The Bond Beyond
The Bond Beyond is a mother-daughter connection rooted in laughter, unconditional love, and the quiet moments that shape a lifetime. A bond that grows beyond logic, filled with warmth, guidance and love that only deepens with time.
The Bond Beyond
Faith & Our Relationship
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In this episode of The Bond Beyond, we open up about how faith has shaped our mother and daughter relationship through every season of life. From challenges, to growth, healing, and unconditional love, we share personal experiences about leaning on God while strengthening our bond with one another. This heartfelt conversation is about trust, grace, understanding, and the power of faith to bring families closer together.
No Relationship is perfect faith teaches us how to love, forgive, grow and keep showing up for one another even in imperfect moments.
Welcome to the Bond Beyond. A mother-daughter podcast where real conversations, real love, and real life meet.
SPEAKER_00I'm Rashida.
SPEAKER_01I'm Tass Today.
SPEAKER_00Here we talk about the bond that goes beyond generations, beyond expectation, and beyond words.
SPEAKER_01Today's episode, we're talking about our faith and our relationship as mother and daughter. For me, I would consider myself as a Christian because my faith means everything to me. How far I've grown, especially within the church and outside of the church. And then my faith in family, friends, like my work ethic and things that I surround myself in my success. I feel like I build my faith on that as well. What does this faith mean to you?
SPEAKER_00Um, I don't know if I have an answer to that, but the things that I have prepared, maybe that'll answer that question.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Alrighty. So if I did not have my faith in God, because that's who I believe in, I honestly do not know where I'd be today. I've gone through a lot of my life and things like that with raising you and your brothers and all those things. It has allowed me to grow and become who I am today. And without my faith, I would have hurt a lot of people. Um I would have done a lot of wrong things, and I would not be where I'm at today if I didn't have the faith that I have. So it continues to remind me to stay strong. It continues to remind me to get like, yes, stay strong, to build better relationships, even if it's a relationship within myself with others. Um, because oh, there's a lot of people that have irritated and irked me, but because I consider myself a child of God, I could have act out of turn, I could have been a whole hot mess, but I could just continue to prey on it. And another thing too is I try to not allow today's issues go to the next day. And I believe my faith has led me to that and helped me with that. There's a lot of people that dwell on things for days, for weeks, for months, for even years. Some people probably still don't talk to other people because of whatever they did to them, and two, they didn't talk to them about it. It's all about being honest, being true, and you know, just that person should value you and take your whatever it is into consideration and to listen to you. So I will say once again that it's helped me raising all three of you. There has definitely been difficult times in our lives that we did not have many things, but my faith kept me up. And I don't, I don't know. I look at life differently than most people, is what I feel as though, just me personally. Um, we've been out, we've been without a vehicle. We have been homeless. I could have used that and turned to drugs. I could have used that and I could have been just a hot mess. I could have used that against myself and not build up from it to make myself better. So those things made me better, they made me stronger, and they made me who I am today. So, once again, I don't know if that question answers your question. Okay. I've been in church since I knew what church was. Um, my mom was a deacon, she was on the leadership of her church. All I remember growing up was church, church, and church. We had church Sunday, we had church Monday, we had Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, I don't think anything happened at church. Friday, we was at church. A Saturday was practice. If there was something happening on Sunday, um we used to meet at the Denny's, our local Denny's has been knocked down for decades now, but we used to meet at the local Denny's. I remember those things. I remember nights falling asleep in the car or on church chairs or church floors, all those different things. So I was in church at a very young age. Of course, I sinned, as the Christians will call it. Um, but you know what? God forgives all your sins. Because I had a child at a wedlock. When I had my daughter at a wedlock, and I went to the church that I grew up in, I got looks. Um, I was not, I did not feel welcome, and I know I definitely wasn't welcome because the first question always was, where's your husband? Um, and guess what? You don't need to be married to have a kid. You need to do something else to have a kid, but it is what it is. But then I had a neighbor, I'm gonna shout her out, Aunt Cindy, love you girl. I had a neighbor that bugged me. Um, she definitely never gave up on me, so which was truly, truly awesome. She bugged and bugged for me to come and visit the church. By this time, I had three kids. Um, and she just bugged me and bugged me. So I'm gonna say, probably I had you at 20, so probably 19 to 27, which is a long time. I was not involved in a church. I never gave up on my faith. Um, I still prayed. I am a prayer. Don't get me to quote any Bible verse. I am bad with that. But if you need someone to pray for you, I am your girl, reach out to me. I will pray. Um, so once again, didn't lose my faith or anything like that. So when Aunt Cindy was just like, you should just come, you should just visit, you should just come, you should just visit, I'm like, okay, we'll go try it out. And that's April, that April of 2027, I went, I visited, and guess what? I've been going there ever since.
