reFresh: Live More Authentically
Meet Paula
Founder and Chief Executive Saunterer
With over 36 years in non-profit ministry experience, Paula has worked, lived, and traveled all over the world helping to shepherd and provide soul care for exhausted people doing good work. She has made a career of studying busy-ness having seen firsthand the detriments of hurry-sickness in her own life and those to whom she ministers. As a self-described “Occupatologist” (one who studies busy-ness), she is committed to helping come alongside people to help them slow their frenzy and find what makes them feel fully alive. Paula is currently involved in a Doctorate of Ministry program in Spiritual Formation and Relational Neuroscience.
Paula is a sought after international speaker and retreat leader--offering a unique (slower and more quiet) experience than typical noisy and busy weekend getaways. She has worked with Cru, Salvation Army, Intervarsity, the Franciscan Spiritual Center, United Methodists, Scarlet Cord Ministries, Imago Dei Ministries, Agape UK, Imago Christi, Crosspoint Ministries, Agape Lithuania, Novo, and with many leaders of various denominations and professions.
Paula has also authored two books on Kindle--her best-selling Lenten devotional: “unhurryUp into Easter: A Lenten Pilgrimage” and “A Wild and Precious Advent.” Both are currently available in the Kindle store. Her many online course offerings can be found here.
As a Focusing Oriented Spiritual Director, Supervisor, and Inner Relationship Focusing teacher, Paula currently lives near Vancouver, WA where she saunters, lingers, and frolics daily with some of her favorite people (and pets). These include her husband, Stephen and her favorite distractions, Satchmo, Soji, Pace, Bene, and Tesora. On a sunny day, you may even find her on a backcountry road riding her motorcycle.
We are a tired people…
Over the last three decades of vocational, non-profit ministry, we’ve realized that most people are supremely tired. In fact, when we speak and lead retreats and ask people to rate the aliveness of their soul, the top two words are “tired” and “busy.”
Tired of being on a hamster wheel
Tired of skimming their lives instead of actually living them
Tired of being tired
Tired of feeling frenzied, fragmented and fake.
If this resonates with you—you’ve come to the right place.
reFreshed was birthed after Paula spent two decades working with burned out missionaries and pastors (and discovered that the word “workaholic” was actually first proposed in a study done on the stress and burnout of clergy!) She wanted to create an unhurried space to help others live out of God’s Deep Delight and become more comfortable Living that Delight out into the world in unique and transformative ways.
We invite you to Slow the “F” down
Slow the Frenzy
Slow the Feeling Overwhelmed
and Missing Out
Slow the Fragmentation
Slow the Facades and Inauthentic
Ways of Being
We believe that the first step toward wholeness and living fully alive is slowing down and beginning to pay attention. Our frenzy and busyness are symptoms of a deeper, core longing:
to be authentic
to live in our own God-given rhythms
to bring our unique strength and beauty to the world.
Whenever we feel jealous, protective, defensive, better or worse than, or striving to be and do something we are not—we are not living in our True Authenticity. We long to help you find that Freedom to be, do, say, and think what you never have been allowed to before, so you can do all that God has created you to do, be, say, and think in bringing your heart and gifts to the world.