A Wide Open Space is a Womanist podcast for Black women of faith who are committed to the journey of flourishing. Hosted by Rev. Dr. Neichelle Guidry, this show sits at the intersection of faith and personal development, offering a decidedly progressive space where Black women are unapologetically centered.
Every episode, we explore the mindsets, practices, and rituals that help us root down and rise up - personally, professionally, and spiritually. Through scripture, storytelling, and soul work, each episode offers a devotional reflection, honest conversation, and a practical exercise designed to help you get 1% better every day.
Whether you're navigating a significant life transition or seeking to re-create your life from within, this podcast is your invitation to partner with God in creating a life you genuinely love. This is for the ambitious, faith-filled Black woman who takes her work and purpose seriously and wants to become her most healed, most authentic, and most excellent self.
Welcome to your Wide Open Space - where transformation meets tradition, and where Black women flourish freely.
Host [Host Name] interviews [Guest Name, Credential] about developing discernment as a spiritual superpower to avoid deception and make wiser choices.
29 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
The Portfolio Life with the Reverend Dr. Melva Sampson
Host interviews Reverend Dr. Melva Sampson about her "Portfolio Life" and the upcoming book release of "The Pink Robe Chronicles."
28 Mar 2026
How to Reset and Recalibrate Your Spirit
Text Me! If it has been a week, this episode is for you. In addition to the collective weight of living through this socio-political era, many of us are navigating interpersonal and personal hardship. Maybe it was work. Maybe it was a relationship. Maybe it was the weight of simply being a Black woman in spaces that were not built to hold you. But here's what we're moving away from today: the idea that we to surrender our peace and calm to the hard things. No, sis! Today, I'm giving you six s...
14 Mar 2026
How to Know When “I’m Not Ready” Is Keeping You Stuck
Text Me! … and more Lessons from Walk Through Fire by Sheila Johnson Book: Walk Through Fire by Sheila Johnson Happy Women’s History Month! This month is an extension of Black History Month for me - we continue celebrating the lives, legacies, contributions, and stories of Black women. In this special episode, I’m sharing lessons I took from Sheila Johnson’s memoir Walk Through Fire - the story of America’s first Black female billionaire and co-founder of BET. This isn’t a typical epi...
28 Feb 2026
How To Know You’re Being Shifted
Text Me! Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart." Summary: Are you sensing something shifting inside you even though nothing has changed on the outside? This episode is for you. I'm talking about the invisible shift - that inner transformation that happens before anything changes in your circumstances. The shift in how you feel, how you think, how you show up, before your life reflects that change. Drawing para...
14 Feb 2026
Rising in Love
Text Me! Scripture: Song of Solomon 8:4 - "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." Summary: This Black History Month, we're celebrating Black love in all its forms - self-love, romantic love, sisterhood love. But not love as something that just happens to us. Love as something we choose, something we rise in, something that becomes a vehicle for our transformation. Drawing from some of Toni Morrison’s powerful words in her novel, Jazz, I'm exploring what it means to approach love w...
31 Jan 2026
Prayer and Purpose
Text Me! Scripture: Matthew 26:39, 42: Jesus's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane Summary: What if prayer isn't just something we add to our personal development journey, but the foundation of it? In this episode, I'm exploring prayer as the primary site where we partner with God - the place where we self-empty only to become filled, where we take our questions and fears and find the courage to press forward toward our destiny. Drawing from Susan L. Taylor's wisdom and fascinating research fr...
17 Jan 2026
Old Is The Goal: My Birthday Episode
Text Me! Scripture: Isaiah 40:31 - "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles" Summary: It's my birthday episode, and I'm celebrating with a bold declaration: Old is the goal! In a culture that worships youth and fears aging, I'm claiming the privilege of growing older with my whole chest. This episode is about what my 40th year taught me, what I'm praying for in my 41st, and why the ease we pray for is often found in our willingness to let ...
10 Jan 2026
You're Not Behind. You're Right On Time.