SPEAKER_012007.
SPEAKER_002007, what did I say? 2027.
SPEAKER_01Oh god, we're not there yet.
SPEAKER_00We're not there yet. That's the future. Talk about the penis. Um, sorry, 2007. So we have been going there since then. I don't know when I've officially became a member. Um, and all churches should do this. You take a class to know what your um the church is all about, to make sure it's something you want to get into. The values, the purpose of the church. Yes. So there was a class for that. Um, I took that class and I became a member. And like I said, I've been going there ever since. And oh, I have been in a lot of different areas of the church and ministries. Uh currently I am co-director of our children's ministry. I've been doing that. What year is this? Because I don't know. 2026. 2026. So 10. I think 10 years this year I've been doing that for. But before that, um, I was on the core team. Core team is a group of people that helped with that ministry and also volunteer for the ministry. And then before that, um, I did we call it a community dinner. Yes, it was Wednesday nights. I had to put together a menu, I had to put together volunteers to come and cook. I need people to clean up, I need people to set up. So it was a lot, but I've done a little bit of everything. My goal in two years is to retire, if that's even a thing, um, from children's ministry. I just want to be a church member. But I know I'll find myself somewhere helping out somehow. So I'm gonna try my best to hold out as long as I can to just be a member. I know I went to a lot of things, but you can bring up some things. I do have more to share, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh some things that you were saying, like um, I did struggle with my faith at a young age. Um from I guess I would say from age seven to thirteen, um, because what you said we were homeless, like transportation-wise and stuff like that, and what we were dealing with. Yeah, and then like um even like because I was still in school too, so homework and something that was just so much piling up on me. Um, so I feel like I growed my faith through that with prayer. I pray every morning while I'm in my car to and from. Even if I don't leave the house, I'll pray, I'll pray while I'm in the shower. I'm not really good at praying over my food though, because I'm ready to eat when it's ready.
SPEAKER_00I feel like I pray over food more when I haven't prepared it or hasn't been prepared in my home.
SPEAKER_01I've actually caught it at different parties or like when you go like oh a wedding or something, people are like, Can you bless the food? I'm like, sure. Yeah, like I pray more over food when I'm outside of that, yeah, when I'm at certain places. But I feel like I was never forced into church. No, she al she always just said, if you live under my roof, you're going to church. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00If you don't and if you don't have to work on Sunday, you're going.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But then that C word, COVID, changed a lot of things. And it changed that rule too. Because we were home for so long to get back into routine. You know, I was already fighting to get them back in school, so I was gonna fight them to go to church. But something our church does, they do a senior blessing. And all three did the senior blessing because I asked for them to be part of that. Nobody gave me a hard time or anything like that, so which was really, really sweet. Um, and I'm gonna say, not last year, what 2024 was probably the last time they came for the holiday. Yeah, yeah. Cause they're they're adults now, they're doing their own things, have their own schedules, things like that. But yeah, I used to be really, really strict on that. If you live in my house, you're going to church. If you don't have to work on Sunday, you're going to church.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01It was annoying, but like I already was going to church. So it wasn't really any different from before. Um, and then also I wanted to express that it made us closer as a family. Like what we went through and seeing like the good come from it. Like, we eventually got a house, we eventually got cars, like everything good was coming, especially to like the prayer of prayer. People like most times we feel like, why is this happening? Why me, why me? Like you keep questioning like everything you're going through, but then like two, you have people to talk to about it, like other family and stuff like that, they'll probably help you out. Um, but we generally base our relationship God first within family.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, yes, yes. Excuse me. Um, I'm so grateful that I can and get the experience of faith and church together. Because unfortunately, there's some countries who, if people find out that they pray to a certain God or do a certain thing, that they're not, you know, they can lose their life. So I'm just grateful for where I do live that I'm able to, you know, praise God as I want to and can freely because just those little things sometimes, you know, we don't take we don't take those things for granted, just the little things that we do. Is there anything that you do within in our church tasks?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I am the youth ministry leader.
