Kathi Lipp is here today with her very good friend, Susy Flory for a special conversation about crisis. Have you ever found yourself surrounded by crises and it causes you to feel stuck? Join Kathi and Susy as they talk about Susy’s new book Sanctuary, a story about a man from a tiny village in Ireland who grew up on a donkey sanctuary. When Patrick Barrett left the donkey sanctuary to find his own path, he found himself living through one crisis after another. Listen in as Susy shares the lessons she learned from Patrick including:
Reach out when you need to
Get outside and into nature
Adopt a meaningful morning ritual
If you are feeling stressed out and stuck in crisis mode, you won’t want to miss this episode; and you can get your own copy of Sanctuary here.
For decades, his family rescued lost and forgotten donkeys in the Irish countryside. He had no idea that one day, the donkeys would rescue him.
Patrick Barrett grew up on the back of a donkey. In the small village of Liscarroll, the young boy helped his family run a sanctuary for abandoned and abused donkeys. Struggling in school, Patrick only felt truly accepted in the presence of these funny, fuzzy, touching animals. It was like magic, how he and the donkeys understood each other. He became a true “donkey whisperer”—reading their body language, communicating with them in ways they could understand, and teaching himself how to “speak” in their distinctive calls.
But when Patrick was of age, he shipped out with the Irish Army and encountered unimaginable wartime horrors in Lebanon and Kosovo. In the aftermath, he returned home a broken man, sinking into the depths of PTSD and addictions. He believed nothing could save him. But he hadn’t counted on the donkeys.
Sanctuary is the remarkable true story of how faith turned one lost man’s life around with the help of the rescue animals who loved him. It’s an antidote to despair and a call to hope, revealing the beauty and wonder of Ireland as you’ve never seen it before.
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Meet Our Guest
Susy Flory
Susy Flory is the New York Times bestselling author or co-author of sixteen books. She directs West Coast Christian Writers, is founder of Everything Memoir, and is in the final year of an MA in New Testament from Northern Seminary. Her book, The Unbreakable Boy, has been adapted for the screen and will release March, 2022, starring Patricia Heaton and Zachary Levi. Her most recent book. Sanctuary (Tyndale), co-authored with Patrick Barrett, is the true story of an Irish village, a man who lost his way, and the rescue donkeys that led him home, and launches March 15, 2022
On today’s episode, Kathi is joined by Christie Purifoy, to share thoughtful and encouraging insights from her new book Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty and Peace.
When we care for places, we are caring for the people who live in those places.
In this episode we will be talking about :
What it means to be a placemaker
Creating sacred places in our everyday surroundings
The difference between placemaking and hospitality
Thanks for listening!
We are giving away 2 books~
To be entered just share in the comment section below, “What do you do to recognize God in your space?”
Or if you would like to order the book now just use this easy AMAZON link!
Christie Purifoy earned a PhD in English Literature at the University of Chicago before trading the classroom for an old farmhouse, a garden, and a writing desk. She is the author of Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons and lives with her husband and four children at Maplehurst, a Victorian farmhouse in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Like many clutterers, I’d spent decades using our master bedroom as the “just throw it all in there and slam the door” stash-and-dash solution when company was due in an hour.
But discovering that I’m an HSP—a Highly Sensitive Person—has transformed how I view my bedroom.
HSPs are easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.
We need to create ourselves a sanctuary, a safe quiet place of refuge where we can seek shelter when the world overwhelms us.
When we ask ourselves, “How can I make my bedroom a true sanctuary for my tired body and soul?” the obvious answer is to first oust every ounce of clutter.
HSPs process an overabundance of disorienting visual stimuli all day every day. The last thing we need are piles of confusing clutter visually assaulting us in the one room we retreat to for safety.
Moving Past Our Stories to Sanctuary
Of course, clutter rarely leaves without a fight. Thanks to our extra-strength HSP consciences, the three stories Kathi says all clutterers tell themselves can feel especially like gospel truth to us:
“I need to keep this just in case”
When you tell this fear-full story, you let fears from your past control your future.
“But so-and-so gave it to me!”
In this guilt-ridden story, people from your past (who aren’t concerned about you, just how you make them feel) are allowed to control your future.
“But I spent so much money on it!”
This shame-filled story allows a mistake from your past to control your future.
As these stories come up, we can respond with compassion and permission.
Compassion for our feelings of fear, guilt, and shame.
Permission to keep only what we need and want.
Making Your Bedroom an HSP Sanctuary
Once the clutter is out of your bedroom, grab a pad of paper, a favorite pen, and sit down on your bed.
Write these four senses at the top of different pages: touch, sight, sound, and smell.
Look around the room and ask yourself, “What do I want in my bedroom? What sensory experiences are especially soothing, relaxing, and restful for me?”
Ponder each sense for a few minutes and write down what comes to you. Here are some questions I’ve asked myself:
Touch
What textures do I love?
Smooth high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets?
A soft blanket, knit with slubby yarn?
What temperature(s) help me relax and sleep? Do I need:
An electric blanket?
A cooler grade of comforter?
A heating pad or Thermaphore to ease my back pain?
A rotating column fan?
What skin products do I want to keep in my nightstand?
Hand moisturizer?
Lip balm?
Nail clipper and file?
Sight
What colors are calming for me?
Cool colors?
Pastels?
What patterns — or lack of pattern — do I prefer?
Florals?
Plaids?
Solids?
How well are the lighting options working for me?
Can I make the room as light as I want it?
Can I make the room dark as I need it?
Sound
How can I block out disruptive sounds?
Earplugs?
Noise-cancelling headphones?
How can I bring in pleasing sounds?
Music?
White noise?
Smell
What scents irritate me, giving me headaches or making my face flush?
Might I want to try unscented detergent, softener, and dryer sheets with my bedding?
Could I natural citrus cleaning products?
Can I find fragrance-free candles?
What scents relax and sooth me?
Make a wish list of what you want and need to add to your bedroom sanctuary.
But no frantic shopping spree to buy a peaceful bedroom all at once.
Reign in your HSP intensity, say “no” to Perfectionism, and commit to adding new items gradually, enjoying them one at a time.
Using Your Bedroom as an HSP Sanctuary
Decluttering your bedroom will not automatically transform it into a sanctuary. Your bedroom will become your sanctuary as you seek sanctuary in it.
This also takes compassion and permission.
Compassion, rather than criticism, for your HSP self.
Permission to be tired, to need quiet, rest, and refuge.
If you find yourself resisting rest, remember that Jesus himself invites you to rest…
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)
…and say “yes” by taking refuge in the One who offers true rest.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)
*****
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