053 - Don't You See You Can't Keep Up with Jenny Pruett

In this week's episode, Jenny Pruett, an entrepreneur and founder of Freedom Fighter, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating human trafficking. Jenny shares her journey from running a coffee shop to becoming an advocate for freedom, highlighting the role of hiking in raising awareness and funds for the cause. She discusses her experiences in the outdoors, the importance of disconnecting from technology, and the lessons learned from personal valleys and victories in her life. She shares her journey through burnout, the importance of rest, and the necessity of setting boundaries in both personal and professional life. She emphasizes the significance of asking for help and finding true rest through faith, particularly in the context of leadership and emotional health. Jenny's insights provide valuable lessons for anyone feeling overwhelmed in today's fast-paced world.


https://www.iamafreedomfighter.org/

Instagram: @iamafreedomfighter
@Jenny_freedomchaser

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Chapters

• 19:57 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 20:47 (Cont.) 053 - Don't You See You Can't Keep Up with Jenny Pruett
• 30:52 [Ad] The Signpost Inn Podcast
• 31:38 (Cont.) 053 - Don't You See You Can't Keep Up with Jenny Pruett

Transcript

McKenzie Smith (00:01)

On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Jenny Pruitt. She is an entrepreneur, founder, and executive director of Freedom Fighter, a nonprofit organization that is rallying an army to go to war against the atrocity of human trafficking. Jenny is married and lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She grew up enjoying the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado with her dad and older brothers. She now gets to hike all over the world doing what she loves for the freedom of others. Thanks so much for being with us today, Jenny.

Jenny Pruett (00:34)
Thank you so much, Mackenzie, for having me. It's such a blessing to be on here.

McKenzie Smith (00:41)
Yeah, absolutely. So I know I just read your bio, but why don't you go ahead and just share with our listeners a little bit more about yourself and who you are.

Jenny Pruett (00:47)
Sure.

I, let's see, 15 years ago, God called me to something I knew nothing about and it was owning a coffee shop cafe. And I said, okay, here I am. And so I spent 13 years doing that and it was ministry for me and I hired a lot of young people and kids and stuff, but.

It was out of owning that cafe that I was introduced to the problem of human trafficking and what it really is. I, an employee actually was the one who introduced me to a video, a documentary, and it was called Nefarious from Exodus Cry. And I was convicted through my thought process of what I've

felt like the sex industry was and how you got involved into it. And so it was that moment on that the Lord continued to draw me to that industry. And I was introduced into a hike to hike with raising money for at the time, rescue freedom. Now it was free to raise funds. And that's really how the journey started. And that was in 2000.

17.

McKenzie Smith (02:18)
Okay, very cool. And now I guess that has been seven or eight years and you've been doing been doing some amazing things. So talk to us a little bit about your company and what exactly you guys do.

Jenny Pruett (02:25)
Mm-hmm.

So for

until I sold my cafe two years ago. So until then I was trying to do both, you know, run a cafe and a nonprofit organization. so since I've sold the cafe, I've been really trying to focus on who we are, what we do, God, where do you have us in this lane? Because it's quite overwhelming and where you can be so.

What we are is we just keep God keeps bringing me back to raising awareness and we really are have become an event organization. So we have events, we raise awareness, and then it's through that awareness that we can pull others into being engaged after they have an awareness of understanding. And then we give them outlets to

be part of the solution and to help the cause from that point on and really become a freedom fighter.

McKenzie Smith (03:40)
Yeah. So why hiking, of all things, to fight the fight for human trafficking?

Jenny Pruett (03:48)
Well, when I was invited for my first hike, you know, I had done a marathon, like right on the time I turned 40, and I raised awareness to leukemia and fundraise and was part of a team. And when I was introduced into doing a hike for it, I thought, wow, what a cool concept, because it's basically the same thing. You know, you're just

You're doing an endurance event, you're training, you're raising awareness. And so it was simple. It's like instead of doing a marathon, we were just climbing a mountain in a day and come back down. And it was something that I love to do. And trying to make it work in Florida was a whole new challenge. And that is really where God has really been in it.

