Loose Threads Podcast

Teresa, Michael, and Katherine open by naming the spiritual attack they’ve felt since launching the show. Then they share updates. The Ragged Thread Music socials are filling out, with Instagram coming next. The revamped Patreon now has song descriptions and lyrics. The podcast is listed in about 10 directories, full episodes are headed to Rumble with clips on YouTube, and a website is planned. On the business side, Teresa is rebuilding the water filtration workshop and finishing a short story about a blind football player. Michael has a mega recording session planned for the Kadosh Media DIY podcasting course and is considering print-on-demand, which could mean a band t-shirt.

The rest of the episode is about the word “childlike.” Katherine reads a map she built with Grok to separate the layers people blur together when they call her childish or say she seems “about 14”:

• her autism as an adult
• younger parts in her dissociative system
• a silly, hyper discharge under heavy stress
• grief over a childhood she never got, which shows up as wonder and childlike faith

Three songs illustrate the layers: “Free,” “Isolation,” and Teresa’s “Heart of a Child.” Teresa and Michael respond, and Katherine walks through the attachment styles. The episode closes on labels versus identity in Christ. Next week, Teresa maps her own layers.

Teresa, Michael, and Katherine open with a sample of "Sharpened," a song Teresa wrote for the second album about what iron sharpening iron looks like in practice. After quick updates on the band's socials, new songs in progress (including Michael's "You're Never Alone"), Katherine's branding shift, and the first three recorded modules of the Kadosh Media DIY podcasting course, the episode turns personal. They share progress on paying down debt, health changes, their long relationship with caffeine, and Katherine's hard-won lessons on autistic burnout and capacity.

Then Teresa and Michael tell the story of their special needs daughter and the news that the guardian ad litem does not believe they would make good guardians, a blow that reopened years of fighting to remain her parents as blind parents. That same week, a broken budget agreement led to a fight in which hurtful things were said, including a threat of divorce. The three talk through contempt, integrity, and living "beneath the gray," then apologize to and forgive one another on air. The episode closes with a sample of "Beneath the Gray."

Resources Mentioned

Follow @RaggedThreadMusic

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/raggedthread

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@raggedthreadmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594751456525

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@raggedthreadmusic

Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/raggedthreadmusic

X: https://x.com/araggedthread

Also check out Auticate: https://www.youtube.com/@auticate

Teresa Blaes, Michael Blaes, and Katherine Sesow come off a week that hit from every direction, so Katherine sets a theme for the episode: tie as much as possible back to AI. Band updates open with two contenders for the band's theme song, "Another Knot" and "Strings" (the likely first single from the upcoming album Protected), and Patreon members get to vote. They announce the new YouTube channel. Teresa relaunches her water filtration ad with rewritten copy and moves the workshop date, and her devotional Discover Your Voice: 31 Days to Faith-Based Podcasting is heading to more platforms through IngramSpark. Michael updates Kadosh Media and the DIY podcasting workshop. On the personal side, Michael and Teresa face a financial setback that could cut much of their income, Katherine describes a rough trip to a Rosh Hashanah service in the Phoenix area (food poisoning and an unsettling encounter in a public restroom) and the new boundaries for her break, and there's good news about a long-awaited life insurance approval.

The AI conversation gets honest about how each of them uses it. Teresa uses it for marketing, her resume, and a novella about a blind football player. Michael uses it for business and to make Katherine's long Grok conversations readable with Claude. Katherine uses it as a verbal-processing sounding board alongside therapy, never as a replacement for therapy or for emotional support. They talk through where they draw lines: no self-driving cars, no letting AI interpret Scripture, no relationships with a machine, and keeping kids off it. Then a passing comment in one of Katherine's conversations becomes a Holy Spirit moment she calls "the braid." A true three-strand cord (Father, Son, Spirit) is set against a counterfeit one: shame, a false savior that preaches isolation and concealment, and feel-good Christianity. That leads into accountability, the refining fire, a viral Steven Furtick clip, and a prayer. They close with gratitude from Michael's step study, the Arizona move, an encouragement for skeptics to keep asking questions, Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ, and a call for 25 Patreon supporters to fund a year of studio time.

