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What if some of the decisions you think are wise, practical, or responsible aren't actually being shaped by what you want, but by what you're trying not to feel?

Sometimes we think we're moving toward something when we're actually moving away from rejection, failure, conflict, disappointment, grief, loneliness, or uncertainty.

And avoidance isn't passive.

It's quietly creating a life.

Avoid rejection, and you may also avoid connection.

In this episode, I share a personal story about moving away from home more than 20 years ago without a job and barely knowing anyone, and why I now see that decision differently.

We'll also try a simple coaching experiment together:

What am I moving toward?
What am I moving away from?

This isn't about judging ourselves for avoiding uncomfortable emotions. It's about becoming aware of what's actually making our decisions so we have the freedom to choose intentionally.

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Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
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Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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For years my health journey was filled with questions like:

What supplement am I missing?

What protocol will fix this?

What's wrong with me?

Then one day the question changed.

Instead of asking,

"How do I fix my body?"

I began asking,

"What is my body trying to tell me?"

That shift transformed more than my health.

It made me wonder if I'd been doing something similar with my relationship with God.

In this episode of the Freedom Camp Podcast, we explore why faith can quietly become another job, another checklist, or another place to perform, and how tending to our roots changes everything.

Together we'll explore:

• The hidden pattern of replacing relationship with performance

• Why fruit isn't manufactured, it's grown

• A simple tree visualization to help you notice what nourishes your roots

• One experiment to try this week

1 Question Worth Carrying

Where have I unintentionally replaced relationship with performance?

Stay curious.

Keep becoming.

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Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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Most of us don't struggle to rest because we lack time.

We struggle because we've quietly made rest conditional.

I'll rest when...

...the dishes are done.
...the inbox is empty.
...everyone else is okay.
...I've earned it.

But what if that finish line never arrives?

In this episode, I share one question that has been following me around all week:

Can you rest before everything is done?

Together we'll explore the hidden beliefs that keep us striving, the difference between avoidance and restoration, and one small experiment that might help you discover a new kind of freedom.

Question Worth Carrying

What have you decided has to be finished before you're allowed to rest?

Stay curious. Keep becoming.

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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You're not burned out simply because you work hard.

You're burned out because recovery has quietly disappeared from your life.

In this episode of the Freedom Camp Podcast, Gretchen explores a powerful truth that reshaped the way she thinks about stress, rest, and spiritual growth.

Using the simple example of building muscle, she explains why growth doesn't happen while we're under stress.

It happens afterward.

During recovery.

Together we'll explore:

• Why stress alone doesn't transform us
• The surprising relationship between trust and rest
• What God teaches us through recovery
• A practical exercise to identify what's draining your energy
• Why burnout isn't just a scheduling problem. It may also be a trust problem.

Near the end of the episode, Gretchen asks one question that has lingered with many Freedom Camp participants:

What are you carrying that God never asked you to carry?

Whether you're navigating burnout, raising a family, building a business, caring for others, or simply feeling overwhelmed by life, this episode offers a gentle invitation to slow down, recover, and remember that growth often happens in the quiet places we overlook.

Resources

📩 Join the Freedom Camp newsletter:
https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

🌿 Learn more about Freedom Camp:
https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/

🤝 Interested in coaching?
Schedule a free introductory conversation through this link https://calendly.com/gretchenknodecoaching/free-discovery.

If this conversation encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who might need permission to rest today.

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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What if the thing you're holding onto... is actually holding onto you?

Some of the biggest barriers to freedom aren't obvious.

They're often the good things we've quietly built our identity around.

In this episode of the Freedom Camp Podcast, Gretchen reflects on one of the most memorable scenes from The Lord of the Rings and explores why Bilbo's struggle to leave the Ring behind is more familiar than we might like to admit.

Together we'll explore:

• How productivity, control, approval, and being needed can shape our identity
• Why awareness is the first step toward freedom
• Journal prompts to help you uncover hidden attachments
• A practical invitation to loosen your grip without fear

Who were you before the 'thing'?

