The Still Waters Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Unmasking Self-Care: The Truth Behind the Instagram Hype  On this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri and  Still Waters team members Abrielle Davis  and Melissa Knight  unpack self-care beyond the social-media version, focusing on a biblical view of stewarding mind, body, and spirit. They explain how depletion often shows up as anxiety, depression, relationship problems, and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri explains why elementary-age children (ages 6–11) are not too young for goal setting, even though they can’t plan far-off abstract goals. Drawing on child development, research on self-control and executive functioning, and examples from Scripture and history, Teri explains that goal setting is a bundle of teachable skills that that...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri addresses why childhood sexual abuse is often not reported and why children may stay silent for months, years, or decades, citing estimates that about one in four girls and one in 20 boys in the U.S. experience abuse before the age of 18. The episode explains key barriers to disclosure and describes the mental and physical...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Still Waters Podcast,Teri  unpacks “grit” as passion and perseverance for long-term goals, drawing on Angela Duckworth’s research showing grit predicts success more than IQ, talent, or socioeconomic status. She argues resilience must be cultivated before high school, when peer pressure, academic demands, identity formation, romance, and risk intensify. Using...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Teri asks listeners to notice the inner voice that appears when things go wrong and explains how repeated thoughts carve “grooves” in the brain, shaped by experiences, relationships, and safety. Using metaphors of wagon ruts, a scratched lens, remodeling a house, and tending a garden, the episode shows how distorted thinking can cause people to interpret the prese...

Send us Fan Mail On the newest episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri explains that the courage young people most need is the everyday strength to do what’s right under peer pressure. She defines courage as choosing what’s right despite fear. Using biblical examples, historical figures, and modern day examples, Teri frames courage as a trainable muscle rooted in character. 00:00 Welcome and Why...

Send us Fan Mail On tths episode, Teri challenges listeners to define “mental health” and explains that mental health is not the same as mental illness. Using the World Health Organization definition, mental health is described as active wellbeing—coping with normal stress, working productively, and contributing to community—more like ongoing maintenance than crisis response.  Mental health is the...

Send us Fan Mail This episode covers part two of a conversation on how social media influencers shape young people’s identity. Teri moves from information in part one (including influencer Neeza Powers) to practical steps for parents and grandparents. She urges listeners not to panic or attack influencers, warning it often backfires and pushes teens into secrecy, and instead recommends “intentiona...

Send us Fan Mail On the newest episode of Th Still Waters Podcast, Teri asks what happens when the daily voice shaping a child or grandchild is not a parent’s, using social media influencer Neeza Powers as a case study in modern influence. Neeza Powers built a large following through emotionally open storytelling across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, publicly lived for years as a transgender woma...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of our series on abuse, Teri discusses caring for children in abusive environments, emphasizing that kids often internalize harm, blame themselves, and may even equate abuse with love. She addresses the unique challenges of co-parenting with an abusive parent. Practical guidance focuses on being an “anchor” through consistency, emotional safety, and repair after mi...

Send us Fan Mail In this Still Waters Podcast episode airing April 23, 2026, Teri continues a series on abuse by explaining how abuse affects people during and after the experience, impacting the body, mind, inner life, and sometimes faith. The episode describes the nervous system’s “danger volume knob,” emphasizing that survivors’ reactions make sense in unsafe environments and often persist afte...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri recaps a weekend at a Cincinnati homeschool conference where she ran a vendor booth for the AIM (Acknowledging Integrity Matters) sexual risk avoidance curriculum and launched a new level for ages 10–12. Teri also delivered a parent talk on pornography, reflecting on common beliefs she heard from parents. The episode explains how a...

Send us Fan Mail On the newest episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri interviews Indianapolis-based nonprofit leader Katrina Terry, founder of Lion 195 Against Trafficking and Resilient Gemstones. Katrina shares her history of childhood kidnapping and sexual abuse, later assault in the military, and how healing through Jesus led her to help others. She describes work with trafficked children, i...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri welcomes Melissa Knight, a nurse and mentor who helps students complete their programs, especially in nursing cybersecurity and data analytics. Melissa discusses her background, her path to coaching, and earning an ICF credential. The conversation covers the differences between coaching, mentoring, and counseling, recognizing when...

Send us Fan Mail On The Still Waters Podcast, Teri and Julie shift from their abuse series to discuss child safety at summer camp, urging parents not to assume camps—especially church camps—are automatically safe. They advise investigating who camp directors report to, whether a board provides oversight, and whether the camp follows clear standards and mandatory reporting to law enforcement. They...

Send us Fan Mail In episode 48 of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri addresses spiritual abuse—often experienced as “church hurt”—as a form of power and control that uses God, scripture, or spiritual authority to manipulate, silence, and trap people in churches, families, marriages, or dating relationships. The episode explains how scripture can be twisted as a weapon, including distorted teachings on...

Send us Fan Mail In the newest Still Waters Podcast episode, Teri issues a content warning and discusses sexual abuse amid renewed attention from the Epstein files. Citing recent CDC and advocacy data, the episode highlights the prevalence of sexual violence and outlines definitions and forms of abuse. She explains the difference between consent and coercion, reviews effects of trauma, and encoura...

Send us Fan Mail The newest episode of The Still Waters Podcast continues a series on abuse by focusing on financial (economic) abuse—when money shifts from a shared tool to a weapon used for power and control. Research indicates financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases and can include common tactics such as controlling access to accounts, requiring receipts or permission for neces...

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, part of an ongoing series exploring abuse, Teri explains digital abuse as a pattern of technology-facilitated behaviors used for power and control, emphasizing that abuse is not only physical and that technology can make controlling patterns harder to detect. The episode describes resulting hypervigilance and erosion of self-trust, hig...

Send us Fan Mail  This Still Waters Podcast episode examines physical abuse as a means of power and control, often starting before visible injuries. Referencing Darby Strickland’s definition, it addresses both overt harm (hitting, slapping, choking) and subtler intimidation tactics (threats, breaking objects, blocking exits, restraint, reckless driving, sleep deprivation). Teri discusses the escal...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, host Teri White dives into the second part of a series on abuse, inspired by Darby A. Strickland's book, 'Is It Abuse?'. The episode emphasizes that abuse is not confined to physical acts but can also manifest in mental, verbal, and psychological forms. Teri highlights the subtle nature of emotional abuse, which often lea...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri introduces a series on abuse, inspired by Darby Strickland’s book 'Is It Abuse?'. She clarifies that abuse involves power and control, not just anger, and offers practical examples to help distinguish conflict from abuse. The episode provides questions for self-assessment, addresses challenges faced by people of faith, gi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, the topic of perfectionism is thoroughly explored. The discussion begins by defining perfectionism and differentiating it from simply caring deeply or trying one's best. It then delves into the subtle ways perfectionism manifests and its psychological and physiological impacts, often rooted in past trauma. The conversation highligh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, hosts Julie and Teri explore the exciting introduction of a new tool on the Still Waters website called Digital Alibi. This tool allows individuals to report abuse, harassment, or other unethical conduct anonymously and safely. The discussion covers how Digital Alibi can be utilized by various individuals including those dealing with do...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Still Waters Podcast, Teri White explores the concept of emotional safety, emphasizing its importance in our overall well-being. She discusses how emotional safety can be compromised in various relationships, including those with friends, family, coworkers, and even within our own thoughts. The episode outlines practical steps to build emotional safety: sett...