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What Is A Wellness Journal 

[Cold Open]

Bernadette: I always try to end one of my entries with love. Why do I care about them so much and what has made me so angry? And then why do I still love this person so much? 

McGill: With every writing session let me write something that actually matters to me. Let me write something that I will actually benefit from.

Brother Donald: Keeping a record of what we go through in our daily life and trying to, not only assess, but work to improve. Well, all the more when it comes to our service to God and utilizing his teachings wisely.

[Heart and Soul Introduction] 

Gretchen: You're listening to Heart and Soul, a podcast from the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ). I'm one of your hosts, Gretchen Asuncion. And it's here where we have real conversations with friends who are helping each other reach the best Christian version of themselves. This is Heart and Soul.

Gretchen: Hey, everyone! It's Gretchen. With me today are our hosts, Bernadette. Hey, Bernadette. 

Bernadette: Hi Gretchen! How are you? 

Gretchen: I am good. Staying warm or trying to at least. How are you?

Bernadette: I’m alright.

Gretchen: Also we have McGill. Hi, McGill. How are you today?

McGill: I am pretty good. I feel good. I hope you feel good as well Gretchen. 

Gretchen: I do. Thank you. Thank you.

McGill: Awesome. Awesome.

Gretchen: And of course, we have a minister of the Gospel. Brother Donald Pinnock. Hello, Brother Donald, thank you so much for joining us. 

Brother Donald: Hi, Gretchen, Bernadette and McGill. I'm very very happy to be with you right now.

Gretchen: Awesome. Now, before I start here, I know many of us take notes during worship service. So why do we take notes during worship service? Is it something that inspires us, especially with the verses? You know, how is it that we give importance as we take notes during the worship service?

McGill: Personally, what I think the the nice benefits of taking notes during worship service is that it's a nice reminder, right? With notes, it's a nice reminder about everything that really happened during the worship service. And then you could reflect on your day-to-day if it if there's anything that you can learn from or to improve yourself as a person.

Bernadette: For myself, when I take notes for the worship service, I take the overall idea and the verses that I could remember, and I put it on paper, and then I compare it to my week. And then I try to look for what is God trying to tell me in the lesson.

Gretchen: Awesome. Well, I do take notes as well. So kind of helps me,  kind of conclude exactly what the worship service is. And they really do inspire me. So today we're going to talk about wellness journals and their value in keeping track of and giving importance to the words of God we regularly receive. What is a wellness journal? And how do we start? And is it in line with what God wants for us? So with that, do you guys know what a wellness journal is? I guess, like how could you when you hear the term wellness journal? What is your definition of it?

McGill: Oh, well, this is the first time I've really heard that a wellness journal is actually a thing. But based on what it sounds like, it sounds like a diary or a journal that you probably just write down your feelings or stuff to keep track of how your day is going or just to keep track of like how are you doing in your life?

4 Things You Need to Build Healthy Habits

Brother Michael: For me, this is inspiration. And that is a really good habit that every member of the Church Of Christ should really build on. 

Shannon Santamaria: You're just you're just dropping all the best advice right now. I guess, you know, when it comes to creating healthy habits, it's supposed to benefit us and I guess what better way for something to benefit us when it's spiritual.

 

[Show Open]

Shannon: You’re listening to Heart And Soul, a podcast from the Iglesia Ni Cristo Church of Christ. I’m one of your hosts, Shannon Santamaria, and it’s here where we have real conversations with friends who are helping each other reach the best version of themselves. This is Heart And Soul.

[Show Open]

Shannon: Hey everyone! It's Shannon here, and we're opening up the new season with a series concerning self-care. And to start it off we wanted to talk about building healthy habits. In fact, I have a surprise for our listeners. This new season also comes with new hosts! And a few of the new hosts with me today are coming from across America. Camille Peralta who’s from New Jersey all the way on the east coast and Gretchen Asuncion who’s from Minnesota in the Northern Midwest and I’m here in California. These two are dear friends of mine and I’ve had so many wholesome conversations with them. I figured why not have them share their stories with you guys on Heart and Soul. 

So I'm so excited because this is your first episode on Heart and Soul, and you guys are one of the main hosts now! How do you guys feel?

Gretchen Asuncion: Excited! 

Camille Peralta: Yeah.

Gretchen: Excited to be here! 

Camille: Ecstatic. Can't wait to have these meaningful conversations with you guys.

