Erica Campbell sits down with Lish Speaks for an honest conversation about Mary Mary, six Grammys, 25 years of marriage, motherhood, faith, and the courage to keep walking through the doors God opens.
She takes us back to the Mary Mary years and the creative freedom behind songs like “Shackles (Praise You),” “Can’t Give Up Now,” and “Little Girl.” Erica explains why she never accepted the limits people place on gospel artists, what it felt like to launch a solo career when fans still wanted Mary Mary, and why—even after decades of success—every new opportunity can feel like another audition.
The conversation gets especially real around marriage. After renewing her vows with husband Warryn Campbell for their 25th anniversary, Erica shares what she wishes single women and newlyweds understood about vulnerability, fear, forgiveness, and choosing the relationship over winning the argument. She also talks about raising daughters, healing the insecure 13-year-old she used to be, staying grounded as a mother and first lady, and refusing to let fear run her life.
Erica also opens up about playing Cassie in the Lifetime movie “Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery,” the unexpected call that led to her nationally syndicated radio show “Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell,” and the lesson behind it all: stay ready, start where you are, and own as much of your creative process as you can.
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[00:00:00] Do you ever feel frustrated that you have to keep proving to people what you've already proven to them? Yes, you always. Everything you do, you're still auditioning. Yeah. You're auditioning to keep the space that they see you in. I really, really, really love Jesus like a whole lot. I've been singing a little more Jesus around the house for like a long time. It was so different from what everybody knew me for. I know that there are people more talented than me, but for some reason, he allowed me and my sister and my husband to touch the world and I'm just so, so, so grateful.
[00:00:27] We started out, you know, wearing little kitten heels, little skirts looking crazy, them skinny eyebrows. It was a time. It was a time. It was an era. Yeah, it was an era. God is a funny way of giving me things that will be very hard and I have to push past people thinking I'm supposed to fit in their boxes or what they think gospel is or how I should look. That's why I love the title. I just let myself in. I didn't feel held hostage to anything or anyone. So have a great day.
[00:00:54] What's up, everybody? It's your girl, Lish Speaks, and welcome back to another episode of my podcast, I'll Just Let Myself In. It's the podcast where you don't wait for an imaginary permission slip or some seat at an imaginary table.
[00:01:24] We let ourselves into our God-given doors. And if you are looking around, you might be like, where are you? This is not the normal set we're used to see in the art behind you. I am in a very special place with a very special person. Now, you guys know that when I do have a guest, I like for the guest to be someone who embodies what we do here at I'll Just Let Myself. And I like for the guest to be someone who has walked through their God-given doors without shame,
[00:01:53] without fear, and with courage. I like for the guest to be someone who I know is going to give you guys some information, some encouragement, and some love. And let me tell you guys, you're not going to be disappointed. My guest today is a five-time Grammy Award winner, 27 stellar awards. That's a lot of stellar awards. That's a lot of stellar awards. Yeah. She is a mom. She's a wife. She's a daughter. She's a friend. She's a first lady.
[00:02:21] And she shares her life with us, not only through song, but through her content, and really just through the things that she's learned over the years. She is someone who has made a personal impact on me. And I know the same is true for many of you. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I'm sitting with Erica Campbell. Hi. Welcome. Hello. Thank you for having me. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Did I get the five Grammys right? Is it more than that? It's six. Six Grammys. My Lord. I know that's right.
[00:02:52] I saw like 50-something stellar nominations. Yeah. Between the Marys, me, and then the songs, the collabs that I've done. Yeah. Yeah. That's a lot of accolades. That's a lot. That's a lot. You seem not to let it go to your head. How do you manage that? Not at all. Because I just still go back to my house after the award show. Right. And I still have to be a mama and wife. Load the dishwasher. Load the dishwasher. Yeah. And I still have to wait on the Lord. Like, you know what I mean? I don't float in nowhere. I still got to walk where I go.
[00:03:21] So while I'm grateful for it, it doesn't define me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Listen, we're going to go through a couple of eras. Yeah. I feel. Okay. Of Erica. First of all, we got to start at Mary Mary. Of course. Got to start at Mary Mary. I was telling Erica off camera that, you know, we look the same age. In fact, I feel like she looks younger than me, but we are not. And when Mary Mary came out, I was in the sixth grade when Shackles came out. I remember exactly what I was doing the first time I heard Shackles. Really?
[00:03:50] I was cleaning my room and Kiss FM playing. Oh yeah. Yeah. I was listening to the radio. Probably Toya Beasley. Yeah. Because back then you listened to the radio. Yes. You know, as you cleaned your house and cleaned your room, there was no streaming or anything like that. Uh-uh. And Shackles came on and I thought to myself, what is this? And I've always loved music. I've always loved pop. Mm-hmm . I've always loved gospel. Grew up listening to gospel because my mama wasn't having none of that other stuff in the house. Uh-huh.
[00:04:17] And I remember thinking to myself, oh, this is fire. This is fire. So I've been listening to you for that long. Yeah. 28 year old Erica. I love it. I love it. When I think about Mary Mary and you all's impact, I think about the musicality. Mm-hmm . Because you have a song like Shackles, but then you have a song like Be Happy. This is, we're talking first album. Yeah. Then you got Destiny's Child. Mm-hmm . Then you, I mean, and then when you go to the next album, you got Incredible.
[00:04:47] You got Little Girl, which we gonna get to. Because that's a moment for me. I was in eighth grade when that one came out. Aw. Um. But then you also got songs like Biggest Greatest Thing. Yes. And you got Speak To Me. And you got the strings on. I mean, you guys just go every, you go big band. Mm-hmm . You go, maybe not rock as much, but some of that in your solo stuff, right? Mm-hmm . How do you guys come together to decide whether it's you, Warren, you and Tina, deciding, okay, what approach do we want to take to the music on the albums? We literally, first, thank you for all of that.
[00:05:17] I appreciate it so much. I'm very, very grateful for all God has allowed me to do. But because I love music so much, I don't feel like, we never felt like we had to be locked into one thing. Mm-hmm . It was whatever God gave us. If we were inspired by something or watched something, we just went for it. A lot of songs were created while I was driving to the studio, or me and Tina when we were just in our little two bedroom apartment going from her room to my room, writing things. Mm-hmm . And everything was diverse and different.
