Refuel #17

🔥 Refuel | Issue #17
A Newsletter from Faith + Gasoline
📅 Subject: “Bring the Flowers” – Why Atmosphere Matters in Caregiving

🛠️ Welcome to Refuel

Hey fam,

Caregiving is often described as clinical—prescriptions, schedules, and symptoms.
But healing—real, emotional, spiritual healing—needs more than meds.

It needs beauty.
It needs warmth.
It needs flowers.

Whether your loved one is at home, in a facility, or hospice, the environment you create matters more than you think.

My mom LOVED fresh flowers. And now I do, too. I bought them every week for her, and now I buy them for myself. It was hard to make her smile on certain days…but the flowers made her, the caregiver, me, and hospice happy.

This issue is your permission to bring the joy, even when the journey is heavy.

🔥 This Week’s Theme: Love Lives in the Atmosphere

📖 Verse of the Week:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:2-3

God isn’t only present in crises.
He’s in the small, soft things.
The sound of music. The scent of flowers. The glow of warm light.

Again, you don’t have to lean into your faith in God in your caregiving journey, but I did.

🚗 Story from the Road: One Bouquet Changed Everything

My mom was a grouchy patient. She hated losing her autonomy. But flowers always made her smile.

I started adding a bouquet from Whole Foods along with our groceries.

When she walked into the living room and saw them, she smiled.
Then she said, “Those are beautiful.”

She did that every time she walked into the room.

It reminded me that even in sickness, the soul wants to feel alive.
It made me feel more alive, too.

🌸 Why Atmosphere Matters for Healing and Peace

🔴 The brain responds to beauty.
Fresh flowers, natural light, and soft music can reduce anxiety and even lower blood pressure.

🔴 Dementia patients respond to stimulation.
Colors, textures, and smells can trigger memories and calm agitation.

🔴 Caregiving is exhausting—but beauty refuels you, too.
You deserve to live in a space that feels peaceful and alive, even when it’s hard.

📌 Bottom Line: You’re not just caring for their body. You’re stewarding their spirit.

⛽ Quick Refuel: 5 Ways to Create a Healing Environment

✅ 1. Bring flowers—even the $5 store kind.
Fresh blooms bring color, scent, and joy into sterile or stressful spaces.

✅ 2. Use soft lighting.
Warm light calms the nervous system. Avoid harsh overheads if you can.

✅ 3. Play calming music.
Instrumentals, gospel, jazz, or even nostalgic songs they love. My mom didn’t like music at a certain point. Her bath aide played classic Motown for her, and it seemed to keep her yelling at bay. Go with what works for your loved one.

✅ 4. Add textures and cozy touches.
Blankets, a soft pillow, a familiar sweater. Comfort is sensory.

✅ 5. Declutter just one area.
A clean bedside table or calm corner can shift the whole room’s energy. Keeping everything tidy is part of the care!

📌 Takeaway: Peace is a care plan, too.

📌 Next Steps

💬 Let’s Connect:
What’s one small thing you’ve added to your loved one’s environment that made a big difference?
Reply to this email—we’d love to share your story in a future issue.

🪴 Tip:
No flowers? No problem. A photo album, a favorite candle, or even rearranging furniture can transform the mood.

🛒 Want to gift joy to another caregiver?
Send them a Refuel Mug. 

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@faithandgasoline

📢 If this made you feel seen, forward it to someone walking this road. We need more beauty in the battle.

💙💙 Community is the new currency 💙💙

Flowers don’t fix everything.
But they change something.
And that’s enough.

Go be great. 🚀💙
Love you.

With faith & fuel,
Judith A. Culp
Founder, Faith + Gasoline