• 04. When Hope is Deferred
    Jul 1 2024

    This podcast will not help you go back to being the person you were before experiencing loss. Most people associate grief and loss with only the death of a loved one. Yes, that is true. And it is big. But I’m also here to remind you that other losses can cause a disturbance to your sense of self and a significant change in your worldview. When you go through loss, for better or for worse, you change. You’re never the same person.

    I propose to you that grief, sorrow, and loss, including love, are also about grieving for yourself not just for the ones you lost. Why? Because grief changes you and it changes your world. Here’s another truth, while it is hard to see it while you are in the thick of grieving, that super typhoon of grief did not destroy everything. As I said, the loss left an aftermath of damage, but it did not destroy everything.

    Welcome to The Iman Diaries, your sanctuary for exploration and introspection about life, loss, and love, helping you find clarity and perhaps meaning and purpose despite it.

    If you go through life seemingly stuck in the middle, in the liminal between where you have been and where you want to be, on the threshold of an unsettled season and in a place where you can’t go back and you can’t stay here - wherever here is for you - but you also don’t know where to go. This podcast is for you.

    If you are experiencing loss or have experienced sorrow in all its depth, shapes, and form - whether it is losing your faith, your hope, your dreams, your relationships, your loved one passed away, or you’re about ready to give up on life, listen in.

    If you want to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love others, and learn self-compassion in the middle of all these, then you are in the right place.

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    18 mins
  • 03. When You're Stuck in the Waiting
    Jun 24 2024

    Perhaps, you are waiting to be healed from depression. You are waiting for anxiety to stop coming for you. Maybe you are waiting for your husband to come home, your wife to return, or your children to be a little more responsible. Maybe you’re waiting for a job interview, a job to open up, or an opportunity to earn an income again. Maybe you are wondering how your next bill will be paid for or waiting to be freed from addiction no one knows but you.

    Hindi man po natin maiintindihan bakit po kailangan nating maghintay. Ang totoo po ay may mga bagay na natututunan tayo sa pag-aantay - isa na po dito ang pagtitiwala. Kapag tayo ay naghihintay, binibigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang mga bagay na maganap sa tamang panahon. We give space for things to happen naturally and in due course. Hindo po pre-mature. Hindi po natin minamadali. Wala pong shortcuts. Hindi po instant ang life. Real growth takes time. Toxic po sa buhay ang instant.

    Welcome to The Iman Diaries, your sanctuary for exploration and introspection about life, loss, and love, helping you find clarity and perhaps meaning and purpose despite it.

    If you go through life seemingly stuck in the middle, in the liminal between where you have been and where you want to be, on the threshold of an unsettled season and in a place where you can’t go back and you can’t stay here - wherever here is for you - but you also don’t know where to go. This podcast is for you.

    If you are experiencing loss or have experienced sorrow in all its depth, shapes, and form - whether it is losing your faith, your hope, your dreams, your relationships, your loved one passed away, or you’re about ready to give up on life, listen in.

    If you want to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love others, and learn self-compassion in the middle of all these, then you are in the right place.

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    16 mins
  • 02. When Disappointments Come
    Jun 17 2024

    Can I keep believing even when God appears to me as an enemy? Will I continue to trust in the goodness and kindness of God?

    Several theological reasons are offered for the problem of suffering. Some say it is because of sin, others say it’s because God wants to test us, or because of the freedom God has given humans to choose evil or good. These are not necessarily wrong, but when you are in the middle of disappointment, like I was, they often do not suffice. When we are suffering and disappointed, it is more helpful to know how God uses our pain than to know why we experience pain. I do not know which of these are correct. I cannot give you an absolutely, correct theological reason. Maybe they are all true. One thing I know though is that our sufferings and disappointments make or break our faith and relationship with God.

    Welcome to The Iman Diaries, your sanctuary for exploration and introspection about life, loss, and love, helping you find clarity and perhaps meaning and purpose despite it.

    If you go through life seemingly stuck in the middle, in the liminal between where you have been and where you want to be, on the threshold of an unsettled season and in a place where you can’t go back and you can’t stay here - wherever here is for you - but you also don’t know where to go. This podcast is for you.

    If you are experiencing loss or have experienced sorrow in all its depth, shapes, and form - whether it is losing your faith, your hope, your dreams, your relationships, your loved one passed away, or you’re about ready to give up on life, listen in.

    If you want to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love others, and learn self-compassion in the middle of all these, then you are in the right place.

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    14 mins
  • 01. Introduction
    Jun 10 2024

    Welcome to The Iman Diaries, your sanctuary for exploration and introspection about life, loss, and love, helping you find clarity and perhaps meaning and purpose despite it.

    If you go through life seemingly stuck in the middle, in the liminal between where you have been and where you want to be, on the threshold of an unsettled season and in a place where you can’t go back and you can’t stay here - wherever here is for you - but you also don’t know where to go. This podcast is for you.

    If you are experiencing loss or have experienced sorrow in all its depth, shapes, and form - whether it is losing your faith, your hope, your dreams, your relationships, your loved one passed away, or you’re about ready to give up on life, listen in.

    If you want to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love others, and learn self-compassion in the middle of all these, then you are in the right place.

    I invite you to join me in tracing the landscapes of our human heart. Through laughter and tears, heartache and celebrations, we'll unravel the stories that shape us and the impact that linger long after the event. Together we will take a look at the spectrum of our raw emotions with appropriate honesty, vulnerability, and steadfast commitment to growth, maturity, and healing. We will uncover the beauty in life’s imperfections, explore what it means to live a better life, learn to gracefully accept loss in all its depth, shapes, and forms, and compassionately love those who matter most. We will find timeless wisdom in the quiet corners of our experiences and in the stories that shape us, the losses that humble us, and the love that keeps us going.

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    8 mins
  • [2015] 06: Discovering Your Talent as a Single Person
    Jun 6 2024
    Still in the Stewardship Series, Jabez and I talk about discovering your talents, gift, calling or purpose in your life and how to take good care of it. Being a good steward of the talents and skills the Lord Jesus Christ has given us is reflective of our appreciation to our Creator. We share our own experiences, how we discovered what we're good at and how we stay secure and not compare what we can and can't do with others can and can't do.
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    36 mins
  • [2015] 05: Time Management for Single People
    May 30 2024
    Still in the Stewardship Series, Jabez and I talk about being mindful of our time. Being a good steward of the time that we have in our hands is reflective of our appreciation to our Creator. This episode is especially for single people but even if you are married, you might glean some young adult wisdom in our conversation that you can also apply in your married life.
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    38 mins
  • [2015] 04: Money Stewardship for the Single Person
    May 23 2024
    This week, Jabez and I kick off our first topic for a new series - Stewardship. We talk about what stewardship is, in our own opinion, and how it relates to how we handle our personal finances.
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    38 mins
  • [2015] 03: Managing Emotions
    May 16 2024
    Jabez and I started this episode by sharing our personal process of forgiving. This is in response to a listener's question who was asking us how to forgive. We say it's not an easy thing but it is doable and we can't fully forgive unless we have experienced God's forgiveness ourselves.
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    46 mins