Woman Evolve with Sarah Jakes Roberts - Immerse Yourself w/ Erika Cruz

Episode Date: February 14, 2024

Happy Valentine’s Day, Sis! Remember, there’s no performing your way out of heartbreak, and the greatest gift W.E. can give ourselves is love. After last week’s episode, does anyone else see Erika Cruz for who she is and not for what she’s done? ‘Cause W.E. do! Repentance was showcased in a bold and beautiful way, that SJR is going a step further to dissect a portion of their conversation with a red kool-aid analogy not to be missed! They say the devil is in the details, but did they know God is a God of immersion? Chhiiillleee, the proof is in this podcast, the inspiration to write a book is in the advice segment, and the decision to rescue gentle parenting is in the air! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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coming back on the plane and he said, will you pass the salt and pepper? And I miss herding. I said, what? Salt and pepper. Listen to season two of McCartney, life and lyrics on the iHeart radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts Have you heard the news? It is your founding father Alex Cooper The most listened to podcast by women Alex Cooper's call her daddy is now available on the I heart radio app.

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A small town with secrets hidden for centuries. You turn up in Danville just as the town sees its first real crime in decades? And a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival. I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire. What do you think? This is Consumed, an all new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Mankey. I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding. Please, I call that breakfast. Listen to Consumed on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If anybody has to be held accountable, can we please just find a way to who is just me? We're tired of treating these children like they have feelings and emotions. Welcome back to episode six of the Woman Evolve podcast. I am your friend, Sarah Jakes Roberts. How are you doing? Tell me about your week. We are halfway through Black History Month.

If you are listening to this when this episode drops, then it is Valentine's Day. How are you doing on this here love day? Are you keeping Jesus as your first love? Are you keeping yourself near and dear to your own heart? Are you celebrating love? I hope you're not rolling your eyes because let me tell you, February 14th on 2014, I was a single girl.

I was a single mother with two kids and I posted something on Valentine's Day that was like, I'm not even hating on the people who have their Valentine because God has given me a beautiful love that started with myself and I have a lovely life and I love my kids. And I have to tell you the year before that

I probably was hating bitter. I had really spent quite a bit of time thinking that the greatest love that I would ever find would be in someone else's soul. And it kept me from doing the work to really love my own journey and my own soul. So this time 10 years ago, I'd finally come to a place of after probably 10 years of pain of saying, I can love the skin that I'm in. So I'm praying that something similar is happening for you or maybe even these words are just a seed in the right direction. This month at Wombanybob we're talking about surrendering

to becoming love and I believe that part of the reason why we struggle with becoming love is because we look at our story, the marks, the things that we could have done differently or better, and we think to ourselves, it could be difficult to come to a place of restoration and love after all that I have experienced and witnessed, and yet truly, honestly, the greatest gift that we can give to ourselves is an acceptance of ourselves that is rooted in and deep knowledge that God has already accepted us and we can dare to do the work to accept ourselves. I truly believe that this should be the starting point of any believer, any person who seeks to have purpose

in this world or to do something meaningful. A lot of times we want to perform our way out of heartbreak. We wanna perform our way into confidence, perform our way into love and relationships. If I do X, Y, and Z, then I will be worthy, then I will receive it. But doing the work of truly having acceptance, regardless of performance, allows us to have purity

when it is time for us to show up authentically in ourselves. And so while it may be tempting to try and put icing on a cake that is not done, I challenge you to do the work of fully embracing all of who you are, come out fully well done and then let everything that you get to have in life be the icing on the cake. Now hear me clearly, that is not to say that my single girlies will not experience

loneliness or wish that they had companionship. It just means that they will not fall for the notion that they are less valuable or that they do not have as much worth because they don't have that current connection in their life. Loneliness can be a fleeting moment in our lives if we're willing to find a way to embrace the reality of where we are and to make the best of it. And there's so much beauty to behold even outside of connection and companionship. Now, do I feel like the old woman in the club?

Cause I got a man. What's your man got to? Possibly. I won't lie to you. But I'm just telling you that when I was in a position of singleness, that I found a way to not experience constant loneliness. And I believe the same thing's possible for you.