Links Mentioned

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@raggedthreadmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594751456525

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@raggedthreadmusic?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/raggedthreadmusic?e9s=src_v1_cmd%2Csrc_v1_s%2Csrc_v1_s_o%2Csrc_v1_rso&sci=fd8abdbd-d572-4ddc-862e-8480ca71fe15

Teresa Blaes, Michael Blaes, and Katherine Sesow open with a laugh about AI "hallucinations" in their music, playing the gibberish intro the AI tacked onto Teresa's song "No White Flags," plus a clip of "The System," the first song Katherine ever produced. From there they get honest about a hard week as a band. A disagreement over the podcast cover turned into a five-hour conflict, and they unpack why: different working styles, spontaneous changes, and what autistic overwhelm and "open loops" feel like from the inside. They also cover band updates, including new worship songs Teresa has been writing, Katherine's upcoming two-week writing break, the Behind the Threads Patreon, and the challenge of getting live drums right for "Room at the Throne."

The second half goes deeper. Inspired by the movie The Forge, the three talk about discipleship, the lack of real depth in church community, and how churches can include people who can't drive. They share updates on health, Teresa's recovery from surgery, trauma and dissociation work, and the move to Arizona, then reflect on two sermons about confronting sin and accountability, using King David and Job as examples. The episode closes with a clear, simple invitation to know Jesus personally.

Resources

Lee Strobal: https://www.amazon.com/clp/B002C7ELU4

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@raggedthreadmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594751456525

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@raggedthreadmusic?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/raggedthreadmusic?e9s=src_v1_cmd%2Csrc_v1_s%2Csrc_v1_s_o%2Csrc_v1_rso&sci=fd8abdbd-d572-4ddc-862e-8480ca71fe15

In this episode, Teresa, Michael, and Katherine catch up on band, business, and family updates woven together as "threads" in their lives.

Band: They're nearly finished regenerating 50-60 older songs and share a preview of a new track, "My Tank Is Full," inspired by Teresa feeling overwhelmed at a crowded gathering. They also discuss "God's Plan," a love song Teresa rewrote from Michael's original poem "Till Death Do Us Part," both destined for their Patreon.

Business: Teresa is launching a water quality workshop (Eventbrite, October 5th), balancing an ambitious project list against limited budget and staff. Michael discusses Kadosh Media, his podcast production company (kadoshmedia.com), including recovering from a server hack and building a new DIY podcasting course with his nephew Colin. They also mention their other shows: Blaes and Gotch (an NFL podcast), The Equipped Podcast (co-hosted with Valerie Rocha), The Teresa Blaes Show, and The Unresolved Life Podcast.

Family and health: The group opens up candidly about cash flow struggles, food addiction, physical health issues (diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, an upcoming decision about a hysterectomy), and recovering from a bladder surgery.

Autism and burnout: Katherine and Teresa, both autistic, give a detailed, personal explanation of autistic burnout, sensory overwhelm, masking, and co-regulation, using a recent Celebrate Recovery event as a real-world example.

Mental health and relationships: The conversation turns to living with dissociative identity systems (OSDD), how their "parts" interact, conflict patterns between Teresa and Katherine, and how they're working toward healthier regulation and communication, including taking a planned two-week break from close contact.

Spiritual growth: All three share progress and setbacks in devotionals, church attendance, and Celebrate Recovery step study, along with reflections on grace, conviction, and accountability.

Closing: The episode wraps with a discussion of aligning family values, an ongoing potential move to Arizona, and a reflection on discerning God's timing through "fruit" in one's life and relationships.