[00:05:47] And I don't know, I just didn't, that's why I love the title, I just let myself in. I didn't feel held hostage to anything or anyone. I really didn't. Yeah. You know, I always wanted to be good, but I always wanted to be open because I really, really, really love Jesus like a whole lot. Yeah. I know that he is the source. I know that he gave it to me. I know it could have been somebody else. I know that there are people more talented than me, but for some reason, he allowed me
[00:06:13] and my sister and my husband to touch the world and I'm just so, so, so grateful. Yeah. Yeah. I can tell that you don't feel boxed in by anything. Because you still go after things that are, that some people might think, oh, why is she doing that? Oh, why would a gospel artist do that? Yeah. You know, things like film, things like a morning radio show. Yeah. I remember when you first started Get Out with Erica and I thought to myself, she's doing another thing.
[00:06:43] Like, she's not going to stop anytime soon. No. And for me, as an ambitious person, it's very inspiring because when you're multi-talented, right, people often want to put you in a box. For sure. Right? How do you stop that from happening? Because I'm sure with management and all the things people are like, oh. You know, the box is theirs. It's not mine. You know what I mean? Yeah. You could put me in your box, but I'm not putting myself in a box.
[00:07:10] You know, when I first started and we would do interviews and we were just doing Mary, Mary, we weren't married, no kids. So they would ask, what else is going on? You know, interviews go. They want to talk about all of you. Well, at that time, me and Tina were living together. We weren't married. You know, we had just done the first record. That's all we did. Yeah. We didn't have all these aspirations and plans. We just wanted to do music. And our conversation with the label, when they asked, what is your audience? We said, the world. That's all it was. I just want to sing for the world. So when they would ask other questions, I would say,
[00:07:39] well, I'll walk through whatever door God opens for me. That's really because I didn't have anything else to say. But I said it so many, whatever door God opens, I'll walk through. And the things that I chased, I never got. When I was chasing for radio, when me and Tina were talking about, dude, we had done auditions. We had done nothing. I sent it to several different companies. It's good. Now what we're looking for. And then when I stopped chasing, I would get a phone call and go, hey, you want to do such
[00:08:09] and such? That's literally what happened. Ms. Kathy Hughes gave me a call. I'm on Radio 1. Yeah. And said, you want to do a syndicated morning show? And I was like, because by this time, Tina's not in it. I had done a demo by myself and that didn't work. So I was like, all right, Lord, I guess this is not it. Yeah. And I told her I couldn't do it because I live in LA. I know the studios and they had one in Dallas and Philly and DC and all these places. But I was like, I don't live there.
[00:08:36] My husband was like, um, when I got off the phone and told her, told him who it was and what she asked, he said, I call her back. Come on, Warren. And I called her back and I said, let's see how we can make it work. That's literally how I got the show. I love it. And with the movie, any of the things that I've done, it's been somebody saying, hey, we want you on the cover of this magazine or hey, we want you here. Yeah. Even BET this last year. I didn't have a publicist pitching me. My friend Adam Blackstone works on the show. He's like, hey, we're doing this moment.
[00:09:06] You want to do it? I was like, sure. So I'm literally living. Yeah. I'll walk through whatever door God opens for me. Yeah. So in my mind, God has always been preparing me. Yeah. I was 18 years old listening to, he's preparing me by Wilmington Chester, Mass featuring Daryl Coley. And I would go, when, Lord? When? The 19 and 20. When, Lord? I've been singing since I was five. I thought I would be a child star. I thought I would be a teenage sensation. You know what I mean? I remember listening to D. Leon Richards.
[00:09:36] And I was like, man, I'm going to do that one day. But I was still just singing in evangelistic mass choir. Yeah. But I was dedicated. I was at every rehearsal. And when my church choir recorded an album, I was like, ha, look at me recording. You know what I mean? Yeah. And God was like, keep waiting. He's preparing me. There's a line in the song that says, he's providing me with what I'll need to carry out the next matters in my life.
[00:10:01] And so I always looked at those early days as God is going to do something. Yeah. I don't know what and I don't know when. He going to do something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ain't no way. He didn't let me dream these dreams for nothing. Yeah. So I was always kind of being prepared. And so I feel like at this point, God is like, you're ready. And so he opens the doors and I get the emails or the phone calls. Yeah. And I'm just grateful. I have plans in my mind. I have these visions and I'm going to do something like this one day.
[00:10:29] And God will just do what he does at the right time. I love it. I love that you had a song. I have some songs that I listen to when I need to be inspired, when I need to be ready to go. My audience knows for many years, I was in the music industry and I would perform at shows. And I get, I don't know if you're like this, but I get real funny before I perform. For sure. I don't want to talk to nobody. I'm short. I work, I'm trying to work on it. I'm better with this. Yeah. With the media, I'm better. I try to. They want to talk. It's like they don't respect that you're trying to get ready. Please, please don't talk.
[00:10:59] I'm so, I know I make it look like I'm not nervous, but I'm very nervous and I can't talk to you right now. Same. So there are two songs that I used to listen to. One is by the Clarksons. It's called Instrument. And I love that song because it reminds me that I am an instrument, right? When I'm doing this instrument. The second is Speak to Me. And I love it because it calms me, right? Speak a word of life that I might hear what the, it's the still small voice that I wait for. Yeah.
[00:11:28] And I love that song because it reminds, always reminded me, this is who you're doing it for. And this is who you're doing it from. Absolutely. It's not from you. Absolutely. You gotta wait for that still small voice and you can't hear that. If you're talking. So go, go somewhere and get, get into the, get into the spirit. Yeah. And so I love that you have songs that do that for you. Are there any Erica Campbell or Mary Mary songs that put you in that place? Or is it like, it's mine. So I can't even. Oh, for sure. No. Yeah. So I know some artists don't like their music.
[00:11:57] I like my music. I do. I like it. And I'm encouraged by it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whether it is changes, you know, or forgiving me or I'm running. Mm. There've been a number of songs that I have to remind myself, Erica, you said this. Yeah. Yeah. You said this and you sang this. Yeah. I was, um, we were in Japan on our first really big promo tour.
[00:12:23] We were, the Japanese schedule was insane. So it was like, be in the lobby at 727. At 752, we'll do this interview. At 812, we'll get in the car. It was like literally minute by minute. You know how most people are like, 8, 815. Yeah. No. Yeah. 727. Yeah. 827, you know. We'll have a sandwich in the lobby and then we'll go upstairs and do more interviews. It started at seven and it didn't, it was like 10 o'clock at night. Sheesh. And I was drained and I was overwhelmed.
