This week I sit down with my ride or die, Elli- a woman who moves through life with equal parts humor, hustle, and heart. 

As two single mothers, we talk openly about the realities behind today’s title- from the chaos and comedy of raising kids alone, to the quiet internal battles that most moms never speak about.

We share how we met (plot twist: her boyfriend cheated on her with me- neither of us knowing it at the time 😭) and how that pain turned into one of the most meaningful friendships of our lives. Sometimes life delivers your soul-sisters right through the mess.

In this episode we dive into:

✨ How motherhood forces you to grow

✨ Why kids don’t need perfection, they need appreciation

✨ Holidays with intention (not overwhelm)

✨ Lighthearted Christmas ideas for the littles

✨ Creating sacred morning time for grounding and gratitude

✨ Giggles, honesty, and the hilarious things our kids say

✨ Why some women take years to emotionally warm up to motherhood

✨ Elli’s prenatal + postpartum depression journey

✨ The poker faces single mothers wear

✨ Learning to go inward, heal, and love yourself again

If you’ve ever found yourself numb, annoyed, overwhelmed, or absolutely exhausted.. you are not broken.

Motherhood isn’t soft and glowy every day.

Some seasons hurt before they bloom.

Elli opens up about how long it took before she could receive motherhood with softness instead of fear, and how surrender, community, and inner work changed everything. This episode is tender, funny, and most importantly real.. because the hood is chaotic, but healing is possible.

Connect with Elli + Mammafestation:

🌸 Book Club (first month free!!):

📖 December Book Club Pick: Have Yourself a Minimalist Christmas 

https://mammafestation.mykajabi.com/offers/CyTbHw6s/checkout

🌸 Website:

https://mammafestation.mykajabi.com/

🌸 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mammafestation.pod?igsh=MXRwc2s3c3ZkeGY2ZA==

🌸 TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@mammafestation.pod?_r=1&_t=ZT-91gacXznxd7

Connect with Earth Tones:

🪽Instagram (Earth Tones):

https://www.instagram.com/earthtones.pod

🪽TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@earthmamaella

🪽 YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@EarthTonesPodcast

———

If today’s episode spoke to you, share it with another mama, tag us, or leave a review.

Your support helps this community reach more women who need these conversations.

Earth Tones — New episodes every Tuesday. 🤎

In this episode, I invite all listeners into a deeply personal heart-work season.. a 30-day spiritual lock-in where I allow God to operate as the Master Surgeon on the places that hurt, linger, and need healing.

I reflect on the moment I realized she couldn’t keep trying to heal in her own strength. Instead, she surrendered the surgery table and asked God to remove what wasn’t serving her, restore what was broken, and revive what still had purpose.

This episode explores:

• 🌿 Real prayers for right NOW
• 🌿 Letting God prune 
• 🌿 Being refined through discipline, personal devotion, fasting, and intentional prayer
• 🌿 The difference between coping and actual transformation
• 🌿 How accountability with a friend sparked this 30-day challenge

I also have the intention to return in 30 days, alongside my beautiful friend, Azida, who inspired this challenge to reflect on what shifted, healed, and surprised us during our 30 day lock in with God.

FOLLOW :

Instagram: @earthmama.ella

Podcast IG: @earthtones.podcast

TikTok: @earthtonespodcast

YouTube: Earth Tones Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with a youth mentor, father of two, and lifelong athlete who shares his journey from street life to self-discovery through faith and basketball.

He opens up about losing loved ones at a young age, navigating grief, and finding strength on and off the court. What began as a way to get the pressure off his back became a lifelong calling- leading him to coach basketball across the U.S. and use mentorship as a bridge to hope.

Now rooted in Utah, he reflects on what it means to create a safe place for his kids, to be their rock, and to show up for them every single day- even when the world feels heavy. His story is one of resilience, redemption, and refusing to let circumstance define the outcome.

Tune in to hear how faith, fatherhood, and the game came together to shape a man determined to break cycles and build legacy.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any streaming platform by searching ‘Earth Tones Podcast’

📲 Connect with Will Joyce

🎧 Instagram: @coach_joyce11 

📲 Connect with Earth Tones!