Text Me! In this New Year episode, I'm sharing something I'm living in real time - a different way of approaching 2026. I'm off to a slow start this year, and I'm completely okay with it. Actually, I'm more than okay - I'm intentional about it. Going slow is allowing me to ground for the year in ways that rushing never could. Drawing from Deborah's story in Judges 4, we return to one of my favorite examples of seasonal leadership. Deborah wasn't always on the battlefield - most of the time, s...
29 Dec 2025
Flow, Not Force + More Wisdom from 2025
Text Me! Scripture: Psalm 77:11-13 As we close out 2025 and prepare to step into 2026, this episode is about something essential: reflection, release, and learning to flow instead of force. This is my end-of-year offering - stories, wisdom, highlights, and what I'm choosing to let go. Drawing from Psalm 77:11-13, where the psalmist reflects on God's deeds and wonders, we explore what it means to look back on our year with both honesty and grace. Because here's what I believe: the year wasn't ...
20 Dec 2025
Embracing Delight - A Holiday Practice
Text Me! Scripture: Luke 1:46-55 (Mary's Magnificat) Summary: Mary's song teaches us that joy isn't dependent on perfect circumstances. I share how to practice intentional delight during the holidays, moving you towards enjoying this season, instead of just surviving it. Exercise: The Delight Practice - Create your delight list and schedule some sacred time to fulfill it. Advent Devotional: A Journey With Mary Connect With Me Want to go deeper? Visit www.revneichelle.com to explore my ...
13 Dec 2025
Sacred Self-Management
Text Me! Scripture: Habakkuk 2:2 Summary: God's instruction to write the vision reveals that sacred self-management requires clarity and structure. I share how writing vision during motherhood created my roadmap for returning to this new chapter in my ministry. Exercise: The Vision-Writing Practice - Create your 90-day vision, make three promises, build structures, and find accountability. Connect With Me Want to go deeper? Visit www.revneichelle.com to explore my work, my ministry, and how ...
6 Dec 2025
Own Your Story
Text Me! Scripture: Luke 8:47 Summary: The only way to begin writing a new chapter is to own the one you're in. In this episode, we explore the powerful moment in Luke 8:47 when a bleeding woman does something radical: she declares her story publicly, even though she could have slipped away quietly after being healed. When we don't own our stories, we replay them endlessly, placing blame on ourselves and others for events that happened long ago. We can't make meaning of our stories as lo...
29 Nov 2025
The Sacred Work of Naming Your Desires
Text Me! Scripture: John 5:6 Summary: Before you can partner with God to create the life you desire, you have to get radically honest about what you actually want. In this episode, we explore Jesus's surprising question to the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:6: "Do you want to be healed?" After years of waiting, why would Jesus ask such an obvious question? Because naming our desires isn't for God's information - it's for our transformation. Drawing from Susan L. Taylor's wisdom about b...
29 Nov 2025
Welcome to A Wide Open Space
Text Me! Scripture: Psalm 18:19 Summary: Welcome to A Wide Open Space! In this inaugural episode, I invite you into a new season of my life and ministry - and into a sacred space I'm creating for Black women who are committed to their faith and their flourishing. I share my journey over the past five years, from the loss of my grandmother and the exhaustion of pandemic pivoting, to the profound transformation that came through intentional life-making. I talk about discovering what I really wa...
Inside a recent episode
Discernment as Your Superpower
Published 19 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And that is Jesus's own metric for discerning the wolves from the sheep. Secondly, about discernment, I want to say to us that discernment is not a solo sport. I believe that like most things in life, discernment is about community. Discernment is about who you allow to walk with you, whose insight you seek, whose counsel you seek when you are facing some kind of decision in your life. Your sister circle, your trusted elders, maybe it's your parents, maybe it's your siblings, maybe it's your best friends, maybe you have a mentor who you seek. Maybe you've got a prayer partner or a prayer circle or spiritual community that you see. […]
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