And for those of you who, you got something, you working on a little something, your love cup is overflowing, or maybe it is trying to bloom into a little something, something, take a deep breath and soak it in. Don't wait for the other shoe to drop or wonder if it's gonna fall apart. Don't allow yourself to talk yourself out of the goodness

that is in front of you. Soak it all in. Marriage has ups and downs, it can be challenging, it can be so amazingly beautiful that you feel like you're living a real life fairy tale. And no matter what moment you're in, just know that when you have an opportunity to celebrate the good season, soak it all up.

Because we know it's just those rainy days, they gon' come. Why is the why does music have such a strong hold on me? Well, let's see this episode, we're gonna talk about how we surrender to becoming love as it relates to owning our story, our truth. If you didn't hear my conversation with Erica Cruz last week, it was one that I really enjoyed. Her story has not been easy. She was so open and honest about it, but she has discovered a way to tap into accountability and compassion for herself.

And to tell her story in a way that makes us all feel seen, I can relate to so many aspects of her story that we haven't walked the same path. Isn't that amazing when it comes to transparency? Okay, I'm going to dig a little deeper into this, but first I got to mind your business. Y'all send the questions, I answered them. Send me your questions podcast at woman evolved.com. This one we got from Hey, you as well. And I also have some, some of you are not wanting to tell your business like on a video. Girl, I get it. Send me a letter, write me a letter at podcast at womenevolve.com and I will mind your business

without sharing your voice. Cause we don't need, we don't always need everybody minding our business. You just want me to mind it and you want me to not say your name. I will come up with a fake name for you. I'm good with that. But for those of you who are like, girl,

here's my audio, here's my voice, here's my business. you can do that the same way. Still sending in a video telling us your name. Let's hear this week's question. Hi, I am Chelsea's and my question is when you first wrote your book, what inspired you? What actually made you say, let me write out what I was going through so that I can help encourage people. What was your inspiration to write it out on paper? Okay, so I get this question a lot because there are quite a few people

who want to share their story, but they're not exactly sure how do they get started, how do they have the courage and the confidence? The first thing I will say is this, a lot of times when we think about telling our story, we think that we are going to put our story on paper and from that point that it's going to automatically end up in the hands of everyone,

including the people who may take issue with our story. And I just want to remind you when I say this is gonna seem so elementary, but you know, I got to remind you that when you tell your story, the first person you're telling it to is just a computer screen. It is just Microsoft Word or notes or whatever you use to write your story. You get to write it and then read it and edit and decide, oh, I don't know if I want to say that. but the best thing that you can do is tell all of your story to just the computer screen. You could say, you know what?

I don't need anyone to read this, but I needed to read it for myself. Or you can say, hey, there are some things that I think could be helpful for other people, but could be traumatic for my family. So I'm going to take this out. But the first thing you have to do is get it out on paper. I will tell you that

my first manuscript was 60,000 words because a lot of times people are wondering like how many words are, you know, an average size book. 60,000 words is like the size of lost and found, which if you haven't read that, that is my memoir. And it's the standard size for most books. One of them evolved with 60,000 words. So was, so is power moves. Contrarily though, law all hope is found lost. I hope it's found in Los Angeles. It's got confused in my mind, but all hope is found was, I want to say 30,000 words. So 30,000 words in the publishing world, it was considered like a smaller trade book.

So I definitely spoke about it at conference because our theme was hoping that was part of the reason why I was even sharing it. But just so like if you're holding a book and you're like, I'm wondering how many words are in this, all hope is found was about 30,000 words and I'm an evolve a 60,000. Not to say that you have either of those books.

But if you wanna go to Barnes and Noble and pick it up in your hand and say, okay, this is what my book would look like if I put it on paper there, boom, there you have it. Another practical tool when writing a book about your story, besides getting it out on paper and understanding the length of the book. Honestly, I kind of take the book,

I take those words and I divide it into, you know, 12 chapters, 10 chapters, think about your life and break it up into different segments and then it'll let you know what the word count is gonna be. Once you've been able to do that, take a deep breath and consider, what do I want to leave people with?

What do I want people to understand and know about divorce, about building a business, about pursuing your doctorate, about generational trauma, about generational blessings, about isolation, about immigration, decide what it is that you want people to know and make sure that as you're writing your book that it is connecting to those things. As far as courage, I will let you know that I did not intend to write a book about my life.