McKenzie Smith (04:47)
Yeah. So I know you said that you have a lot of background in hiking growing up in Wyoming. Talk to us about that and maybe how that experience helped mold you into what you're doing today.

Jenny Pruett (04:59)
Yeah, sure.

yeah, I grew up, my dad was a rancher and our idea of family reunions and family get togethers where, you know, we would pack horses and mules up, you know, my dad liked places where people couldn't get to very remote, not campgrounds. And, and then we would go up as a family and we would hike a different mountain every day with a base camp. So the first one who took me on, was 10.

And I had no idea, obviously, at that time, how that would forge my life. But I took a break when I moved to Florida when I was 19. And I don't love a lot of other things. And it wasn't until 2010, I believe, that I partnered with my brother, who has an outdoor ministry called Victory Mountain. And we began to

host women's retreats in Wyoming. So I would take a group of women from here in Florida and Cocoa Beach and we would take them out to Wyoming and we would pack in to a remote area and we would have a women's retreat and come back down the mountain. And I did that for about 10 years with him and amazing, amazing experience. A lot of.

things I'm doing now came out of that time, but took another break running my restaurant and then When I started, you know, I got the call to go back back to the mountains, you know when I was the restaurant owner

McKenzie Smith (06:40)
Yeah, yeah, that's so cool that God has used, you know, your childhood and growing up in the mountains and then your brother kind of pulled you back into it. And then this cafe, you you said is kind of what led you to the to the human trafficking thing. And so that's really cool to see God keep showing up in all those different places and and kind of putting putting you back on the on the path of being in the mountains. So.

Jenny Pruett (06:50)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Yeah, just kidding. Yep, I know, it's crazy.

McKenzie Smith (07:09)
Talk to us a little bit about what those retreats maybe looked like and maybe how those are different than the freedom hikes that you're doing today. they, are you guys going over, you know, any sort of like curriculum on these hikes or are you guys just kind of out there raising money focusing on the human trafficking thing?

Jenny Pruett (07:30)
so the retreats, I think, you know, they, formed me, you know, I mean, I know they, formed a lot. There were people had went on those hikes, had some amazing experiences and encountered Christ. But I also think it was kind of a preparation, for me and what the Lord had for me down the road. cause I grew a lot. And, when we, when we come to the freedom hike for.

human trafficking, you know, because we want, personally, it's like, I think my ministry and with Freedom Fighter is that I don't want it to solely be a Christian organization. You know, I want to draw everyone because this is an everyone problem. It's not just Christians and believers. So I don't put in like any kind of a curriculum, like a Bible study relating to freedom, but

people get that through the organization and through me automatically when they join. And, when we go through trainings and, we go through video calls, it's always about, you know, we are fighting for others, but it's about freedom in general, because if you allow yourself through this endurance event, pushing yourself through your limits,

you will encounter Christ and you will have a freedom story of your own. I mean, just like everything, right? We go out to bless others, but we in return are blessed and changed through those actions. that's, know, freedom is freedom.

McKenzie Smith (09:12)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I love that you have broadened it to everyone and being able to still introduce some of those topics. I think that's really cool. So going on, I know you've kind of traveled all over the world doing some of these events. Where has been maybe your favorite place or favorite area, if you don't want to nail it down to a favorite hike, but what's been one that is really special?

Jenny Pruett (09:39)
I mean, I love Italy, you know, so I went there the second time this last year and we specifically hiked into the Dolomites and from a beauty standpoint, it was spectacular from a difficult hiking perspective. It was challenging.

Europe's beautiful, beautiful to hike, know, so, but, you know, we have beautiful mountains right here in the US, you know, so there's so many amazing places that I've been able to go. I'm just so, so blessed. I get to go to New Zealand in February and that just blows my mind that I have an opportunity to do that.

