A Biblical Path to Healing From Racial Trauma | Interview with Sheila Wise Rowe

A Biblical Path to Healing From Racial Trauma | Interview with Sheila Wise Rowe

by | Jul 20, 2026 | Bold Brave & Beautiful Podcast

In this powerful and hope-filled conversation, Barb speaks with counselor, spiritual director, and author Sheila Wise Rowe about her book Seeds of Racial Healing: Fifty-Two Devotions for Navigating Through Trauma. With over thirty years of experience counseling trauma survivors and ministering to marginalized communities, Sheila offers a deeply compassionate, trauma-informed approach to addressing both personal and systemic racism through the lens of Scripture.

They talk about how racial trauma impacts the body and soul, why rest and resilience are essential for Christians of color, and how being rooted in God’s Word can nurture healing and justice. 

If you are seeking Christian encouragement, spiritual formation, and practical tools for navigating racial trauma, this conversation offers hope, wisdom, and a path toward renewal.

 

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Sheila on Facebook

Connect with Sheila on Instagram

Seeds of Racial Healing: Fifty-Two Devotions for Navigating Through Trauma

Visit Sheila's Website

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Sheila Wise Rowe (MEd, Cambridge College) has over thirty years of experience offering counseling and spiritual direction to individuals, couples, leaders, and trauma survivors. Sheila also spent a decade ministering to unhoused and abused women, children, and youth in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she was a lay pastor and taught Christian counseling and trauma-related courses. Sheila is a speaker, trainer, and writer, authoring the award-winning Healing Racial Trauma and Young, Gifted, and Black. She and her husband, Nicholas Rowe, live in Boston, Massachusetts, and coauthored Healing Leadership Trauma.

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here
The Topic That I Tried to Skip Writing About… Loaves & Fishes Week Six

The Topic That I Tried to Skip Writing About… Loaves & Fishes Week Six

by | Jul 13, 2026 | Loaves & Fishes, Provision, Trust

​Happy Monday, friends!

 
Welp, this isn’t how I planned to wrap up our Loaves & Fishes series. I’ve skipped over this story on my Loaves & Fishes planning list because it hits close to home for many of us. Yet when I prayed about what to prepare for you, I felt prompted to write this story - maybe God wanted me to write it for me. I suspect that some of you will resonate with it as well. Today's devotion reminds us that as we’re praying for God’s provision, we must avoid a critical mistake after we receive it.
 
The theme of today’s devotion is this: Never take God’s provision for granted.
 
In the Old Testament book of Numbers, the Israelites were upset about God's solution to their food problem. After freeing them from slavery in Egypt, God sent literal food from heaven every single day for them. Many of us are familiar with this well-known story, but if you aren’t, I wrote about this miraculous provision in the first week of the Loaves & Fishes series that you can read here.
 
While Exodus 16 provides an introduction to the arrival of manna, Numbers 11 offers more specifics about this heaven-sent food. Pay attention to the description of manna and the different ways the Israelites could prepare it:
 
The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil. -Numbers 11:8 NLT
 
First, remember that God provided home delivery - how cool is that?! Next, there was a process to preparing the manna, which offered the Israelites a daily routine and a sense of purpose. We forget that God’s provision is often tied to meaningful work and a chance to serve others - which was also good for the Israelites' emotional and mental health.
 
The problem arose when the people grew tired of manna.  Instead of seeing it as God's gift of provision, they began to take the manna for granted. They stopped being grateful for it. This happens to us as well. Some of us take our jobs or even our family for granted. We stop seeing these as gifts (remember, gifts don't have to be perfect or problem-free to still be a gift). The dark side of assuming that someone or something will always be there is that we begin to compare it, we'll critique it - and often complain about it.
 
Ever heard the saying “familiarity breeds contempt?" This describes what happened next in Numbers. Check out the Israelites' complaints. Pay attention to how they romanticized their time back in Egypt:
 
“Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.  But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” -Numbers 11:4b-6 NLT
 
So that’s how they remembered Egypt? How quickly they forgot the beatings, nonstop labor, and brutal control? Many of those mothers had freshly empty arms from the babies that the Pharaoh ordered to be killed. But, they chose to complain about heaven-sent manna?
 