[00:12:52] Like so much so I felt weary. And so right before the, in between an interview, I asked them to play Can't Give Up Now. Mm-hmm. And I sat there and I listened to it and I cried. Yeah. Because I was tired, but I was happy and I was, I'd never felt that level of conflict. Yeah. You know what I mean? Being happy and just weary at the same time. And I cried and I listened to the song. You know, the team, I don't know what they was doing, because my eyes was closed, but I'm sure they was like, what's going on? Should we stop it? It's too much. Yeah.
[00:13:22] And when we finished, I said, I wiped my tears and I said, okay, I can do the next interview now. And that's kind of how I, how I operate. I'm very committed to what God has called me to. If I believe he'll take care of my mind and my heart, then I can work for him and he still take care of me. Yeah. And I think because of that commitment to him, he gives me space to, to be me, to, to heal, to be refreshed and restored. So yeah, I use lots of songs, but I definitely take my moments. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:13:52] Yeah. Speaking of Can't Give Up Now, you guys and you solo do a lot of covers or interpretations of old school gospel music. I'm thinking of Thank You. Yeah. I'm thinking of, lately, Do You Believe in Love? Yes. What helps you to decide what type of songs you're going to cover or interpret for yourself? So Can't Give Up Now was definitely Warren's idea. And we wrote the verses and all that.
[00:14:18] And yeah, I remember that was, that was one of those two in the morning, still recording, Wow. You know, just sitting in the studio, literally all night long singing. And from a business perspective, when you are doing an interpretation of someone's song, they may or may not give you publishing.
[00:14:52] Mm-hmm. It goes that way sometimes. Yeah. And if the song is more important than the business to me, then I figure God will give it to me some other kind of way. And also what the song is going to do for you. What the song is going to do. For your career. Absolutely. It's almost priceless. And I Can't Give Up Now wasn't even a single. There's a whole generation who don't know it's a James Cleveland song. This is true. I don't feel no way to tie it. This is true, yeah. It wasn't written by him, it was written by another man. I can't remember his name at the time. But yeah, there are a lot of people who sing that song and they just think, They get some Mary. Mary Mary.
[00:15:23] I mean, y'all did make it. Y'all. Let me just say, you did make it. No, I love that. I love that. And, you know, Jodeci, Do You Believe in Love? Yes. Is like one of my favorite love songs. Yes. It means a lot to us personally. I love that. So cute. I love it. And so, you know, when you decide to do that, is there any like kickback from anybody in the gospel world because it's a secular song? At this point, probably not, right?
[00:15:53] Yeah. No. And so many people do it. Yeah. But my reason for doing it is always because I love the song. So I don't pick songs like, this was a big hit, it'll be easier for it to go to a chart position. I feel like that's a little bit too contrived for me. It's why I'm not big on following trends. Everybody's doing this because I feel like I'm chasing somebody else's thing. So I'm always like, God, give me something unique and special for me that fits the mission.
[00:16:19] So when I did the I Love You record, I was very intentional about the songs and what they meant reflecting his love for us and my love for them. And I'm still very, very proud of that album, even though from a awards perspective, it didn't do what I wanted it to do. I still believe in it. Yeah. And so I can't base their response on my obedience to him. Yeah. It's an incredible album. Thank you. We got Stevie Wonder on a harmonica. It's like, what in the world? Yeah.
[00:16:49] And then PJ Morton. Yes. Incredible. My sisters, my kids. Yeah. Yeah. Mama at some point is talking to me on the album, I think. Yes, yes. Like, and I really love that when you decided to go solo, there seems to have been a lot of intention in the music that you've put out. My favorite solo song from you is Well Done. It's just my jam. But when you are making solo music versus when you're making music, you know, with a group
[00:17:16] or with your sister, I would imagine there's a different kind of pressure in that. Do you feel that still or did you feel it only at first? I think I only felt it at first just because so many people just wanted Mary Mary and still to this day, there's nowhere that I go that they don't ask about Mary Mary. But I know that's just because they love them. We do. I refuse to tell myself they don't love me. They do. Yeah. So you have to have a certain kind of strength. Yeah.
[00:17:46] You know, and I see it a lot. But I remember when I started the solo journey when Tina was saying, I'm going to take some time and take a break. Oh, I begged and pleaded. Are you sure? Are you sure? And I was like, all right, here we are. So I was like, well, let's put out this song. And I had been singing a little more Jesus around the house for like a long time. And he was like, let's record that. But it was so different from what everybody knew me for, you know? So that was a challenge. And God is a funny way of giving me things that will be very hard for me.
[00:18:17] And I have to push past people thinking I'm supposed to fit in their boxes or what they think gospel is or how I should look or, you know. Do you ever feel frustrated that you have to, or do you even feel like this, that you have to keep proving to people what you've already proven to them? Yes. You always, everything you do, you're still auditioning. Yeah. You're auditioning to keep the space that they see you in. Yeah. You know what I mean? I remember listening to you in an interview talking about how, you know, you had hosted the Stella Awards.
[00:18:45] You had won several Stella Awards. Baby. And I was like, no, you can't perform. Baby. They said you get a minute and 34 seconds. And it's a collaborative performance. Yes, yes. And Warren said, do it or don't. Yeah. But you do it or don't. You got two choices. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know? He was like, do it and be the absolute best that you can be. And I literally feel no ill will towards them. Because Warren said it. He was like, Erica, they don't know you by yourself. They never see you. They only know you with Tina. Yeah. And it's a great memory. Yeah. You know what I mean? So. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:19:15] What you gonna do? How do you keep your ego in check when it comes to things like that? Because as much as you are saved and first ladied and all the things, you're human, right? And you have feelings. Yeah. So is it friends? Is it Warren? Is it prayer time? It's the Holy Ghost. Okay. Come on, Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost. Check yourself. Yeah. You know? Because sometimes, you know, and my, when my ego starts to rise, it's not loud. It's very pleasant. It's very pleasant.
[00:19:43] And it's not even nasty. Oh, it's really nice. Okay. Until someone says, oh, I, you know, I know you're new at this and I'll tell them how long the first record was on the charts nicely. You know? But you know, if they miscount the Grammys or whatever, you know, if they tell me what I'm not, I'll go, in my heart, I'll go, you'll see. Yeah. Because I have a lot of losses. I really do. Yeah. I've had a lot of bad moments. Yeah. Um, but the good ones are good. Yeah.
