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.

Are We Interruptible?

I started in retail at the age of 15, working in department stores. It was my go-to job all through college as well, during summer and winter vacations, and even an Easter stint or two. When I graduated with a BABL degree (seriously, a bachelor of arts in biblical literature—BABL) with an emphasis in Christian

Your Op: Join a Slave Rescue Team

Who doesn’t want to be a hero? You can be a hero to a girl caught in the sex trade thanks to a new program offered by The Exodus Road. The program enables you to personally fuel and empower literal rescue. You are invited to join a real-life covert investigative team through their new partnership, Search

Pack a Backpack or Two

In a former lifetime (at least it seems so), I worked in retail. Spent lots of time in children’s departments and as a buyer for kids’ clothes. (In fact my office door sign said, “Buyer, Boys 4–7,” which sounds pretty strange when you think about it.) So I have lots of back-to-school sale memories (or

Book Review: The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good

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

The Difficulty of Being a Diva

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

How $1 Can Save Someone’s Life

People can go up to 8 weeks without food. I seem to have trouble going 8 minutes. Water is a different story. Without it, the max most people would live is 5 days. Yet a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean water. Unsafe drinking water is the biggest killer of children

It’s a Disaster! Here’s a Way You Can Help

I’m not Mennonite, but I love living and worshiping in the same towns as the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). The work in which they are engaged around the world is beautiful. They were one of the earliest to support fair trade in a big way with their Ten Thousand Villages stores, the flagship of which

Where Are the Poor? Or Who Are They?

I live in bucolic Lancaster County. I watch Amish buggies clopping by from my home office window. You can’t drive a mile without encountering a vegetable stand. And many of my neighbors lack food. The Lancaster paper published a series of articles this week on the suburban poor. The number of residents getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Disagree with the government? Now what?

Many people I know—whatever side of the political spectrum— have found themselves upset with the government in recent weeks. I’m not going to go into the whys or wherefores—you all have your reasons. But what do you do now? What are some things to consider before we begin posting to Facebook? Several weeks ago, I

 

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.