McKenzie Smith (10:30)
Yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. The Dolomites are on my bucket list for sure. And every picture I see is just like, this is nuts. Nuts. So I know you touched on it a little bit in the freedom hikers part, but talk to us about how being in the outdoors and being on these hikes maybe plays a role in your relationship specifically with Christ.

Jenny Pruett (10:35)
you

Yeah.

I mean, God speaks in the outdoors, right? And,

You know, God always uses really physical examples, you know, to show me things that I need to know. Like, I mean, I'll just tell you like one little story that I just realized just recently, like how, I was just thinking one day, right? But on one of the retreats with my brother, you know, it's like, there was this...

It was a common theme because it's always there, but I don't know that I always really noticed it as much where you have this rock and you end up at the center of this one little crease of a rock. You have this beautiful flower that's blooming, you know, and there's nothing else around. And it's like, wow, like, God, did you, how did, like, why that flower there? And it was like, you know, that that flower, what I felt like he was telling me was like, you know, that flower was created.

so that you would see it that day. Like if that's the only purpose of that flower that day was to, you know, to bless me, right? And so it was, you know, what I walked away with that retreat was, you know, grow where you're planted. Wherever God, we don't get to choose where we're planted, right? But wherever we are that he wants us to grow. And during those,

retreats that I was my brother. I constantly just battled with, I really wanted to live out West. You know, I just felt like it was my home. The mountains are in my soul, but I was here on this beach, right? And I married to a Florida boy who, he's not a mountain guy and they're taking a miracle act of God to get him to move to any elevation. You know, so I'm like, God had me here. And it's like, I was walking on the beach one day.

And I just felt him minister to me so deeply, Jenny, grow where you're planted. Like this is your home. I was like, So I, at that moment forward, I quit referring to Wyoming as my home. It was, no, this is my home. And so I felt like once I did that, like a gate open and I was thinking just the other day, like,

What are the chances of

I mean, literally there's probably been 7,500 people from here in Cocoa Beach, Florida that have went on a freedom hike.

in flatland country, right? Only God, only God, right? It's like that somebody would listen to me and say, it's gonna be fun. You're gonna love it. You're gonna climb this mountain, you know? And it's like people who've never even seen mountains before have went on a hike before. And it's like that is only God can do those amazing things once we surrender to his plan, even though it didn't look like my plan or what I wanted it to be.

McKenzie Smith (13:51)
You

Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, that's good. I love that analogy of, the rock and the flower and the grow where you're planted, because like you said, God puts us in situations all the time that we kind of look around and we're like, why are we here? But chances are he has you in that place for a reason. And there's, there's something that you need to do or be a part of or some somebody, know, somebody, something that you need to do in that situation.

Jenny Pruett (14:25)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

McKenzie Smith (14:49)
And

I think that that's so good walking into any situation with that mindset of like, God has me here for a reason. Who am I supposed to help? What am I supposed to do? Who am I supposed to listen to? You know, maybe you're there to be, you know, influenced by somebody else.

Jenny Pruett (15:00)
Right.

100%.

McKenzie Smith (15:07)
You know, there's there's so many different possibilities, but I think so often we can just get stuck in the mindset of the pouting like, why am I here? I don't like that I'm here. And then we close ourselves off to maybe something that God is wanting to do. And so I think that's yeah, I think that's really helpful. And I think that it's so cool that you have also been able to take your love for the mountains and introduce it to people that, like you said, don't.

Jenny Pruett (15:14)
Yes.

Yep. Yeah, you're so right.

McKenzie Smith (15:34)
I probably have that same love and who are Florida people who you know, there's nothing wrong with Florida people, but I do feel like they love the beach and they are there because they want to be there and they don't want to be anywhere else. You know, it's funny.

Jenny Pruett (15:37)
Yeah. Mm-mm.

Yep.

