Real Talk with Rachel Awtrey

In this solo episode, Rachel Awtrey hands listeners her JOYFUL report, a letter-by-letter look at what’s bringing her joy and what God is teaching her right now. She dishes on her new backyard chickens (yes, including two Silkies), the bedtime rhythm that’s reshaping her evenings, and the small delights she can’t stop talking about, from a maple sea salt latte to a Christian rap playlist built for anyone who grew up on Lil Wayne and Usher. Then things get real. Rachel opens up about why being truly known by others is safer than hiding, what the story of Moses taught her about bringing what’s in your hand to who God is, and how she’s learning to filter out the noise online and ask whether she’s adding to it or sharing truth. She wraps up with her hopes for a Thanksgiving morning with the neighbors and a very colorful Christmas. Whether you’re in a season of joy or just trying to find it, this episode is an invitation to notice the good gifts in your ordinary days and to stop carrying life alone. Rachel's ninja playlist on Spotify Rachel's book: Love Your Life (Even When You Don’t Like It All The Time) Jen Wilkin’s Exodus study Garden City by John Mark Comer Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley CONNECT FURTHER WITH RACHEL: https://rachelawtrey.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.instagram.com/realtalkpodcast https://www.instagram.com/rachel.awtrey/ CONTACT: [email protected] This video/podcast may contain affiliate links, sponsorships, or products I’ve received for free. I only share things I truly love and think will bring you value. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! ADVERTISE ON THE SHOW: To inquire about host-read ads or to become the show’s next Presenting Sponsor, please send an email to [email protected] or those at That Sounds Fun Network. EPISODE CREDITS: Podcast Cover Photography: Jay Barr Photography Intro Music: "Luxurious" by Sunny Tones DISCLAIMERS: The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast host and team or the owner of this Intellectual Property. This podcast is not an authority of legal advice, and listeners are encouraged to seek professional counsel with regard to their brand, business, and otherwise. We all hope you enjoy and find value in each episode. Many of the product and service promotions in each episode are under the negotiated terms of affiliate or sponsorship agreements. If a link is clicked and a purchase is made, an affiliate commission may be received. However, we recommend products or services that we personally endorse and believe may be beneficial to others. This information is disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is nothing short of magical because we have the one and only Bob Goff joining us!! Bob is a New York Times bestselling author, a beloved speaker, and someone who truly embodies whimsy, joy, and living life to the fullest. We're diving into his latest book, Catching Whimsy, which is all about finding wonder in the everyday and chasing the extraordinary. In classic Bob Goff fashion, we also explore his latest escapades—like his attempts to buy giraffes (yes, giraffes!), why you’ll almost always catch him rocking a Boston Red Sox hat, and the incredible story behind why he puts his actual phone number in the back of all his books. Spoiler alert: someone calls him during the recording, and of course, he picks up—because that's just who Bob is! This conversation is full of laughter, unexpected twists, and inspiring truths you won't want to miss. So, settle in, grab a cup of coffee, and get ready to feel the whimsy! CONNECT FURTHER WITH RACHEL: https://rachelawtrey.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.instagram.com/realtalkpodcast https://www.instagram.com/rachel.awtrey/ CONTACT: [email protected] ADVERTISE ON THE SHOW: To inquire about host-read ads or to become the show’s next Presenting Sponsor, please send an email to [email protected] EPISODE CREDITS: Podcast Cover Photography: Jay Barr Photography Intro Music: "Luxurious" by Sunny Tones DISCLAIMERS: The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast host and team or the owner of this Intellectual Property. This podcast is not an authority of legal advice, and listeners are encouraged to seek professional counsel with regard to their brand, business, and otherwise. We all hope you enjoy and find value in each episode. Many of the product and service promotions in each episode are under the negotiated terms of affiliate or sponsorship agreements. If a link is clicked and a purchase is made, an affiliate commission may be received. However, we recommend products or services that we personally endorse and believe may be beneficial to others. This information is disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us wouldn't call ourselves controlling. We'd call ourselves responsible. But when someone we love is making a choice that's going to hurt them, when we've prayed the same prayer for years and nothing has moved and stepping in starts to feel like the only reasonable thing left. Lysa TerKeurst has spent a lot of time in that exact tension, and her new book Making Peace with What I Can't Control is her answer to it. In this conversation, we get into the fears that quietly drive our grip, the line between healthy responsibility and fear-driven control, and what it actually looks like to hand something back to God when you've been carrying it for years. Lysa's own framing is simple and brutal: ask whether there's anything that could be done today that you haven't done. Do that, and then let the rest go, because you can only do what you can do today. If you're tired in a way sleep doesn't fix, this one's for you. CONNECT FURTHER WITH RACHEL: https://rachelawtrey.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.instagram.com/realtalkpodcast https://www.instagram.com/rachel.awtrey/ CONTACT: [email protected] This video/podcast may contain affiliate links, sponsorships, or products I’ve received for free. I only share things I truly love and think will bring you value. