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.
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
Fear. It’s a big ugly emotion. And a stealthy one. It’s a master of disguise, masquerading as anger, frustration, bitterness, depression, jealousy, pride, or arrogance. The first week we were stuck home quarantining over COVID-19, I dealt with fear often. What would this mean for my work? What would this mean for our church? What
How you doing with your COVID-19 quarantine? I’ve had some bad days lately. In part it’s because I have been thinking how many people are in real danger from this virus. Yes, those over 65 and those with underlying health conditions. But there are so many around the world who are vulnerable to this virus
Most of you who read this blog know me through my speaking. Or maybe we’re Facebook friends. What you may not know, then, is that I make most of my living by writing for businesses, nonprofits, and educational institutions. I write websites, articles for magazines, blog posts, advertising of all sorts. I often say I
A friend from church recommended a Lenten devotional series from the YouVersion Bible app on Facebook today. The title—40acts: The Lent Generosity Challenge—struck a nerve with me. I know Lent is often about denial, about giving something up, but the last few months have already required me to give up some things, to let go
Hoping you and your family had an amazing Christmas season filled with great memories and good food! But now it’s the day after Christmas. A couple of weeks ago, I heard this song by Matthew West for the first time. It’s chorus has been running through my head ever since. Have a listen and then
I had great parents. They weren’t perfect (who is?) but they gave us secure and fun childhoods. They launched us pretty well into adulthood. What I’m most grateful for, though, is what they taught us about priorities and how they taught it. The life lesson I think sums up our years living at home is
Last Saturday, our friends Marsha and Kerry took us to the “Elvis Birthday Bash,” a program at the American Music Theatre that features two Elvis impersonators—Scot Bruce (as younger Elvis) and Mike Albert (as older Elvis). Now I would not consider myself an Elvis fan. I would have said before Marsha and Kerry took us
One of my guilty pleasures is playing Mahjong Journey solitaire on my cell phone. The solitaire version of Mahjong (which is nothing like the original Chinese game) requires players to match open tiles (those with no tile abutting them—either on the left or on the right) to eliminate tiles. In many versions the object is
An accomplished and flexible speaker, Carol tailors her topics to fit the theme and timeframes of your meeting, conference, seminar or retreat.