They love to surf. They love to surf. know, it's like, I've been surfing capital, you

know, some of the greatest surfers in the world have come from Cocoa Beach, right? And I'm like, I tried, I don't do that, you know? But.

McKenzie Smith (16:03)
Yeah.

So I know where you live is technically outdoorsy. It's outdoorsy in a different way. You know, people spend a lot of time at the beach and, you know, out in nature of some sort. So talk to us about how the moments that you're not able to be in the mountains, but you're at home, how you connect with God on everyday basis through the outdoors without being in the mountains.

Jenny Pruett (16:10)
Mm-hmm.

and

I mean, I think it's easy, but I mean, I do live on the beach, right? So I do have that amazing blessing, you know, that I live very close to the beach. And I used to run with my dogs most mornings on the beach for a long time. But I'm not, don't do that now, but I just being outside.

You know, it's like, just, I love to be outside. don't like, can connect through God on, you know, a beach walk alone, walking down the street. we have beautiful weather, you know, in Florida. there's so many ways, like I don't really go hiking in Florida. Like there, there are trails and things that you can do. but to me it's, you know, I'd rather just be.

just outside, I go outside and sit on my patio and just breathe in the air. You know, it's just beautiful, clean air, whether we're in the mountains or Florida. And God is just, we get away from our distractions, you know? Obviously putting our phone down can be really difficult.

in the age that we live and I know for me personally that's very challenging. Put your phone down and just be with him, you know, and outdoors.

McKenzie Smith (18:04)
Yeah, yeah, that's really good. I feel like sometimes I even have to set a timer on my phone, like put it away for this amount of time, like just take the time. cause I think we've been...

Jenny Pruett (18:12)
Very challenging.

McKenzie Smith (18:21)
we've we've conditioned ourselves to whenever we're bored or whenever you know there's not anything to do to just pick up our phone or to turn on music or to you know turn on the tv and it's like sometimes you have to like block out and that may sound silly to some people but i think that you have to start somewhere and if that takes you blocking out 30 minutes of your day you know to say i'm gonna put my phone in my room and i'm gonna go and pick it back up like

then that will start to become a habit, but it's okay to start there and have to set a reminder on your phone every day to take time and get off of it. I think we think like, it should just be natural for us. And it's like, no, it's not. And so it's okay to start with reminders. And sometimes, I mean, I need to still reminders all the time for things that I should be doing, you know? And so...

Jenny Pruett (18:51)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Right, right. That should be natural. But I do, like, I go

for a walk twice a day with my dogs and I leave my phone at home. And, you know, people said like, my God, what if something happens? go, well, 15 years ago, I didn't have a phone. I didn't carry it with me all the time. I figured out what would happen. it's just, yeah.

McKenzie Smith (19:17)
Mm.

Yeah, I think we forget like

we can go and knock on somebody's door and say like hey like I need help or you know you can flog someone down like chances are if you go on a walk in outside of your house unless you know you live in a totally remote place I highly doubt that's most of my listeners like you can find help if you need help like it's okay to leave leave the phone

Jenny Pruett (19:49)
Yeah,

and then you know what? God's there to help us, right?

McKenzie Smith (19:54)
Yeah. Yeah, it'll show you where your true where your true where your trust really lies.

Do you trust yourself on it? You trust God because I guarantee you if you're out there spending time with God intentional time like he's probably going to put a extra layer of protection on you.

Jenny Pruett (20:01)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

and I was so grateful for that time that I have because I know if I had my phone I would be distracted. I would be answering text messages while I'm with them and I'm outside and I'm just like I don't want to you know so I just leave it and enjoy them and I enjoy this outside.

McKenzie Smith (20:31)
Yeah, yeah, we gotta get comfortable again with being bored and not being constantly distracted. Yeah, I one thing I've started to do is I try to set a time like I just started this. So I've done it a couple times now, but where I set like a whole day of like, I tell my husband, I'm not, you know, I'm not talking to you. It's usually whenever he's whenever he's gone for work, like, I'm going to turn my phone off for a whole day.

