The Warm Hearth
@thewarmhearth.substack.com
The Warm Hearth is a space where we share stories—ours and yours. It’s where essays, reflections, and poetry come together to spark thought, foster connection, and invite conversation.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewarmhearth
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewarmhearth
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The Warm Hearth
It sounds like the start of a joke: What happens when a pastor and an atheist walk into a coffee shop?
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Welcome to The Warm Hearth, a place for stories, reflections, and conversations that celebrate the beauty and complexity of being human. We’re thrilled to share this space with you—check out our first post and join us around the fire:
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone
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We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone
We’ve been sold a lie: that needing help is weakness, that self-sufficiency is strength. But the truth is, we’re all fragile—and we were never meant to do this alone.This essay from The Warm Hearth is...
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April 30, 2025 at 8:26 PM
We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone
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“Self-compassion is the story that has kept me alive.”
In this week’s essay, Katie opens up about the quiet strength of self-compassion and the internal narratives we carry—often without even knowing it.
In this week’s essay, Katie opens up about the quiet strength of self-compassion and the internal narratives we carry—often without even knowing it.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves About Ourselves
We all tell stories to make sense of the world—but the most powerful ones are the ones we tell about ourselves. This week, Katie shares how self-compassion helped her rewrite an unkind internal script...
open.substack.com
March 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
“Self-compassion is the story that has kept me alive.”
In this week’s essay, Katie opens up about the quiet strength of self-compassion and the internal narratives we carry—often without even knowing it.
In this week’s essay, Katie opens up about the quiet strength of self-compassion and the internal narratives we carry—often without even knowing it.
What happens when a leader primes his followers to see entire groups of people as less than human? When he tells them their country is under siege? When he tells them to fight, fight, fight?" Congress chanted back: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Read the full piece:
Read the full piece:
How’s the Price of Eggs So Far?
It was never about the price of eggs. It was never about crime, or the border, or protecting children. It was always about power—who gets to have it, and who gets erased. And if we do nothing, the cos...
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March 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
What happens when a leader primes his followers to see entire groups of people as less than human? When he tells them their country is under siege? When he tells them to fight, fight, fight?" Congress chanted back: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Read the full piece:
Read the full piece:
Dancing on one leg isn’t easy, but it’s about showing up for my community. Today, Brian writes about life as an amputee, saying yes to a challenge, and how small actions—like dancing—can create meaningful change. Read more:
The Hall Is Rented, the Orchestra Engaged:
Dancing on one leg isn’t easy, but this isn’t about me—it’s about showing up for my community. Read my essay on resilience, humor, and why I’m stepping onto the dance floor for PADS of Elgin’s Stars D...
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January 24, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Dancing on one leg isn’t easy, but it’s about showing up for my community. Today, Brian writes about life as an amputee, saying yes to a challenge, and how small actions—like dancing—can create meaningful change. Read more:
This Is Not Okay is a personal reflection—a reckoning with the values that define us and the kind of future we want to build.
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bit.ly/4haaSpX
This Is Not Okay
This Is Not Okay’ is a raw and unflinching reflection on the values that define us and the future we must choose to build.
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January 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
This Is Not Okay is a personal reflection—a reckoning with the values that define us and the kind of future we want to build.
bit.ly/4haaSpX
bit.ly/4haaSpX
This poem was born from that place—a quiet space where anxiety gnaws at the edges, whispering doubts and unraveling threads we thought were secure.
Moth
A haunting reflection on the quiet, relentless weight of anxiety as we navigate the hopes and uncertainties of a new year.
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January 8, 2025 at 4:51 PM
This poem was born from that place—a quiet space where anxiety gnaws at the edges, whispering doubts and unraveling threads we thought were secure.
What does it mean to create spaces where people feel safe, valued, and connected? In our latest essay, we explore how community, kindness, and the Danish concept of hygge can serve as powerful antidotes to division and fear.
bit.ly/403b43j
bit.ly/403b43j
The Architecture of Belonging
How do we counter isolation and fear in a world increasingly divided? Our essay explores the power of connection, the principles of hygge, and the architecture of belonging as tools to build resilient...
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January 3, 2025 at 3:55 PM
What does it mean to create spaces where people feel safe, valued, and connected? In our latest essay, we explore how community, kindness, and the Danish concept of hygge can serve as powerful antidotes to division and fear.
bit.ly/403b43j
bit.ly/403b43j
Happy New Year!
A New Year's Incantation
Step into the glow of the Warm Hearth this New Year’s Day. An incantation for renewal, unity, and light—a candle in the darkness, guiding us through the longest night into the promise of brighter days...
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December 31, 2024 at 10:28 PM
Happy New Year!
Why do the saddest Christmas songs stay with us? These bittersweet melodies weave sorrow and hope into something timeless.