Resources Metioned

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

Email: [email protected]

Teresa's water workshop: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1998933881048?aff=oddtdtcreator

Protected: https://protectedbook.com/

Kadosh Media: https://kadoshmedia.com/

Unresolved Life: http://unresolved.life/

Equipped: https://theequippedpodcast.com/

Blaes and Gottsch: https://blaesandgottsch.com/

The Teresa Blaes Show: https://teresablaes.com/

Celebrate Recovery: https://celebraterecovery.com/

The episode opens with a preview of an early demo, "This Is Why We Pray," written by Michael, along with some playful back and forth about slang and generational differences. Michael is then interviewed. He talks about his belief that many Christians settle for a surface level relationship with God instead of pursuing real depth and intimacy. He shares his childhood: a father often away with the military, a mother who struggled with bipolar disorder and presented very differently at church than at home, and his years in Royal Rangers, a Christian scouting program, where he found a stable role model. He tells the story of the accident that led to his blindness and the day he accepted Christ shortly afterward. He opens up about his ongoing struggles with anger, people pleasing, codependency, and conflict avoidance, along with how Celebrate Recovery has helped him work through those patterns. The conversation shifts into the dynamics between all three hosts, including honest disagreements about marketing methods, business decisions, and differing communication styles. Katherine and Michael talk through some tension around persuasive marketing tactics and what it means to build a business on biblical principles rather than just what is proven to work. The episode closes with each host naming their musical influences, including Casting Crowns, Skillet, Project 86, NF, and Carrie Underwood.

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

Celebrate Recovery: https://celebraterecovery.com/

Kadosh: https://kadoshmedia.com/

The episode opens with a band update. Teresa and Katherine share a couple of demo tracks, including a lighthearted spoof song about fighting with AI music tools and a more serious track about hidden pain, to give listeners a sense of the range they're working with. Patreon has officially been approved and is live. Teresa is then interviewed. She starts by pushing back on the idea that college is necessary for success, drawing on her own experience and the influence of the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. She talks about who she is outside of being an entrepreneur, then moves into her personal history: coming to faith as a teenager after years of anger toward God, surviving over 200 eye surgeries, and losing her sight. She shares the story of her infant sister Mandy's murder and how that trauma shaped her for years afterward. She describes her own dissociative identity disorder diagnosis, how she began working with a mentor named Sonda to address it, and the differences between her healing process and Katherine's. She talks candidly about a period of gaming addiction that became a form of escape and control, and how God met her in the middle of that struggle. The episode also addresses the complicated history of how Teresa and Katherine's friendship began, the ethical concerns around a coaching relationship turning into a personal one, and the abusive patterns that developed as a result. Both women take ownership of their part in that history and describe the work they're doing to repair the relationship.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

Email: [email protected]

Protected: https://protectedbook.com/

Unresolved Life: http://unresolved.life/

BNG: https://blaesandgottsch.com/

Equipped: https://theequippedpodcast.com/

The Teresa Blaes Show: https://teresablaes.com/

Celebrate Recovery: https://celebraterecovery.com/

Be Loved and Be Love: https://youtube.com/@orionkelly?si=kd8UYltCO6lh2HfZ

Rich Dad Poor Dad: https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Anniversary-Middle/dp/B07QPQ8WBL

Sonda Allison: https://myrtleministries.com/

Katherine is the guest for this episode. She opens by challenging the idea that becoming a Christian makes mental health and neurodevelopmental struggles disappear, using her own experience with autism as an example. She explains what autism is in accessible terms and recommends a few YouTube channels for people who want to learn more. From there she shares her childhood: growing up with two abusive parents, surviving sex trafficking at the hands of her father, and losing both parents by age 14. She walks through her early experience of faith at age five, her years of nominal Christianity, and the turning point in her twenties when she committed to reading the Bible cover to cover repeatedly. She talks openly about her dissociative identity disorder diagnosis (specifically OSDD), what parts and systems are, and her belief that integration back into a single identity is the biblically consistent goal. The conversation moves into heavier territory: satanic ritual abuse, programming, and the reasons some people engage in these practices. Katherine is careful to note that not everyone with a dissociative disorder has experienced this, and that none of it is ever the survivor's fault. She closes by explaining why she joined the band and what she brings to it as a singer, songwriter, and producer.

What autism is. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference in how the nervous system handles sensation, attention, prediction, and social meaning. It is present from early development even when it is not named until adulthood. It is not a mood, a personality, a parenting outcome, or a lack of care or intelligence.

