ROADS ROCKS WEEDS + SOIL

Some family can't ever come back to the cookout.

Natasha Elaine forgave her uncle for abusing her when she was a child. It took years to acknowledge the hurt and anger. Their relationship remains closed. So what does forgiveness actually change?

In Part 1 of this Faith After Fire: Love, Lust & Letting Go conversation, licensed marriage and family therapist Adrianne Wagner helps Natasha look at reconciliation, the feelings we rush past, and the ways we can call something “no big deal” when it was a big deal.

Natasha also shares why a recent Prince George's County police appeal in an unrelated cold case moved her to make a historical report about her own abuse. The cases are separate.

Content note: This episode discusses childhood sexual abuse without graphic detail.

Scripture: Romans 12:18 (NIV): “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Word of the Week: ACKNOWLEDGE. Name what happened and what you feel. Give yourself room to tell the truth before asking yourself to move on.

Listener challenge: Tell someone safe sooner than Natasha did. You can start with: “Something happened to me, and I need to talk.” If it has already taken years, what happened was never your fault.

Kingdom Artist: Jackie Hill Perry. Song of the Week: “Keep Your Head Up,” featuring Scootie Wop.

Hear the complete ICU Radio 97.3 replay with Jackie Hill Perry's music at https://www.mixcloud.com/RRWSPODCAST/. The music-free podcast edition contains the conversation, reflection, prayer, and challenge.

For background on the separate cold case mentioned in this episode, read the Prince George's County Police announcement.

Subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds & Soil. Follow @RRWSPodcast on Instagram and visit https://rrwspodcast.com.

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey. By God, for God. 🌱

“Once a boundary is crossed, we need more than a reaction. We need direction.”

What happens when somebody keeps crossing our boundary?

And what happens when that somebody is us?

In the final part of the Faith After Fire conversation with That Therapist Jawn, licensed clinical social worker Psalm McDaniels, Natasha Elaine turns the mirror around.

Natasha shares a personal example of crossing someone else’s boundary and examines what taking responsibility looks like without tearing herself apart.

Psalm explains when to clarify a boundary, when to allow time for change, and when the amount of harm may indicate that it is time to walk away.

Together, they discuss accountability, kinder self-talk, rebuilding self-trust, listening to the body, and determining whether the next step is repair, distance, or release.

INSIDE THIS EPISODE

🌱 What to consider after a boundary has been crossed

🌱 How to take accountability without turning it into self-condemnation

🌱 When to allow time for change and when it may be time to walk away

🌱 How the body, the Holy Spirit, and wise counsel can help guide our decisions

🌱 Why the years we invested do not own the years ahead

🌱 What it means to rebuild self-trust

REFLECTION QUESTION

What boundary do I need to set, respect, or repair?

As you write, notice what happens in your body. Then take your answer to God and ask whether your next step is accountability, an apology, a conversation, distance, or release.

WORD OF THE WEEK

Self-trust.

Self-trust means believing that as we pray, read, listen, and obey, we can recognize what God is showing us and respond without abandoning ourselves.

Trust God first.

Then trust the person He is teaching you to become.

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Find the Faith After Fire Journal at rrwspodcast.com under Resources and Digital Products.

Hear the complete ICU Radio 97.3 replay, music and all, on Mixcloud by searching RRWS Podcast or visiting mixcloud.com/rrwspodcast

The full, unedited conversation with Psalm is available on YouTube. She is also featured in the Still Holy, Still Healing series.

Connect with Psalm on Instagram at @ThatTherapistJawn.

KINGDOM ARTIST + SONG OF THE WEEK

Our Kingdom Artist throughout this three-part conversation is Detroit Christian hip-hop artist and HLY GRL founder Porsha Love.

The Song of the Week is “INI MINI” by Porsha Love.

If this episode spoke to you, subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds + Soil and share it with someone learning that they can own the harm, make a wiser choice, and still trust the person God is helping them become.

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

God loves you way more! ❤️

“A boundary does not force another person to agree with me, understand me, forgive me, or change anything at all. It identifies what I will and will not continue participating in.”

Ten years ago, Natasha Elaine ended a 20-year friendship after one hurt too many. The truth? She had never communicated what needed to change after the first few hurts. By the time the last one landed, she was no longer looking to establish a boundary.

Baby... it was time for a wall.

In Part 2 of the Faith After Fire series, Natasha continues her conversation with That Therapist Jawn, licensed clinical social worker Psalm McDaniels, about the difference between establishing a healthy boundary and building a brick wall.

Together, they examine the fear of losing people, the pressure many Black women feel to remain accommodating, the superhero complex, and why feeling guilty does not necessarily mean we have done something wrong.

