Pray With our Feet

Join us for an illuminating conversation with Dr. Marisela Gomez about prioritizing wellness in daily life, centering spiritual messages rooted in love (Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman), being intentional about how we use social media, and the importance of listening to the body, a transformative practice which helps us heal from various forms of trauma and more.

Dr. Gomez is a mindfulness practitioner (ordained in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing), public health scholar activist, and physician. Of Afro-Latina ancestry, she lives in Baltimore exploring the intersections of social justice activism in community building/research from a ground of love in action.

She is the author of Race, Class, Power and Organizing in East Baltimore, and numerous book chapters in popular and scholarly publications. She practices with Baltimore and Beyond Mindfulness Community for people of color (POC) and social activists.

Connect with Dr. Gomez Further / Additional Resources:

Her blog at Huff Post and http://www.mariselabgomez.com/ on the intersection of wisdom justice and mindfulness.

Baltimore Mindfulness Community

TedTalk on healing racism through waking up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZEsPnhlXg

Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of this World for Crucifixion and Empire

Liberate Meditation app (available on Android and Apple)

Grab your smoothies, and join us for a great chat with Rowana Abbensetts, writer, mental health advocate and founder of Spoken Black Girl Publishing, about the power of centering wellness and self care as activists / change makers and parents.

Far too often, we push these practices to the back burner, but they are essential for our well being. As a lifelong writer, Rowana has made it her mission to help women heal through telling her own story and inspiring others to do the same. Spoken Black Girl Publishing is designed for women of color to share mental and emotional holistic wellness experiences.

Her fiction and poetry has been published in Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, Moko Magazine, Free Verse, Late Fee and many other publications.

Support the Work of Spoken Black Girl Publishing:

Become a supporter of Spoken Black Girl on Patreon!

Shop the Spoken Black Girl Online Store

Spoken Black Girl Self-Love & Healing Journal

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

Sign up for our NEW e-mail newsletter

IG: @praywithourfeet

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This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for a heart-centered conversation with Leilani Raglin about finding our path in activism, faith, advocating in organizational / corporate spaces, and her work with self care / wellness for women of color.

Leilani is the founder of Raglin Consulting, and EmpowerWOC Project: Healing Retreat. She is a social entrepreneur with a background in business, leadership, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), specializing in growing radically authentic, empowered, and equity-minded organizations, leaders, parents, and families, while creating intentional, positive change in the community.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
• So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Ibram X. Kendi (author, professor and anti-racist activist)
• Support the work Leilani is doing with her retreat, and learn more: https://www.empowerwocproject.org and follow their new IG page.

EmpowerWOC Project: Healing Retreat Photo Credit: Irah Dizon

EmpowerWOC Project: Healing Retreat Photo courtesy of Leilani Raglin

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

Sign up for our NEW e-mail newsletter

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for an inspiring discussion with Kellene Diana, mental health advocate, bestselling author, and proud founder The G.A.L.S. Green Heart Community - a multi-level, member-based community providing numerous resources and accountability for purpose-driven women seeking personal and professional development as they continue to heal from anxiety and depression.

G.A.L.S. was developed in Baltimore, MD as a result of Kellene Diana's personal struggle and triumph over anxiety and depression. She has a commitment to erasing the stigma associated with anxiety and depression amongst women of all nationalities from all over the world.

The GREEN Heart Community has one active division - the GALS Division, and two other divisions on the way - GUYS DIVISION and GLOW DIVISION (for teens and preteens dealing with social anxiety).

Join the Community!

You can join over 1, 500 GALS in the GALS division at www.bit.ly/ibaad ; the website is still under construction, but people can sign up for the newsletter for alerts on when the other divisions will start: www.thegreenheartcommunity.org.

G.A.L.S. has assisted over 1,000 women worldwide in achieving their dreams despite anxiety and depression by encouraging members to seek therapy in conjunction with providing resources and training to encourage personal development.

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

Sign up for our NEW e-mail newsletter

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Happy New Decade! We're sharing prayers and scripture verses with you for the months ahead. And, we're also excited to launch an e-newsletter (you can sign up here)!

