In this honest, insightful, and at times humorous episode, Alaine and Victoria sit down with Isaiah, Hannah, and Jeremiah (Jay) to dive deep into what it was really like growing up in a homeschool co-op.

This episode delves beyond the curriculum and explores community dynamics, what it was like to navigate homeschool co-ops as kids, what worked and what didn’t, and what they'd tell parents considering co-op education for their own children.

🔍 In This Episode, You’ll Hear:
•What homeschool co-op life was like from a kid’s point of view
•Whether they felt a sense of belonging or struggled to fit in
•What friendships looked like (or didn’t)
•How being in a co-op shaped their identity, creativity, or confidence
•The hardest parts of co-op life (and what made it worth it)
•Tips for parents considering co-op education, mstraight from grown homeschool kids
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🧠 Why This Episode Matters:
Co-ops are a huge part of the modern homeschool experience — but we rarely hear what the kids actually think. This episode unpacks:
•The emotional and social dynamics of being in structured co-ops
•Why belonging matters just as much as academics
•How co-ops shape identity, values, and memories, for better or worse
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1.About 41% of homeschool families in the U.S. are non-white and non-Hispanic. So this is not just a white, affluent movement; we are here and growing.
2.In the 2021–2022 school year, over 3.1 million students were homeschooled nationwide. Homeschooling growth did not simply return to pre‑pandemic levels when schools reopened; many families continued homeschooling, contributing to the sustained higher numbers. Freedom In Education+1
3.In essence, COVID‑19 functioned as a catalyst for many families: lockdowns, virtual schooling, health concerns, and dissatisfaction with remote‑public schooling made homeschooling a viable alternative faster than many anticipated.
4.Many of those families, especially Black and Brown ones, choose homeschool to protect their kids from racism, lowered expectations, and unsafe learning environments.
5.And get this — homeschooled students do well academically regardless of their parents’ income or education level.
Homeschooling is not one-size-fits-all. It now includes families of every income, faith background, and ethnicity.

🎧 Listen + Share:
Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream.
Tag us with your takeaways using #UnmuteTheStory and #CoopChronicles

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This unfiltered, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious episode, Alaine sits down with her three adult children — Isaiah, Hannah, and Jeremiah (Jay) — to reflect on what it was really like growing up homeschooled.

They are honest about the highs and lows of their educational journey, what it was like having their mom as both their teacher and parent, and how being part of a homeschool co-op shaped their identity, relationships, and perspective.

📊 Homeschooling Fast Facts:

•Over 3.1 million students were homeschooled during the 2021–2022 school year — a number that dramatically increased after the COVID-19 pandemic.

•In 2020, African-American students made up 8.2% of the U.S. homeschool population, up from just 1% in 1999.

•Studies show homeschoolers often perform above average academically, socially, and emotionally — regardless of race or family income.

(Source: National Home Education Research Institute – nheri.org)

🧠 Why This Conversation Matters:

As homeschooling grows — especially in communities of color — it’s critical to hear the voices of those who lived it. Their experiences help normalize alternative education, challenge stereotypes, and invite new families to ask, “What if this is what my child needs?”

📢 Unmuting our stories is how we reclaim legacy, reimagine education, and remember: we were called to this.

📱Follow today’s guests:
• Isaiah Strozier: @isaiahstrozier
• Hannah Johnson: @hannahmarie.jo
• Jeremiah “Jay” Strozier: @jay.strozier

🎧 Listen + Share:

Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

Tag a homeschool mom or parent considering something new, and tell us your favorite takeaway from this episode using #UnmuteTheStory and #StrozierKidsSpeak.

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In today’s episode, we sit down with Brittany Murray, a former public school teacher who made a bold decision to pull her children from the school system and educate them at home. This is not just a homeschooling conversation; it’s a story about obedience, courage, identity, and listening to God over culture. Brittany unmuted her voice, challenged the narrative, and chose a path that aligned with her convictions, her children’s needs, and her legacy.

