Nine Lives and Counting — Nancy W. Carroll

Is there one word to describe me? From having lived in seven states and Puerto Rico, to my seemingly unrelated academic degrees, to my housekeeping abilities, and thought process, it could be scattered.

I’ve spent a lifetime apologizing for it. Now I’m at peace that Jesus Christ is making sense of and using all my experiences and wiring, of who I am, whose I am, and what I do: Writer. Teacher/Speaker. Creative Communicator. Facilitator of Other People’s Dreams. Spiritual Friend/Soul-Tender. Wife. Mother. Daughter of the King. Slider and Slogger (that’s a slow jogger for those wondering…).

I think I'm at nine lives and counting. The heartbeat of these lives is Jesus Christ flowing out in different directions to connect people to Christ through Scripture, story, and community.

These nine lives are a lot like my children. You love them all well and differently and spend different amounts of time with each as needed in different seasons.

Writer/Teacher

I’ve been writing and teaching Bible studies for more than 20 years. I have been a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) teaching leader, completed a Master’s of Theological Studies at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, and have developed a series of 10 Bible studies used by women, men, teens, missionaries, and leadership groups. See more at Beholding is Becoming Bible Study Series.

I also write children’s and adult fiction, essays and articles, and have finally jumped on the blog-wagon with reallylatebloomer.

Speaker/Retreat Leader

I love to get to know, train, refresh, and refocus the vision and heart of leadership teams, missions staffs, artists and creative people, and small groups. For more information on speaking topics and small-group retreats, contact me.

Spiritual Friend/Soul-Tender

People today need to find a quiet space and place to reconnect with God and themselves. This is especially true for those in ministry and in the arts. Like the prophet Elijah, they can feel isolated and exhausted. (I Kings 19) Through the Broomtree Ministry, those weary in doing good, those who can be described as “well done but done in” can come individually or in small groups to crawl under the broom tree until they can once again hear God’s gentle whisper. For more information on this spiritual rest and reconnection ministry, click here.

Creative Communicator/Facilitator of Dreams

As co-director of InSpero, a Birmingham-based group of artists bringing beauty and hope to our city through creative community, I help nurture "creatives" by dreaming with them and creating collaborative arts offerings for the city. And it’s a great motivator to keep writing my sometimes snarky fiction.

Former and Future Lives

Former lives include directing marketing and public relations for several hospitals, working at an ad agency, leading my own marketing communications consulting business, and freelance writing.

In my future lives, I hope to be Gene Kelly, Diane Nyad, Ira Glass, and Carly Simon all in one. Yes, I do look a bit like Carly, from under my nose to over my chin, but unfortunately I don’t sound like her—trust me!

My ongoing life is wife to a very patient man, mother to two great nearly launched kids, and as beloved daughter of the King of Kings--how amazing is that! I’m a slogger (which is slower version of jogging) and a chocophile (no definition needed for those who share this obsession.) By the way, if you are one of those pesky linear accounting types trying to count up those nine lives. . . . good luck!