I started a blog, for those of you who don't know, I started a blog and on that blog, I was going through a tough season in my life and I just needed an outlet. I needed somewhere to pour my words, my thoughts in my heart without fear or judgment and a blog became the space that occupied that for me. And once I finished blogging, I was approached by a publisher who asked me, did I want to turn my blog into a book or if I wanted to tell my story and I chose to tell my story. Telling my story was not anything that I did because I was seeking validation from other people as much as it was me no longer wanting to hide my truth.

Many people, because I got pregnant before there was, you know, all these bloggers and stuff who would have reported it before. I could embrace it, God knows, because I probably would have been even more traumatized and depressed than I was having to go through it somewhat privately, but many people didn't know that I was a teen mother and that I'd made some other

exhilarating dynamic choices with my life. And I didn't want to hide my truth. I wanted to say this is who I am. People were following me because of the blog and I also did not want people to feel like I was pretending to be something that I wasn't. Like I'm inspiring you, but if you knew my story, maybe you wouldn't be inspired was a philosophy

that I had in my heart. And I just didn't want to hide behind anything. And through that authenticity, things continued to grow and blossom. And as I met other women and God gave me revelation and continued to heal me and give me perspective on what was possible for my life. I continued to write to share that with other people.

And I share my story sometimes with trepidation when it's in unfamiliar places, but still with the level of courage because I learned really and truly that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. And it's one thing to be saved. It's another thing to share what you've been saved from and being able to do that has been helpful for a lot of people. So I hope that that answers your question and the question that any other person may have as it relates to coming to a space in our life where we're ready to write a book or tell our

story and tell it to yourself, tell it without fear, edit what you tell if you're going to share it with the world, get organized about what that main point in story is going to be, and then release it because you are obedient, not because you're necessarily trying to build a platform, and watch God reveal to you what else is in you. John Stewart is back in the host chair at The Daily Show, which means he's also back in our ears on The Daily Show, Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend John Stewart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is the second term we can all get behind.

Listen to The Daily Show, Ears Edition on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. One of the best shows of the year, according to Apple, Amazon, and Time, is back for another round. We have more insightful conversations between myself, Paul Muldoon, and Paul McCartney about his life and career. We had a big bearable man, who was called Mal Evans, who was our logo. And he was coming back on the plane and he said, will you pass the salt and pepper? And I miss her. I said what? So I drew pepper.

This season we're diving deep into some of McCartney's most beloved songs. Yesterday, Band on the Run, Hey Jude, and McCartney's favorite song in his entire catalogue, Here, There, and Everywhere. Listen to season two of McCartney, A Life in Lyrics, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Um, have you heard the news? What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper. We call her Daddy.

The most listened to podcast by women, Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy, is now available on the iHeart Radio app. I think that's so healthy. I wish we could get better at that. Open your free I Heart Radio app. Search, call her daddy and listen now. While you're there, check out the Nikki Glaser podcast.

This week, Nikki dishes out tales from Steven Tyler's Grammy party. I Heart Radio, free, never sounded so good. Get ready for our 2024 I Heart Podcast Awards presented by the Hartford live at South by Southwest. March 11th, we'll honor the very best in podcasting from the past year and celebrate the most innovative talent and creators in the industry.

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live at South by Southwest. To learn more or start a quote, visit the Hartford.com slash Small Business. With insurance designed for your small business, the bucks got your back. When George Floyd got killed, I started reading a book called the history of the United States. And that's when I saw that Christopher Columbus was just

as racist as Hitler. And I didn't know maybe you didn't either. Here we are season three. If I didn't know, maybe you didn't either. See season one, we talked Nat Turner, Gladys May West. In season two we talked brick plantations and talked how powerful black folk are. We say pepsi.

In season three we connect the dots from the enslavement periods to things happening today in no trespassing signs. Voter fraud, casual killing acts and of course powerful black men and women. And remember it's a leap year, so we've got 29 episodes every day in February starting February 1st. Make sure you listen. So I didn't know, maybe you didn't either, on the Black, no. I didn't know.

No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no.

No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no, no. ended up becoming the very thing that she was afraid of. I relate to this so much because that is definitely an experience I had as well where I thought to myself I don't want to be a failure, I don't want to be damaged goods, I don't want to be thrown away, I don't want to be devalued and I ended up making decisions that reflected what I had not yet wrestled with in my own soul. that reflected what I had not yet wrestled with in my own soul. And I wanna dig a little bit more into this notion of changing how we have immersed ourselves.

