Episode 25 — The Power of Words – Why This Podcast Is Now About Resilience After Life’s Toughest Trials

Every journey has turning points — and this episode is one of them. 💫

In today’s conversation, I’m pulling back the curtain on the heart behind our new tagline:

👉🏾 Build Resilience After Life’s Toughest Trials Through God’s Love.

This isn’t just a cosmetic change. It’s a realignment with the soul of this podcast and the community we’re building together. I’ll share why this shift matters, what resilience really looks like, and how God’s love anchors us when life feels unsteady.

I’m also celebrating some exciting news: Bounce Back, Black Woman! is now officially ranked in the Top 10% of podcasts globally according to ListenNotes! 🎉 Thank you for listening, sharing, and reviewing — this is our win.

And stay tuned, because next week I’ll kick off a 3-part series on resilience in uncertain times. We’ll talk about how to keep your humanity when the world feels divided, and how to stay grounded when the headlines are heavy.

✨ Whether you’re healing from heartbreak, loss, or just trying to hold it together in today’s world, I hope this episode reminds you of the power of anchoring your resilience in God’s love.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why I shifted the podcast’s tagline and what it means

• The difference between self-willed toughness and God-rooted resilience

• A powerful scripture to help you anchor your hope (Isaiah 40:31)

• How words and phrases can become lifelines through tough seasons

Journal Prompt: What words or phrase remind you of God’s love when life feels hardest? Write them down, and keep them close this week.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Leave a review to help us keep growing!

• Explore the Bounce Back Journal → bouncebackblackwoman.com/journal

• Join the Bounce Back community → bouncebackblackwoman.com/community

Let's keep building resilience after life's toughest trials — together, through God's love. 💜

If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve been exploring Bruce Schneider’s Energy Leadership framework through the lens of Ruthless Intentionality.

In Episode 23, we covered Levels 3 and 4 — Tolerations and Gratitude — and how they help you reclaim energy and hope.

Today, we’re moving even higher into Levels 5 and 6: Purpose and Synthesis — what I like to call “Win-Win Energy” — where resilience becomes transformational. I’ll also briefly touch on Level 7: Detached Involvement, the rare space of pure alignment and joy.

In this episode, I’ll share:

• How purpose becomes your anchor in hard seasons

• Why synthesis helps you see connection and possibility in everything

• A glimpse into the highest energy level and what it can teach us about lasting peace

📚 Order your copy of "Energy Leadership (2nd Edition) by Bruce D. Schneider HERE 📖 Scripture References: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28 📝 Journal Prompt: Where in my life do I need to live more on purpose, and where can I look for hidden connections or “wins” in my current challenges?

✨ FREE Giveaway! I’m giving away five free Bounce Back Journals to new mailing list subscribers — drawn randomly from anyone who signs up HERE by Sunday, August 17th. Let’s Stay Connected:

• Join the Bounce Back, Black Woman! Facebook Group

• Grab your Bounce Back Journal → https://amzn.to/41HfYET

If you listened to Episode 22, you know we covered Energy Levels 1 and 2 from Bruce Schneider’s Energy Leadership framework — the spaces where life feels heavy and reactive.

Today, we’re moving higher, into Levels 3 and 4: Tolerations and Gratitude. These are the spaces where you start reclaiming your energy, making intentional choices, and seeing hope again.

In this episode, I’ll share:

• How to decide what you’ll no longer tolerate — and what you’ll tolerate on purpose

• Why gratitude is a resilience strategy, not just a nice idea

• How both concepts are so important to me, I’ve literally made them part of my story and identity

📖 Scripture References: Galatians 6:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 📝 Journal Prompt: What’s one thing I’m no longer willing to tolerate, and one thing I’m grateful for that I’ve been overlooking?

✨ FREE Giveaway! I’m giving away five free Bounce Back Journals to new mailing list subscribers — drawn randomly from anyone who signs up by Sunday, August 17th. Sign up here for your chance to win and to get my weekly “Behind the Mic” newsletter: HERE

Let’s Stay Connected:

• Join the Bounce Back, Black Woman! Facebook Group → [link to group]

• Grab your Bounce Back Journal → [link to product]

After a painful experience — whether it’s the end of a relationship, a major loss, or a moment where life didn’t go as planned — it’s easy to stop trusting others. But what happens when you stop trusting yourself?

