Black Girl Theology Podcast

The Myth of Bouncing Back with Charaia Rush

So often, especially as believers, we feel pressure to recover quickly, move on quietly, and prove that our pain didn’t really affect us. But what happens when healing isn’t linear? What happens when you still feel grief, disappointment, anger, or exhaustion long after everyone else expects you to be “better”? In this new episode, I’m having an honest and deeply healing conversation with Charaia Rush. We talk about forgiveness, suffering, disappointment, and the tension of holding on to hope when life feels heavy. We also unpack why the “soft life” may not actually be promised to believers and what it looks like to follow Jesus through seasons that are painful, confusing, and stretching. If you’ve been sitting in the ashes of heartbreak, grief, disappointment, or delayed healing, this conversation will remind you that God still meets us there. What We Talk About * Why “bouncing back” is not always the goal * The pressure to heal quickly and move on * What keeps us sitting in the ashes of disappointment * The relationship between forgiveness and healing * Why suffering is not evidence that God has abandoned you * The tension between faith and hard seasons * How social media has shaped unrealistic expectations of healing * Why the “soft life” may not be the promise believers think it is * Holding on to hope when it feels distant or fragile * Learning to trust God even when life doesn’t make sense Keep Up With Charaia Rush 🌐 Website — https://www.charaiarush.com [https://www.charaiarush.com] 📸 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/charaiarush [https://www.instagram.com/charaiarush] 📚 Buy The Myth of Bouncing Back — https://amzn.to/4dti4gC [https://amzn.to/4dti4gC] Keep Up With Me 📸 Instagram: @blkgrltheology [https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology] 📩 Email: ashtyn.washington@gmail.com Ready to Go Deeper? At the Well is my discipleship community for women who don’t just want to consume the Word — they want to be transformed by it. Inside you’ll find weekly teachings, guided reflections, and resources to help you move beyond surface-level faith. If you’re ready to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, we’d love to have you. https://community.ashtynmwashington.com [https://community.ashtynmwashington.com] Get full access to Grace and Glory with Ashtyn Washington at ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Real Secret to a Strong, Lasting Marriage with Joyce and Steven Dinkins

In this honest conversation, I am sitting down with Joyce and Stephen Dinkins to talk about love, marriage, and what it truly means to build a relationship with Christ at the center. Drawing from decades of marriage, personal heartbreak, and spiritual growth, they share how God redeemed their individual stories and brought them together with purpose. From how they met to navigating abstinence and purity in their relationship to blending a family, this episode offers wisdom that is both deeply practical and spiritually grounding. They also open up about the realities of being previously married and divorced and how those experiences shaped the way they approached their current marriage with intentionality, healing, and grace. This conversation feels like sitting at the feet of wise counsel—honest, refreshing, and full of truth for anyone navigating dating, singleness, or marriage today. In This Episode, We Talk About: * How Joyce and Stephen’s paths crossed after seasons of personal transformation * The role of singleness and spiritual preparation before entering a relationship * Real struggles with abstinence and choosing purity while dating * How past marriages and divorce impacted their expectations, healing, and commitment * What it looks like to build a marriage that is sustained by God, not just feelings * The difference between cultural dating norms and biblical wisdom * Letting go of superficial “lists” and learning to recognize God’s best * The importance of character, service, and spiritual maturity in choosing a partner Grab your copy of Not Easily Broken today: https://amzn.to/4u5zMNZ [https://amzn.to/4u5zMNZ] Keep Up With Me 📸 Instagram: @blkgrltheology [https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology] 📩 Email: ashtyn.washington@gmail.com Ready to Go Deeper? At the Well is my discipleship community for women who don’t just want to consume the Word — they want to be transformed by it. Inside you’ll find weekly teachings, guided reflections, and resources to help you move beyond surface-level faith. If you’re ready to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, we’d love to have you. https://community.ashtynmwashington.com Get full access to Grace and Glory with Ashtyn Washington at ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Sex, Shame & Scripture with Brittany Broaddus-Smith