SPEAKER_00How long have you been doing that?
SPEAKER_01I started at 2020. I started during COVID. During COVID, okay. And we did like Zoom games over Zoom, like scavenger hunts, stuff like that. So I started in 2020. Okay. But I was also a part of the youth before I became the youth leader. There you go. And I've been the youth leader for six years now. I love it. Um, it makes me connect more to the kids and stay up to date with all the new lingo and what's happening in school.
SPEAKER_00So with youth, so like for me, uh children's ministry, we take them up, it all varies, but they're infants up until fifth grade. And then when do you get the kids?
SPEAKER_01We get them sixth to twelfth grade. Nice, nice, nice, nice. Yes. Okay. Yes. I love it. I enjoy being around kids more than adults.
SPEAKER_00The kids are fun. Um, my group's really, really fun. I will say our church, it has become a smaller church. One thing that I love about my church, all are welcome.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um, we're an inclusive church, so we do not deny anybody, as Jesus himself would not deny anybody. Facts. Um, so our church has gotten smaller, it is growing again. Um, and it is really, really sweet to see all the families and the people that are in there, and of course, you know, all the old school people that are in there. Small but mighty. Most definitely. Um, but my group of kids, they're really, really awesome. Um, so what we do is obviously we follow the school year. So when the school year ends, anybody who's in fifth grade, we call it a moving up ceremony. And anyone who's a senior, as Tassey t tell you, what do you guys call it? Senior blessing. Senior blessing. Yes. We've collaborated, so now it's together, which makes so much more sense.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_00But our fifth graders moving up because they're considered youth, it's not like we're losing them because they are still there. We get to see them, we still get to see them grow and all those things, so which is really, really great. Um, but some are like so anxious to go, some are a little scared to go, whatever the case may be. But the one thing is um we allow them time for transition. So obviously, school is done in June here where we live, so they can come to Sunday class, still June, rest of June, all of July, all of August. Come that first Sunday in September, then they're fully youth. And the other side of that is they can start doing youth things after the moving up ceremony. So that gives them time to get to know the group of kids that are part of youth and things like that. So yeah. Um, the other thing that we do, we normally do it every summer. This year, we're doing it for a day. Our vacation Bible school, we're calling it an adventure day, is what we're doing. It's almost like a camp day. Um a lot of those kids who are fifth graders, they always want to help immediately. It's really, really hard, because now they're sixth graders, to have the sixth graders help. So I try to tell them they have to be seventh grade or up. One, so some are very mature and can definitely handle it. But when you set rules, you got to make sure you do the rules for everybody. Yes. So once they're seventh grade and up, they can help out with Sunday mornings, watching the littles that we have, or coming into the classroom with the bigger kids, or they can help with our vacation Bible school. So, which is really, really a fun opportunity for them. Um, I like I said, I do enjoy working with the kids. Um, it's a great group of kids, um, and I have so much fun with them um watching them and listening to them, seeing them grow and all these things. It is so so awesome to do and so awesome to have. So I don't take any of those things for granted. And I do have a co-leader, um, so I'm not doing it all by myself, so which is really, really helpful.