I believe that before we even recognize what we have been immersed in, that we're already in it. Let me try and explain that a little bit better. I am certainly not a psychologist, but I do a lot of work in just trying to understand people's habits and how they grow, how they change, how they're shaped by their environments. And one of the things that I realized

is that most of the time, we are not taking note, because we're in infantile stages, right, of the culture that we're being brought up in and how that culture defines the way that we do love, our work ethic, how we value education, appearance, whatever. Many of the decisions that we have made are a result of the culture that we have been immersed in.

Without proper dissecting of those cultures and environments, we never fully learned how we came to be the way that we came to be and whether or not we are in agreement with those results. So that word, immersed, means to involve oneself deeply in a particular activity or interest when using it to talk about liquid. It's to dip or submerge in a particular activity or interest when using it to talk about liquid it's to dip or submerge in a liquid so let's imagine for a moment that your family is Kool-Aid, red Kool-Aid and you were born and here you are born swimming in red Kool-Aid and you know how your fingertips get all red and

pruney when you've been swimming? Well, okay, now you've got red pruney fingertips from Kool-Aid. And one day you look at your hands and you're like, you know what, I want to be blue Kool-Aid. Or I don't want to be covered in red Kool-Aid at all anymore. But you can't really get out of becoming, out of being covered in red Kool-Aid

because you haven't taken the time to understand like what part of my environment has contributed to who I am today. And if I wanna do things differently, what counteractions, counter beliefs will I have to embody to get a different result? Many of us want different results but we do not create different environments. And because we don't have a different environment we Many of us want different results, but we do not create different environments.

And because we don't have a different environment, we continue to produce the same results and we think there's something wrong with us. God has given up on us. But the truth is that part of our faith journey is really choosing to say, you know what? This is what I have been immersed in, but it is time for me to make a new decision.

As always, I saved a portion of my conversation with Erica to talk a little bit more about what it means to immerse ourselves in something different. I am learning Spanish. I knew Spanish in high school, but I am learning Spanish again, so I can become really proficient in it. And as part of what she's telling me,

my teacher who I meet with, Virgil, is like, I can only get you 50% of the way. The other 50% is gonna depend on you, like, immersing yourself. So she gave me some movies to watch. She gave me some songs to listen to, some podcasts. She's like, it doesn't matter whether or not you know what they're saying, just turn it on

so that it's playing around you 24 seven. And it made me think about what you said about you focusing so much on what you didn't want, which I didn't want to be the girl who, you know, I was a statistic after becoming a teen mom. I didn't want to be the girl who felt like damaged goods. Like I had this whole list. I became all of those things because I think I was so immersed in what I didn't want that what I hear you saying is

we really need to change what we are immersing ourselves in and have faith that what we are immersing ourselves in is available to us even if we don't understand the language even if it feels foreign even if no one else around us understands what we're being immersed in if we're seeking wholeness if we're're seeking love, if we're seeking wellness and confidence, then we have to immerse ourselves in that world and begin to believe that as we are immersed that it's going to change us too. Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am. I totally believe that. I think that just the more we focus on what it is that we do want, and the more we actually practice faith and we remind reminded that faith is believing

even when it doesn't even seem like anything's making sense. Because we explained that we're faithful, but we always looking for explanation. And we just won't have that. We just need to believe that whatever has been put on our heart is real. And it will, we will be provided the tools to make it come to fruition.

You got that heart, you got a house on your heart, God's gonna give it to you. It will show up. But when it will, somebody told me one time the devil is in the details and now I see it every day. I'm like, yeah, you trying to plan every minute down to the very second, it won't work out. Stuff will come up.

But if you just believe that you wanna make it to that destination, you'll get there up. But if you just believe that you wanna make it to that destination, you'll get there. No matter if you get pulled over, no matter if it's a lot of traffic, you'll get there, just know that you're on your way there. So that's where I'm at. I think that the whole jail thinking all that,

it's just a little traffic. It's just a little traffic stuff. That's what I get for leaving the house late. I shoulda left in the time we're in. I shouldn't have been trying to do things last minute, do my makeup in the car on the way there. Of course you get in the car accident. Trying to do your eye line in the car on the way there

instead of being at home, doing things in the time you're in or taking your time. Just being more mindful of my actions, holding myself accountable and believing that whatever is coming up, it just is a part of the process and it's okay. And nine times out of ten, it's really protecting you from something else that will be even worse.

