Our Faith Journey

It’s the last episode of the podcast! Can’t believe this day has come, thank you so much for tuning in and listening to this show :) In this episode, I take some time to reflect on my journey producing this podcast, the challenges I faced, the lessons I learned, and the blessings I experienced. I also get a chance to ask Melanie Galima, my social media coordinator, about her experience helping out the podcast and why she chose to help me in this ministry! Shownotes I referenced Carey Nieuwhof’s leadership podcast as a great podcast, if you want to listen to it, head on over to careynieuwhof.com/mypodcast/ Check out the Nexus community I’m a part of by going to the Instagram page here

Suicide affects many people around the world, including Christians. One person every 40 seconds dies by suicide, and for every person who dies by suicide, more than 20 others attempt suicide. It’s the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds globally. Maybe you’ve experienced suicidal thoughts or know someone who has struggled with them as well. So with that in mind, how we do navigate thoughts of suicide as Christians? Or maybe we know someone who is struggling with suicide, how can we minister to those people? In today’s episode, I had a chance to ask these questions to my Penang mom, Cecelia Chai. Cecelia has dealt with suicidal thoughts on a few occasions, and both of us have experienced the challenges that come with reaching out to someone who is suicidal. Really think I really hope the insights we share can be meaningful to you as we understand suicide from a faith perspective. Shownotes Connect with Cecelia through email at amm@pah.com.my or check out what she’s doing with AMM at the AMM official website. I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Depression is a challenging thing to process and deal with. So how do we navigate this tough season as Christians? Or how can we help someone who is struggling with depression? In this episode, I invite fellow podcaster Rachel Arner to share her experience with depression and how God led her through that tough season in her life. She also provides a lot of insight into ministering to someone who is depressed and more! Shownotes You can connect with Rachel by following her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook You can find links to her podcast by clicking here  I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses, affecting roughly 1 in 5 people around the world. And I’m sure you’ve had moments of anxiety in your life, maybe times where you were overwhelmed by your anxious thoughts. So do we approach anxiety in our lives? What do we do when the thoughts of worry, fear, and/or doubt overwhelm and paralyze us? Do medication and counseling play a role, and if so, how? In this episode, I have a chance to interview my friend Wendy Wang about the topic of anxiety. She shares her experiences with anxiety, how God led her throughout that time up to now, and what to do when you or you someone you care about is experiencing anxiety. Shownotes You can contact Wendy through email at Wendebellefly@gmail.com Check out Wendy’s music on Apple Music, Spotify, and Youtube  Check out her Pinterest page, which will house her coloring book pages, here. I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Have you been in a place where you’re overloaded with responsibilities and burdens that it seems impossible for you to move forward? Or maybe you felt like you hit a wall out of nowhere and everything around you seems to be collapsing? Maybe you’re experiencing or have experienced the feeling of burnout. In this episode, I had a chance to interview Benjamin Lundquist, the director of young adult ministries in the SDA Oregon Conference. Benjamin shares his thoughts on the reasons behind burnout, what is faith’s role in combating burnout, what can we do to move forward from a season of burnout, and more! Shownotes You can connect with Benjamin Lundquist by following him on Instagram or checking out his Rise and Lead podcast here! I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

All of us have experienced what it means to be a part of a family, and as we all know, families have their ups and downs. So what causes families to be broken? How do we actively play a role in creating healthy, godly families? And what does it mean to “honor your parents” while staying true to who God called you to be? In this episode, I have the honor of interviewing Dr. Shee, someone that played an active role during my mission year in Penang. Dr. Shee shares his journey as a parent and the lessons he’s learned along the way, and he addresses these questions and more! Shownotes Explore Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages by clicking here Find out more about Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by clicking here Find out more about Harvard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory by clicking here I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Divorce is a painful experience that affects not just the couple but many people around them. So how do we navigate this space as Christians? What does the Bible say about divorce? And how do we help others who have either experienced divorce or have close family members that have gone through a divorce? In this episode, I have the honor of interviewing Dr. Um, a pastor so passionate about marriage and family that he got a doctorate degree in marriage and family studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. In our conversation, we address the questions mentioned above and more! Shownotes You can connect with Dr. Um by checking out his Youtube channel here.  Check out the two good books we referenced that were written by Henri Nouwen: The Wounded Healer and Here and Now I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

As a kid, I remembered every good fairy tale or romance story ended up with the hero and the heroine getting married and living happily ever after. A part of me looks forward to that day as well. And yet “happily ever after” seems like something harder to find in marriages today. A recent study by Dana Shapiro reveals that very few married people are happy, about 17% percent. So how does God fit into the picture of marriage, and what does a Godly marriage look like? Well, I had a chance to interview a lovely couple, Justin and Emily Khoe, about their marriage and what they’ve learned along the way. Both of them are quite open about their experiences and share valuable insights when it comes to marriage. Shownotes You can connect with Justin by checking out his website: justinkhoe.com or check out a ministry he’s involved in at www.centerforonlineevangelism.org/ I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