[00:20:11] And so I own them, but I also own the bad ones. If you live by the comments, you die by the comments. So I try my best not to rest, you know, on that. How do I feel about what I did? Yeah. That's the most important thing. Yeah. Kind of like when a kid comes in the room and they're doing a dance and it's horrible, but you can't tell them that. Yes. You know what I mean? Or they bring you something that they drew and it's a big head and a stick and an arm. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And a little squiggly circle. And they are so proud of it. Right. And they don't feel no way. They don't come and go, well, I hope you like it. Yeah.
[00:20:41] Mommy, look at this. Right? Confident. Confident. So I feel like I have a responsibility to walk in confidence, especially when I'm in secular spaces. Yeah. I represent the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. I'm not coming in apologizing because I'm a gospel artist. Yeah. I'm here because my light is supposed to shine. I'm here because there's something I have that you need. Yeah. Not that I gave myself. It's a God assignment. Yeah. So I dare not, you know, shrink because someone thinks I didn't wear the right dress or someone
[00:21:09] thinks I didn't sound how I'm supposed to sound. I know my assignment. Yeah. I know my assignment when I'm at sound check. I know my assignment on the red carpet. I know my assignment when I'm answering the questions. I know my assignment when I'm in the trailer with the hair and makeup people. Yeah. You know what I mean? I'm always imparting. I'm always sharing. I'm being enlightened, showing them that I can be this person that people see me as, but I could still be humble and kind and care about you and check on you. Yeah. That's my assignment. So I like the rooms, but I wasn't built in those rooms.
[00:21:39] I was built at church. Yeah. I was built in prayer meetings. I was built in very humble spaces. So I'm always, always grateful. Yeah. You know, I didn't get myself there. God got me there. Yeah. And if you don't know it, you will soon. Yeah. I know that's right. And that's it. I mean, and I don't like saying this, but I remember sitting by somebody on the plane and he's like, what do you do? Oh, he was asking me where I'm going. I'm going to work. What do you do? Oh, I sing. Oh, that's so great. What lounge?
[00:22:08] I said, um, well, I don't really do lounges, but you can Google me. And he had wife on the plane and he Googled me and he saw the pictures and he was looking at his phone and he was like, oh my God, you're like a big deal. And I was like, I've been singing a minute. I've done some things. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I didn't get nasty. Like I've been loud. Yeah. Yeah. He didn't know. He didn't know. It's okay. I'll introduce you to who I am. It's true. Yeah. And sometimes people just don't know.
[00:22:34] And I think it's, it's really funny too, because in this day and time, right, you can be on social media and someone can have 10, 15 million followers and they haven't really done that much in the world. And then I'll go look at people who I admire and I think should have that following and they may not even have a million followers. I know. Now, how does this person eating seafood have 10 million followers and my goats, my whoever, you know? Yeah. And so people can really just not know. Yeah.
[00:23:03] And so I think having that, that posture is always good, but also letting people know, reminding people what you've done, you know, and who you are, because it does bring glory to God. One thing that I think is so dope about you, Erica, is that you don't have step in anything that you do. And I've heard you say before that you do that because why should the gospel people be ashy and, and you know, undone and bad cameras and bad lighting? We're not doing that. You know, we representing for Jesus.
[00:23:32] It's not, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And I think that there's a generation of us who came up seeing that, oh, this is what it could look like to be a Christian artist. This is what it could look like to do media in a Christian space. And so we come with a level of excellence because of the example of you and people like you. That's not lost on us. You know that. So, so there's a story about that. So it wasn't always that way.
[00:23:57] You know, we started out, you know, with a stylist from Columbia at the time and, you know, wearing little kitten heels, little skirts looking crazy, them skinny eyebrows. It was a time. It was a time. It was an era. Yeah, it was an era. But we had a concert somewhere in Detroit. I think it was us. It was Marvin Sapp. It was Kiki. And it was a full band thing, right? And they told us Marvin Winans was coming. So we're nervous and excited because we adore Marvin Winans.
[00:24:24] And so, you know, we see him come in and right near the end of the song, we see him leave. Right? So we didn't get to say hi or speak or anything, but he was speaking and he was preaching in Lancaster, which is about an hour or so outside of LA. And we're backstage and me and Warren are saying hi to him. And he's like, y'all stick around. He was like, I got to talk to you for a minute. So you immediately go, is it good or bad? Right? So we sit down and he said, I got to talk to you about that performance I came to. I don't know what to think.
[00:24:52] And he says, now, y'all sounded good, but you didn't look like nothing. He said, you look like the same person sitting in the back row. We had jeans on and it was a cute white shirt. It was just a white shirt, had a little something around the collar. And, you know, Tina had something on kind of regular. He said, you didn't look like nothing. He said, if they came to see you, they shouldn't have on the same thing you have on. That was a pivotal moment for us.
[00:25:22] And I think that started the era of trying to elevate and, you know, just raise the level. You know, they expect the gospel singer to be gospel size. They expect the gospel singer, you know, to speak Christianese and, you know, not be articulate or not know the business. And he challenged us. And we had conversations like that all the time. So there was always people pouring into us. It was Yolanda and Donnie. It was Kirk. It was Bebe and Cece.
[00:25:50] It was Mom and Pop Winans who saw us backstage one time. It was even Mother Rivers of the Church of God and Christ coming down an escalator. Me and Tina waiting to see her. And she said, baby, we love and appreciate you, what you're doing. You are drawing the youth to Jesus. I thought she was going to say, y'all stop wearing pants or take that lipstick off. She didn't say none of that. I remember Betty Nelson coming to us and encouraging us and saying, baby, I can't do what you do in that arena. But you're called there. Keep doing what you do.
[00:26:18] So I've always been, we've always been affirmed, you know, and doing our best to elevate and trying our best to raise the level as it relates to representing Jesus. You guys did it well. You do it well. I love the fashion and the gospel world. It's so funny. I was talking to Dr. Bobby Jones one time and he was telling me how Vicki Winans is the reason he wore the shiny suits. When he had his shiny suit era. Listen. She came to him one day and said, we got to get this.
[00:26:48] We got to get you in some better suits. Because Vicki going to shine. You hear me? My kids going to tell me, mommy, I think you took over the Vicki Winans shine sequence. I was like, I don't know if that's a count. I don't know what y'all. I don't know what you're trying to say, Krista. Mommy, too much sequence. Please. They be tearing me up. Kids will humble you. I love it. They really will. If it's the Lord's will for us to have them, I can't wait because I know that they will. You share so much with us online of your kids, your family.