Jenny Pruett (20:33)
Mm-hmm. Amen.

wow.

McKenzie Smith (20:56)
And I'm not gonna turn on my TV. can read and I can pray and I can read, but I can't listen to anything. Yeah, no talking to anybody, external communication from anybody. so it's been helpful just to kind of reset and collect my thoughts and process.

Jenny Pruett (21:04)
No electronics.

Wow, that's awesome.

That's so good. Mm-hmm.

McKenzie Smith (21:26)
So there's a challenge out there for everybody.

Jenny Pruett (21:27)
Yeah, for sure.

McKenzie Smith (21:31)
And even if you can't do a day, I feel like anybody could do an evening or an hour. When's the last time you spent an hour in total silence?

Jenny Pruett (21:35)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And that's the thing. Sometimes like start small, you know, start something that you think is doable. So you get encouraged, you know, and before you, you know, like don't start off running a marathon. Right. No, no, it doesn't count.

McKenzie Smith (21:44)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, sleeping doesn't count by the way people.

Okay, Jenny, well switching gears a little bit into the title of this podcast, My Valley, His Victory, would love for you to share a valley or a season of wilderness that you experienced and just what God maybe taught you or prepared you for in that season.

Jenny Pruett (22:01)
Yes.

I think there's been a lot. I've been in the mountains a lot of times and a lot of valleys in my life, you know, and we've got to showed up really pretty amazing. But I think one of the more recent and bigger times was when I was getting ready to sell my cafe a couple years ago. So I had

As usual, would do...

probably three to four freedom hikes a summer. So it wasn't just one, you know, I figured it was training, right? It was better to train out there than it is to train here. So I would sign up for many. so it was the first hike of the season and that was the Enchantments in Washington. And I've done that hike many times and

You go out and you know there's a, you go to, you hike six miles up to this lake and it's called Colchuk Lake. from that point on, it's kind of the turnaround where if you need to turn around, that's the spot we always tell everybody. And then from there you start to hike Asgard and go over the pass. so, you know, I'm usually, you know, in the front.

You know, I have no problem with pace, you know. And I started off that morning and I was in the back and I was huffing and puffing and I was struggling to keep up with the team. And, at a good team, you know, but it was, it would have been like, if I was at my

my best on my game, would have been, this is so great. You know, we're all like, you know, good pace hikers, gonna be a beautiful day, we're gonna get out early, you know, all that. But I'm like, I'm crap, it's me. I'm the one, I'm the one's holding everybody back. And I just couldn't catch my breath and just struggling with cardio. And I got to the lake and I went to...

And I was actually not a leader on this hike. I actually just signed up. I didn't even know. I signed up for this hike and I was like, I don't even know why I'm signing up for it because I'm not leading. I'm not taking anybody because usually I would take somebody with me, you know, and I wasn't one of the hike leaders. So I was just kind of being obedient to God and say, OK, I don't know why I'm doing it, but OK, I'll do it. And I love it. I'll go. And so I talked to one of the hike leaders and I said, you know,

Will you pray for me? Because I'm just really struggling. can't. I don't. I mean, I'm sitting here having a mental battle the entire six miles up to this lake going, Jenny, just stop. Just stop at Colchuk. Enjoy the day. Spend the time out at the lake. Nobody really cares if you finish or not. I mean, you have nothing to prove. I've done this hike. I know physically I can do the hike.

So was this battle ongoing six miles. when I got there, I will you pray for me? This is what's going on in my mind. And so she prayed with me. I was like, OK. And I didn't really feel I got an answer. It was very wishy washy. What should I do? And then finally, I was just like, OK, Lord, I don't really know what's going on. But I came here to hike.