When it comes to the conversation about sex, the primary message you probably hear from Christians is this: Don’t have sex until marriage. And then the conversation ends there. Which I feel is pretty sad and shallow because there’s no in-depth conversation about sex. Like why sex is an experience that is best limited to a marriage setting? Especially in today’s culture, where sex scenes have become the norm in TV shows and movies, and pornography is just a click away on the Internet, I think it’s really vital to nail down how a Christian conducts himself/herself in the area of sexuality. So in this conversation, Pastor Jason and I dive into topics such as God’s perspective on sex, how do we talk about sex, and even addressing the issues of masturbation and pornography. SHOWNOTES You can connect with Pastor Jason on Instagram here Check out his high school ministry Pericohresis on Instagram or visit his church’s website I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Over the past few episodes, we’ve explored the present moment of social uproar, delved into various forms of injustices and disparities, and addressed the mentalities behind racism and prejudice. Now, with this information in mind, we ask the overarching question: what’s the solution? In the final episode of the Race and Religion podcast series, Brian, Shawn, and I answer the questions you asked and dive into where we think we should go from here. Shownotes I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

In the past few episodes, we’ve addressed the external realities of racial disparities and dove into our perspective of Christian theology relating to race. And today we dive into topics related to the heart: the conversation on privilege and power. Some topics we address include white privilege, insensitivity, white fragility, virtue signaling, and color blindness. And throughout the conversation, we explore these terms and what they mean in light of the gospel and our identity as children of God. We want to hear questions from you! If you'd like for us to tackle a question you might have about race and religion, send the question to ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com, or you can send a message to Our Faith Journey Instagram and Facebook pages. In the next episode and last episode of the series, we will be having a Q&A section dedicated to answering questions that you might have. Intro music was a cover of the song "Does Your Heart Break" by the Brilliance. For the full version by the Brilliance, click here Some working definitions of terms we mentioned on the podcast Privilege is an advantage afforded by what someone has or possesses. Power is the ability to do what one wants Brian’s Insensitivity Formula: Ignorance + Insecurity + Injury (objective/subjective experience of being a victim) Virtue signaling: the popular modern habit of indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favor for certain political ideas or cultural happenings.

Besides the criminal justice system, what other disparities and challenges do the black community face? How do all of these issues tie in with the overarching issue of poverty? And how are we, as Christians called to view and treat the poor in society? In today's episode, Dr. Bowtie Brian, Dr. Shawn Smith, and I will explore these questions and more, and our hope is that this conversation will help you gain a better perspective on the present situation in the U.S.  We want to hear questions from you! If you'd like for us to tackle a question you might have about race and religion, send the question to ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com, or you can send a message to Our Faith Journey Instagram and Facebook pages. In future episodes, we will be having a Q&A section dedicated to answering questions that you might have. Intro music was a cover of the song "Does Your Heart Break" by the Brilliance. For the full version by the Brilliance, click here. News sources listed below For a visual of Ben and Jerry's "defund the police"  infographic, click here. For a deeper understanding of the school to prison pipeline, click here.  To see the fatherlessness statistics we cited in the episode and more, click here. 

Are Christians called to be activists, or should we ignore current injustices in light of Christ’s second coming? How has America become the country that has 5% of the world’s population, yet holds 25% of the nation’s prisoners? What is the role of police in society, and how can we explore conversations about police reform? In the second episode of the Race and Religion podcast series, Dr. Bowtie Brian, Dr. Shawn Smith, and I dive deeper into an understanding of the prophetic voice in Scripture, the police, and the prison system. We want to hear questions from you! If you'd like for us to tackle a question you might have about race and religion, send the question to ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com, or you can send a message to Our Faith Journey Instagram and Facebook pages. In future episodes, we will be having a Q&A section dedicated to answering questions that you might have. Intro music was a cover of the song "Does Your Heart Break" by the Brilliance. For the full version by the Brilliance, click here. News sources listed below Germany protest: Largest protest outside the USA Quote from John Erlichmann’s, Nixon’s former domestic policy advisor: Nixon advisor: We created the war on drugs to “criminalize” black people and the anti-war left "13th": Netflix documentary that looks into the history of mass incarceration in the US. John Oliver piece on police reform (contains explicit language, dives into the lack of proper police training)  The story referenced by Brian about a black man in Palmdale found dead hanging from a tree   An article about the shooting of Tamir Rice  An article about the shooting of John Crawford III (man killed for holding a toy gun) 