I like adding a little bit of Bible to ground anything that I'm talking about. And though I don't have a particular scripture for you right now, I am going to prove to you that God is a God of immersion as well. First of all, when he created the heavens and the earth, he created an environment called the Garden of Eden for man and woman to dwell in, because there was a certain task

that he wanted them to be able to fulfill. And he recognized that fulfilling that task would be impossible without first immersing them in an environment that would help them to become who he knew that they could be. OK, so he created this environment and he put rules in those environments. They broke the rules so that environment was taken away from them, but that environment, I want to, oh Lord, I'm talking to you like I'm preaching child, even though they were no longer able to access that initial environment because they had access to God

and God had given them a promise. The promise allowed them to begin to still live in the consciousness of the environment without having access to the physical nature of the environment. Why is this important? Because there are gonna be moments where you can steep yourself in an environment.

There will be moments where it is possible for you to have exactly the type of environment necessary for you to lose the weight, save the money, work on your mental health, and then there will be moments when that is not possible. In the moments when that is not possible, you can still immerse yourself as it's proven in the garden where your access to God, your vision is so at the forefront of your mind that it is all that you have to work with. God comes to Abraham and he tells Abraham, get out of your father's house to a land that I will show you. And then he goes on to tell him,

all of these things that he can expect as a result of him moving. It sounds like he was just giving him words, but those words were an immersive experience. He gave, he painted a picture for him. And in this picture, he tells him, this is what you can expect. And when God paints a picture for you, sometimes all you can do is immerse yourself in what God has said, because you do not see what has been said,

but you can live in what has been said and forget what you have seen. That is what we call living by faith. When David was anointed king, he was out in the field in the pasture with his sheep. And then he was pulled into the kingdom. And even though he was pulled into the kingdom, there was another king in place.

God, I've been anointed for one thing, but now you're immersing me in an environment where it doesn't look like what you have anointed me for, but still you have to be in the immersion of what you have been anointed for and what God has spoken over what you are actually realizing. One last thing I'm going to say to prove it, I'm going to take it to the New Testament. Jesus comes up to a man mind of his business fishing. He says, follow me and I'm going to make you fishers and men. You know me. I, well, you don't know me. Maybe you do know me.

I'd have grabbed my fishing pole and be like, Jesus, when, when, when we going at it, when we going at it? And instead they have him sit, the disciples sit back and watch because before you can do, you have to immerse yourself first. So what are some ways that you can begin to immerse yourself

based off the, based off of the goals that you have. If the goal is to be a fitness girl and maybe the people in your life don't necessarily take health and wellness very seriously, maybe you need to join a group on social media or follow some people who help you to be immersed in a culture of whatever health and wellness is. If it is rest, maybe you need to unsubscribe from some hustle channels and immerse yourself in environments where rest is not just something that is talked about, but something that is actively engaged. You may have to create your own

immersive experience, similarly to the way that my Spanish teacher told me that I had to do the same. So, boo, that is your homework, that is your challenge. If anybody can do it, I know that it is you. Before we head out for today, we've gotten a lot of emails and comments about following Erica's story, wanting to understand what we can expect next from her, what's going to happen with her case. And so I asked her if she would unpack with us. She's got to go before the judge for her final sentencing. And because I know that she has so many aunties and cousins, I asked her to kind of give us some updates on what's happening in her life and what we can

come to expect. So I'm going to let her share with you what she plans on saying before she gets in front of the judge. We're going to rescue somebody and then I'm going to talk to you next week, boo. I think like what has been most important for me, like coming up is to share that like, just going through this experience alone has taught me so much about myself, including being accountable for my actions. And so I know that going to jail can feel like it's deserved

because of the pain and the agony that I put onto somebody else and I want to be clear that I have been going through so much since that day. It hasn't been a day that one by I didn't think about her that I didn't feel sorry for my mistakes that I don't feel the need to go back in time and change that and wish it had never happened. But I can't do that. And now, as accountable as I wanna be for my own mistakes, I also wanna be mindful that there's other people involved who just do not deserve.