Whether you're homeschooling, in public school, private school, or somewhere in between, this episode will empower you to ask deeper questions, trust your discernment, and build according to your family needs.

🎯 What We Talk About

🔹 Brittany’s path from classroom teacher to mother-educator

1. The calling that pulled her away from traditional schooling
2. The fears & pressures she faced in leaving the school system
3. The financial miracle

🔹 Her “unmuting moment”

1. What made her say, “I can’t stay silent about this anymore”
2. Scriptures, prayers, and an inner voice that carried her

🔹 Raising children with intention

1. The difference between teaching a class & discipling your own children
2. Parenting shifts & emotional growth during homeschool transition
3. Discovering learning styles, callings, and strengths outside the system

🔹 Reclaiming vision & identity

1. Breaking cultural narratives and societal expectations
2. Myths about homeschooling, especially in the Black community
3. Why faith, identity, and culture matter in how we educate

🔹 Practical wisdom for parents

1. Three things she wishes she had known sooner
2. Balancing structure & spirit-led flexibility
3. Encouragement for parents feeling the “stir” to do something different

🔹 Legacy & future vision

1. Emotional, academic, and spiritual hopes for her children
2. What she hopes they'll say about her obedience 20 years from now

📖 Guiding Scripture Themes

1. Train up a child (Proverbs 22:6)
2. Teach them diligently (Deut. 6:6–7)
3. Courage to resist systems & remain rooted (Daniel 1)

🧠 Key Takeaway

School is not just a place, it’s formation

Your voice, your discernment, and your obedience matter. Before society forms your children, you have the right and responsibility to hear God for them first.

💬 Powerful Quote

📌 Call to Action

If this episode inspired you, bless another mama:

✅ Share this episode

✅ Leave a review & rating

✅ Email admin@alainecoaches.com to connect with Brittany

And if you’re feeling God tugging you to build differently, sit with it. Pray on it. Ask for a strategy. You don’t need to rush, just listen.

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In this powerful segway episode, Alaine and Victoria lay the spiritual and cultural foundation for an upcoming series on education. This conversation isn’t just about homeschooling, it’s about hearing God on how to educate, steward, and protect the next generation.

Together, they dive into the biblical blueprint for education, the Hebrew meaning behind parenting, the story of Daniel, and the rise of homeschooling among Black families. This episode challenges parents, aunties, guardians, and spiritual mamas to ask a deeper question: “God, how do YOU want my child educated?”

Whether your children are in public, private, or home education, this episode invites you to rethink legacy, identity, and obedience.

📘 Key Topics Discussed

1. What education looked like in biblical and Jewish tradition
2. Hebrew word studies on parenting (horah, yalad, shamar)
3. Daniel 1 and the enemy’s strategy to rename and re-educate
4. Why education is about preservation of covenant, not just performance
5. Alaine’s personal homeschooling journey since 2000
6. The 400% rise of Black homeschooling in recent years
7. Why asking God how to build your child’s future is essential
8. The difference between fear-led and Spirit-led decisions in parenting

📖 Scriptures Mentioned

1. Deuteronomy 6:6–7
2. Proverbs 22:6 (chanak – to dedicate)
3. Daniel Chapter 1

📊 Did You Know?

1. In 2020, about 3.3% of Black families homeschooled. By 2021, it jumped to 16.1% (U.S. Census Bureau).
2. Many Black parents cite racism, identity erasure, and school trauma as reasons for homeschooling.
3. Black homeschoolers are prioritizing African-American history, faith, financial literacy, and identity-building.

🎧 Coming Up Next on UNMUTE

1. An interview with Brittany Murray, a former public school teacher turned homeschool mama and entrepreneur.
2. A raw and reflective conversation with Alaine’s own children, now adults, who lived through the homeschool experience.

📣 Connect with Us

Subscribe to the UNMUTE podcast on your favorite platform.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @AlaineCoaches

🙌 Leave a review. Share the episode. Unmute with us.

