hasn’t been able to convince me to buy are Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. I

The Dailyness of Discipline

The last two weeks had been going so well. Not in the stuff-of-life sense—life was filled with unexpected bills, computer issues and such—but in the listening-to-God sense. And then it wasn’t. In my book, Finding Balance in the Circus of Life, I talk about the need to sit quietly before God as our master and

Worth Getting Up For

Ugh.  It’s 5:30 a.m. and Les gently tries to wake me. What was I thinking? Why did I think I wanted to go to the First Shift networking if I had to get up this early? “Go back to sleep,” Les said, “and I’ll try to go back to sleep too.” He had gotten up

Decked Out

My head hurts. I started to read an article for pastors on the Enneagram on Christianity Today this evening. It included a link to an Enneagram test, which, of course, I immediately felt compelled to take. I’ve got a friend who is very into the Enneagram, so I picked up the book The Road Back

 

Have Carol Speak For Your Group

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