I'm hiking. So I told her, said, she's like, are you sure? And I'm like, yeah, I'm sure. You know, so let's go. So as we're going up Asgard Pass, which is really steep, you know, and I was again, way slower. She was right behind me the whole way. And I know she was praying for me the entire day, but I just felt like the Lord was like, Jenny, do you see like you can't keep up? And

McKenzie Smith (26:40)
Hmm.

Jenny Pruett (26:41)
He showed me that, Jenny, this is how you are in your life.

McKenzie Smith (26:47)
Mmm.

Jenny Pruett (26:47)
Like

you are exhausted and you can't keep up. Like you can't keep up in your daily, you can't keep up in your business, you can't keep up in a nonprofit, you can't keep up in your personal life. You're just tired. And I was just like, wow, like no matter how I, what I did, you know, off the trail, that's how I felt. I couldn't keep up with the things thrown at me at a daily basis.

The fires I had to put out, the solutions I had to come up with everywhere, every people were just people coming to me and just being engaged with them. I just couldn't keep up.

so I finished the hike and, it was a, a huge eye opener to me. still had two other hikes. I did that summer and I did them, but I did them in an awareness of.

I might not be the fastest person this time and that's okay because I'm probably not going to keep up. But I know that God is preparing me for a time of rest and I just got to keep going, you know, and that rest will come. I did, you know, when I sold the business, so that was in July and I sold it in September.

So yeah, just like burnout was a thing and just the fragmentation of your brain, what happens of just like the things coming at you throughout the day, just every day, every day, every day, like always having to be on call, always having to, you know, be available to people for the staff and whatever. So it just, and it took a while, you know,

I don't know what I rested probably like I should have maybe. So it's been a gradual process for me because it's really difficult for me to be still, you know. So I didn't just go and lay on the couch and do nothing, you know, it's like, okay. But I did, you know, I remember a couple months later just realizing go, like I have nothing to be stressed about. No, there was nothing. And just the weight, right, that.

that I felt at that time. there was a time a few months later, I was actually training for that next summer hiking. And I do stairs in the stairwell to train for elevation. And I was listening to a podcast from a book from John Eldridge, Resilient. don't know if you've ever, it's excellent book, just about trauma and about

healing and I remember just I sat on the stairwell and cried and it just hit me that you know human trafficking alone is is very dark and so all the education that I have received you I you listen to testimonies you listen to stories right and it's it's heavy it's really really heavy

and how you, the secondhand trauma where you can, you can take people's trauma on, right? And then all the, the burden, all the things over the years of staff and like, become my children that worked for me and their issues and problems. I just, like, I just realized I was carrying all that stuff, you know? And I just sat and I cried and I was just released at all to the Lord. It was like, they're not,

met for me to carry. You know, it's like, he's like, I have this, this is my responsibility. I've carried it. I've dealt with it. You know, you don't need to carry it all. You need let it go.

And I think that was really the beginning of why I could really receive healing, letting it go.

McKenzie Smith (02:56)
Yeah.

Yeah. So talk to us about how, you know, rest looks different now and you know, maybe like, maybe how you've implemented that in your life. I know, you you still have your nonprofit and you still have a family and, and all the things. So what are you doing now to maybe proactively not reach that point again?

Jenny Pruett (03:06)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that's

good. Well, I know what it feels like for sure. So last year we had, we did some multiple events back to back and I had a lot to do, you know, and I was primarily the only one that could really do it because we were setting it up for, you know, future. And it was stressful. And I, on a daily basis, when I could feel that pressure of

hurriedness, like being in a hurry, in a rush, right? I just like stop, you know, like I hate that feeling. I'm not going back there, you know, and I have to pray and I have to release it, you know, time yields to Jesus. You know, like he was never rushed. I don't need to be rushed. I need to slow down.

And I know deadlines happen, but also just that it doesn't have to be perfect. You know, it doesn't, I can be a perfectionist and want things to be just so, and for, you know, other people's experience. And it's like, it just, doesn't have to be perfect. You know, just you got to relax and, and spending time, you know, and his word, I mean, there's so many different things for the equation that keep me from being that person again.