In this episode, I’m sharing three powerful shifts that will help you rebuild self-trust from the inside out — not from perfection, but from presence, compassion, and clarity.

• How to recognize when you’re stuck in survival-mode thinking

• The energy levels that shape your confidence and decision-making

• Why gentle curiosity is your secret weapon for growth

• The mindset shift that moves you from self-doubt to self-trust

Where have I stopped trusting myself — and what’s one small decision I can make this week that reflects who I truly am?

Each Thursday, I send a short, soulful note straight to your inbox — with behind-the-scenes reflections, journal prompts, and more. https://bit.ly/BBBWInsiderEmail

Who Am I Without Them? When someone or something you loved is suddenly no longer a part of your life — whether it’s a relationship, a job, a friend, or a dream — it can shake your entire sense of identity.

In this episode, I’m sharing how we begin to rediscover ourselves after loss or separation. We’ll talk about what heartbreak can really look like (even when you’re still functioning), how to recognize when you’re drifting emotionally, and what it means to reclaim your sense of self without guilt or shame.

• Why heartbreak doesn’t always look like a breakdown

• Subtle signs of emotional disconnection: numbness, overscheduling, social scrolling

• How to untangle your identity from the people or titles you’ve lost

• A faith-filled reminder that grief has a season — but so does rebirth

“Who was I with them? And who am I being invited to become now?”

• Grab the Bounce Back Journal → https://amzn.to/4fmhVfJ

• Join the Bounce Back, Black Woman! Community → https://www.facebook.com/groups/1311791060186451

Not every bad relationship is narcissistic. But some are.

In this follow-up to Episode 19, I walk through the story of how I entered a marriage that was full of red flags—and the difference between selfish behavior and narcissistic manipulation.

If you’ve ever struggled to trust your own gut, this episode is here to help you name what you felt, understand what you saw, and stop carrying shame for what you didn’t know yet.

Mentioned in this Episode: – Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) – Isaiah 30:18 (NLT) – The Bounce Back Journal: https://amzn.to/45iBuAX – Join the FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncebackblackwoman

Journal Prompts: What red flag did I ignore that I now recognize as protection? What truth do I need to stop explaining away?

What happens when you are the one who caused the heartbreak? Not because you wanted to... but because you made a decision that hurt you—and others.

In this episode, I share the story of a marriage that happened too quickly after the death of my second husband, and the ripple effects it had on my family.

If you've ever struggled with regret, self-blame, or grief over your own choices... this one's for you.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Psalm 51:17 (NLT)

• The Bounce Back Journal: https://www.bouncebackblackwoman.com/journal

• Join the FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncebackblackwoman

Journal Prompt: What decision did I make that broke my own heart? And what do I need to forgive myself for?

EPISODE 18: Life Is Short — Maybe Shorter Than You Expect Pillars: Healing + Resilience

In this deeply personal episode, I’m reading the exact words I wrote the night my husband passed away unexpectedly — a post that ended up going viral. I didn’t share it for attention. I shared it because everything changed… in an instant.

This is a spoken-word-style reflection on what it means to face loss, to let time slow down, and to stop postponing the things that matter. We’re talking about legacy, presence, and living with intention — now, not later.

In this episode:

• The raw truth of losing my husband without warning

• Why we can't keep saying “someday” to the things that matter

• A scripture-led reminder that life is brief, but still purposeful

• Journal prompts to help you reconnect with what matters most

🌿 Scripture References:

• Psalm 90:12 (NLT) — “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

• James 4:14 (NLT) — “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”

✍🏾 Journal Prompts:

• “If I truly believed time was short… what would I stop postponing?”

• “And what would I start making room for today?”

💌 Resources + Links Mentioned:

• 🎧 Join the Bounce Back, Black Woman! Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bouncebackblackwoman

• 🧵 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/bouncebacknews