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.

A Year for Ashes

War. Death.Volcanic eruptions.Tsunamis.Destruction. It’s been a year. I didn’t grow up in a faith tradition that even acknowledged Ash Wednesday. (That was for those “liberal” mainline churches.) When my husband began pastoring, he began adding select services from the liturgical calendar to our church’s calendar. But even when we held an Ash Wednesday service, it

It’s time to plug the leaks

I love to give to charity. It doesn’t matter if I support the food bank by rounding up my purchase at the grocery store or buy a cart full of groceries to donate, it all feels good. I am happy to support the homeless shelter with by mailing a check or serving a meal. It

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

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

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

New Life, Still Be-You-Tiful

Owen isn’t Owen anymore. Once he arrives at his new school, he’s determined to be Rocky. No more being called “Owen the Owl.” No more fourth-grade bullies picking on him for having glasses or being smart. Rocky will be his new-and-improved self. I don’t know how things will turn out for Owen/Rocky and his reinvention;

A Lifetime of Listening to God

The world has a thousand voices . . . listen to Holy Spirit.Lynelle Trigalet We are preparing for a move. I’ve always been a sentimental sort. So over my multiple decades, I’d packed six of these giant Rubbermaid totes of memorabilia. Over the winter, I’ve worked my way through them, looking to condense six decades

Comfort vs. Common Good

I’ve debated this blog post for at least two weeks (which explains the fact that there was no post last week). Well, here it is. I decided to make this short and hope you’ll at least think about if and how it applies to you. Stay-at-home policies aren’t comfortable. I am comfortable when I can

Found Money to Share

When Les and I got married, he was still a college student, working as the unglamorous “chicken boy” at a high-end meat store. I was working at Wanamaker’s department store as a mininum-wage saleswoman (probably salesgirl in those days—both age-wise and cultural-language-wise). We had no money. As we sped away for our honeymoon, I sat

 

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.