This is a story about the search for a black barn.
Today we dig into what it feels like to watch your dream break into little bits and pieces you can’t make sense of. Christie takes us from Chicago to Florida to a small town in Pennsylvania that often reeks of mushroom farms and manure where she buried all her broken bits of hope and then watched them grow. If you’re like us then you already know that dreams usually look nothing and also everything like you hoped. There’s no straight road between what we dream and the realities we live and along the way all kinds of things we imagined, prayed, and hoped get broken. Let’s talk about that today.
Out of the Ordinary
The podcast for anyone who’s ever felt the nagging frustration of wondering if her life is too small, too boring or too ordinary to make a difference. Lisa-Jo Baker and Christie Purifoy, longtime friends and bestselling authors, explore the surprising ways that cultivating ordinary life leads to extraordinary stories.
Visit our official podcast page!

Christie Purifoy
Co-Host
A writer and gardener, her favorite ordinary things include strawberry jam, homegrown flowers, and old books with someone else’s notes in them.
Find Christie’s books here.

Lisa-Jo Baker
Co-Host
A reader and writer, her favorite ordinary things include hot tea with milk and sugar, a good movie, her mom’s hand-me-down books and Sunday afternoon naps.
Find Lisa-Jo’s books here.
RECENT PODCASTS
Ep. 17 – When the Answer is “No”
This is the story of a Jasmine-scented South African summer night. This is a story about disappointment in God, and this is a conversation about the dreams that do NOT come true. Christie and Lisa-Jo recorded this episode the week of Christie's twenty-second...
Ep. 16 – When Your Worst Fear Comes True
This is the story of your worst fear come true. This is a conversation about trusting God with our kids, and others we love, this new year. Christie and Lisa-Jo recorded this episode after celebrating one son's eleventh birthday in the Black Barn at Maplehurst. If...
Ep. 15 – An Alternative to New Year’s Resolutions
This is the story about promises buried like Spring. We recorded this episode on the 3rd floor of Maplehurst surrounded by the wrapping paper dregs of Christmas. And neither of us was ready to rush into the New Year just yet. For all of us who feel like we're back...
Would it be possible for you to provide transcripts of the podcasts for those of us who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, please? We’re being inadvertently excluded from a lot of online conversations with this shift from blogging to podcasts. Thank you!
Thank you, Lucy, for taking the time to share your experience with me. Transcription is something Lisa-Jo and I have considered since we first began discussing the idea for a podcast, but, unfortunately, the high cost and a few other technological factors have been significant hurdles. However, we are committed to doing our best to offer this service in the future!
For transcripts try http://www.otter.ai
Thanks, Ruth.