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! SEEDS: Download the free SEEDS app and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. ADVERTISE ON THE SHOW: To inquire about host-read ads or to become the show’s next Presenting Sponsor, please send an email to [email protected] or those at That Sounds Fun Network. EPISODE CREDITS: Podcast Cover Photography: Jay Barr Photography Intro Music: “Luxurious” by Sunny Tones DISCLAIMERS: The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast host and team or the owner of this Intellectual Property. This podcast is not an authority of legal advice, and listeners are encouraged to seek professional counsel with regard to their brand, business, and otherwise. We all hope you enjoy and find value in each episode. Many of the product and service promotions in each episode are under the negotiated terms of affiliate or sponsorship agreements. If a link is clicked and a purchase is made, an affiliate commission may be received. However, we recommend products or services that we personally endorse and believe may be beneficial to others. This information is disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Someone says "tell me how I can help" and you go completely blank. Not because you don't need help. You're drowning. But somebody just opened the door and you can't name a single thing to walk through it with. In this episode, Rachel argues that the blank stare isn't a character flaw. It's a preparation gap. People compliment Rachel's community constantly "you have the best people, you're so blessed, you got lucky with Birmingham. " And she'll be the first to say she's blessed. But none of it was luck. Every one of those relationships was built on purpose, mostly years before she ever needed anybody. Which means the community available to her is almost certainly available to you. This summer, Rachel started taking actual notes on it: what helped, what didn't, what felt clunky, what she'd do one degree differently next time. What she ended up with wasn't a feelings list. It was almost a system — and she's handing the whole thing over here. Next week: Everything we call independence — I've got it, I don't want to be a burden — Rachel thinks a lot of it is actually control. Same fear underneath both: if I don't hold this, it falls apart. She sits down with Lysa TerKeurst to talk about her brand-new book, Making Peace with What I Can't Control. Listen to these two back to back. They're one conversation. Mentioned in this episode: Xuan Zhao & Nicholas Epley's research in Psychological Science · Jeffrey Hall on the hours friendship takes · Jason VanRuler, Get Past Your Past · Dr. Alison Cook, The Best of You · Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, Sacred Rest (free rest assessment at RestQuiz.com) · Lysa TerKeurst, Making Peace with What I Can't Control CONNECT FURTHER WITH RACHEL: https://rachelawtrey.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.instagram.com/realtalkpodcast https://www.instagram.com/rachel.awtrey/ CONTACT: [email protected] This video/podcast may contain affiliate links, sponsorships, or products I’ve received for free. I only share things I truly love and think will bring you value. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! ADVERTISE ON THE SHOW: To inquire about host-read ads or to become the show’s next Presenting Sponsor, please send an email to [email protected] or those at That Sounds Fun Network. SEEDS: Download the free SEEDS app and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. EPISODE CREDITS: Podcast Cover Photography: Jay Barr Photography Intro Music: "Luxurious" by Sunny Tones DISCLAIMERS: The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast host and team or the owner of this Intellectual Property. This podcast is not an authority of legal advice, and listeners are encouraged to seek professional counsel with regard to their brand, business, and otherwise. We all hope you enjoy and find value in each episode. Many of the product and service promotions in each episode are under the negotiated terms of affiliate or sponsorship agreements. If a link is clicked and a purchase is made, an affiliate commission may be received. However, we recommend products or services that we personally endorse and believe may be beneficial to others. This information is disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rachel is back after the longest break she's ever taken from anything annnnnnd she's finally able to explain why she left! Her husband was deployed with hours of notice, on their son's fifth birthday. Whomp, whomp. What followed was a summer of solo parenting with no end date, no countdown, and no way to talk about most of it publicly. For someone who has built her entire career on telling you the truth about her ordinary days, having the biggest story of her life and not being able to share it changed how she thinks about her work, her family, and what's actually hers to give away. In this episode she catches you all the way up: the hardest part of the whole season, the realization that changed how she parents through hard things, what she had to keep private and why privacy isn't hiding, the fifty neighbors who lined her street with American flags when he came home, the phone call from NBC Nightly News, the cursed family beach trip, and eight chickens. There are four reflection questions built in, so grab a pen or get ready to replay this one! This one isn't just her summer yap sesh!! Next week: how to ask for help without apologizing for existing, and how to build the kind of friendships that can actually carry you. OOOOOOOF. If this episode meets you where you are, rate the show and send it to one person running a marathon with no finish line right now. CONNECT FURTHER WITH RACHEL: https://rachelawtrey.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.instagram.com/realtalkpodcast https://www.instagram.com/rachel.awtrey/ CONTACT: [email protected] This video/podcast may contain affiliate links, sponsorships, or products I’ve received for free. I only share things I truly love and think will bring you value. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! SEEDS: Download the free SEEDS app and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. ADVERTISE ON THE SHOW: To inquire about host-read ads or to become the show’s next Presenting Sponsor, please send an email to [email protected] or those at That Sounds Fun Network. EPISODE CREDITS: Podcast Cover Photography: Jay Barr Photography Intro Music: "Luxurious" by Sunny Tones DISCLAIMERS: The views and opinions expressed in each episode are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast host and team or the owner of this Intellectual Property. This podcast is not an authority of legal advice, and listeners are encouraged to seek professional counsel with regard to their brand, business, and otherwise. We all hope you enjoy and find value in each episode. Many of the product and service promotions in each episode are under the negotiated terms of affiliate or sponsorship agreements. If a link is clicked and a purchase is made, an affiliate commission may be received. However, we recommend products or services that we personally endorse and believe may be beneficial to others. This information is disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices