What happens when God gives you a word for a season - and then life seems to become the exact opposite?

At the beginning of 2026, Shirley felt God give her one simple word: rooted. At the time, it didn’t feel particularly significant. But in the months that followed, Shirley walked through profound loss and transition - the closing of a church plant she and her husband had led for five years, changing ministry roles, a move, and the unexpected loss of her mom.

Everything around her felt uprooted.

In this deeply personal conversation, Shirley shares how God met her in grief, disappointment, uncertainty, and the places where she wrestled with shame and feelings of failure. She talks about learning that the things we call failure are not our identity - and that God’s definition of success may look very different from our own.

Ashley and Shirley also talk about the hidden work of becoming rooted: creating rhythms of quiet, learning to simply sit in God’s presence without needing an answer, and trusting that the roots God grows beneath the surface are what hold us steady when the storms come.

This is a conversation about grief, transition, identity, and discovering that even when everything around us changes, God does not.

Shirley puts it simply: I may not know the outcome, but I know Him.

If you’re walking through a season that feels uncertain, disappointing, or completely uprooted, this episode is a reminder that the hard chapters are still part of your story - and God’s grace is present there too.

EmpowerOne is a nine-month journey for women who are ready to grow - in their faith, in their leadership, and in who God created them to be. Through real community, deep curriculum, and coaching that actually goes somewhere, EmpowerOne equips women to step into the calling that has always had their name on it.

Click here to learn more!

Support the show

https://www.empowerww.org/

What's the first thing that cracks in a leader when the pressure gets high? In this episode of Unstoppable, Ashley sits down with her friend and fellow executive pastor, Dr. Jolander Headley, to talk about her HELP framework - Healing the soul, Equipping with excellence, Leadership with strategy, and Planning for purpose - and the leadership lessons behind her upcoming book, The Tightrope Principle.

Jolander opens up about the lies she's had to identify and break in her own leadership journey, including the moment she was told she wasn't qualified for a role God had clearly called her to. She and Ashley talk candidly about self-care as the foundation of healthy leadership, why leaders can't look down or look back once they've stepped onto the wire, and the practical first step to take when you feel like you're barely holding it together.

If you've ever felt the weight of leadership pressing in, this conversation will remind you: keep walking forward.

In this episode:

• The HELP framework for developing healthy, sustainable leaders
• Why self-care is the foundation everything else is built on
• The lies leaders believe under pressure - and how to break them
• A behind-the-scenes look at Jolander's new book, The Tightrope Principle
• One simple, practical step for anyone who feels like they're losing their footing

Guest Bio

Dr. Jolander Headley serves as Executive Pastor at Alliance Tabernacle in Brooklyn, where she leads as a servant leader across multiple areas of ministry. She developed the HELP framework out of her doctoral dissertation, using it to help leaders heal, grow in self-awareness, lead with strategy, and step into their God-given purpose with steady clarity. Jolander is preparing for her sacred ordination this September, and her new book, The Tightrope Principle — which explores how great leaders stay balanced under pressure — releases in January 2027.

https://headleyleadership.com/

EmpowerOne is a nine-month journey for women who are ready to grow - in their faith, in their leadership, and in who God created them to be. Through real community, deep curriculum, and coaching that actually goes somewhere, EmpowerOne equips women to step into the calling that has always had their name on it.

Click here to learn more!

Support the show

https://www.empowerww.org/