Episode 57: What You Need to Release Before 2025 Ends — So You Don’t Carry It Into 2026

As the year winds down, we all reach that moment where we ask: “What am I still holding onto… and why?”

In today’s episode, we’re taking an honest, compassionate look at the emotional weight many of us are carrying into the holiday season — and the things we must release before stepping into 2026.

We talk about:

• The subtle forms of emotional drainage we overlook

• Why certain thoughts, roles, and expectations feel heavier at the end of the year

• The version of yourself you need to gently let go of

• Why release is not rejection — it’s redirection

• How to forgive yourself fully (Tactic #5!)

• Why journaling is a powerful tool for clarity and release (Tactic #8!)

• Anchoring yourself in faith as you prepare for a new season

And we’ll ground it all in Matthew 11:28 — a reminder that God sees your tired heart… and invites you to rest.

This conversation is for every woman who wants to walk into 2026 lighter, clearer, and more intentional about her own healing.

• What drained me the most this year?

• What am I holding onto out of habit instead of hope?

• What do I need to forgive myself for?

• What will I not carry into 2026?

✨ Download the FREE guide: 26 Intentional Tactics for 2026 HERE

✨ Grab your copy of the Bounce Back Journal HERE

✨ Visit the Website HERE

Share it with a friend who is ready to release what’s been weighing her down. You never know whose healing may start with one simple conversation.

Holiday Boundaries: Saying No Without the Guilt

💛 In This Episode

December can be emotionally draining — especially for women who have always been the “strong one.” Del unpacks how to set healthy boundaries during the holidays without guilt, shame, or fear, giving you practical and faith-based tools to protect your peace.

⏳ What You’ll Learn

• Why boundaries are essential during the holidays
• How guilt tricks women into overcommitting
• A personal story about the cost of ignoring your limits
• How to honor your capacity with compassion
• A scripture that anchors bold, confident boundaries
• Journal prompts to help you clarify what you need

📝 Journal Reflections

1. What’s draining me this holiday season?
2. What am I saying yes to out of guilt instead of capacity?
3. What boundary is my spirit asking for?
4. Who might be disappointed — and why can I still honor myself anyway?
5. What would peace-protection look like for me this December?

📌 RESOURCES & NEXT STEPS

• 💌 Grab your FREE Guide: "26 Tactics to Bounce Back in 2026" [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website to stay connected [HERE]
• 📖Order Your Podcast Companion Journal [HERE]

When Joy Feels Heavy: Navigating the Holidays While Healing

💛 In This Episode

The holiday season is often filled with pressure, expectations, and emotional weight — especially for women healing from heartbreak, loss, or exhaustion. Del shares a grounding message for the woman carrying both joy and heaviness, helping her release the pressure to perform and embrace a gentler, more intentional season.

⏳ What You’ll Learn

• Why joy can feel heavy during the holidays
• How healing impacts your emotional capacity
• The pressure women face to “make the season magical”
• How to honor your feelings without guilt
• A powerful scripture to anchor you
• Journal prompts for clarity and peace

📝 Journal Reflections

1. What emotions feel strongest for me this season?
2. What feels heavy — and why?
3. What can I simplify or release to protect my peace?
4. Where do I need God’s comfort right now?
5. What does “gentle joy” look like for me?

📌 RESOURCES & NEXT STEPS

• 📖 Grab your copy of the Bounce Back Journal [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website to stay connected [HERE]
• 💌 Download your FREE copy of "26 Tactics for Bouncing Back in 2026"! [HERE]

When What You Expected Doesn’t Happen: The Real Roots of Heartbreak

💛 In This Episode

Del dives into the silent form of heartbreak we rarely name — the pain that comes from unmet expectations, unspoken assumptions, and emotional contracts we wrote that nobody else agreed to. If you’ve ever felt disappointed, confused, or “let down” without knowing why… this episode will bring the clarity you’ve been needing.

⏳ What You’ll Learn

• The hidden link between expectations and heartbreak
• How we create emotional “contracts” without consent
• Why disappointment hits harder than reality
• A personal story from Del’s current season
• A faith-based reframe rooted in Proverbs 16:9
• How to release or rewrite expectations with intention

📝 Journal Reflections

1. What situation didn’t unfold the way I expected?
2. What expectation was I holding?
3. Was it spoken, mutual, or realistic?
4. What truth did God reveal through the disappointment?
5. What expectation do I need to release or rewrite?

📌 RESOURCES & NEXT STEPS

• 📖 Grab your copy of the Bounce Back Journal [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website to stay connected [HERE]
• 💌 Download your FREE "26 BOUNCE BACK Tactics for 2026" [HERE]

The holiday season looks joyful on the outside… but for many women, it also brings up disappointment, tension, loneliness, old wounds, and emotions nobody else sees. If Thanksgiving didn’t go the way you hoped — or if the whole stretch from now through the New Year feels overwhelming — you are not alone.