McKenzie Smith (04:23)
Yeah.

Jenny Pruett (04:47)
It's a struggle, you know, because I'm a doer. You know, I just get things done. This needs to get done. I'm going to go get it. And if you're helping me, then you better get on board because if you're not, it's going to get done anyway. But if you want to help, come on.

McKenzie Smith (05:08)
I can totally relate to that.

Jenny Pruett (05:09)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so it's a struggle to not be back there but I have to you know, the biggest thing is I know what it feels like and I can feel it actually physically in my body and That's when I go Then going back there and sometimes it's not you know It's not being available to people and I've I'm working with somebody a couple people now with my nonprofit and they're like well you're not very easy to get a hold of and I'm like, I'm sorry, but

I have boundaries now. One of the goals is to be a good wife. I was absent from my marriage for a long time, pretty much. And I'm like, I want to enjoy my husband. I want to cook dinner. I want to enjoy my home and my dogs. I'm like, sometimes I run hard, but then when it's time for me to check out, then I have to check out. And I'm sorry, but you have to wait.

McKenzie Smith (06:09)
Yeah, yeah, I think that's really important, having boundaries. And man, I hear so much of you and myself. you know, I can actually relate to your story on a lot of different levels because I ran restaurants for a long time and, you know, know that lifestyle very, very much so. And yeah, I hear so much of my story and your story and it's...

Jenny Pruett (06:17)
You

McKenzie Smith (06:39)
It's kind of wild and you know, I've been having a conversation with my friend recently who, you know, I just see myself five years ago and her, you know, she's just going, going, going, pushing, all the things. And I'm just like, girl, you got to slow down. Like, I know you want to do it all, but by saying yes to so many things, you're saying no to so many other things that you don't even realize. And it's going to, you know, it's going to catch up at some, at some point.

Jenny Pruett (06:50)
Yeah.

So true.

McKenzie Smith (07:07)
And you know, it's just so easy to get caught up in the doing and there's always things to get done. But you know, as you were saying, doing things at Jesus' pace, he was never rushed. And something that I've been trying to focus on over the past couple of years is almost, you know...

a lot. I don't know the percent, but a lot of Jesus's miracles and instances in the Bibles were interruptions. Like he was going somewhere. He was going somewhere and trying to get something, you know, on a mission to get something done. But he was interruptible. And I know. I know that I am not that way.

Jenny Pruett (07:46)
that's so good. So good.

McKenzie Smith (07:51)
And so I have to actively think about that often and I get continually reminded of that. Like this isn't a inconvenience, it might be an opportunity.

Jenny Pruett (08:00)
That's really

good. That's so good.

McKenzie Smith (08:03)
Yeah, I mean, I feel like that's what that's what you were saying. And like, I mean, what would Jesus you know, let's look at Jesus and let's let's mirror what he would do. And I mean, if he had things to do on this earth, come on, y'all. What are our things? know?

Jenny Pruett (08:15)
I know. I

got to the point where like my staff would just like, they just didn't feel like they could even interrupt me. They couldn't talk to me. I wasn't available to them and it was supposed to be ministry. Like it was never a job for me. But it's like, if they can't interrupt me, it's like, you know, and my husband too, like I have to really, he's a

King of Interrupter. You know, it's like I have a plan and this is my day and I know what I need to get done in my day. And then he throws in a, hey, let's, I need you to do this or I need you to do I'm just like, what? But exactly what you said, you know, that just ministered to me too. It's like even in that situation to say, you know what, to be,

There's a blessing in the interruption. Just let go of my plan and my control, which is constantly a struggle.

McKenzie Smith (09:17)
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. So Jenny, for someone who maybe is finding themselves in a similar season that you did, feeling burnt out, feeling like they have no capacity for anything, not being emotionally or available to really a lot.