As much as I want to roll my eyes at the Israelites’ complaining, I am them. They are me.
 
How many of us begged God for a particular dream, job, home, spouse, or kids? Then, years later, we’re complaining about the burdens that come with great blessings. Trust me, I’ve complained, too.
 
If you’ve been grumpy about your blessings or complaining about life, let’s invite God to do some business in our hearts. Then, I’ll share two great ways to step out of your rut of complaining.
 
First, we can acknowledge pain, loss, grief, or disappointment. We don’t have to minimize or deny it.
 
However,  there is a difference between acknowledging and complaining.
Acknowledgment recognizes the facts. If your company withholds your pay, you should acknowledge that and the harm it causes. If your medical condition is painful or you're afraid for the future, it’s okay to be scared.  For those caring for loved ones, you can acknowledge the overwhelm and exhaustion.  
 
Complaining is different. When we take the facts and add negativity or blame, there's an unspoken, but implied allegation that God isn't treating us right or that He's gotten something wrong. This is why regular  complaining is a warning sign for our spirits. Yes, it's tough in our world, but you here today by the grace of God and He will not fail you..
 
God takes complaining seriously. In my humble opinion, complaining is the decaf of bitterness. As Christians, we know full-on bitterness is bad, but we’re willing to allow grumbling to slide. But, God takes complaining seriously.
 
In the Israelites’ situation, they groused about the lack of meat, so God sent a wind filled with quail. The Israelites were delighted! However, instead of gathering what they needed, they filled Costco-sized shopping carts of birds, grabbing far more than needed. They stuffed their mouths and stomachs like starving people without a God who took care of them. The result was tragic because God allowed a food borne illness of some type that killed significant numbers of people.
 
You want to know a kicker to this entire situation? God never prohibited the Israelites from hunting for meat! They could have gone hunting at any time. But their negativity consumed any productive or problem-solving conversations. A tragedy all around.
 
Like I said, this wasn’t the way that I wanted to end our Loaves & Fishes series, but if we’re praying for God’s provision in our lives - no matter what it is - then we must be mindful of how we behave after God’s blesses us.
 
Did today's devotion grab your attention? Is God prompting you to shift from negativity to remember His kindness to you? Give yourself a few moments to reflect.
 
REFLECTION & APPLICATION:
  1. Do you give in to your complaints for just a moment, or do your complaints have momentum? Meaning, do you interrupt yourself when you realize that you’re complaining, or has complaining become a habit?
Do This: If complaining is a habit, I’d love for you to check out my dear friend Melissa Spoelstra’s 7-Day Contentment Project (here). Her fabulous challenge involves wearing a bracelet on your wrist that you switch from side to side. This helps you become more aware of when you’re complaining.
 
2.  WORSHIP MUSIC - Music that focuses on God’s power or grace reminds us that we’re held by a loving, powerful God! For me, a worship song a day helps keep constant complaining away! Friend, if you complain either in your mind or to others, it’s time to talk less and worship more! Check out my Spotify worship playlist here!
 
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you needed today’s devotion, leave a comment with “no complaining!” Of course, you’re welcome to tell me more - especially if today’s devotion resonated with you.

HAPPY MONDAY READER'S LOAVES & FISHES STORY!

I love this Loaves & Fishes story from Jenny, a Happy Monday reader:
 
I remember that I looked at what we had in the fridge & cupboard, I did not have all that was needed for the next day. I did have some food, but not enough pennies to buy both bread and milk. At 7pm, there was a knock on my door. It was a neighbour, who I only knew a little. She recalled that I had been a nurse and asked if I would have a look at her son's big toe. I went and looked. The toe looked broken so I sent them to A&E (Emergency Room). 
 
The next morning, that neighbour showed up with two large loaves of homemade bread as a thank you! It was amazing!! A big thank you Lord, I then had enough pennies to buy the milk we needed for the day! The bread was very yummy! A small need, but a God who heard & cared & provided.