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Alaine and Victoria team up with Dr. MAC to unpack one of the most uncomfortable, under‑discussed dynamics in mentoring, coaching, ministry, and therapy: erotic transference.

• What neuroscience, psychology and relational trauma teach us about emotional safety and mis‑interpreted bonding.

• Why safe spaces can trigger unexpected attachments, especially for those who’ve lived in survival mode.

• How faithful helpers, pastors, coaches, therapists, and those being helped can respond wisely when emotional lines go blurry.

• A faith‑forward lens: caring for the spirit, soul and body (1 Thess 5:23) without shame, yet with accountability.

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🧠 Key Talking Points

• Attachment & Repair: When your nervous system finally experiences safety, your body may mislabel it as romance or intense longing , not because it’s immoral, but because it’s healing.

• Boundaries vs. Barriers: Distinguishing healthy covenant connection from trauma‑based entanglement.

• Helper‑Helped Dynamic: What happens when you’re the “safe one” and someone leans in emotionally, how do you respond without stepping into romantic territory or abandoning relational responsibility?

• The Mind‑Centered View: Dr. MAC’s approach highlights the complexity of the mind (not just brain chemistry) and invites us to integrate intuition, relational brain‑functioning, and spiritual formation.

• Biblical Context: We reflect on 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:15, and relational themes of “covenant” found in Scripture, affirming that emotional complexity always calls for sober stewardship.

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📚 Guest & Resources

Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan, LCSW is a professor, psychotherapist, and published author whose work explores mind-centered therapy from a post-materialist perspective. In addition to her private practice, she provides clinical supervision, professional consultation, and continuing education for therapists. She co-hosts the podcast Finding Our Minds and has authored several works including Intuition in Therapeutic Practice and Holistic Psychotherapy from a Post-Materialist Perspective.

Dr. Margaret Arnd‑Caddigan, LCSW — professor, researcher and author. Notable works include:

• Intuition in Therapeutic Practice: A Mind‑Centered Depth Approach for Healing (2021)

• Holistic Psychotherapy from a Post‑Materialist Perspective (2024)

• Co‑author: Intuition in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice (2019)

She also co‑hosts the podcast Finding Our Minds.

Want to book Alaine for coaching, teaching or ministry? Email: admin@alainecoaches.com

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In this episode Alaine and Victoria dig deeper into what happens when emotional safety finally settles in and the body, soul, and spirit begin to respond. This conversation is a warning and a witness for helpers and those being helped: safety can feel confusing, even seductive, when trauma has been your teacher.

You’ll learn how biology, bonding, and the Bible intersect, and how trauma survivors might experience intense feelings -even erotic or emotional -toward someone who helps them heal.

The Bible says “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin, which means temptation and involuntary emotion are not the same as willful disobedience.

When someone begins to feel emotionally or erotically drawn to a safe person (mentor, pastor, therapist, coach), it doesn’t help to shame them and label sin without addressing their humanity. Sin only enters if those feelings are acted upon inappropriately or unethically. Stewardship is the key.

This episode prepares listeners for our next episode with Dr. Margaret “Dr. MAC” Arnd Caddigan, who will explain erotic transference from a clinical lens and help us reframe what it means to be fully seen and safe, without shame.

⸻

🎯 Why This Episode Matters:

Too many people are suffering in silence after forming confusing emotional attachments with pastors, therapists, coaches, or mentors. This episode sheds light on:

• Why emotional safety can trigger erotic feelings

• How the nervous system responds to kindness and connection

• How to distinguish between trauma bonds and biblical soul ties

• What the Bible says about wholeness in the spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

• Why education must include the mind, the body, and the spirit

As hosts of UNMUTE, we believe trauma-informed discipleship is not optional. It is our duty to equip the whole person for healing and not just the spirit, but the soul and body too. This episode was created to bring awareness, wisdom, and biblical insight to a tender and often misunderstood topic.

