I am posting regularly for free and paid subscribers over on my Substack blog. If you like my old posts here, head over to see what I’ve been doing on my new site: https://prayerfulkitchen.substack.com Here are some recent posts: Preaching without Words, Wisdom, and Pumpkin Pastahttps://prayerfulkitchen.substack.com/p/preaching-without-words-wisdom-and?r=2fe2df Dinner Time in the White Oakhttps://prayerfulkitchen.substack.com/p/dinner-time-in-the-white-oak?r=2fe2df Hypocrites, Libraries, and…
Author: Mary Reynolds Hemmer, Prayerful Kitchen
Author. Retreat and Workshop Leader. Mom. Friend. Celebrating joy at every opportunity, especially if it's in the kitchen.
Original Poem and Spring Events
An original poem for you this Wednesday, as well as information on upcoming events. To access and subscribe for more regular writing posts, visit my Substack blog: https://prayerfulkitchen.substack.com/ The Knapsack The anxiety never was mine.It belonged to the world at largeTidily stuffed in a knapsackI thought I must carry. Dutifully, I bore it on my…
Apocalypse, Unveiling
WordPress Readers: I am migrating more of my writing to Substack and will post less frequently here. There are free and paid options for accessing my material. I will continue to moderate and update this page with event information, publication announcements, and more. Please visit my Substack page and subscribe so you don’t miss anything!…
Trusting Our Blindness: Bats in Flight
During my son’s late baseball practice, I looked up at the lights, delighted to see bats busily hunting that night’s dinner. Bats lack the grace of birds in flight, their wings swatting at the air rather than smoothly beating in steady strokes, making their round, hairy bodies wobble. Flight for a mammal must be challenging,…
Newsletter Announcement!
Hello, friends! I love writing for my blog and will continue to do so, but I need more of my writing to pay for itself. Domain registrations, web hosting services, and various necessary software needs all cost money. In order to continue to write regularly, I have launched a paid newsletter on Substack. Here is…
Specter of a Cat
I live on land and in a house filled with ghosts and specters. I sleep in the room in which my great-grandfather drew his last breath and where his children and grandchildren stayed up to sit with his body the night before his funeral. Family legend says he had an argument with the pastor at…
The Bully In My Brain
This week I fell victim to the cold that claimed my son last week. While it did not keep me from regular obligations, it did steal my focus for writing. I offer you this in absence of something from this week. It’s a reflection I wrote a couple of weeks ago. Several friends are struggling…
Turning Toward the Sun, Firmly Rooted
A friend received more flowers and plants than she could count upon her husband’s death. Both of them have earned the love of many, and people wanted to show their respect during the week of his funeral. Roses, mums, mixed bouquets, and baskets overflowing with potted plants littered the double parlor, so much so that…
Daffodils and Invisible Growth
“Why do you love daffodils so much?” My kids and I find car rides provide the best opportunity to speak of matters both trivial and profound. My middle child comes up with great challenges like: What animal do you think I would be if I weren’t a human? What color would you be…other than purple?…
Showing Up for One Another: A Lenten Reflection
The story of Elijah’s ascension conjures a fantastic image of a chariot of fire with blazing horses swooping down from the heavens to carry him to God. Elisha remains where he stands, having had the chariot pass between him and his master as it took Elijah away. Remarkably, the scripture reports that Elijah watched the…
Prayerful Kitchen 