Oct 31, 2020Your Formula For Winning NaNoWriMo 2020Co-authored by Dana Porter & Rita Mock-Pike So many of us are “One Day Novelists.” “One day when I have the perfect plot…” “One day when I am retired…” “One day when …” Just fill in the blank. We find a plethora of excuses to give so that we can…Writing9 min readWriting9 min read
Oct 9, 2020He Asked Me Where I Went Wrong — Here’s My AnswerYesterday, someone asked me when I had “gone off the rails” of the fundamental faith of the evangelical churches I grew up in. I did not have the opportunity to reply because the angry vitriol between he and another was removed by him (which is just as well — I…Religion4 min readReligion4 min read
Jul 24, 2020Why I Don’t Use Sarcasm and Inflammatory Language in My Social Media RepliesUntil recently, I hadn’t been very open about many beliefs on social media because I am incredibly sensitive. Life is so much more vivid for me than many, not in just the good, but in the bad things that happen. And social media is a highly volatile place. …Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Jun 4, 2020By the Way, Don’t Call a Jewish Woman a NaziIt’s impolite. It’s in bad taste. And it’s downright disturbing. Not to mention wrong. That you, a white “Christian pastor,” would call me, a Jewish descent Christian woman a fascist because you don’t like that I stand against Trump’s racist actions and hate crimes is more than just insulting. …Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Apr 6, 2020A Sane Christian Response to Churches and Social DistancingGuest post by Dana Porter I have a request for the church. Can we stop pretending that we know the sciences better than the actual scientists do? To quote John Oliver, “Experts should stay in their lane.” As a theologian, I am an expert at theology and church history. I know little about viruses and…Religion4 min readReligion4 min read
Mar 27, 2020A Sane Christian Response to the Conservative Call for Human SacrificeGuest post by Dana Porter — Greetings, Church, gather around please because we need to have a conversation that has been long overdue. First, to make sure we are on the same page, here are a few ground rules. The world is currently experiencing a pandemic that is deadly and no amount of sticking one’s head…Religion7 min readReligion7 min read
Feb 19, 2020How I’m Fighting Our Poor Immunity In the HomeLately, we’ve been getting sick. A lot. And I’m the girl who never used to get sick at all, until I wound up working as a nanny for a family that appears to have had a very similar immune system to my own. …Health9 min readHealth9 min read
Oct 28, 2019How Never Doubting Christian Dogma Nearly Ruined My Life and Why I’m Grateful to Have DoubtsIt’s not like I have ever thought I knew everything there is to know about faith, the Bible, Jesus, and God. But I grew up in a very conservative environment with a knowledgeable dad, and an entire lifetime of attending church, and Sunday school. …Christianity4 min readChristianity4 min read
Oct 24, 2019How To Choose Your Travel BuddiesSo, recently I returned from a domestic road trip with a long-time friend. We’re both pretty chill people who enjoy adventures and unplanned side-trips. When we set out, we had three destinations and firm times in place — a ceremony in Ohio during which I was to receive an award…Travel6 min readTravel6 min read
Aug 14, 2019It’s Jesus or Your CarIn 2009, thanks to some screw-ups by the bank, my car was repossessed. I brought the insurance paperwork in. I faxed it in. I called it in. But apparently, that wasn’t enough for the bank I was using at the time. …Christianity6 min readChristianity6 min read