⸻

🧠 Highlights:

• The biology of emotional safety and the vagus nerve

• How oxytocin and the limbic system confuse safety for romantic attachment

• Biblical soul ties vs. trauma bonds (1 Samuel 18:1, Proverbs 17:17, Psalm 139:14)

• The importance of nervous system regulation for spiritual clarity

• Warning signs when soul ties become unhealthy

• Stewardship tips for mentors, coaches, and spiritual leaders

⸻

✝️ Key Scripture:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless.”

• Psalm 139:14 – “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”

• 1 Samuel 18:1 – “…the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David…”

• Proverbs 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…”

• Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

⸻

📣 Call to Action:

• Share this episode with a coach, counselor, or friend who walks closely with others.

• Reflect on your own healing journey. Are you safe enough to feel… and wise enough to process?

• Join us next week as Dr.

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“Did Y’all Hear That About Us?”

Reclaiming Sacred Friendship in a Suspicious World

📌 Episode Summary:

In this raw and revelatory episode of UNMUTE, Alaine and Victoria get real about covenant friendships, the kind of ride-or-die, spirit-forged relationships that go deeper than titles, positions, or public perception.

From a misunderstood sisterhood to biblical bonds that shaped destinies, this episode tackles the gossip, the grief, and the God-honoring truth of friendship that can’t be boxed in. You’ll hear what happened when Alaine’s husband questioned the bond… how Victoria processed being seen as “just the assistant”… and how the book Big Friendship helped them both name something sacred.

⸻

📖 In This Episode, We Explore:

Modern-Day Baruch: What it looks like when someone really serves behind the scenes, with loyalty, risk, and prophetic precision.

When Friendship Is Mistaken for Romance: Why culture is more comfortable labeling love as sexual instead of sacred, and what that reveals about our lens.

Biblical Blueprints of Covenant:

• David & Jonathan (1 Samuel 18) — soul-knit loyalty that surpassed shallow connection.

• Moses & Joshua — a legacy-transfer rooted in mentorship, obedience, and presence.

• Paul & Timothy — generational trust that shaped the early church.

• Ruth & Naomi — loyalty through loss, transition, and new beginnings.

• Jesus & John — intimacy without fear, the disciple whom He loved.

• Hebrew Definition of Covenant (berith) — not a contract, but a binding, sacrificial, enduring commitment.

• How Psalm 68:6 (“God sets the solitary in families”) still shows up in friendships today.

⸻

📚 Resource Spotlight:

Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman

This powerful book helped Alaine and Victoria see what was forming between them, a bond forged not in just shared work, but in shared life. It gave language to the sacred space of platonic, life-giving friendship.

🔗 Find the book here

⸻

💻 Stay Connected:

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Ever wonder what really happens behind closed doors between a prophet and the one called to serve her? In this episode of UNMUTE, Alaine and Victoria spill the backstory you didn’t know you needed.

Forget the polished highlight reel this is the raw tea. Alaine opens up about the walls she built to stay safe, while Victoria confesses what it cost her to serve in silence. They pull back the curtain on loyalty, rejection, and what it’s like to carry someone else’s vision when no one sees you.

Victoria talks about Baruch, the scribe who risked everything to preserve Jeremiah’s words. But here’s the twist: this isn’t dusty history. This is modern-day covenant, complete with late-night texts, tears, silence, sacrifice, and moments that almost broke them both.

And here’s where it gets even deeper: what began as assignment slowly became friendship. Against all odds and against Alaine’s walls, God grew something bigger than duty. A bond formed that now carries laughter, trust, and sisterhood on the other side of resistance.

If you’ve ever wondered what serving a visionary really looks like, this is the one to binge. It’s deep, a little messy, and packed with the kind of truth that makes you say, “Whew… they really said that?”

⸻

✨ Don’t miss this one. Press play and get the inside scoop.

🔗 Listen now:

Spotify | Apple Podcasts

📩 Booking Inquiries

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