Clinically it requires two things: persistent differences in social communication across contexts, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or sensory response. Those traits have to cause real impairment. “Spectrum” does not mean mild-to-severe on a single line. It means the same underlying pattern can look very different depending on language, intelligence, sex, support, trauma, and how much energy someone spends looking typical.

What it affects. Social communication is often a mismatch, not an absence of interest. Autistic and non-autistic people frequently misread each other both ways (the double empathy problem). Cognitive empathy can be effortful; feeling-with-someone is often intact and sometimes overwhelming.

The rest of the system matters as much as the social piece. Attention tends to go deep into a few streams (monotropism), which produces focus and expertise and also makes switching, interruptions, and transitions expensive. Sensory input can overload or under-register. Executive function — starting, planning, time, flexibility — can fail even when intelligence is high. Interoception (reading hunger, pain, emotion in the body) is often muted, delayed, or too loud. Masking, filtering, and translating all draw from one battery. When demand stays high, the result is autistic burnout: exhaustion, skill loss, and a much lower ceiling, which is not the same as depression.

Why it looks different in females. Diagnostic tools and clinician training were built mostly on boys. Girls and women are diagnosed later and more often after other labels. They camouflage more: scripting, forcing eye contact, hiding stims (repetitive movements or sounds used to regulate the nervous system, such as rocking, hand-flapping, humming, or fidgeting), copying safer people. That is faking not-autism, and it is expensive. Interests often look socially acceptable (animals, books, people, faith, a craft) but run at autistic intensity. Distress is more often internalized — anxiety, perfectionism, quiet collapse — so “she seems fine” is not evidence. Late diagnosis is late recognition, not late onset.

Causes. No single cause is known. For most people it appears to be genetic predisposition plus developmental influences, especially before and around birth. Heritability is high; hundreds of genes contribute; rare mutations explain a minority of cases. Associated factors include advanced parental age, prenatal infection or fever, prematurity, some air pollutants and pesticides, maternal obesity or diabetes, and certain medications such as valproate. These raise probability. None of them is autism.

Vaccines have been hypothesized. Some people still argue susceptible subgroups are under-studied. Rising numbers also reflect broader criteria, more awareness, and more girls and adults being counted. Better counting and a possible true increase can both be happening. Read primary sources and decide for yourself.

Orion Kelly: https://youtube.com/@orionkelly?si=kd8UYltCO6lh2HfZ

Auticate: https://youtube.com/@auticate?si=6orLCGau_6Xja1r3

Dr. Kim Sage: https://youtube.com/@drkimsage?si=7SqFq8ObvFTa3WoY

Tailah Scroggins: https://youtube.com/@tailahofficial?si=d-50-_jaNpnBfcr8

Angela Scafidi: https://youtube.com/@heavenandhealingpodcast?si=2638GC-6rR5gM9-P

The Shinar Directive: https://www.amazon.com/Shinar-Directive-Preparing-Perditions-Return/dp/B0DK4783LP

Russ Dizdar: https://www.shatterthedarkness.net/

Sherry Clausen: https://sherryclausen.com/

Power Infusion: https://www.amazon.com/POWER-INFUSION-Spiritual-Warfare-Everything/dp/1644381338

Tortured for Christ: https://www.amazon.com/Tortured-Christ-Richard-Wurmbrand/dp/B0GJSCZTHY

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

Email: [email protected]

Teresa Blaes, Michael Blaes, and Katherine Sesow introduce the podcast and explain what it's about: weaving together band, business, and family into the tapestry of God's kingdom. They talk about their band, The Ragged Thread, and how it mixes genres like praise and worship, dubstep, and aggressive rock. Teresa shares her vision for documenting the journey of building a band, a ministry, and a business while staying honest about real life. Michael talks about the album tied to Teresa's book, Protected, and the archive of about 150 songs they already have in demo form. Katherine explains her role and why she joined, and each host shares their personal reason for being part of the show. They close by explaining the release schedule: new episodes weekly on Tuesdays, generally 45 minutes to an hour long.

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SageKJS21/pseuds/SageKJS21

"Protected" by Teresa Blaes: https://protectedbook.com/

Kadosh: https://kadoshmedia.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raggedthread

Email: [email protected]

test