Read the Entire Series: Loaves & Fishes Stories Of Trusting God's Provision In Uncertain Times!

God Provides. Are You Willing to Ask for Help? Loaves & Fishes Week Five

God Provides. Are You Willing to Ask for Help? Loaves & Fishes Week Five

by | Jul 6, 2026 | Loaves & Fishes, Provision, Trust

Happy Monday, dear friends!
 
We’re continuing our summer series, Loaves & Fishes. We're exploring stories of God's provision to remind us how our Abba Father cares for us and invites us trust Him, even in uncertain or tough times.
 
In today's Old Testament story, God comes through in a powerful way for a woman who was about to lose her sons. We'll also address a very important secondary lesson that you may need today as well. Don't miss it!
 
In 2 Kings 4, we’re introduced to an unnamed widow. We find out her late husband was a prophet, a messenger for God. She comes to the prophet Elisha, a powerful figure in the Old Testament with a desperate plea: 
 
‘My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” -2 Kings 4:2 NLT
 
According to Jewish law, if someone was in debt, their family members could be taken as payment and forced into labor. So, this woman was about to lose her sons. 
 
The widow was not only grieving, but also overwhelmed by the inability to pay her debt, and now the fear of more loss. Ancient women didn't have their own money, social security, or government assistance. Therefore, losing her sons would be tragic on several levels. In addition to the familial bond, those sons would have been her future financial support, potentially keeping her from becoming destitute.
 
Can you relate to the downward domino effect of her life? Often, it's not one thing that goes wrong, it feels like everything goes wrong! Those seasons seem overwhelming. We're not sure what to do and often, we become discouraged and afraid.
 
This is why I love Elisha’s response to the woman's outcry:
 
“What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house? “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.” -2 Kings 4:2 NLT
 
Bless him! Elisha didn’t tell the woman to calm down or minimize her problems. He gave her a voice and asked what she needed. Then Elisha posed a question similar to the one that Jesus asked the overwhelmed disciples before he performed the miracle that fed 5,000 people: "What do you have?"
 
In fact, the miracle that follows for this woman has a similar vibe to Jesus’ feeding the five thousand. Just like the little boy only had two fish and five loaves, the woman only had a flask of oil - it wasn't much. However, there's nothing too little for God to work with!
 
Pay attention to what Elisha told her to do. Also, notice everyone (underlined) involved in what happens next:
 
And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
 
So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!
 
First, God didn't show the needed provision all at once. As the widow poured from what she had, God made the miracle happen. (Remember the devotion of the feeding of 5,000 - same vibe!)
 
Here’s the final result: Her little flask of oil was poured until every jar was filled. Then, Elisa gave her these instructions:
 
“Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over. -2 Kings 4:7 NLT
 
Not only did God provide enough for her debts to keep her sons from slavery, but also, there was enough for their future. Look at God!
 
THE SECONDARY LESSON WE CAN’T MISS!
 
God performed this miracle, but the fullness of her provision came through her willingness to step out in faith and ask others for help.
 
Elisha told the widow that she needed to borrow as many empty jars as she could from friends and neighbors. It wasn’t like the widow had money to buy extra jars from Target or HomeGoods. Going to friends and neighbors would have meant telling them about her true circumstances. There would have been awkward questions, maybe even embarrassment, gossip, or shame.
 
Imagine if she’d only gone to one or two friends. I can’t say for sure, but I think God would still have performed the miracle, though she may have missed out God's very best planned for her.
 
Most of us prefer to help others, and we’d rather not need help. But, we all need help at times!
 
If you’ve done my Surrendered Bible study, there's story on page 146 about when my girlfriends asked to help me move out due to my then-spouse’s out-of-control alcohol addiction. I didn’t want their help. I was embarrassed. My family was falling apart and I  needed  to move from my large home into a two-bedroom apartment. Even though the move was too big for me to handle with my kids, I thought that I could deal with it so no one would be around to see me fall apart. 
 
My dear girlfriends were gently persistent. Two weeks before the move, there was a breakthrough moment during my time with God. Here’s how I wrote about it in my Surrendered study: 
 
“I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I felt a whisper that sounded like “Are you going to make this about you? When your daughters look back on that difficult day, they need to remember that they saw the hands and feet of Jesus loving and taking care of them." 
 