And maybe as a leader, think back to the beginning of the story when you were on that hike and you had to ask for help. And this was like something that you've been doing for years and you thought this was going to be a walk in the park. But as leaders, like being able to reach out and ask for help, can you share with advice or encouragement to someone who's maybe struggling with that?

Jenny Pruett (10:00)
Mm hmm. I think scripture that comes to mind is it's Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12, casting off whatever's hindering you to run the race. I don't have all the exact words for it, but so we can finish the race before us, right? So being burned out is doesn't.

help anybody. Right. So we're not accomplishing really what God has for us. Like, like you said, too. And I think that it's important to, I think we have to continually evaluate what is demanding our time and God are you in it? Right. Because I think that we have a lot of plans and things that we think are important that we get done. But

Are those my plans or Lord are yours plans because he's not going to overload us like that right. Because if we are where we're called to be then there's grace and he's provided enough grace for us to get through it, so it would be an evaluation I would encourage me to evaluate. Is there something that I can cast off is there something i'm doing that you're not in that I think is important.

that I can cast off to relieve some pressure. And I think to go through that inventory list of where's the pressure, you know, and to ask for help in your people that you trust and people, there's no shame in saying I've taken too much on now. I don't know what to do because they're there to help you and to walk you through and to pray for you.

And we all need that, we need that assistance, you know, that help. And that God has provided that, you know, and my verse really for that valley and to encourage others is really, Matthew 11 28. And that, you know, Jesus said, you know, I want to read it though on the message here. I'm going to bring it up real quick.

McKenzie Smith (12:03)
Yeah.

Jenny Pruett (12:28)
message just to me just speaks so much in this verse. It's like, are you tired? Worn out, burned out on religion, which I mean, really think about that religion, right? Religion is due. It's earning its works, right? That's really religion saying that, you know, I'm going to have a better relationship with Christ because I'm doing all these things for him, right? Come to me.

Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me and watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

McKenzie Smith (13:23)
Mm.

Jenny Pruett (13:24)
Unforced rhythms of grace. I absolutely love that. I absolutely love that. We get into the flesh and get into works so easily. that's not where he is.

McKenzie Smith (13:28)
That's literally what I just wrote down. said un-unforced.

Yeah, yeah, that's so true. And I think it takes the humility as well to, you know, on that hike, you said that you felt like God was saying, like, do you see that you can't keep up? And it's like, even noticing that, that you are in a place where you can't keep up, I think there's a lot of freedom in that as well. And being able to be honest with yourself and say, you know, I can't keep doing this.

and trying, you know, something different. And so, yeah, I appreciate you sharing all of that and just sharing this story. I think that this is really helpful and valuable. I know that there's a lot of people who struggle with busyness and, you know, just owning businesses and trying to manage relationships and, you know, all the things, just the rat race of life. And so I know that this is gonna be helpful to you.

to a lot of people in lot of different seasons. feel like it's relatable for a lot of different things. I feel like we've all probably experienced some level of being burnt out in today's society. So for a listener who maybe wants to connect with you or learn more about freedom fighters, where can they find more information?

Jenny Pruett (14:47)
I hope so.

Sure. So our website is www.imafreedomfighter.org. email for me, if you want to personally contact me, be jenniprewitt, J-E-N-N-Y, P-R-U-E-T-T, at freedomfighter.org.

McKenzie Smith (15:33)
And do you guys have any socials?

Jenny Pruett (15:35)
we do. Yeah, we're on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

I am a freedom fighter.

McKenzie Smith (15:47)
Okay, cool. Yeah, well y'all go follow along. Y'all go see if there's maybe a hike that you guys want to be a part of and help Jenny and her team on the fight to end human trafficking. Thank you so much, Jenny, for being here and again for sharing. And yeah, just so thankful for you and your story.

Jenny Pruett (16:07)
Thank Thanks for having me, Mackenzie. You're awesome.

McKenzie Smith (16:10)
All right.