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.

Enlisting Truckers to Fight Trafficking

Human trafficking occurs in many locales, foreign and domestic. Its tentacles extend to industries from fashion (think workers buried in Bangladeshi factories) to fingernails (far too many nail salon workers are enslaved). Like Hercules confronting the many-headed Hydra, combating trafficking must take place on many fronts. My friend Diane is part of a group focusing

“I Have a Dream” Still Awaits Fulfillment

August 28th marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Time magazine had a wonderful retrospective of the event with memories of many who were there that day. The words of King’s speech are powerful and poignant. Here’s just a

5 Things at Our Local Homeless Ministry That Make a Difference

Today I got a tour of the Water Street Ministries campus in Lancaster. I lived in Lancaster for eight years many moons ago and now have been back in the county for five years, but I had never been inside the mission. I’d only been outside it to pick up or drop off people or

3 Reasons We All Need Each Other

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Mission Aviation Fair at Smoketown Airport in Lancaster with some teens from our youth group. It was a blast. We climbed in and out of little planes. (Okay, they climbed in and out of planes and I took pictures.) We talked to reps from different

American Music Theater Puts on a Show

Musicals: Love ’em or hate ’em. There seems to be no in-between. I happen to love them. So when offered free ticket to see the Broadway Now and Forever show at the American Music Theater in Lancaster, I leapt at the chance. The show, featuring 37 songs from 17 Broadway shows, didn’t disappoint. There is

“No.” Is a Complete Sentence

In a couple of conversations with people in the past week they’ve mentioned the need to not overcommit themselves, especially as they start new jobs or ministries. I reminded them of something we tend to forget: “No” is a complete sentence. So often when we say no to an opportunity or a responsibility we say

Is Justice Too Sexy?

Anyone who’s known my history as a writer knows that a decade ago I spent years trying to get a publisher to bite on a book on social justice. It went to publishing committee at five different publishers and got turned down by marketers at all five, because they couldn’t sell a book on social

What Value Has a Female?

“More girls have been killed in the last fifty years—particularly in China, India and Pakistan—simply because they are girls than the number of men killed in all the wars of the twentieth century.” Stop and read that statistic again. I read it today in Work With Me by Barbara Annis and John Gray. It horrified

Two Women’s Cancers You May Never Have Heard of

Two and a half years ago, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Her family doctor thought it was ovarian cancer although she had no tumor. Her gynecologic oncologist felt it was most likely peritoneal cancer, a very rare cancer, and it killed her. Peritoneal cancer is cancer of the lining of your abdominal cavity. According

 

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.