In the first episode of the Race and Religion podcast series, Dr. Bowtie Brian, Dr. Shawn Smith, and I explore our present situation with the recent death of George Floyd and the protests that erupted around the world as a result. Also, we share our racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and how our understanding of racial issues has changed over these past few weeks. In addition, we briefly explore how we are called as Christians to learn more about this situation and be involved in the ministry of racial reconciliation. We want to hear questions from you! If you'd like for us to tackle a question you might have about race and religion, send the question to ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com, or you can send a message to Our Faith Journey Instagram and Facebook pages. In future episodes, we will be having a Q&A section dedicated to answering questions that you might have.  Intro music was a cover of the song "Does Your Heart Break" by the Brilliance. For the full version by the Brilliance, click here.  RESOURCES Movies you can watch: "13th": a Netflix documentary "When They See Us": TV series on Netflix Books you can read: The Cross and the Lynching Tree - Reconciling the gospel message of liberation with the reality of black oppression and suffering during the lynching era Medical Apartheid: The history of medical experimentation on African Americans. Bearing the Cross: a biography of Martin Luther King Jr, one of the main leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s The New Jim Crow: a book that dives into the punitive criminal justice system and explores the injustices of mass incarceration, especially against people of color.

Breakups are really painful experiences and something you probably don’t want to experience if you haven’t already. But they do happen. And they are complicated. So with that in mind, how do we navigate breakups as Christians? In this episode, I bring on Pastor Sam Leonor, who has a lot of experience in helping others through breakups and also was a key person in my healing journey from past breakups. Some of the things we talk about include what are valid reasons for a breakup, how to break up with someone in a Godly manner, what does it mean to be healed from a past relationship, and so much more! Shownotes Check out Pastor Sam’s podcast with Pastor Tim Gillespie called Today’s Presence. You can listen to their podcast on Apple Podcasts by clicking here.  I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

Dating is quite a new phenomenon in human history: something that’s been around for 100 years. So it’s a topic that we can’t find a step-by-step playbook in the Bible, but there are definitely Christian principles that we can value when it comes to dating. In this episode, I interview Pastor Jerome and Jesline, a couple from Penang, Malaysia. In our conversation, they share their dating experience, what they looked for in a significant other, how they’ve handled hard seasons in their relationship, and much more! Shownotes Connect with Pastor Jerome on Facebook by clicking here Connect with Jesline Koay on Instagram by clicking here If you’re in Malaysia and looking for a church community, check out Lighthouse Church by clicking here I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

In today’s culture, love and romance saturates everything, from popular music to TV shows and movies. With all the messages that go around, it’s very easier for Christian singles to get lost in the daydream world, wishing to be in a dating relationship and/or married. With that in mind, how does God want us to think and approach a season of singleness? What are some benefits and challenges that Christian singles face? And how can we combat feelings of loneliness when romance isn’t a current option? In today’s episode, Dr. Fam answers these questions and shares much more. Shownotes Connect with Dr. Fam on WhatsApp at +256 782 823 797 or on email at leongfam7@gmail.com. I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

During this global pandemic, it's very easy for us to dwell in our problems and forgot about those who don’t have the luxury of social distancing, such as the homeless. What can we do as Christians to help those in need right now? And if we are not able to be on the front lines, how can we still make a difference? In this episode, pharmacists Bowtie Brian and Shawn Smith share about their community work for the homeless at the Symba Center and also share some words of advice to those of us staying at home.  SHOWNOTES Connect with Dr. Bowtie Brian on Facebook and Instagram at @drbowtiebrian.  Connect with Dr. Shawn Smith on Facebook and Instagram at @drsmithrx Check out their online classes at symbaacademy.com and their free health clinic at symbacenter.org I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

How do we minister to people on a campus setting (college, high school, university, etc.) when we aren’t able to meet in a physical location or even be on campus? How do we combat the loss of community during this time? And how do we change our avenues of ministry in light of these times? On this episode, I bring on Chaplain Kevin Straine to share his thoughts on these questions and more Kevin shares a lot of wisdom not just for those in campus ministries positions, but for anyone who’s thinking of how to reach out to people during this time. SHOWNOTES To listen to Kevin’s first episode on the episode, click here. Check out La Sierra University Spiritual Life Youtube Channel by clicking here. Connect with Kevin on Instagram, Facebook, or check out his website for links to his music at kevinstraine.com I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!

In this season, what is the church now that we can’t meet physically in a building together with fellow believers? How can this pandemic be a catalyst for positive changes in the ways we perceive and conduct church? How can the church help combat feelings of loneliness and loss of community during this time? In this episode, I bring on Pastor Marcos Torres to talk about rethinking church in light of COVID-19. Shownotes To check out Pastor Marcos' podcast and contact him on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter, click here. To listen to his podcast episode with Pastor Ivor Myers, click here for Apple Podcasts, click here for Spotify, and click here for Soundcloud Check out the Adventist Postmodern Evangelism & Outreach Facebook Group here. You can email Pastor Marcos at pastormarcos@thestorychurchproject.com I’d love to connect with you! If you want to ask me questions you might have about anything or to learn more about why I’m doing this podcast, you can message me on Instagram at @ourfaithjourneypodcast or email me at ourfaithjourneypodcast@gmail.com. If you want to leave a voice message on Anchor, click here. Be sure to subscribe to this show so you can receive new episodes on whatever podcast player you are using!