Join me for a conversation with Christian sexologist, Brittany Broaddus-Smith to talk about something the church hasn’t always handled well: sex and relationships. In this episode, we get into purity culture, shame, singleness, and what it really looks like to honor God with our bodies without pretending, hiding, or performing. Brittany brings both clinical insight and biblical truth to help us rethink everything we thought we knew about holiness, desire, and intimacy. If you’ve ever wrestled with your desires, felt the weight of shame, or wondered how to navigate sexuality as a believer, this conversation is for you. In This Episode, We Talk About: * Why the church struggles to talk about sex and what’s missing * The impact of purity culture on women vs. men * The “sin → shame → repent → repeat” cycle so many believers experience * Navigating sexual desire and singleness in a real, honest way * Learning how to bring your full, unfiltered self to God Keep Up With Brittany Broaddus-Smith 🌐 Website — https://www.theintimacyfirm.com/ [https://www.theintimacyfirm.com/] 📸 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/christiansexologistbrittany/ [https://www.instagram.com/christiansexologistbrittany/] ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheChristianSexologist [https://www.youtube.com/@TheChristianSexologist] Keep Up With Me 📸 Instagram: @blkgrltheology [https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology] 📩 Email: ashtyn.washington@gmail.com Ready to Go Deeper? At the Well is my discipleship community for women who don’t just want to consume the Word — they want to be transformed by it. Inside you’ll find weekly teachings, guided reflections, and resources to help you move beyond surface-level faith. If you’re ready to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, we’d love to have you. https://community.ashtynmwashington.com Get full access to Grace and Glory with Ashtyn Washington at ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Is He Enough? Brenda Palmer Talks Contentment, Calling & Courageous Obedience

Brenda Palmer is a bestselling author, speaker, and host of the Life in Perspective podcast. In this conversation, we get honest about what it really means to say yes to God, how to hold contentment and hope at the same time, and why radical obedience costs you more than you think. This one is going to sit with you. In This Episode We Talk About: * What seven-year-old Brenda dreamed of and what she’d tell her now * Why transparency and vulnerability are not the same thing * The club story (yes, there’s a lesson) * Holding contentment and hope at the same time, especially in singleness * Why the church needs more single people in leadership * The real wealth of being single that nobody talks about * What intentional discipleship actually looks like * The question God keeps asking Brenda: is He enough? Keep Up With Brenda Palmer 📖 The Journey of Yes — CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE [https://amzn.to/4s9um47] 🌐 Website — https://www.iambrendapalmer.com/ [https://www.iambrendapalmer.com/] 📸 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/iambrendapalmer/ [https://www.instagram.com/iambrendapalmer/] ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Iambrendapalmer [https://www.youtube.com/@Iambrendapalmer] Keep Up With Me 📸 Instagram: @blkgrltheology [https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology] 📩 Email: ashtyn.washington@gmail.com Ready to Go Deeper? At the Well is my discipleship community for women who don’t just want to consume the Word — they want to be transformed by it. Inside you’ll find weekly teachings, guided reflections, and resources to help you move beyond surface-level faith. If you’re ready to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, we’d love to have you. https://community.ashtynmwashington.com [https://community.ashtynmwashington.com] Get full access to Grace and Glory with Ashtyn Washington at ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

S5E1: Yvette Henry on Burnout, Identity, and Abiding in Christ | Black Girl Theology Podcast

In this episode of the Black Girl Theology Podcast, I sit down with Yvette Henry - author of Release, Rest, Remain, co-host of How Married Are You?, and content creator - to talk about burnout, identity, loss, grief, therapy, and what it truly means to abide in Christ.Yvette shares her journey from school teacher to stay-at-home mom and homeschool parent, how grief exposed the "false vines" she was clinging to, and the transformative three-week silence and solitude retreat that reshaped her faith through John 15. Whether you're navigating a hard season, experiencing spiritual dryness, or simply learning how to rest in God, this episode will encourage you to release what you were never meant to carry. Connect with Yvette Henry: ✨ Grab her new book, Release, Rest, Remain [https://amzn.to/3ZPmTKT] ✨ Check out her website [https://yvettehenry.com/] ✨ Follow her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mrsmelanin/] Date: February 20, 2026 Podcast: Black Girl Theology Episode Title: S5E1: Yvette Henry on Burnout, Identity, and Abiding in Christ Let’s Stay Connected! Follow Black Girl Theology on Instagram: https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology [https://instagram.com/blkgrltheology] Email: washingtonashtyn@gmail.com [washingtonashtyn@gmail.com] Get full access to Grace and Glory with Ashtyn Washington at ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashtynwashington.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]