SPEAKER_01Yes, for youth, we don't meet every Sunday. Um we meet like ours is scattered all over the place with Bible studies events and stuff like that. That we have um lock-ins, we do movie nights, game nights. This summer we have Hershey Park trip planned. Fun. Um, so we do a whole bunch of we do a whole bunch of different events throughout the whole year. Um, we don't really take a break, but this year we're not doing anything in August. So that is our month break. But youth goes around all year long, but we don't meet as frequently as children's ministry, so I love it.
SPEAKER_00I will say too, with our relationship, talking about the faith part, yeah, excuse me, I feel like our relationship is much better. Um, I don't know any truly any other mother-daughter dynamics with not like our age, but within our like, you know, kind of age group or age span that can go to church together, excuse me. That serve together in some kind of capacity, like all those things. So it is unique in that way because we can jam out on gospel music, you know, Christian music, all that stuff. We've been to two Christian concerts together. Yeah. Um, we saw Elevation Worship and Maverick City. And Maverick City. So that was awesome. So, like, we could praise together, we could pray together. Like, so having that mother-daughter combo, both believing in the same God, both fellowshipping, both in leadership, both leading, like just all the things, I think that definitely has made our relationship better and grow. Yes. I will say with the boys, they don't they grew up with it, so they get it and understand. I wouldn't say that they're against it or anything like that. Um, if you ask them, do you want to go to church or do you want to go to McDonald's? They're gonna choose McDonald's. Um, but once again, if I've asked them to join or to come for a special occasion, they they would be there. There's no issue or problem with that. Um, with my mom, oh, God rest her soul. She used to make us do Bible study, just the two of us. How is that fun? How was that fun or anything like that? Like, I don't, I don't understand. Once again, this is probably why I kind of blocked from my brain memorizing Bible verses, because that is what she wanted me to do all the time. And I don't, it just that part was not fun for me. It just wasn't. She literally would give me assignments and homework, and then next week when we gathered together again, I would have to, and I'm like, no, no, and I think too, that's why I like rebelled as a teenager and also, you know, got pregnant, stopped going to church, like just all the things.
SPEAKER_01Because it was shoved down your throat.
SPEAKER_00It was shoved down my throat, and I it was not fun for me. But making a choice for myself, going to church for myself, and also my children, you know, you guys were able to build relationships from that, whether you've made friends and kept those friends or whatever the case may be.
SPEAKER_01I think having those experiences helped everybody, but I have more friends that believe now than before.
SPEAKER_00And that's awesome. That's a good thing to have. Yeah. But yeah.
SPEAKER_01I went uh last week to a praise night with two friends, and it was amazing. We're all singing and our hands are raised, like praising the same God. So like that's very unique because most of like growing up through elementary and high school, there was I didn't know any other Christians within my school. Like, oh, you go to church, you want to come to my youth group tonight.
SPEAKER_00And I don't think that was really a conversation, too.
