Sometimes we talk about “being a light” like it’s some kind of spiritual CrossFit challenge. Come on, everyone! Shine brighter, try harder, carry everyone’s load, and don’t you dare say no or someone might think you’re selfish.

But here’s the truth: a light is meant to help you see, not make you sprint until you collapse.

In today’s front porch conversation, I’m digging in to:

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re exhausted even though you’re “doing all the right things,” or if you’ve ever felt guilty for wanting a break… well, friends, this one’s for you.

Pull up a chair. Grab your coffee. Let’s talk about being a light… without becoming kindling.

12-10-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

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Since going back to work outside the home, I’ve noticed something: so many folks live in constant emergency mode. They’re rushing, panicking, and treating every single task like life or death. Like every single thing is something that has to be solved or done right now.

So on the front porch today, I’m giving you my thoughts on:

This episode is NOT about laziness, minimalism, or quitting real responsibility. It’s about clarity, courage, boundaries, and most importantly, breathing room.

12-3-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

I recently read that back in the 1400s, the word priority had no plural form. You simply couldn’t have “priorities”, no one had heard of the concept. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that we decided we needed more than one most important thing in our life and decided to pluralize the word.

Today on the front porch I’m talking about:

Do you know what your priority is? And why is it so hard to answer that question? And if you actually do know what your priority is, are you living in a way that your priority is obvious to others?

11-26-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

Sometimes gratitude doesn’t look like sunshine and sparkles. Sometimes it looks like realizing the things that used to wreck you… kind of don’t anymore.

Today’s episode is about perspective. It’s about catching yourself in those moments where you’re annoyed, frustrated, or inconvenienced, and remembering there was a time you couldn’t have handled what now feels like a minor blip.

From a broken smartwatch that barely made me blink, to the grocery store checkout line where I complain about prices but can actually pay for the groceries, this is about the quiet shift of realizing you’ve moved forward without even noticing.

This isn’t about pretending life isn’t hard. Because it still is in different ways. We all know that STUFF still happens all the time. Instead, today’s episode is just a reminder that in many ways, our “hard” used to look a lot different, and you know what? That’s something worth being grateful for.

11-18-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

Ever notice how some people fall apart when life gets messy, but others suddenly find this weird, laser-focused calm?

I’ve been reminded, especially over the last month, that I’m definitely the latter.

This week, I’m on the front porch talking about what happens when the world gets chaotic and your brain actually works better. I dig into why some of us think more clearly when everything’s going sideways, how that might actually be a gift (not something that requires a diagnosis), and where the danger line sits between “crisis competence” and creating chaos just to feel in control.

Because maybe peace doesn’t always look like quiet. Maybe sometimes it looks like competence and “let’s get this done.”

11-11-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

I’ve said it. Maybe you’ve said it. “Social media is exhausting.”

But after taking a real job in a real office with real live people again, I’ve been reminded what actual connection feels like: hearing someone’s tone, reading their face, actually laughing out loud instead of typing LOL.

Online, we all just become pixels and opinions.

It’s pretty easy to act like you’ve got the answers when you’re typing words out for a screen. It’s harder when you’re standing in front of a real person sharing space, air, and all the awkward pauses that come with it.

This episode isn’t some call to disconnect completely. It’s about talking through what we’ve forgotten, like how to listen, how to disagree without destroying, and most importantly, how to use the internet the way it should be used: to bless people, not brand ourselves.

11-5-25 Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

We’re all busy. I get it. But today on the front porch we’re talking about how somewhere along the line, the rhythm of our lives shifted. What used to be Sunday afternoons and card games and coffee at Grandma’s kitchen table turned into errands and catch-up and scrolling through pictures of Grandma on Facebook instead of actually going to see her.

And like I said, I get it. We’re all busy. But maybe it’s worth asking what we traded away… and if we even realized we were trading it.

So that’s what we’re talking about today. Ten or so reasons that we don’t visit Grandma (or other people) anymore. And this isn’t to guilt anybody, it’s just to look at what’s changed, what’s missing, and maybe how we can get a little of it back.

Oh. And also… go visit your grandma. 😉

10-28-25, Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

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Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

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We all say we want the simple life. But have you noticed that what we call “simple” often looks a lot like more work?

And I get it. The simple life isn’t easy, but stick with me.

Because in this episode, I’m asking what the simple life really means, and why we keep equating it with old-fashioned everything. Because let’s be honest, in this modern world, doing things the old way doesn’t always make life easier. Sometimes it just makes us busier.

Let’s consider that maybe our great-grandparents weren’t chasing the past. Maybe they were actually trying to get away from it. Maybe they dreamed about washing machines, not washboards. Maybe they wanted running water, not a hand pump.

So what are we actually chasing when we say we want simple? Less noise? Less pressure? More meaning?

Let’s talk about what simplicity actually looks like right now. Not in 1920, not on Instagram, but in real, modern life.

10-21-25, Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

I was watching old westerns during our cabin getaway last month and couldn’t help thinking about how hard life used to be. Kids riding horses (or walking) miles to school, women having babies and just hoping they’d survive, men heading to town not sure they’d make it back.

That was their normal. That was… their Tuesday.

And here we are, living in the cushiest time in history (climate control, grocery delivery, cars that tell us when the tire pressure is low) and yet we’ve got more anxiety, more depression, more people saying “I just can’t deal.”

So what happened? Is it that life get easier, so we just got softer?

Maybe.

Or maybe the story’s a little more complicated than that.

In this episode, we’re talking about what we might have lost when comfort became our default. We’ll ask the hard questions about progress, ease, and if this whole “people are getting so soft” has always been the assumption, regardless of what generation we’re in.

Grab your coffee. Pull up a chair on the front porch. Let’s talk about it.

– 10-14-25, Amy Dingmann

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group

Comfort food means something different to everyone, but have you ever stopped to wonder why?

In this episode, I’m talking about how bread and mashed potatoes went from survival fuel to soul food, how abundance made us nostalgic for “simpler” times, and why what’s on our plate is really about the memories, people, and stories tied to it.

Grab a cup of coffee and join me on the front porch. Today we’re talking comfort food, connection, and what it all says about the world we live in now.

— Amy Dingmann, 10-7-25

Grab a copy of my newest book, Peace, Love, and Bacon

Where I’m at: Facebook page, Telegram chat group, Discord group, TikTok, YouTube

Books I Wrote: Non-fiction books, Fiction books

Join my Facebook group: The Get By Guys and Gals Group