[00:27:18] You'll post about health stuff. You'll post about recalls of food. You'll post about anything that you think is important. Don't eat that. I love that. And I think it's like, it shows me that you feel like your ministry is beyond music. Your ministry is just your life. For sure. How do you decide what to share and what to keep to yourself? Because I know you ain't telling us everything. No, I'm not telling y'all everything. It's la-cha-da-na. I don't know. There's not really a calculated rhyme or reason.
[00:27:47] It's kind of sporadic and spontaneous. I should share this. I'm sure there's somebody that's going to scroll past this story or this page that just may need this information. I still share social justice things. I share health things because far too many of us are unhealthy. And I think that you have to be a good steward over what God has given you. I don't think that I have the followers that I have just for me. That's not me to make me feel good about myself.
[00:28:15] It's like, okay, I need more people to hear what you're saying. Daughter, be obedient to me. And so whatever time God says, I want you to repose. Now, Krista and Zaya wear me out about my stories. Mommy, your stories are all over the place. I said so. It's our thing. Well, you're a millennial. No, I'm older. I'm not going to ask you. I think I'm X. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. You look amazing. I'm a thousand years old. You're not.
[00:28:45] Please. I feel good about it though. I do. You look amazing. You sound amazing. Thank you. I'm telling you. What you're doing is incredible. But I love the stories. Man, 50 is a good time for me. I had the best compliment ever. Somebody texted me and she said, man, you make 50 look good. You make it look fun. And I just, you know. Yeah. Recently, Oprah said that she could go back to an age. She wouldn't go back to anything younger than 44. She said that was where it started for her. I said, amen. Praise the Lord. They start getting sweet around 45.
[00:29:15] Like, baby, I'm comfortable in my house. I don't have to prove nothing. I love it. What? I love it. Oh, yeah. It's good over here. Okay. So now you're acting a little bit more. Yes. Right? Thou shall not commit adultery. Shall not. You shall not. Cassie Davis. Cassie was a boss chick character. Yeah. You know, who got kind of caught up. I won't spoil it for y'all. Not kind of. She was. Go ahead and see it. It's out. Cassie went on and went there. She was outside.
[00:29:45] She was outside. Mm-hmm. She was outside. But in the film, in the movie, she was kind of getting like hate mail, blackmail kind of things. Has anything like that ever happened to you in real life? Male or a crazy fan or. Oh, I have crazy. Yeah. Crazy fans. Really? Oh, my. Jesus. Yeah. I've had to call. Well, more. It's not like, you know, that kind of stuff. It's. I've had to call the police. I've had to file some reports.
[00:30:14] I had someone who stood across the street from my house for about 12 hours. Smart enough to not be on my property, but to be across the street. And I called the police. And they was like, she's not on your property. And when I think she saw me calling the police, then she moved two doors down, just staring at my house with a black trash bag, a dog and a suitcase. So, yeah. Okay. And then there was another one who came to my house, to my church and said that I was her mama. She was about 43. I think you're my mom. I'm not.
[00:30:44] I can promise you that. I promise you I'm not. Oh, my. Yeah. So I've had a lot of special. Yeah. Is that odd for you now? Being a first lady, kind of being someone. Obviously, you're not there every single Sunday because you travel. But somewhere that people know you're going to be? Is that? No, because God is with me there. I always tell my, you know, I don't travel. And I'm sure that there's security. Yeah, at church. At church security. Oh, church is locked down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Church is locked down. All the churches now. Don't. We don't play. Don't even try to Cali worship. We got officers everywhere.
[00:31:14] Like, yeah. Clothes. Plain clothes. All the things. Listen. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The army of God. Yeah. But I believe that I'm covered. I know. Absolutely. That I'm covered. So I don't walk in fear. I just, I cannot allow fear to have space in my life. And I say that a lot because it's really, really true. Yeah. I'm just not given no space for fear. Yes, I can be cautious. I can be careful. Yeah. And I'm aware that things can happen.
[00:31:38] But I truly believe from my nose to my toes that God protects me, covers me, and keeps me. If I'm on a plane, that plane going to land because I'm on it. Period. So I truly believe that. I love that. I love that. When I think about you as a songwriter, all right, and I think about even, you know, you and Warren, songwriters, you've written some anthems. You've written some songs that are big and they can perform big.
[00:32:03] But then you've written some songs that I believe so many people have probably cherished in the small bedrooms of their lives, right? Absolutely. I think about One Minute. Uh-huh. I think about Still My Child. Yeah. Right? I think about Little Girl. Yes. So my story with Little Girl, I was in eighth grade when that album came out. And, you know, the lyrics were like my life. She was just 13 and I just don't think that she ever seen her own beauty. Ever seen her own beauty.
[00:32:33] You know. Yeah. It was almost like I wrote the song, like for real. And I love the song so much, but there's an ad lib that I believe it's you and Tina, but it could have just been you doubling, where you say, Jesus loves you, little girl. Yes, he does, little girl. Yeah. I can't sing, else I would have sang it. That part of that song, still to this day, if I'm alone listening to that, I get teary-eyed. Aw. Because I needed that song as a little girl.
[00:33:01] I needed that song as a girl who was being raised in a home that wasn't necessarily like a lot of my friends. Mm-hmm. But my mom had different expectations and standards. Yeah. And, you know, you're trying to still be cool and worldly, but you know who you really are. You can't do the stuff they do. Lord. And, you know, I grew up with a lot of dark-skinned girls, so the skin wasn't really a thing, but I was a big girl and trying to figure myself out and all the things.
[00:33:30] But I was confident on the outside, but I was struggling on the inside. Yeah. And so for me, that song really did do it. When you're writing lyrics, right, obviously at this time you're grown, but you're going back, you're writing that song. I heard about, you know, Still My Child being written for Heavy D, right? How do you, what mind state do you get into to write these types of lyrics? Songs are from experiences.
[00:33:57] Every song that I've written has been something I've seen or experienced personally. I wrote Little Girl for 13-year-old Erica. I wrote Little Girl for the shy, awkward, unsure, uncool, very poor, no cool clothes, being bullied in the bathroom in the fifth grade, being bullied in the seventh grade. And I wrote that song for her.
[00:34:26] And so while I walk in confidence now, I didn't always. And there are times when that Erica will show up and I'll get the, will I, am I, can I? You know? But that song is a sweet reminder that he loves us so much. And there's always a story being built. There's a once upon a time and there's a happily ever after. But in the middle, there are valleys. There's a big bad wolf. There's a storm. There's a fight.