SPEAKER_01Well, I only one friend actually that I got to like bring along with me sometimes. But like I wish there was more. More.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, a bigger group and things like that. But yeah, I that was not the case for me. All my friends were within the church, and then um when we would have visit the PK kids, and oh, I heard it on social media the other day, and she was like, I'm a PK. I was like, Oh, I know what that means. The listeners, do y'all know what PK means? I'm gonna give you a moment. I'm gonna give you a moment. PK. So these children, I don't know, they're just different, they're built different, they act different, these PK kids. Um, but I would say my cousins were PK kids, but because maybe because they were my cousins, I didn't think they acted that way. Yeah, but maybe on the outside looking in, they did. So PK means preachers' kids. Um, they were they were special people, they were they were truly special people. But I will say that for me growing up, when I was in school, I had two good friends through high school. Um, and I would invite them. I can't honestly, there was nothing that sticks out that they actually came to the church or whatever with me, which I was okay with, but I still invited them, or you know, we gotta get up and we're we're going here. And our church was in a whole different state. Lord Jesus. It was it was not a quick drive around the corner either. So maybe that's another reason nobody wanted to come when I told them where it was located. But I'm glad you have that group of friends now that you guys in your 20s can praise together, laugh together, go out and dance, enjoy yourselves, and just be true humans. And I will say, from me, I am speaking for myself. We are all sinners. You can agree to disagree, but we are all sinners. And what I mean by that is we're human, we make mistakes. Yes. The God that I believe in, that He forgives, and you can repent and you can move on from that. That is it. Flat the story. I'm human. People are going to go to a dance party and dance. Um, I don't drink anymore, just my choice. But I used to go and have a glass of wine or a margarita. No, I'm not getting drunk or whatever, but we're human, so everybody has different things. She just turned blood into wine. Like I'm just being real. So for those people that are out there might be listening, oh, she's not a Christian. She had a drink. Oh, she's not a Christian, she had kids at a wetlock, all those things. You are not my God. So you cannot judge me. Your place. Yes. So only God can judge me. So once again, it's my podcast. I'm sharing my thoughts, and I'm like letting you know from my opinion how I feel and what that comes like. But to recap with Taciday and our relationship, I am so grateful for it because I feel like the faith has made it stronger, it it builds it up. We can have those uncomfortable conversations, we can talk to each other, we can laugh, we could cry, we could do all of those things.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um, I'm gonna go uh blah blah blah. Okay, a few things that I want to share that I admire about you like spiritually is that you're a prayer warrior, like you would pray over everything. Everybody anywhere, no matter who it is, like if you see that daily prayer, you will go over.
SPEAKER_00I'll ask permission if they're a stranger.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Yes. And then also you just have a serving heart. Like you're always willing to help and serve people. I appreciate that. And I love that about you because it also made me love volunteering. Like we even do that together outside of church. Like volunteering for plays to be like um ushers. Yes. Yeah. There's so many things that we do together. I love that. I admire about you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I appreciate that, sweetie. And like I said, my goal was just to be a role model to try to be the best role model possible. If if you as a parent can do the positive things, guess what? Your child's gonna follow through. And once they become an adult and choose their own ways and their own paths, don't be upset if they're not doing what you try to teach them or bring them up to do. Just allow them to find their way back. Because they will. You know, they'll find their way back. So don't ever be like, oh, I raised you better. And I didn't raise you this way. This, this, and that. Do not waste your energy. Allow them to find their way back because they will.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I do have that written down to give each other space to find who they are individually. Yes. Even though you raise your child to be a good human, good person, and like do what is right, they still make mistakes and still support them throughout. But don't try to control them, be like, no, you can't go there. Yes. Because then they're gonna do it even more. Just like trust them and help them grow into the individual they wanted to be. Yes. And then they will come back and be like, oh my god, mom, I'm so grateful that you taught me this. Yes. Because now I'm showing my friend, blah, blah, blah. And like their parents didn't raise them that way. And then you're like, oh my God, like all my hard work and sleepplace nights and everything is paid off. Like it works out at the end. Don't try to force it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, do not try to force it.
SPEAKER_01You're learning as you're growing with your child.
SPEAKER_00Yes. But I will say this that it makes our relationship very unique. I feel like it makes my relationship unique with all of my children because I am their person. If they want to call and share a funny story, a sad story, or let me tell you what happened today, or whatever the case may be, I'm getting a call from all of them, which I truly love and appreciate. I want them to find their person, their soulmate, their match, whatever it may be. But I'm so glad that I'm still included in their life with all the things. So that's something they can keep to themselves. And that speaks volumes on how you built that relationship, you know, with each other. But yeah, this was a good one. It was. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So thank you so much for listening as always. And hopefully you take the time to listen to all of them, even if it may be not a topic or a subject that you're thrilled about. Who knows? You might enjoy it. So if you're like, oh, I'm gonna skip faith, I don't believe in anything, and you hit the button to listen to this one, we truly appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00We want you to know that you are loved, you are valued, and you are never alone. This is the bottom.
SPEAKER_01On beyond where connection grows deeper than words.