During the next several episodes we're lifting up the intersection of wellness and social justice with some amazing guests: Rowana Abbensetts, founder of Spoken Black Girl magazine, Leilani, founder of Raglin Consulting and a Healing Retreat for Women of Color, and Kellene Diana, founder of The GREEN Heart Community; there is one active division, the GALS Division and two upcoming divisions: the GUYS DIVISION and GLOW DIVISION (for teens and preteens dealing with social anxiety).

You can join over 1,500 GALS in the GALS division: www.bit.ly/ibaad (subscribe to the newsletter and get alerts when the other divisions will start); if you are in Baltimore area, don't miss her upcoming event, Light the City Green, Jan. 11.

Far too often, wellness and healing are overlooked in discussions related activism; yet, we cannot do this movement work without commitment to caring for ourselves - mind, body and spirit. The brilliant writer and thinker Audre Lorde once said: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

Sign up for our NEW e-mail newsletter

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Pull up a chair, your favorite beverage and get comfy! You don't want to miss our conversation with visual artist Paige Meredith. This was recorded on the go so excuse some of the slight background noise.

Paige has such a heart for lifting up others through her artwork. We know you'll leave this conversation inspired. She is a self-taught illustrator living and working in the beautiful Ozark hills of Northwest Arkansas.

Days spent in the studio consist of making both digital art on her iPad and more traditional art with an absurdly large collection of watercolor, acrylic paint, gold foil, micron pens, color pencils, as well as another ridiculously massive collection of audiobooks.

Because, Paige says, "I love getting lost in a story almost as much as I love making my own. And both at the same time are my happy place... Encouragement makes the world better by reminding us that we each have a gift to with which to make the world sparkle. To put more encouragement into the world {whether through a reminder that you can stick on your computer or a class where you can explore your creativity} : that's why I'm here."

We delved into quite a bit during this episode:

- Being community taught as an artist - recognizing that all we learn comes from numerous sources.

- Joy and creativity as forms of revolution and resistance! - How living with a learning difference (ADD) helps her build a community which goes beyond the surface.

- Moving away from the guilt so often associated with being a Mama, and learning to center self care.

- What it means to live out your faith / commitment to change.

Stay Connected with Paige:

Paige Meredith Art

Find her on Instagram: @_paigemeredith_

Resources Mentioned During this Episode:

The Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes

Reject the Hustle (a new movement...) Make sure you pop over to their blog!

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for a heartfelt chat with Christine Gibson about creativity, motherhood, activism, and progressive Christian faith. Christine was born and raised in Queens where she still resides with her husband and two children. She is training to be a certified birth doula with Carriage House Birth. She became passionate about birthwork after delivering her two children at home with a midwife. She has a BA and MA in International Relations and professional experience in the non-profit.

She operates a small handmade business, Queens Knits and runs a monthly group called the Queens Knitting Circle to fulfill her passion of crafting and community building. Christine has been a member of Middle Collegiate Church for the past ten years and loves to share the church's progressive message to whoever will listen.

We delved into -

- Her relationship with God and the power of her church community (Middle Collegiate Church) which lifts up radical love, justice and cultivating change in the world.

- Centering authenticity and community in creative entrepreneurship.

- Using social media as a tool to foster dialogues around social justice, and how the death of Mike Brown propelled her into a new season of activism.

- How a miscarriage eventually led her to study becoming a doula; Christine wants to give other women the birthing experience she didn't have.

- Seeing her progressive Christian faith as inextricably linked to movement building.

Helpful Links mentioned during this episode:

Middle Collegiate Church https://www.middlechurch.org/

Shi Shi Rose https://www.shishirose.com/

Valarie Kaur: Breathe and Push speech (mentioned at the end of this episode) https://valariekaur.com/2017/01/watch-night-speech-breathe-push/

Carriage House Birth (doula training organization) https://www.carriagehousebirth.com/

Join us for a dynamic conversation with Danielle Frisby, founder of UnBoxing Change, a community engagement event business created to tackle the most pressing problems people face on the planet. UnBoxing Change allows customers to become Agents of Change by way of creating events that are mission-driven and are attached to the communities that are in need of service and support.