[00:34:56] There's a loss. There's a growing period, an uncomfortable growing period. And so Little Girl is a reminder that Jesus loves you. And this is all going to make sense one day. It doesn't yet. It's all going to make sense. And the more open you are to the Father, the faster you'll receive what he has for you. I think a lot of us, God has way more for us. But we've got to let go of the fear and the questions and the comparison and competition. And you know what I mean? And sometimes the anger. Sometimes we're mad at God.
[00:35:25] I remember my seasons of being a little upset. You know, like, come on. Come on, man. This. Yeah. I got to go through this. I spent my whole life in church. And this, you know. So I write from those places. A little more Jesus. All of it. All I need is you. I was riding down the street on the 10 freeway crying, singing All I Need Is You. Figuring what the heck is going on. Like, do I keep doing a reality show? Do I stop? All these questions in my head.
[00:35:55] You want that bit, by the way. But go ahead. Ah! That, listen. Probably not going to happen. Sorry. Y'all was funny. Oh, man. That's hilarious. Oh, I was watching it one day and I was cringing like, oh, God. Because it's you. But for us, it's memories. But we get a little bit of it on the page with you and your sister. Yes. On the Instagram page. That page is a fool. Y'all are hilarious. Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious.
[00:36:19] And, you know, as a family, it seems like you guys really do circle around, support. Absolutely. Love on each other. Hold each other down. Absolutely. I think about you and your daughters, you know, from a song like Little Girl. Girl. And how you just pour into them. For you, what does it look like having, what, teenage and adult daughters now? God. And just helping them through those transitional times. Can we get a mommy book tutorial? You got to write it.
[00:36:49] Is there a mommy Bible somewhere that exists so we can figure out how to handle this little kid that you love and they're adorable and you think it's going to be this sweet forever and then they grow up a little bit? Okay. Now I'm adjusting to this version. Okay. Now she's seven and eight. Yes. Now they're a teenager and it's awkward and they're quiet and strange. And okay, now they're older and I have to let go a little bit because Krista wants to go with their friends on holidays and just be at home. You know, there's this ever changing version of the relationship that you have to accept.
[00:37:16] But I remind myself that that's how the father is with us. You know what I mean? Love them the same way the father loves you. Stick with them the same way the father sticks with you. You know what I mean? My mama gave me something very useful and she said, I couldn't stop you from some brick walls. All I could do was be there with a Band-Aid. Sometimes you ain't going to listen and you're going to hit your head hard. I don't want you to. Right. But if you do, I'll be there with a Band-Aid. And just remember, you can live anything down.
[00:37:46] Yeah. Anything. I've heard you say that before. And so, yeah, that's what I try to do. I talk to my girls all the time. I harass them. I'm FaceTiming. I'm going on your phone. I'm coming to your room. I'm getting in the bed with you. I love it. And you're going to come in my room and sit in my bed and we're all going to talk. I literally just told Zeya the other day, we got to have a family meeting about you. She was like, what'd I do? I was like, it's a good one. You know what I mean? When I realized there's one kid that feels in a strange place and she's 14, too big to be little, too little to be big.
[00:38:15] And so we just got to get around her and just surround her with love. It won't all make sense now, but it will when she's older. They will get on your nerves. They will say crazy things. You will want to knock them. I'm sure my mother still feels that way about me sometimes. Listen, mine too. But I love being a mama. That's my most important job. Yeah, I love it. It is. I love it. I love it. So when you think about your dedication to seeing people do well, whether that be in their health. Yes.
[00:38:45] Specifically mentally with Laugh, Cry, Heal. Yes. And the content that you put out. How are you navigating doing that, doing the radio show, doing movies, having a vow renewal? How do you navigate these things? You know, I thought 2026 was going to be this easy breezy year. I was like, I got in January. I was like, I got two things. I got the wedding. I got the movie. That's it.
[00:39:10] And I thought I was going to just really relax, refresh, let my voice really be restored. And God said, uh-uh, we got a little bit more for you. You know, I knew I was going to do the wedding, but I didn't know that the way it went viral and, you know, getting the dress, the People magazine, all the places that picked up the story. But I love love. And I love my man. And I love that we get to love each other out loud. And so because I always say I'll walk through whatever door God opens for me, when I knew
[00:39:40] with beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was him opening the door, I just go. I say the blessings of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow. And so I'll say you give me the capacity to do it, the strength to do it, the joy for the job, the joy for the journey, so I can handle it. And if I don't have it, then I say no. I have said no to a lot of things this year. You have? Oh, yeah. I've said no to a lot of things. The operas are coming in. Yeah. You said there's a lot of yeses going on. They are.
[00:40:06] Even with this, like I thought I was going to come and then finally get to my anniversary trip that we haven't taken because, you know, it's just been a whirlwind. Yeah. And then I saw your DM and I was like, let me just go on and say yes. I don't do that often. I think it was a God thing. I get that a lot. Yeah. A lot of people that I've interviewed, Kev on stage, they go, I don't do this. But something told me to do it for you. And I don't take that for granted. I really don't because- Y'all, I sent a DM to this woman at 12 midnight.
[00:40:36] Saying I'm available tomorrow. I just knew she was, I was going to get hit in the morning. Like, oh, it's too late. I can't do it. And you and your husband just showed up. And so I'm glad to be here. I think it's a God moment. Amen. Amen. Let me just say this. A lot of my viewers and listeners, you guys are entrepreneurs. You guys are trying to do your own thing. One, stay ready so that you don't got to get ready. And two, however much of your process you can own, please own it. I fought my husband tooth and nail on getting all this equipment.
[00:41:04] Because when we first did our first season, we hired somebody. And they came in the back. And I was comfortable with that. Let's hire somebody. Then he was like, no. Once we got picked up by SiriusXM, he's like, we got to do 52 episodes. We're not paying somebody to do 52 episodes. We need to be able to control. You need to be able to get up at 2 in the morning if you get inspired. You need to be able. So then he was setting everything up, doing everything. And then he taught me how to set everything up. I love it. So I can literally set all this up myself.
[00:41:30] And then he taught me how to edit so that I was not bottlenecked by his schedule. Right? Because he still works a full-time job. And so the reason you could call me at, text me at 12 and I can be here is because we have this. And so you may not be able to, I know I have a lot of listeners who want to do a podcast, who want to do a show, who want to do something. You may not be able to do that right now. But work yourself up to the place where you can have your own thing. But you know, I think you start where you start. Start where you start. If you start with a talking head and it's just your phone. Yep. I mean, that's how we met Tabitha Brown.
