S1E8 - She Gave The Ingredients: Grief, Loss, and Becoming - Part Two

S1E8 - She Gave The Ingredients: Grief, Loss, and Becoming - Part Two

In part two, Skip and Rev. Dr. Juana Jordan go deeper — into the moment Skip would reclaim with his mother if he could, and into the Black Panther scene that opens a tender conversation about how loss shapes the way we parent. Skip reflects on raising his daughters with the awareness that everything is temporary, shares a dream encounter with his late father, and speaks honestly about the road that self-medication took him down before faith found its footing. The episode closes with a stranger on a Savannah corner delivering scripture — and the final question: What has grief taught you? Show Notes: * 0:31 — One more moment with Miss Dot * 5:12 — Losing a parent and raising daughters * 10:26 — Advice for young men navigating loss * 15:00 — A stranger, a street corner, and Psalm 121 Produced by Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

S1E7 - She Gave The Ingredients: Grief, Loss, and Becoming - Part One

Rev. Dr. Juana Jordan welcomes Strather "Skip" Dupree — her best friend's younger brother and the man who called her on the highway with a word right on time — to share his story of losing his mother, Dorothy, in 1995 while he was a college sophomore. From the shock of arrival at the hospital to navigating academics, self-medication, and the promise he made to finish college, Skip offers a searingly honest account of grief as a young Black man. Woven throughout is a question borrowed from Viola Davis: when life hands you a painful ingredient, do you let it destroy you, or do you build something from it? Produced by Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

S1E6 - Holy Listening: Walking Through Grief with a Spiritual Director Part 2

Laura and Juana go deeper into the spiritual practices that have sustained Black women through grief — from dream work and ancestor wisdom to the contemplative traditions hiding in plain sight within African American culture. They challenge the "strong Black woman" trope and ask what it means to give yourself permission to simply be broken for a while. Laura offers practical tools for the overextended and overwhelmed — threshold breathing, body mapping prayer, and learning to distinguish the voice of love from the voices of obligation. The conversation closes with a reflection on The Body Keeps the Score, somatic grief work, and what it looks like to hold both joy and sorrow as the seed pushes through the ground toward new life. * 0:38 — Ancestors, dreams, and the thin veil * 7:33 — The "strong Black woman" trope and laying down strength * 8:55 — Spiritual direction as a cup that holds suffering * 14:44 — Threshold practices for the overextended clergy * 19:09 — Listening for the voice of love * 23:09 — Body mapping prayer and somatic grief work Organizations To Help Search For A Spiritual Director: * Spiritual Directors International is an interfaith organization with a great search engine. Use the filters to help narrow the search: https://www.sdicompanions.org/find-a-spiritual-director-companion/ [https://www.sdicompanions.org/find-a-spiritual-director-companion/] * Hearts On Fire / Fellowship of United Methodist Spiritual Directors https://fumdrl.org/public-directory/ [https://fumdrl.org/public-directory/] * Spiritual Directors of Color: https://sdcnetwork.org [https://sdcnetwork.org/] * Network of Evangelical Spiritual Directors: https://www.networkofevangelicalspiritualdirectors.com [https://www.networkofevangelicalspiritualdirectors.com/] Body Mapping and other videos of guided imagery prayer and blessings can be found at:  https://www.youtube.com/@laurababer1147 [https://www.youtube.com/@laurababer1147] Produced by Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

S1E5 - Holy Listening: Walking Through Grief with a Spiritual Director - Part 1

Juana introduces her spiritual director, Laura Baber, the author of Rhythms of Restoration and a retired United Methodist deacon with more than 25 years of experience walking alongside people through grief and life transitions. Together, they explore what spiritual direction actually is — and how it differs from therapy. Laura describes the work as "holy listening," helping people find God's movement in their lives rather than fixing their pain. The conversation moves into the dark night of the soul, the lost art of lament, and what healing looks like when the faith practices that once sustained us no longer work after loss. Juana reflects on how her own theology of God has shifted since losing her mother — and how spiritual direction has helped her see God showing up in new and unexpected ways. Produced by Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

S1E4 - Joy and Pain: Music and Mourning Part 2 with Christal Brown Heyward

In the powerful conclusion of Juana’s conversation with Christal Brown Heyward, they explore the intersection of grief, culture, and celebration in Black ecclesial traditions. Christal reveals her doctoral research on "Joy and Pain: The Marriage of Music and Mourning in Black Ecclesial Traditions," examining how music functions as healing in the Black church—from homegoing services that celebrate life to the careful selection of songs that carry communities through loss. She offers profound wisdom from her personal grief journey, sharing her most important prayer: "Lord, keep my mind." Christal reminds us that we are not machines, that rest is the greatest currency we can give ourselves, and that grief teaches us to stay close to God while giving ourselves permission to be fully human. This episode is a love letter to Black women and Black people, honoring the unique ways we hold both sorrow and celebration together. Produced by Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.