🎧 Instagram: @earthtonespodcast

🌿 TikTok: @earthtonespodcast

📸 Host: @earthmamaella

#EarthTonesPodcast #Fatherhood #FaithOverFear #RedemptionThroughTheGame #BasketballLife #Mentorship #PurposeOverPain #Resilience #HealingThroughFaith #InspiringStories #PodcastForTheSoul

I met today’s guest just a few weeks ago at my cousin’s wedding, and her presence stayed with me. The way she spoke about patience, peace, and growing up through war carried a depth that can only come from lived experience. She reminded me that peace isn’t free.. it’s something you sacrifice for, fight for, and sometimes pay for with pieces of yourself.

In this episode, we share the remarkable journey of a woman who lived through war, loss, displacement, and unimaginable hardship, yet rose to become a Congresswoman advocating for Southern Sudans peace and becoming a voice of hope.

From walking for five months barefoot to Ethiopia as a young girl fleeing war, to losing children to malnutrition, to rebuilding after widowhood, to helping shape her nation’s constitution and bringing fellowship into Congress, her story is one of resilience, courage, and God’s timing.

This episode isn’t political- it’s human, heartfelt, and real. It’s an invitation to listen with compassion and reflect on patience, purpose, and what it means to keep walking even when life breaks you open.

Connect with Earth Tones Podcast

IG: @earthtonespodcast

Host IG: @earthmamaella

TikTok: @earthtonespodcast

YouTube: @earthtonespodcast

Support Sudanese Relief Efforts

If this episode moved you, consider supporting those displaced by the crisis in Sudan:

• UNHCR Sudan Emergency Appeal

• Save the Children – Sudan Crisis

• Refugees International

We don’t just fall for people.. we fall for potential.

In this episode, I explore the psychology behind almost love: the intermittent dopamine hits that keep us hooked, the emotional overstimulation from dating apps, and why commitment feels rare in a world that glorifies chaos.

If you’ve ever been caught in a situationship, breadcrumbed, or exhausted by modern dating, this one’s for you. 💔

You’ll leave with tools to break free from the “slot-machine” highs and finally remember what whole love feels like.

🎙️ Topics:

•The slot machine effect of almost relationships

•Dating app overstimulation

•Breadcrumbing & emotional scarcity

•Healing from half love

•Choosing yourself in wholeness now over waiting for someone’s maybe 

✨ Half love still costs full peace.

🌍 Listen to Earth Tones! on Every Platform

🎧 Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/4E7gJvT4RxvJPiDTvQe7rQ

🍎 Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/earth-tones/id1717266129

🎙️ Buzzsprout:

 https://earthtones.buzzsprout.com

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https://youtube.com/@earthtonespodcast

📱 TikTok:

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📸 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/earthtones.podcast

This week on Earth Tones, I’m talking about what happens when life throws you off your rhythm — when you lose your spark, your creative flow, or your balance — and how to find your steadiness again.

After spending time with my dad and family for the first time in six years, I came home full of mixed emotions and reflection. Instead of forcing meaning too soon, I’m slowing down and letting the experience breathe.

In this solo episode, I share what it feels like to lose momentum — in work, parenthood, creativity, and healing — and how to return to yourself when the beat changes.

Through the four Earth Tones pillars — Survival, Passion, Service, and Love — I explore what keeps us grounded when the world feels loud and we can’t seem to catch our rhythm:

• 🌾 Survival — Showing up, even when you’re tired or uncertain.
• 🔥 Passion — Remembering your why when inspiration fades.
• 💗 Service — How small acts of care can pull you back to purpose.
• 🌊 Love — Extending grace to yourself when you can’t do it all.

If you’ve been feeling off-beat lately — this one’s for you. A reminder that pauses, slow seasons, and setbacks are still part of the song.

💭 Reflection Prompt

What keeps you steady when life throws you off beat?

Share your story on Instagram @earthtones.podcast or submit through the Earth Tones Story Form to be featured in a future episode.