[00:42:01] Talking about our vegan recipes. You know what I mean? You start where you start. That's how I started when viral. Let your faith take the steps first. Yep. Yep. Yep. And as your faith take the steps, I believe God opens doors. You know, especially if you are passionate and you're studying and doing all you can do. And when you can afford it, you do it. Do what you got to do. Of single women who listen to this show. Yes.
[00:42:27] We do, my husband and I do an episode every year on marriage and what we're learning. I've done a ton of episodes about what I've learned as a single woman. As someone who's been married for a long time. 25 years. Right? 25 years. If you had to give today's single woman a piece of advice, one, what would it be? And then secondly, if you had to give someone who's newly married. So we're talking about first five years of marriage. Yes. What type of advice would you give that person?
[00:42:54] First, let me say, whenever I talk to single women, sometimes I think there's this great divide between what I'm saying and where they're living. There's this great divide between how I operate and how I flow and what they think is necessary. I think that some of the empowerment talk ties the hand of any man that wants to love you and wants to do for you and wants to be to you. I feel like I was raised to be a wife.
[00:43:20] I was raised by some beautiful women that were gentle and beautiful and attractive. But baby, knew how to serve a man and make him feel like the king in the room. Like my family, the men in my family, they just didn't make their own place. They didn't. We served them. It's just that way. Even my cousins was like, man, I can't find no woman. You know what I mean? It was like we spoiled them.
[00:43:48] And that's kind of how I was raised. And so I believe in encouraging and uplifting and complimenting and flirting and being soft and gentle. And I don't have to tell you how strong I am. I can show you by my choices. But to the early married, I would say pick your battles. You know, everything isn't worth the fight. Remember, you're on the same team fighting for the same thing.
[00:44:18] There's no winner or loser in a marriage. And if you're trying to win an argument or prove a point, do you want you to be right or things to be right? That's two different things. You got to do some soul searching in your own heart, like where you came from and what you went through. These are two different lives coming together. And how he ran his house or whatever house he lived in and how you did yours, those two different things. You're coming together. My husband's obsessed with closing doors and drawers. Not so much for me. To this day, why won't you close the door? I was like, what am I closing? Where am I hiding from?
[00:44:48] It's my house. You know, those kind of things early on can make you feel like, you know what? I made a mistake. I think I said that at least 10 times. At least, to the first five to six years, at least I would go to my business manager and be like, okay, I have this much money by myself. I could give him this house, this car back, and I could have a night, you know, planning my departure all because I was afraid of being hurt, all because I was afraid of doing it wrong. If you let fear lead the relationship, it's going to end because fear will always tell you to run. But faith tells you wait.
[00:45:17] Love tells you hold on. Love tells you to endure. Love tells you to forgive and have another conversation. Love tells you to put your fists down. But if you listen to culture and podcasts and Mean Girls and Boss, you're going to be good and by yourself. You're going to look cute on your vacation with your girlfriends. You're going to have a lot of money by yourself. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's true. But it doesn't lead, I don't see it as leading to covenant and relationship and marriage that is this ministry. Yeah.
[00:45:46] You know, I just don't see it leading to that. Yeah. I think finding your confidence in a place of humility and the beauty of how he created women. Like, he created it because Adam needed someone. There are beautiful women all in scripture. But there are also a lot of women who walked in iniquity trying to connive and make things happen on their own. Hello, Eve. Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Hello, Rebecca. Yep. They tell your son to trick his father. It's a lot of women conniving. Yes, yes, yes. Tricking, manipulating.
[00:46:16] Yeah. You know what I mean? I'll get with you and I won't tell you how many kids I have until I got you. You know what I'm saying? Like, trickery. Right, right. Come on, man. Be honest. When you start out that way, it's hard for you to have something good from bad. It's very hard. I mean, you can. God can restore anything. Yeah, God can restore. Yeah. You can, but you got to be honest and you got to allow God to do your work. And a lot of times, that's just operating in fear. What if I don't? What if he can't? What if I'm not? Scared of being vulnerable? Scared of being vulnerable. Mm-hmm. Even if you've been married before, you've never been married to that person before.
[00:46:46] Mm-hmm. So you have to come in honest and open. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I want to talk to them, but I don't know. Sometimes I think they don't get me because they love telling me you don't understand. I was like, okay. I was talking to Krista. She was about 17 by this time. Her and her girlfriends are at the house. And I said, okay, so y'all want to be successfully married. Oh, I am. Right. I can help with that. You want to be successful in your career? Yeah, that's also me. You want to have a few zeros in your bank account? Yeah, also me. So, Ma, why don't you just talk to your mama?
[00:47:17] Yeah. You know, well, mom, you know, things are different. I was like, as much as they're different, they really are the same. Y'all didn't create nasty. Y'all didn't create sex. Y'all didn't create the sexy woman. Yeah. We just operated in a different capacity, you know? And so I want to talk to them, but I don't know if they will listen. They will. They will. And even Krista will come back to you. I always tell mom- She does now. 25 is the age where daughters and mothers- Ooh, for real. It's a beautiful thing.
[00:47:47] I apologize to my mom at 25. Something happens to you at 25. Even if your mom wasn't perfect, even if y'all are- My mom and I are very different, right? But I understand her as a woman. Yes. And there are things that- Even recently, we were talking to our pastor and his wife, and they were telling us about a time where their son got into a really terrible car accident. And my sister has been in a really bad car accident when she was 14, and she's had a lot of health problems.
[00:48:15] And when my first lady was talking to us, and, you know, she was getting emotional. Not crying, but just, you know, I was like, oh, this is how your mom felt. That's how your mom felt. Even now, I'm still having revelations about, especially because I want to be a mom if that's God's will. I'm like, wow. I didn't realize the strength that she had to have to keep parenting me and my little brother while she got a daughter in the hospital. There were nine of us. Oh, my Lord. Nine personalities. Nine attitudes.
[00:48:43] And if y'all anything like what we see on line, y'all are hilarious running out. And we couldn't say shut up. We couldn't slam doors. We couldn't say stupid. We couldn't say stupid or I hate you. Ugly or none of that. Oh, man. If we fussed, we had to hug, which made us not hug for a lot of years. But when I look at it now, I go, oh, mommy, I'm so sorry. Yes. And thank you. You didn't have a nanny. You didn't have a housekeeper. My mom didn't even have a husband in the house. Yeah. Sometimes my mama didn't leave it.