Danielle is a Social Impact Event Planner; she organizes families and entrepreneurs with healthy plans of action - from startups ready to launch to Mommies ready to pop, she's got you covered! She is a complete believer of holistic healing and planning, her passion is deeply rooted in the balance and rhythm of life, work and love!

We delved into -

- Centering God and prayer in business, creative projects and everyday life.

- Empowering young people and building intergenerational dialogues.

- How she builds hubs through Unboxing Change to connect youth from around the state of Maryland (middle and high schoolers) who are interested in ministry, business, activism, etc. to mentors who are doing that work, on the ground.

- Her system to help you move from overwhelm to calm and clarity: The Stress Shred (21 Day Challenge). For more info., reach out to her on Instagram through direct message or email: [email protected]

- Stay Connected with her: Unboxing Change

- If you enjoy this podcast, please rate, like, share and leave us a review on iTunes.

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for an engaging conversation with Lou-Ann Wattley Belk, creative Mama and founder of Well Worth Watering, a newly birthed blog and online community that channels the pregnancy, birth and mothering stories of black women in order to nourish and empower black birthing people. As we work to dismantle the roots of the deep injustice that exist for black women's maternal health, we can't ignore the narrative. We have to uplift as many stories of success as we do stories of sorrow. Lou-Ann's goal is to fearlessly hold space for both.

Well Worth Watering serves as a call to elevate the voices of black mother's unique stories—stories that might otherwise wither on the landscape of the maternal health crisis. It has also become a mantra for Lou-Ann to unapologetically use her voice, creativity and writing for something greater than herself. Committed to learning and growing in her roles as a mother of 2, wife, brand design consultant and creative writer, Lou-Ann now calls Northern Virginia home.

We delved into:

- Challenging our ideas / notions of black motherhood, birthing experiences… honoring the many narratives.

- How anti-blackness impacts black mothers and children. - Ways we can all support black mothers - from listening to our lived experiences to donating to organizations like Black Mamas Matter Alliance .

- Lifting up self-care along our motherhood journeys.

Resources and Ways to Support -

Submit your birthing / motherhood story to Well Worth Watering

Why Black Mothers and Babies are in a Life-or-Death Crisis, The New York Times

Black Mamas Matter Alliance

Black Mothers Keep Dying after Giving Birth. Shalon Irving's Story Explains Why (NPR)

Sisters in Loss podcast Spotlights faith filled black women who share their grief and loss stories and testimonies. Black women experience miscarriage and stillbirth four times more than white women according to the NIH and CDC.

The case of Lashonda Harris Kira Johnson's Case (Judge Hatchett's Daughter-in-law)

Stay Connected with Well Worth Watering:

https://www.wellworthwatering.com

IG: @wellworthwatering

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for an interesting discussion with Elizabeth Rhodes, writer, designer, and author of the children's book, Feminism is for Boys (for ages 0-3).

Elizabeth is an advocate for women's rights and a self-proclaimed feminist. She believes feminism is for all genders, including boys. Elizabeth hopes parents will find this book useful in helping inspire boys to connect with the word feminist, as well as show all children a book representing diverse boys that are proud of their interests, express emotions confidently, seek friendships outside of their similarities, and believe unapologetically in true equality.

Elizabeth is a mother to Alora - a loud, strong, fierce human. Her partner Russell was a huge inspiration for the creation of this book. Russell identifies as a feminist and proudly teaches Alora to expect equality.

We delved into -

- Common prejudgements about feminism, and her journey into feminist thinking. Elizabeth says: "It has been a common misconception in our culture that feminism is reserved for women, and is pursued at the detriment of men. In fact, when feminism is truly successful, all genders will benefit."

- Understanding social media as a tool to speak across differences, learn about various lived experiences, and build community, online and off line.

- How the Feminism is for Boys book empowers parents to have discussions around gender equality and the diverse beauty of differences at a young age.

- How we can all begin to build bridges in everyday life: listening deeply, connecting across generational divides with conversations that acknowledge our lived experiences differ (and that's OK).

- How we can create change: speak up when you see something happening that marginalizes others, be honest about your own mistakes along this journey, acknowledge them and then share those lessons with others and honor the value of others lives daily.

Connect with Elizabeth via her website: https://www.feminismisforboys.com (where you will find links to all her social media pages).

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.