🌱 Connect

Stay connected for new reflections and upcoming guest stories:

• Instagram: @earthtones.podcast
• TikTok: @earthtonespodcast
• YouTube: Earth Tones 

🎙 Episode 11: What’s Your Earth Tone?

In this solo reflection, I return to the roots of Earth Tones and the four pillars that God placed on my heart when this journey began: Survival, Passion, Service, and Love.

Each pillar has shaped not only this podcast but also my own story. They remind me that growth often blooms from hardship, that joy deepens through acts of service, and that love is what ties everything together.

This episode is an invitation to pause and reflect.

Ask yourself: What’s your Earth Tone?

Which pillar speaks to your journey right now?

If you feel called to share your story, testimony, or a moment in your life that connects to one of these pillars, I would love to hear from you. Whether you’re walking through survival, fueled by passion, serving from your heart, or rediscovering love, your voice belongs here.

You can share your story by filling out the Earth Tones Guest Intake Form here:👉 https://tr.ee/mYDFILIlg1

Together, we’re creating a tapestry of voices rooted in resilience, purpose, and faith!

Connect with Earth Tones

🎧 Listen & Share

📸 Instagram: @earthtones.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/earthtones.podcast)

🎥 YouTube: Earth Tones Podcast (https://youtube.com/@earthtonespodcast?si=iaNqp0NTcinV-82m)

🎵 TikTok: @earthtonespodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@earthtonespodcast?_t=ZT-9096aitaM7q&_r=1)

In this episode, I sit down with my cousin Hannah Willow, a creative tree hugger, women’s advocate, and inspiring mother of three, based in Scotland. Hannah brings an imaginative spirit into everything she does: from seeking fairies in the forest to writing and illustrating children’s books that open portals into wonder. Together, we explore what winds of change mean in her life, how imagination and activism intersect, and the lessons she’s learned as both a mother and a dreamer.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

    •    Hannah’s journey as a mother, women’s advocate, and creative

    •    The meaning of being a “tree hugger” (and why it matters more than it sounds)

    •    How imagination- fairies, forests, and wonder- fuels resilience and joy

    •    Her creative path as a children’s book author and illustrator

Resources & Links

    •    Follow Hannah on Instagram: @hannah.willow888 (https://www.instagram.com/hannah.willow888)

    •    Explore her art, writing, and advocacy: www.willowtreewishes.com 

Connect with Earth Tones

    •    Instagram: @earthtones.podcast (https://www.instagram.com/earthtones.podcast)

    •    TikTok: @earthtonespodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@earthtonespodcast)

    •    YouTube: Earth Tones Podcast (https://youtube.com/@earthtonespodcast)

In this conversation, we journey into the vibrant, messy, hopeful world of Uganda’s slums through the eyes of Twikirize Ronald. We talk about the intersection of chess and change, how culture is embedded in our identities without us even realizing it, and what it means to walk alongside communities with dignity. Ronald opens up about his founding of Galui Foundation, how he frames service with both heart and mind, and the systemic challenges he’s confronting daily.

You’ll hear stories that will stay with you: a child trekking miles, the contrast of dining tables vs. trench meals, the internal logic of poverty as identity, and the shift from pity to partnership in service. This is an invitation to feel, reflect, and act.

🗣️ Key Quotes & Highlights

    •    “Once it comes to your ears, eyes, heart, brain, it’s now in you. It’s now your responsibility.”

    •    “The tragedy of poverty is it allows you access to peep at what life could be but you’re so locked in a cage that you can’t access.”

    •    “Take care of the stomach but make sure you take care of the mind.”

    •    Stories of 10-year-olds walking miles, storms of judgment, and systems failing communities.

🔗 Links & Resources

Guest / Featured

    •    Twikirize Ronald — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeghettoduke  

    •    Galui Foundation — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galuifound  

Earth Tones Podcast

    •    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthtones.podcast?igsh=MTdjc2VnZ2MwdjV0dA==

    •    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthtonespodcast?_t=ZT-9096aitaM7q&_r=1

    •    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@earthtonespodcast?si=iaNqp0NTcinV-82m