They just don't deserve to have to deal with my mistakes too. My grandmother, who's almost 70 years old, does not deserve to have to raise my son for me. My son, who's only three years old, who doesn't know anybody but his mom, does not deserve to live without me. And so if anybody has to be held accountable, can we please just find a way to hold just me accountable? Just if there's any way, if there's anything that we can do where all the blame and all

the fault can just be laid on my lap. Not my grandmother, not my grandfather, not my son, not even his dad. Like all the people who are going to have to rally together and figure this out without me being here. Because my siblings depend on me, my aunt depends on me, my grandparents depend on me. What are they going to do without me being here. Because my siblings depend on me, my aunt depends on me, my grandparents depend on me. What are they gonna do without me? That's what I worry about. That's what I wonder about.

Not what it's gonna be like for me in jail, but what are they gonna do without me? And so if there's anything that we can do so that they don't have to be without me, so that they don't have to figure it out, I'm just asking that we do that. If there's anything. And if not, I understand, you know,

and I appreciate just the time and the experiences that you allowed being in my family to have up until this point, because this is something that happened three years ago. You know, this is not something that happened last month. This is not something, I've been afforded a lot of time with my family since this incident. And so if this is, you know, if I just have to be appreciative of that

time, then I will be. And I think that there's any way that we can just not make them responsible for my mistakes too. I would really appreciate it. I love that because you talk about basically not wanting to create more victims, you know, without. I don't want to do that. I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that. I watched my grandma raise me by herself. I was 16 years old when I got my first sibling.

She then had to go on and raise her. I was out of the house at this point. I got another sibling five years later and she had to raise another sibling. Five years later did another aunt had to raise. And it's just like, I don't wanna be that person putting their responsibilities on somebody else. Some grandma just retired a few months ago.

You know, she's supposed to just be living her best life at this point, just like grandma, I'm like, I don't want her dealing with that. I don't want my son waking up every day, just like, where's my mom? You know, like, what's going on? Like, where's my mom? I'm on vacation right now. He's like mom. When are you coming back? Like when are you coming home? I don't want my siblings to

My little sister's third one of my little sisters is 13 right now. That one is nine years old. I don't want them To see me in that space and now they carry that identity with them To see me in that space and now they carry that identity with them, you know Yeah, with so much going on already the movies that the TV shows the music I don't want to be that example to my siblings too I want to be what shows them that if you make poor decisions You have to deal with your repercussions that if you repent and if you believe you will be given miracles You will be forgiven miracles you will be forgiven And you know, I'm just hoping that

That's what I can showcase to them and to my family and just you know, just continue to heighten their faith I'm hoping that when I leave the courtroom that day that they're like, you know, Eric I'll be thinking you crazy, but you'd be right like God is real You said you said only speak positively. Everything that we talked about, it came true. Everything that you said to think on it came about. So I'm really hoping that we get a courtroom that day and everybody's like, you crazy, but it's working. Yeah. Yeah, you crazy, but it's working. I like that. Yeah. This was amazing. I have to tell you, I, I don't know. We got to talk on the phone. So for those of you listening, so Trent, who is my trainer, it was his birthday and he was like, only one thing for my birthday. I want you to talk to Erica. So he calls Erica and we have a brief conversation. And I was like, Hey, let's tell your story. Let's get on the podcast And I knew then that I enjoyed you but having an opportunity to experience your light

Has just made me so thankful for those random moments where God is like here's another woman on a journey That you need to be exposed to your heart posture your, the way that you are anchored, resilient, aware, and so faithful is so inspiring. I have no doubt in my mind that everyone you encounter, judge included, is going to see you for who you are and not what you've done because I certainly see you for who you are and not what you've done. And I know anyone listening is going to do the same too. So thank you, thank you, thank you for being courageous enough to tell your story. I know some parts of it, if you're like me, can still make you feel a little tender on the inside.

Yeah, I was holding some tears back. Yeah, I get it, I get it. But thank you for trusting us and for trusting me with your heart. Jon Stewart is back in the host chair at The Daily Show, which means he's also back in our ears on The Daily Show, Ears Edition podcast. Join late night legend John Stuart and the best news team for today's biggest headlines, exclusive extended interviews and more. Now this is the second term we can all get behind. Listen to The Daily Show,

Ears Edition on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. One of the best shows of the year, according to Apple, Amazon and Time, is back for another round. We have more insightful conversations between myself, Paul Muldoon, and Paul McCartney about his

life and career. We had a big bear of a land, it's called Maladins, with our loggies, and I was coming back on the plane and he said, will you pass the salt and pepper? And I miss her, I said what? So I I miss her. And I said, what? So I did that one. This season, we're diving deep into some of McCartney's most beloved songs. Yesterday, Band on the Run, Hey Jude.

