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.
We’re headed into that fall season when the begging letters begin to show up in the mailbox, when the charity event invites roll into our inboxes and when our friends hope we’ll help them by buying their kids’ wrapping paper, their favorite charities’ fair-trade item or their own newly published books. And the guilt rises.
Relationships cost us. They cost us our masks. Donald Miller puts it this way in his new book, Scary Close: If we live behind a mask we can impress but we can’t connect. And it’s scary to remove the mask. I had trouble getting into Scary Close because I loved Blue Like Jazz. I loved
If your first response to that title question is, “Who’s Jen Hatmaker?” oh, how much you’ve missed. Don’t waste another minute. Visit her blog or Facebook page (where I’ve seen her garner a thousand-plus likes in under four minutes) and read her posts. Listen to her heart and challenges. As a bonus, she’ll make you laugh. Even
I am an addict. I thought I was still on a nonfiction-book moratorium. In September of 2013 I had over 60 nonfiction books in my to-be-read pile. I was determined not to buy any. I would not take any free books. I was determined to read one a week to get through them. The good news is I
I have a thing for Jane Austen. I have to admit I discovered her through the 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation featuring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, and I’ve been in love with her ever since. I dove into the books and into other films. And then I began to collect sequels, prequels, modern reimaginings,
I first encountered Robert Benson at a writer’s conference in the late ’90s. He writes in prose, but with the spirit of a poet. I still have my autographed copy of Between the Dreaming and the Coming True, purchased that week by me, the wide-eyed wannabe writer. Shortly thereafter I bought Living Prayer, a lyrical exploration
My book addiction surfaced again a few weeks ago. I’d done so well for so many months on my nonfiction book moratorium. But I still have 40 nonfiction books on my “to be read” shelf (better than last October’s 60, but nowhere near the 10 or under that was my goal). Still Jen Hatmaker‘s new-old
I rarely pass up a free book, especially when it comes from someone in the nonprofit world. I received an advanced reader copy of The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good by Peter Greer and Anna Haggard. I was thinking it would be similar to When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, because Greer is the president and CEO of HOPE
I finally have begun editing (and rewriting) the first draft of the my book, Finding Balance in the Circus of Life. I thought I would share another circus character from the book with you (if you missed the first three, you can find the ringmaster here, the clown here and the trapeze artist here). The Diva There she sits, the
An accomplished and flexible speaker, Carol tailors her topics to fit the theme and timeframes of your meeting, conference, seminar or retreat.