In my efforts to control that day, I would rob my daughters of Jesus-loving friends and family who could love and serve them.”
 
That day, I said yes to my friends. Then, a group of men from my church’s Celebrate Recovery ministry also asked if they could help. I was still embarrassed, but grateful.  I said yes. At the end of moving day and an ocean of tears, one of the men said to me: “Years ago, I messed up my family. Helping you today healed something inside of me. So, thank you for letting me help you.”
 
To this day, I'm grateful that God sent friends to nudge me through my embarrassment and pride so that God could use them to bless us. It wasn't just how friends showed up to help us move, but they were there - present and praying for us before, during, and after.
 
REFLECTION QUESTION:
Dear friend, if you’ve been praying for God to provide AND good-hearted people are asking, do you need to say yes? If someone hasn’t asked, do you need to be courageous like the widow and ask** for help from those who have the capacity to help?
 
**Be wise about who you ask for help! Ask people who are most likely to follow-through and will not complain about helping. Avoid asking people who will shame/gossip or will expect something in return. 
 
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Which part of the widow’s story made you smile or encouraged you? Leave a comment and tell me about how God has used others to miraculously bless you. 

Read the Entire Series: Loaves & Fishes Stories Of Trusting God's Provision In Uncertain Times!

God Wants You to Have a Hobby | Interview with Brianna Lambert

God Wants You to Have a Hobby | Interview with Brianna Lambert

by | Jul 6, 2026 | Bold Brave & Beautiful Podcast

Can having a hobby help you connect more to the heart of God?

In this episode, Barb is joined by author Brianna Lambert to talk about her book Created to Play and how our hobbies can become meaningful expressions of worship. They explore why play is often misunderstood in Christian culture, how it forms us spiritually, and the unique roles we step into through our hobbies—from creator and curator to restorer and connector. Brianna also invites us to see play not as a distraction from purpose, but as a pathway to delight, community, and deeper connection with God.

If you’ve ever felt guilty for enjoying your hobbies or wondered how they fit into your faith, this conversation will give you a whole new perspective on joy, rest, and worship.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Brianna on Instagram

Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually

Visit Brianna's Website

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Brianna Lambert is a writer and author from a rural community outside Indianapolis. Her articles and essays have appeared in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Common Good, Mere Orthodoxy, and elsewhere. Brianna also serves on staff at Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes for the women’s ministry at her local church. You might find her backpacking, camping, waterskiing, or starting a brand-new hobby with her husband and three children.

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here
Don’t Worry About Everyday Life! Loaves & Fishes Week Four

Don’t Worry About Everyday Life! Loaves & Fishes Week Four

by | Jun 22, 2026 | Loaves & Fishes, Provision, Trust

It’s week four of our Loaves & Fishes series about stories in the Bible that show us God’s provision for us. Today’s Happy Monday devotion dips into the last portion of Matthew 6, which is the middle part of Jesus’ longest message, his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6). 
 
In this portion of scripture, Jesus addresses money, possessions, anxiety, and trusting God with the future. Everything that Jesus taught the ancient crowds is so relatable to our lives today.
 
Are you ready to do a giant exhale today? So many of you have a lot going on! God knows you’re overwhelmed, but He doesn’t want you to carry it, because He cares for you. So, I want to pray for you before we jump into today’s devotion:
God, I’m so glad that my Happy Monday sister is here today. My hope is for Jesus’ words to spark fresh hope in life. God, for the next few minutes, please remove the distractions and open her heart to Your hope and the promises she needs to cling to today. Amen.
 
Now, let’s jump into three verses toward the end of Matthew 6. I’m sharing three practical meditations for you to focus on when worry sets in:
  1. Keep Your Eyes on God, Not Everything Going on Around You
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  -Matthew 6:25 NLT
 
What did Jesus mean when he said, “Don’t worry?” He means don’t worry! There’s not need to look for deeper meaning in Jesus’ teaching. Jesus wants us to stop assuming the worst will happen. 
 