And McCartney's favorite song in his entire catalog, Here, There, and Everywhere. Listen to season two of McCartney, A life in lyrics on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Um, have you heard the news? What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper. We call her Daddy.

The most listened to podcast by women, Alex Cooper's Call Her her daddy is now available on the I Heart Radio app. I think that's so healthy. I wish we could get better at that. Open your free I Heart Radio app, search call her daddy and listen now. While you're there, check out the Nikki Glaser podcast. This week, Nikki dishes out tales from Steven Tyler's Grammy party.

I Heart Radio, free, never sounded so good. When George Floyd got killed, I started reading a book called The History of the United States. And that's when I saw that Christopher Columbus was just as racist as Hitler. And I didn't know, maybe you didn't either. Here we are season three. If I didn't know, maybe you didn't either.

See season one, we talked Nat Turner, Gladys May West. In season two, talked Brick Plantations and talked how powerful Black folk are. We say Pepsi. In season three we connect the dots from the enslavement periods to things happening today in no trespassing signs. Voter fraud, casual killing acts,

and of course powerful Black men and women. And remember, it's a leap year, so we've got 29 episodes every day in February, starting February 1st. Make sure you listen. So I didn't know, maybe you didn't either, on the Black Effect Podcast Network, our hard radio app, Apple Podcast, or? You have to send someone. What's going on? Whatever it is, that's our entire emergency force on the way somewhere. They're saying there's a body in the woods. Excuse me, I don't seem to recognize you.

Um, that's because I'm not from here. A small town stuck in the past. There's only one cell tower and currently it's out of order. With secrets hidden for centuries. We hear things, you know, when they whisper or when they think they're alone and a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival. I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town

New Hampshire. What do you think? I'm sorry, have you ever listened to a single true crime podcast? You turn up in Danville just as the town sees its first real crime in decades? This is Consumed, an all-new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Mankey. I did not wake up this morning preparing to deal with forces beyond my understanding. Please, I call that breakfast. Listen to Consumed on the iHeart radio app Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Evolve Podcasts"]

Well, that wraps up another episode of the One Minute Evolved Podcast. I hope that you all have enjoyed our conversation about what it means to own our story and to also change our story, to change the remaining chapters that we have left. It is never too late to introduce a new story into your life and into your world. When we do that we give other people permission to do the same. And who knows, you may be the very key that someone is looking forward to say, you know what?

I believe that I can do things differently and because of that, I'm going to give it a shot. I know that Erica is hoping that she can do that same thing for her sisters and brothers and you know what? Maybe we should have some, you know, I'm crazy what she's saying. You're crazy but it's working. Maybe that will be someone else's testimony that what it looks like was crazy is actually us really stepping out on faith and seeing how God is showing them.

All right, I'm trying to rescue y'all. I'm trying to keep y'all out here, you know, just at least a space of transparency where you can tell me the truth about what you out here doing and how you out here acting. I'm gonna be honest, I don't think it's translating. Maybe it's one of those things where you had to be there.

Maybe it was like a Facebook thing that we're just going to have to leave in Facebook. But what I will say is that somebody did try to send me a rescue. Her name, yeah, she didn't tell me whether or not I could say her name, but I'm going to say she's from Detroit and I'm going to call her Sarah because it rhymes with what her actual name is and let me tell you something she needs to be rescued from gentle parenting and you know what I concur. I agree with her. Are we rescuing us from gentle parenting? Matter of fact let me flip it let me flip it. You know what we need to be rescued from and are we I don't know maybe y'all don't get it because

I don't get it. We want to be rescued from gentle parent. We I don't know. Maybe y'all don't get it cause I don't get it. We want to be rescued from just a parent. We're tired of treating these children like they have feelings and emotions. We're tired of getting down to the eye level and creating space where they can say whatever it is they want to say to us. She sent us an email to podcast at womanevolved.com

and it says like, at what point did you and your sister become likable or even tolerable to each other because she's got two girls and one boy and the girls just cut up all of the time but she's trying to gentle parent. When she gentle parents they say, mom you never take my side, you never do this or that. She says, I'm always taking up for the youngest or the oldest and never heard, which let me tell you something. Mackenzie and Ella are seven years apart and you would think that they're twins because why do I have to treat you like you're 14? Why do I have to treat you like you're seven? You're right, I did treat you all differently, but I also want to create space where she can tell me that and then I'm worried like, oh my gosh, is this going to be trauma? And then she's going to be talking about,

