In Episode 4, Transactional Relationships: The Cost of Expectations, we sit down with Ricky Quiñones and Nicole Woodward to unpack how transactional thinking shapes our relationships — often without us even realizing it. 

We talk honestly about how we learned what transactional relationships are, the expectations we place on others, and what happens when someone doesn’t hold up their end of the “unspoken contract” we created in our minds. Ricky challenges the conversation by stating that all relationships are transactional in some way, prompting a deeper discussion about reciprocity, accountability, and reality. 

As the conversation unfolds, I share a personal revelation — realizing that while I often approach relationships through a transactional lens, God does not desire a transactional relationship with us. Instead, He calls us into trust, obedience, and love that isn’t based on performance or exchange. 

We also discuss what it looks like to stay committed to someone despite their shortcomings, and how expectations can either deepen connection or quietly erode it. Nicole opens up about her standards for a man who wants to pursue her, how being raised by a strong, independent single mother shaped her expectations, and how that mindset — while protective — is something she’s actively working through. 

This episode is a reminder that growth is ongoing, grace is necessary, and God is not through with any of us yet. If you’ve ever struggled with unmet expectations, conditional love, or learning how to balance standards with grace, this conversation will resonate deeply. 

Faith Takes Work and Healing Takes Time

Colorism: Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off — in tension. Sasha and I confront the disagreement and unresolved emotions from our first conversation, including anger, miscommunication, and the hard realization of how forceful communication and the need for agreement can damage connection. 

We reflect on personal accountability, childhood trauma, and the racial teachings that shaped our perspectives, while also acknowledging the growth we’ve experienced and the work that still remains. This episode is an honest look at conflict, humility, and reconciliation. 

We close by studying Luke 6:27–36, wrestling with Jesus’ command to love those we don’t like and to show kindness even when it’s difficult. This conversation ends not with perfection, but with prayer — asking God to make us obedient, even when obedience is uncomfortable. 

Faith Takes Work and Healing Takes Time

In this powerful and eye-opening episode, Nikky sits down with Sasha for a raw conversation about colorism — the unspoken wounds and biases that exist not just in the world, but within the Black community itself. Together, they unpack what it meant growing up with different skin tones, how family and society shaped the way they saw themselves, and why “Black people can be racist too” when it comes to how we treat each other based on complexion.

Sasha opens up about the labels often placed on darker-skinned women — “aggressive,” “intimidating,” “too much” — and how those stereotypes still impact identity, confidence, and relationships. Nikky shares her own experiences as a biracial, lighter-skinned woman navigating assumptions, privilege, and pressure, and what she had to unlearn about her own ethnicity and heritage.

Through honest storytelling, funny moments, respectful disagreements, and real-time reflection, the two explore how colorism shapes childhood and womanhood.

Faith Takes Work and Healing Takes Time

In this powerful first episode, Nikky invites listeners into a deeply personal conversation with the woman who has walked beside her through some of the hardest chapters of her story—her therapist.

They talk about how they first connected, what drew her therapist to trauma-focused mental health work, and the tools she uses as an advocate and rehabilitation specialist to help survivors heal. She explains what it means to create safety, build trust, and guide someone through the complex layers of trauma recovery.

Together, they revisit some of Nikky’s most painful therapeutic moments—facing the reality of the abuse she endured, saying the truth out loud, and learning not to shrink from her own story. This episode is raw, honest, and full of insight for anyone who has ever struggled to process their past.

It’s a vulnerable start to the season and an offering of hope for survivors who need to hear that healing is possible, even when the work is hard.

Faith Takes Work and Healing Takes Time