In this tender, honest episode, Del explores why this season hits differently, why our expectations often collide with reality, and how to gently recover when the day (or the people) didn’t meet your heart’s needs. You’ll hear encouragement, a grounding faith reflection, and practical tools to help you move forward with clarity and care.

• Why holiday expectations often collide with real-life emotions

• How disappointment during this season is more common than you think

• Why old wounds resurface between Thanksgiving and New Year’s

• How to give yourself grace without minimizing your hurt

• Practical ways to emotionally reset the day after a hard holiday

• A grounding journal prompt to support your healing

“What part of this holiday season is weighing on me — and what do I need to give myself permission to feel?”

• 💡 Grab your free guide: 26 Ruthlessly Intentional Tactics for 2026 — a simple, grounding resource to help you move through the rest of the season with clarity and peace. [HERE]

• 📖 Grab your copy of the Bounce Back Journal [HERE]

• ✨ Visit the Website to stay connected [HERE]

Gratitude Doesn’t Cancel Grief — Both Can Sit at the Same Table

If the holidays bring up more than you expected… my friend, you’re not alone. As Thanksgiving kicks off “the season of all the things,” it’s completely normal to feel grateful and not okay at the same time.

In this episode, Del shares a tender, honest look at how gratitude and grief can coexist without competing — especially during a season that magnifies family dynamics, memories, loneliness, joy, and everything in between. You’ll also hear gentle, practical suggestions for navigating Thanksgiving (with others or on your own), plus a grounding faith reflection to anchor your heart.

Whether you’re excited for this week, dreading it, or simply exhausted by it, you’re welcome here.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why gratitude and grief can coexist without cancelling each other
• How Thanksgiving kicks off an emotional season full of mixed feelings
• Why family dynamics, loss, and expectations feel heavier this week
• How to navigate gatherings, tension, or being alone
• A gentle faith reminder that God meets you in the “both/and”
• A grounding journal prompt to help you check in with your heart

Journal Prompt:

“What emotions are sitting at my table this season — and what do they need from me?”

Resources & Next Steps

• 💡 Grab your free guide: 26 Ruthlessly Intentional Tactics for 2026 — designed to help you stay centered, grounded, and supported throughout this holiday season and beyond. [LINK]
• 📖 Grab your copy of the Bounce Back Journal [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website to stay connected [HERE]

Don’t Rush Your Healing: Giving Your Heart Time to Recover

Today’s episode explores one of the hardest truths about healing: Your heart heals on its own timeline — not the one your mind thinks it should follow.

Del shares a raw, moving story about saying goodbye to her grand-dog Mr. Peppers and the unexpected sign of comfort that arrived the very next day. This full-circle moment becomes a powerful lesson in letting your heart take the time it needs to recover, even when you’ve accepted the reality and made peace with the decision.

You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of why healing isn’t linear, why readiness doesn’t replace grief, and how God often brings quiet comfort long before He brings clarity.

In this episode, Del explores:

• Why being “ready” doesn’t remove the emotional sting
• How grief and peace can co-exist in the same moment
• The quiet ways God comforts us when our hearts are tender
• Why emotional healing can’t be rushed or scheduled
• What it looks like to trust God’s timeline over your own
• How to stop pressuring yourself to “be okay” before you really are

Journal Prompt:

Where in my life am I rushing myself to “be okay,” instead of honoring the time my heart truly needs?

📖 Resources & Next Steps

• 📖 Grab your Bounce Back Journal [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website [HERE]
• 💌 Download your free guide — 26 Ruthlessly Intentional™ Tactics to Bounce Back in 2026 — at: bouncebackblackwoman.com/tactics

Strong but Soft — Finding the Balance Between Confidence and Compassion

Today’s episode explores a different kind of strength — one that doesn’t harden your heart, shut you down, or make you defensive. It’s the strength that allows you to remain open, gentle, and rooted even in challenging environments.

Del shares a personal corporate story about discernment, self-trust, and leaving a chaotic environment with grace. You’ll learn why softness is not weakness — and how true strength comes from knowing who you are, who God is, and when it’s time to walk away.

In this episode, we explore:

• How to stay soft in environments designed to make you hard
• The difference between strength and emotional armor
• Why softness is a spiritual discipline
• How to trust your peace more than your pressure
• Four permission slips every strong woman needs to hear
• What it looks like to advocate for yourself without losing your grace
• How God honors the moves you make from peace rather than fear

Journal Prompt:

Where in my life am I forcing hardness to survive, when God is inviting me to lead with strength and softness?

📖 Resources & Next Steps

• 📖 Grab your Bounce Back Journal [HERE]
• ✨ Visit the Website [HERE]
• 💌 Join my mailing list [HERE] to be the first to get the new free guide, 26 Ruthlessly Intentional™ Tactics to Bounce Back in 2026