[00:49:12] You know, they got married three times to each other. You know, so I go, oh, mommy, I'm so sorry. Every time I hit a milestone with Krista or Zaya or Wozzi, I go, oh, mommy, I'm so sorry. And now when I ask her, how did you do it? She said, I just kept praying and asking Jesus. I don't know how to. She goes, you got to raise them. I got to. God, I got to raise them. God, you got to raise them through me. Mm-hmm. That's good. My mother would always say that she had to share her faith with us. Yes. That she couldn't be going out even because I come from an evangelistic background.
[00:49:42] Yes. My mama would talk to a pole if she thought it could get baptized. Okay. We didn't go nowhere without stopping a stranger. And do you know Jesus? Have you ever said the Bible and all of that? Somebody was trying to rob us and my mama was witnessing to him. I believe that. I said, ma'am. Can we get out of this situation first? Jesus. Some man was walking up saying he was Jesus. She said, you are? He said, yes, ma'am. I'm Jesus. She said, you are? Well, let me see if you can take this. The blood of Jesus. He jumped. And she said, I said, the blood of Jesus. He ran away.
[00:50:12] Come on, Tomasina. Come on now. She's safe, safe. You hear me? All right. So I understand. Yeah. Because I was raised in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. And Bed-Stuy then is not Bed-Stuy now. Right. Bed-Stuy now is gentrified. It's just nice. It's calm. Like Inglewood. Real safe. It's very safe. Doing this in a neighborhood that was riddled with drugs. Same. Riddled with violence. Same. And she didn't shelter us from it.
[00:50:41] She just taught us, you know who I've taught you to be in this house. When you go out, be that. Don't let anyone make you someone else. Mm-hmm. And I have so much respect for it now as an adult. Because I'm like, wow, you did that, Beverly. Shout out to you, Mommy. Yeah. I love it. My mom also loves you. And she loves the Mary. Oh, hi, Mommy. So she's going to be very excited to see this episode. I love that. I have a question that I always end the show with. And the question is, in the grand scheme of things, what do you want your legacy to be?
[00:51:10] That I was faithful to God. Mm-hmm. That I was faithful to God, his call on my life. That wherever he told me to go, I went with joy. Mm-hmm. And operated in excellence to the best of my ability. Whether I felt 100% or not. Especially because there's been... I've probably had way more health issues and vocal issues than people know. Mm-hmm.
[00:51:34] In the last five years, I said it on stage the other day, you know, a few surgeries, throat stuff, body stuff. You know, all kinds of things. And I just go anyway. Because for a moment, I almost let it stop me. Mm-hmm. And I said, Lord, if I have 50%, you'll make up the rest. And so I just want people to remember my commitment to the Father, my commitment to my family. Yeah. To what I do. My honesty. Yeah. But I want to remember my joy, too. Yeah.
[00:52:04] So... Yeah. The joy just comes flowing off of you. It's impossible not to feel it. Do you have anything coming up that you want the people to know about? I know the Marys are doing Praise in the Park in Atlanta. October 3rd, I will be there. Shout out to my family at Praise 1025 in Atlanta. So I know you guys are going to do that. But anything for Erica that you want us to know that you got coming up? No. Like I said earlier, I thought this was my chill year. Yeah. So I didn't really plan anything.
[00:52:31] I am doing the Fantastic Voyage cruise. And I'm doing Laugh, Cry, Heal sessions there. And I felt a little convicted while you were talking about that you started your show with eight episodes. Because, you know, a part of my team was saying that I should go to the Stellars and interview, do some Laugh, Cry, Heal interviews with gospel artists about what has made you laugh, what has made you cry, and how have you healed. But again, this was supposed to be my chill year. So I don't know if I'm fighting with the Holy Spirit or not.
[00:53:00] So I'm going to pray. I'm going to fast and pray because the Stellars are coming up quick. But as far as anything, not concrete. No. Just being a mama and a wife and a first lady. Well, you do a whole lot. So it's okay for you to take a break. Right. Okay. It's okay for you to send a correspondent with a Laugh, Cry, Heal microphone and have them ask the questions for you. Yeah. Diversify. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Good idea. But yeah. I'm so grateful for you doing this.
[00:53:28] The little girl in me is really encouraged by, one, you keeping your word. Mm-hmm. Right? Two, you being so warm and encouraging, even in the DMs, because we've been following each other now. I was following you already, but you were following me back for a couple years now. And anytime we've ever interacted, you've been nothing but normal. Amen. And I don't think normal gets enough credit. Man. Just normal. Don't be weird. Why y'all be weird? Yeah. Yeah. You're excellent. It's just people. I always tell my team, I was like, y'all, they not going to bite you.
[00:53:58] They don't bite me. No. Like when I'm walking somewhere and they're like, come on, guys. No, we do got to protect you now. We do. We do. We do. Awara needs you to make it home. Somebody was trying to give me a styrofoam plate of food right before I went on stage. Okay. Strange things happen before I'm going on stage. You know, it's because you're a church girl. And the church people, we- You think I'm going to eat your chicken before I go sing? They thought so. Trust me. They really believed in anything. So funny. Oh, man.
[00:54:24] Listen, this has been another episode of I'll Just Let Myself In, the podcast where we don't wait for an imaginary permission slip or a seat at an imaginary table. We let ourselves into our God-given doors. If you've learned nothing else from Erica Campbell's example, select yourself into all the doors that God will open for you. Don't shut him down by not believing in what he's put inside of you. Absolutely. If he's given you the opportunity, it's because he believes that you can do it.
[00:54:53] Erica, thank you for what you taught us, not just in this episode, but in your life, in your music, and in your witness. Yeah. And I hope this won't be the last time we get to hang out. I don't think it will. All right. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Absolutely. If you've listened to this episode on Holy Culture SiriusXM channel 140, 8 p.m. Eastern time on a Monday night, we thank you so much for listening there. If you've watched on Holy Culture's YouTube, we thank you for watching there. And if you're watching on my YouTube, we thank you so much for watching here. Listen, make sure that you are subscribed.
[00:55:23] Our analytics tell us that only about 50% of the people who watch regularly are actually subscribed. Now, I'm going to charge that to your head and not your heart. Maybe I'm coming up on your explore page. I'm coming up on your continue watching. And you don't even know that you're not subscribed. Go ahead and make sure you're subscribed and you hit that notification bell so that you don't miss any of the content coming up on our page. And we'll be back here. Same time, same place next week. Peace.