Whether your "ring" is busyness, control, people-pleasing, achievement, certainty, or something else entirely, this episode offers a compassionate invitation to explore what true freedom looks like.

Resources:

Join the Freedom Camp Newsletter:
https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

Learn more about Freedom Camp:
https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/

Interested in coaching? Schedule a free introductory conversation through this link https://calendly.com/gretchenknodecoaching/free-discovery

If this episode encouraged you, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who could use a little more freedom in their own journey.

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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Freedom isn't simply something we possess.

It's something we practice.

As America celebrates 250 years of independence, this quiet reflection explores a deeper kind of freedom, the freedom Jesus continually invites us into.

Drawing from life alongside a Desert Storm veteran, coaching conversations, and Scripture, Gretchen reflects on why freedom is rarely a single moment, why it often costs something, and why trusting God may be the pathway to the deepest rest we've ever known.

This episode marks the first Kinfolk Essay, a slower, more reflective style of podcast created to accompany listeners wherever they are: on a walk, on a porch, or simply taking a quiet moment with God.

Resources

Kinfolk Collective Substack:

https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

🏕️ Freedom Camp:

https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/

Thank you for listening. If this episode encouraged you, please follow the podcast and consider sharing it with a friend.

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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In this episode of the Freedom Camp Podcast, Gretchen explores a powerful analogy from regenerative farming that may change the way you think about growth, faith, and personal transformation.

Two fields can receive the exact same rain.

One absorbs it.

One sheds it.

The difference isn't the rain.

It's the condition of the soil.

Together we'll explore:

• Why receiving can feel uncomfortable
• How fear, hurry, overwhelm, and distraction impact our ability to receive
• What "compacted soil" looks like in everyday life
• How awareness creates space for growth
• Practical reflection questions you can use this week

If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, spiritually dry, disconnected, or like you're constantly striving for something more, this episode offers a different question:

What if the thing you're asking for is already being offered?

And what if the next step isn't striving harder...

but learning how to receive?

If this episode encouraged you, please consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or subscribing so more people can discover the Freedom Camp Podcast.

Thank you for listening.

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.

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Do you constantly feel like you need more time?

More hours in the day.
More margin in your schedule.
More space to get everything done.

What if the real problem isn't time?

What if it's energy?

In this episode of the Freedom Camp Podcast, we explore why so many people feel exhausted, overwhelmed, distracted, and depleted, even when they are doing all the "right" things.

You'll discover:
~ Why exhaustion makes everything feel harder
~ The surprising difference between a time problem and an energy problem
~ A simple two-column exercise to identify what gives you life and what drains it
~ Why many of us build our lives around the things that deplete us
~ How reconnecting with what makes you come alive can change everything

One of the biggest takeaways from this week's Freedom Camp session was this:

"Sometimes the quickest way to find energy is to remember what makes you come alive."

If you've been feeling tired, stuck, overwhelmed, uninspired, or like you're constantly running behind, this episode is for you.

Question:
What makes you come alive?

Share it in the comments. I'd love to hear your answer.

📩 Join the Freedom Camp Newsletter:
https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

🎙️ Learn more about Freedom Camp:
https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/

#personalgrowth #christianpodcast #energymanagement #intentionalliving #burnoutrecovery #mindsetshift #selfawareness #nervoussystemhealing #womenwhogrow #freedomcamppodcast

Support the show

Stay connected
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenknode
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gretchen.paxton.1/
Email: gretchenknode@gmail.com

Website: https://agileinitiatives.com/freedom-camp/
Join the weekly email newsletter for behind the scenes, application exercises, and more - https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/freedom-camp-email-list

For a deeper dive of another kind join us on Substack! https://freedomcamp.substack.com/

Curious about 1:1 coaching for a deeper dive on any of these topics or anything else? Check out https://gretchen-knode.mykajabi.com/kinfolk-collective for a special intro offer and a booking link.