✨ Read our essay here: bit.ly/thewarmhearth
Let us know—what’s your favorite “mournful” Christmas song? ❄️🎄
✨ Read our essay here: bit.ly/thewarmhearth
Let us know—what’s your favorite “mournful” Christmas song? ❄️🎄
The Magic of Mournful Christmas Music
How songs like Silent Night and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas blend sorrow and hope to endure across generations, carrying us through the darkest nights of the season.
bit.ly
December 20, 2024 at 3:31 PM
Why do the saddest Christmas songs stay with us? These bittersweet melodies weave sorrow and hope into something timeless.
✨ Read our essay here: bit.ly/thewarmhearth
Let us know—what’s your favorite “mournful” Christmas song? ❄️🎄
✨ Read our essay here: bit.ly/thewarmhearth
Let us know—what’s your favorite “mournful” Christmas song? ❄️🎄
What if this is all we get? Inspired by Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and Anthony Bourdain’s philosophy of life, this essay explores how the meaning we create—through love, traditions, and kindness—becomes our greatest act of defiance against the void.
A Mote of Dust Suspended in a Sunbeam
Inspired by Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and Anthony Bourdain’s zest for life, this essay explores how the vast indifference of the cosmos gives us the freedom to make everything we do matter.From tradi...
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December 13, 2024 at 6:06 PM
What if this is all we get? Inspired by Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and Anthony Bourdain’s philosophy of life, this essay explores how the meaning we create—through love, traditions, and kindness—becomes our greatest act of defiance against the void.
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December 11, 2024 at 9:01 PM
💯 subscribers in under a month!
We’re excited!
Check us out.
We’re excited!
Check us out.
December 11, 2024 at 5:50 PM
However we come to this season, let's show up for ourselves, each other, and all the joy we can find.
The Garland Grinch and the Fight for Joy
Holiday decorating isn’t just about lights and garlands—it’s an act of defiance against the darkness. At The Hearth, we explore how to reclaim joy, embrace the light of hope, and find meaning in our t...
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December 6, 2024 at 4:29 PM
However we come to this season, let's show up for ourselves, each other, and all the joy we can find.
Life rarely goes as planned, but beauty often lies in the unexpected. Inthis essay, Katie reflects on chasing extraordinary moments, facing disappointment, and finding awe in imperfection. It is a powerful reminder to embrace life as it is, not as we hope it to be.
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
Annie Dillard is a Liar
This essay, “Annie Dillard is a Liar,” emerges from the struggle between our longing for the ideal and the often-harsh truths of what is.
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December 1, 2024 at 2:29 PM
Life rarely goes as planned, but beauty often lies in the unexpected. Inthis essay, Katie reflects on chasing extraordinary moments, facing disappointment, and finding awe in imperfection. It is a powerful reminder to embrace life as it is, not as we hope it to be.
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
Welcome to The Warm Hearth, a place for stories, reflections, and conversations that celebrate the beauty and complexity of being human. We’re thrilled to share this space with you—check out our first post and join us around the fire:
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
The Warm Hearth
It sounds like the start of a joke: What happens when a pastor and an atheist walk into a coffee shop?
open.substack.com
November 30, 2024 at 3:48 PM
Welcome to The Warm Hearth, a place for stories, reflections, and conversations that celebrate the beauty and complexity of being human. We’re thrilled to share this space with you—check out our first post and join us around the fire:
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
Thanksgiving isn’t about the myths or just the feast—it’s about resilience, gratitude, and showing up for each other in uncertain times.
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
#Thanksgiving #Gratitude #Community #FoundFamily #Resilience"
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
#Thanksgiving #Gratitude #Community #FoundFamily #Resilience"
Thanksgiving: The Defiant Power of Showing Up
Thanksgiving isn’t just about turkey and tradition—it’s about resilience, unity, and the simple, profound act of showing up for each other. This essay explores the real story behind the holiday, its r...
open.substack.com
November 29, 2024 at 4:45 PM
Thanksgiving isn’t about the myths or just the feast—it’s about resilience, gratitude, and showing up for each other in uncertain times.
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
#Thanksgiving #Gratitude #Community #FoundFamily #Resilience"
open.substack.com/pub/thewarmh...
#Thanksgiving #Gratitude #Community #FoundFamily #Resilience"
This was harder to write than I expected. I hope sharing this helps spark a conversation.
thewarmhearth.substack.com/p/the-space-...
thewarmhearth.substack.com/p/the-space-...
The Space Between Us
I was fined $250 for a simple mistake with my accessible parking placard, but the fine wasn’t the worst part. This is a story about humiliation, guilt, and the fight for dignity in a system that’s sup...
thewarmhearth.substack.com
November 23, 2024 at 8:29 PM
This was harder to write than I expected. I hope sharing this helps spark a conversation.
thewarmhearth.substack.com/p/the-space-...
thewarmhearth.substack.com/p/the-space-...