Why saying no can feel threatening when everyone expects you to say yes

How self-talk can help us move through guilt and communicate boundaries

How therapy helps us recognize patterns, notice our bodies, and rebuild trust in ourselves

The difference between a healthy limit and an impenetrable wall

How to use I-statements and communicate with clarity, kindness, and confidence

Why another person’s anger does not have to determine our response

What it means to practice relational sovereignty

Psalm 141:3 NIV: “Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Proverbs 15:1 NIV: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Where have I built a wall because I did not know how to communicate a boundary?

Take your answer to God and ask whether that wall needs a door, an additional lock, or permission to remain exactly where it is.

Sovereignty: The authority to govern.

Relational sovereignty is the ability to remain connected in love while governing your own heart, choices, words, and responses.

We cannot let their lightning trigger our thunder.

Find the Faith After Fire Journal at rrwspodcast.com.

Hear the complete radio replay, music and all, on Mixcloud by searching RRWS Podcast.

Watch the complete, unedited conversation with Psalm on YouTube, and connect with her on Instagram at @ThatTherapistJawn.

“Rap Like a Girl” by Porsha Love, featuring LaNell Grant, TuKool Tiff, and Tylynn.

If this episode spoke to you, subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds + Soil and share it with somebody who either says yes until they snap or builds a wall before building a bridge.

They may simply need better tools.

Until next time: Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

God loves you way more! ❤️

PODBEAN CHAPTER MARKERS & TIMESTAMPS

Gaslighting does not always take away your ability to choose. Sometimes it teaches you to distrust the very perception you need to make one.

In Part 1 of this three-part conversation, licensed clinical social worker Psalm McDaniels, @ThatTherapistJawn, goes beyond identifying love bombing, gaslighting, and narcissistic patterns. She explains why those patterns are so hard to leave, how guilt can make healthy boundaries feel wrong, and why the way out begins with trusting that you know what you are experiencing.

That truth sent me back to my own story, and I am sharing a part of it I have never told this directly.

In this episode, we talk about:

Why love bombing can overpower what the evidence is telling us

WORD OF THE WEEK

FAITH AFTER FIRE JOURNAL PROMPT

SCRIPTURE

KINGDOM ARTIST + SONG OF THE WEEK

Roads, Rocks, Weeds + Soil airs live on ICU Radio 97.3 and streams everywhere podcasts are found.

Listen to the complete radio replay, music and all, on Mixcloud (search RRWS Podcast). Watch the complete, unedited conversation with Psalm on YouTube.

We spent two episodes talking about red flags, potential, patterns, and assignments. Now it’s time to talk about what healthy love actually looks like.

In Part 3 of my Faith After Fire conversation with Caniesha Marsh, founder and CEO of Divine Connections Philadelphia, we flip the conversation from red flags to green ones.

Consistency. Mature communication. Respect for boundaries. Peace. Trust. Spiritual alignment.

And while listening back, I realized something else: some of the qualities I wanted to see in somebody else were still growing in me.

Because discernment does not give us permission to investigate, control, cross boundaries, or turn into a “cold sniper” looking for proof. Sometimes wisdom is trusting what God has shown us without needing to know everything He knows.

Using Proverbs 24:3–4, we break down the difference between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, and how each helps us build healthier relationships.

The question is not only, “Are they a green flag?”

Are you bringing green flags too?

TRUST

Take what you’re sensing to God without turning discernment into surveillance. Receive the nudge. Honor the boundary. Trust God with what comes next.

Proverbs 24:3–4

Anike

You see the potential. You see who they could become. You can practically see the testimony already...

But did God actually assign you to help them get there? 👀

In Part 2 of Faith After Fire, Natasha Elaine revisits her conversation with Caneisha Marsh, founder and CEO of Divine Connections Philadelphia, about toxic cycles, romanticizing potential, spiritual compatibility, and the temptation to turn people into projects.

This time, Natasha hears the conversation differently.

Sometimes the weed isn’t the person you’re dating. Sometimes it’s your own proclivity to keep returning, fixing, teaching, rescuing, or imagining a future the other person isn’t actually choosing.

Because seeing someone’s potential does not make their transformation your assignment.

We’re talking about what it looks like to stop dating possibilities, stop volunteering for work God didn’t give you, and make room for relationships where both people arrive ready to pray, grow, build, and walk with Christ.

And yes... the holy oil is still a requirement. 😂

🌱 WORD OF THE WEEK: Proclivity

Faith After Fire Journal available at RRWSpodcast.com

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

#FaithAfterFire #ChristianDating #DatingPotential #Discernment #HealthyRelationships #RRWSPodcast

Sometimes the red flags were obvious.

Sometimes we ignored them.

And sometimes... we were the red flag. 😂

In Part 1 of Faith After Fire: Radio Revisited, Natasha Elaine revisits her original conversation with Caniesha Marsh, Founder + CEO of Divine Connections Philadelphia, with the wisdom that only time, healing, and new experiences can bring.

