Divine Konversations

What if the hardest chapter of your life was actually the first page of your purpose? This episode stopped me in my tracks — because it reminded me that survival isn't the end of the story. It's just the beginning. I had the honor of sitting down with two women who carry so much wisdom, so much grace, and so much real in one room — our very own Diana Kirk, founder and executive director of...

What if everything you were taught about money was designed to keep you out — and what if you're just one mindset shift away from changing everything for your children and their children? I sat down with two people who are doing the work — not just talking about it, but actively teaching, coaching, and living it. Christopher comes from a background in personal finance, banking, and tax prepara...

What does it really mean to grow up Black in Duluth? This conversation mattered because it wasn’t just about race. It was about identity, survival, belonging, leadership, and what happens when young Black boys become Black men in a city still learning how to see them. In this episode, Tatianna sat down with Pez Davila, Kantrelle Kirk, and A.C. Kirk — three Black men deeply rooted in Duluth and dee...

Today, we sat down with our founder and executive director, Deyona Kirk —but not just as the leader of Divine Connections. We went deeper than we ever have before. Into childhood. Into trauma. Into faith. Into the grief that sparked a movement. And into the weight of leadership that most people never see. She shared about growing up in the projects in Sherman, Texas. Being the oldest. Being “bossy...

What does it mean to build belonging in a place where you’ve never seen yourself reflected? For me, this episode wasn’t just another conversation—it was a piece of home. A piece of identity. A reminder that our stories, our families, and our roots are deeply intertwined with the soil we stand on, even when that soil is frozen half the year in northern Minnesota. In this episode, I sat down with tw...

What does it mean to belong when you’re never quite “enough” for either side? Growing up biracial in Minnesota, that question followed us into classrooms, workplaces, and even the most ordinary spaces—like the grocery store or the dentist’s office. In this episode, it’s just the two of us—Tatianna and Tatiana, aka T²—sitting down to have a conversation we haven’t shared much about publicly: what i...

That’s not an exaggeration. It’s not a headline. It’s the reality that Kelis Houston has been fighting against for over a decade—and in this conversation, she doesn’t hold anything back. Kelis Houston is the Executive Director of Village Arms and Chair of the NAACP’s Child Protection Committee. She’s a policy consultant, advocate, trainer, and—more than anything—a relentless voice for justice. Wha...

What do you do when the system doesn’t see your child the way you do? As a parent of a Black child with autism, that question isn’t just theoretical—it’s a daily reality. And today’s conversation is one I’ll carry with me for a long time. Mikilia Carroll is a fierce advocate, the founder of Aid for Autism, and most importantly, the mother of three—including her son Logan, who has shaped her life a...

What does advocacy look like when you’re juggling survival, culture, and a complicated system? Sometimes, it looks like showing up. And sometimes, it looks like sending someone in your place—because your child still deserves to be seen. This week on Divine Konversations, I sat down with Jebeh Edmunds—a powerhouse voice in education and cultural consulting, and someone I deeply admire. Jebeh spent...

What does it really take to protect and preserve Black families in a system that was never designed with us in mind? This episode is personal. It’s layered. And it’s needed. We’re talking about what triggers Child Protection cases, how families can advocate for themselves within the system, and the very real harm that comes when biases and bureaucracy collide with Black parenting. ChaQuana is a mo...

What if the system was never built to protect us—but we rose up and did it anyway? There’s a moment in this episode that stopped me in my tracks. We were talking about navigating systems that weren’t designed with us in mind—school systems, child protection services, medical systems—and someone said: “They just have a title. They’re broken people, too.” That stayed with me. Because what do you do...

What if the thing that broke you becomes the very thing you build with? This podcast started from a promise—to my mother, to my daughter, and to every young mom still fighting to be seen. I’m Deyona Kirk, founder of Divine Konnections and host of Divine Konversations. This episode is s story about pain, purpose, and why this work is so personal. I had my first child at 12. I’ve been through foster...

Episode 1 and 2 coming August 4th 2025! 🙌 Stay Connected + Keep the Conversation Going Website: ⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.divinekonnections.org/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/divinekonnectionsinc/⁠ Follow Deyona on Instagram:⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/divine_konnections_inc/⁠