I heard someone say that “worry is a form of atheism.”’ While I leave room for medical anxiety where our nervous systems need medical attention, there are other forms of anxiety of our own making. When we forget about God, and we carry the things God never told us to carry. That’s what Jesus tells us to stop doing.
 
Jesus didn't telling the crowd to ignore their problems. He saw their reality. The Jewish people faced brutal Roman oppression and food scarcity. I have a tender spot in my heart for the Jewish women in the audience. I imagine they worried everyday about how much food they had and how to stretch it. I'm sure they worried about their children as well as their sons, brothers, or husbands who had to go out and find food.
 
Yet, Jesus told the crowd not to worry because he came to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. In God's kingdom, God takes care of His own.  One of the hallmark of a disciple is trusting God to take care of our daily lives so that we can focus on being the light of Jesus in the world. 
 
While we can't control our circumstances, we can change how we think. The key line in my Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle Bible study is: The difference between worry and worship is who you’re talking to.
 
REPEAT THIS MEDITATION: If you need to refocus your mind away from worry,, here’s a brief meditation from my Winning the Worry Battle book you can repeat to yourself whenever the worry creeps in.
 
God is here, and He is taking care of this.
God is here, and He is taking care of me.
 
2. You matter to God
 
Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? -Matthew 6:26
 
Silly, but real question: Do you ever see birds clocking in for work? Have you ever watched a bird work overtime?
 
Clearly, I’m being dramatic, but take a moment and consider that birds don’t have to do a single thing, and God cares for them.
 
Friend, God is committed to doing the same for you.
 
Yet, I suspect that many of us will hear God say one of the following - or both,
Dear daughter, you were doing way too much.
Beloved, you didn’t trust that I loved you enough to take care of you.
 
Over the years, I’ve heard from many discouraged Christian women who look around at unanswered prayers or endless hardships and wonder, “Does God have favorites?  I keep getting the short end of the stick.”
 
If this is you,I hold space for your unanswered prayers, I grieve your losses, and at the same time, I must remind you of God’s care and love for you. Here’s an eternal perspective that many lose sight of:
 
The measure of God’s love isn’t that He gives us everything we want. The measure of His love is giving Jesus to die for our sins so that we can have a relationship with God. Furthermore, God doesn’t always give us what we want, but He always provides what we need. He  provides peace, strength, courage, hope, and purpose - often this is the provision we need more than anything else!
 
REPEAT THIS MEDITATION: I matter to God. He cares about me.
 
3. For Every Worry, Take Time to Worship
 
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” -Matthew 6:27 NLT
In 2017, my dad was diagnosed with end-stage cancer. The doctors told us that Dad only had a few days to live.  I was smack in the middle of writing my Winning the Worry Battle book - how’s that for timing?
 
My head spun. But, I knew that I had a critical decision to make. My dad only had days left, so would I spend Dad’s final precious moments worrying or clinging to God’s peace? Thankfully, I could cling to God’s peace by using the meditation tools that I share in today’s devotion.
 
You  have one precious life, my dear friend. Tomorrow isn’t promised to you or those you love. Only you can choose not to let worry waste those precious moments. Give your worries and cares to God (1 Peter 5:7). Instead of worry, spend time with loved ones, visit friends, tell others about Jesus, and focus on God’s faithfulness. This is how you make the most of the precious moments of life!
 
REPEAT THIS MEDITATION: I will give myself the gift of focusing on the present.
 
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU:  What have you worried about lately? If you plan to repeat one of this week's meditation, comment with “repeat" and let me know - and of course, you're welcome to tell me which meditation!

Ora's Prayer Challenge:

In last week's Happy Monday devotion, I shared a prayer challenge that invited you to pray without asking God for anything. I loved Ora's email back to me about what she does - and this could inspire you, too!
 
Every Sabbath morning, I don't ask for anything, but I pray in gratitude for all God has done and for the people that help with my spiritual growth. I do pray for the needs of others on the other six days. -Ora B

Read the Entire Series: Loaves & Fishes Stories Of Trusting God's Provision In Uncertain Times!

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