We're talking relationship red flags, discernment, accountability, and what it looks like to recognize what God may be showing you without romanticizing what you want something to become.

This isn't about rewriting the past. It's about being able to revisit it and say:

It is what it is... and now I know what I know.

🔥 Faith After Fire: Radio Revisited, Part 1

🎙️ Roads, Rocks, Weeds + Soil

Building strength is only part of the journey. Are you giving your body the nourishment it needs to support that strength?

In Part 3 of Guard Your Heart & Sharpen Your Iron, Natasha Elaine revisits her conversation with fitness professional David A. Miller about protein, nutritional support, consistency, and the difference between temporary motivation and lasting dedication.

David shares practical protein targets drawn from thirty years of working with clients. Natasha reflects on learning to nourish her body without fear, punishment, obsession, or condemnation, especially when life interrupts her rhythm.

This episode explores:

• Why strength training and nutrition belong in the same conversation

The Word of the Week is DEDICATED, inspired by David’s reminder:

“Motivation is great, but motivation isn’t lasting. You have to find some dedication.”

This week’s listener challenge is simple: Before preparing or ordering a meal, ask, “Where’s my protein?” Then choose one personal commitment that will help you nourish the life and strength you are building.

The radio edition features Lecrae’s “Resurrected,” “Journey,” “Firm Foundation,” and the Song of the Week, “Legacy.”

Return. Continue. Rebuild. Model. Glorify.

This is the final installment of the three-part Radio Revisited series, Guard Your Heart & Sharpen Your Iron, featuring David A. Miller.

Part 1: Alcohol, Fitness, and Social Pressure

Nutritional needs vary according to health, age, activity, medications, and other individual factors. Consult your physician or a registered dietitian for guidance designed specifically for you.

Subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds & Soil and share this episode with someone learning to care for their body with wisdom, grace, and dedication.

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

https://rrwspodcast.com

What do you want your body to have the capacity to do ten years from now?

Carry groceries? Lift a grandchild? Walk through a new city? Get up from the floor? Climb stairs, travel, serve others, and continue answering God’s assignments with strength?

In Part 2 of Guard Your Heart & Sharpen Your Iron, Natasha Elaine revisits her candid conversation with fitness professional David A. Miller to explore strength training after 45.

David answers three important questions:

• Is it too late to get strong?

Together, they discuss cardio, resistance training, choosing an appropriate weight, repetitions, proper form, receiving qualified instruction, and fueling the body for the work we are asking it to perform.

Through the Roads, Rocks, Weeds & Soil lens, Natasha also addresses the beliefs that can keep us from beginning:

“I’m too old.”

“I waited too long.”

“Weights will make me bulky.”

“Cardio is all I need.”

“Asking for help will make me look inexperienced.”

The Word of the Week is CAPACITY, anchored by 1 Timothy 4:8. This week’s listener challenge invites you to identify what you want your body to do ten years from now, then schedule two beginner-appropriate strength-training sessions within the next fourteen days.

Kingdom Artist of the Week: Lecrae

This is Part 2 of the three-part Radio Revisited series, Guard Your Heart & Sharpen Your Iron, featuring David A. Miller.

Part 1: Alcohol, Fitness & Social Pressure

Before beginning or changing an exercise program, consider your present health, experience, mobility, and physical capacity. Seek guidance from a qualified medical or fitness professional when appropriate.

Subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds & Soil and share this episode with someone who has been wondering whether they waited too long to become stronger.

What do you want your body to have the capacity to do ten years from now?

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

Learn more: https://rrwspodcast.com

What are we going to do instead of drinking?

In this Radio Revisited edition of Guard Your Heart & Sharpen Your Iron, Natasha Elaine revisits a candid 2025 conversation with fitness professional David A. Miller about alcohol, social pressure, faith, and fitness.

During sixteen alcohol-free weeks while training with David, Natasha recognized how closely drinking had been connected to celebrations, dining, relationships, and having fun. She also saw how her choices supported the results she was building in the gym.

David offers practical guidance for protecting your fitness goals, preparing for alcohol-centered social settings, handling pressure, and deciding what you will do before temptation makes the decision for you.

Returning to the conversation one year later, Natasha reflects on the repeated choices that transformed her relationship with alcohol and created a life where drinking occupies very little space.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How alcohol can interfere with fitness progress

WORD OF THE WEEK: UNMASTERED

LISTENER CHALLENGE:

Identify one situation in which you automatically reach for a drink. Before your next gathering, decide what you will drink, how you will respond if someone pressures you, and what will make the experience enjoyable without depending on alcohol.

Subscribe to Roads, Rocks, Weeds & Soil as we pursue fitness for the body, mind, and soul.

Pray. Read. Listen. Obey.

CONNECT WITH RRWS:

Website: https://rrwspodcast.com