I just want to raise these kids the way my parents raised us Ignite, ignorant to trauma, ignorant to feelings and emotions. Can somebody send us a floaty? Anyways, she says that the oldest one Neglects to remember that she is the one always in her pockets from Amazon to Target That girl keeps me believing in God for abundance. So please rescue me in the midst of gentle parenting. She said, am I doing this thing right? At what point do tantrums become disrespectful? Cause you know, I'd be ready to lay hands on a sister. Lifeguard please, cause it's moments

when I feel like I'm drowning in cheese slash they ain't even a teenager just yet. So we want to know, can we be rescued from gentle parenting? Y'all going to keep us out here just fighting for our life, just flailing arms, kicking legs, dog paddling in these gentle parent streets? And if you're going to make us stay out here, at least in this a life raft to help us wade these waters

a little bit more easy because right now we need a life boat, we need a life jacket, we need a lifeguard watching over us, help us to understand. I'm going to say a prayer. You know what it is because the thing is we are trying to fix our story and write better stories for our children at the same time. And guess what? We are tired. Okay. One of us is going to be healed. The other one is going to have to pull themselves up by the bootstrap and work on

their own healing and little one, it's looking like you, Lord, we need you. We're balancing so much. We have so many things on our plate, and yet you know all. You hold all and you order our steps when we consult you about our path and our journey. And so God, I'm praying that those who are listening to this podcast today would take the time to seek you out, to seek your answers, your wisdom, your strategy

on every single area of our life. How do we raise these children? How do we forgive ourselves? How do we own the choices that we have made without feeling so much shame, doubt and guilt that we never looked our heads again. God, we know that you cause all things to work together for our good. God, we're not just asking you to work the things, but to work us together for your good. We want to serve what you're doing in the earth and partner with you in a way that allows us to reflect your glory on the earth. God, I pray that this week will be one of joy, of love, of comfort, of healing and restoration.

May we encounter you in unexpected ways. And I pray that this podcast has been one of those moments for those who are listening. Bless them in Jesus' name, amen. John Stewart is back in the host chair at the Daily Show which means he's also back in our ears on the Daily Show Ears edition podcast the Daily Show podcast has everything you need to stay on top of today's news and pop culture You get hilarious satirical takes on entertainment politics sports and more from John and the team of The Tiruvl takes on entertainment, politics, sports and more from John and the team of correspondents and contributors.

The podcast also has content you can't get anywhere else like extended interviews and a roundup of the weekly headlines. Listen to The Daily Show, Ears Edition on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. One of the best shows of the year, according to Apple, Amazon, and Time, is back for another round. We had a big bear of a man who was called Mal Evans. He was on roadie.

And he was coming back on the plane. And he said, will you pass the salt and pepper? And I miss her then. I said, what you pass the salt and pepper? And I miss her. I said, what? So I did better. Listen to season 2 of McCartney, a life in lyrics, on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Um, have you heard the news? What is up, Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper. We call her Daddy. The most listened to podcast by women, Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy, is now available on the iHeartRadio app. I think that's so healthy. I wish we could get better at that. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Call Her Daddy and listen now.

While you're there, check out the Nikki Glaser podcast. This week, Nikki dishes out tales from Steven Tyler's Grammy party. I Heart Radio, free, never sounded so good. A small town with secrets hidden for centuries. You turn up in Danville just as the town sees its first real crime in decades? And a curious stranger who may be their only chance for survival.

I'm talking about the murder and disappearance in small town New Hampshire, what do you think? This is Consumed, all-new supernatural audio thriller inspired by the novel by Aaron Mankey. I did not wake up this morning prepared to deal with forces beyond my understanding. Please, I call that breakfast. Listen to consumed on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone in our country has a voice. It's something that says not just where you come from, but who you are.

Welcome to NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of podcasts and a celebration of the hosts in journalism who've always spoken truth to power. Our voices are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, and stories should never be about us without us. Find NPR Black Stories Black Truths on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.