Shannon: And, you know, I guess I'm building that habit with you guys to have these, you know, meaningful conversations here on Heart and Soul. So, I actually wanted to also introduce someone else who is with us, and that's a minister of the gospel, Brother Michael Guerrero. Hello! How are you?

Brother Michael: Hello, everyone! I'm doing well.

Shannon: You know, when it comes to building healthy habits, there are a lot of areas to explore, a lot of things to look into, and I think it's a lot to take in. But I think the best way to kick start the episode is asking what the Bible says. I want to get right into it because I know that these conversations are always spiritually guided, right Brother Michael? 

Brother Michael: That is true. And so the verse that I'm going to read is 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23, which states:

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

[2 Thessalonians 5:23 New Revised Standard Version] 

Shannon: So, Brother, I guess, what I wanted to ask is that, you know, when it comes to this verse, is that a certain mindset that we should go into when it comes to self-care? 

Brother Michael: Yes. You know, in fact, when it comes to what is mentioned in this verse, it isn't just our physical body that is being mentioned that we should take care of. Because when we talk about self-care, it can mean a lot of things. Building healthy habits can also be a lot of things, or mean different things to different people. And in this verse, it talks about our spirit, our soul, and our body, right? So, these are all things that we should, especially as members of the Church Of Christ, always think about and take care of, because we use all of these things in our service to God.

Shannon: You know, I think I really wanted to open up this episode with new hosts and a verse right o...

Martin Zerrudo: Hey everyone, we’re back with a REWIND episode. And this conversation is a real treat because I’m joined by our Former Co-Host, Lois Paula, and Brother Jojo Bayani, a minister of the gospel in the Church Of Christ. We asked Brother Jojo all sorts of questions about navigating our friendships. You know, this episode was recorded a few years back, but there’s a lot of useful advice here—I definitely learned a lot from this conversation—and of course, got some spiritual guidance on how to be a good friend, and the kind of friendships that we should have in our life. Here’s that conversation.[Music] Martin Zerrudo: Question number one: when it comes to courting, do we put guys before our potential one that we're going to go for? Or do we put our girls before the one that we're going to go for? Krystal, what are your thoughts? If you were going to go for somebody and you knew that a friend of yours had feelings for them, is that ok? How do you navigate that situation?Krystal Quarles: I would personally talk to my friend and ask ‘Hey, is this ok?’ But I've been on the other side and I've seen some of my friends really, really happy and that's ok too. That's totally fine.Lois: I mean, Martin and Lenner, we asked about like, you know I'm talking about you're in a relationship and your friends need you. Your boys need you, or you want to have a guys’ night…Martin: Oh, man. I've had this conversation with Erica many times, where it's just like, for me, the time that I've devoted to my friends, that's time for them. And then the time that I've devoted to you, as my girlfriend, that's time for you. And I don't want to mix and match and make the other person or make you feel like that time is… is negotiable, you know? If there has to be adjustments, then that's fine, you have to adapt. But if I've given this time to Erica, then that's my time with her. Like, I'm going to give you 110% of my attention. But then if it's a guy's night and we needed to chill, then it's like, that's my time with them. Like, they also deserve my 110% affection as my friends and attention as well. I don't know Lenner, am I crazy?Lenner Sese: No, no. Not crazy at all. At the same time, on my part, I'm understanding as well. Out of our group of friends I'm the only single guy. So I know you guys have obligations to your girlfriends.Lois: Is there anything, any guidance in the Bible about who or what we should choose over what? If we are wrong in choosing one or the other? Is there anything — any guidance that you can give unto us, so that we can make the right decisions if we are presented with that challenge in the future?Brother Jojo Bayani: Sure, Sister LP. As we mentioned in part one, I'll use the same verse. It's 1 Corinthians 15:33 of the Expanded version of the Bible, it's:Do not be ·fooled [deceived; misled]: “Bad·friends [company] will ruin good ·habits [or character; morals; [1 Corinthians 15:33 Expanded Bible]Brother Jojo: I think the one of the best and one of the main guidelines that we should have in choosing our friends is to make sure that kind of friendship is based on how we should be living our lives, in accordance to the teachings of God. And how do you know when one is either a bad friend or a good friend? Well, the Bible says bad friends will indeed ruin good character, morals, [and] good habits. And we can translate – simply translate – habits or character or morals to what we've learned. Let that be our measurement stick in basing the kind of friendships that we have with members of the Church Of Christ and even those who are not members of the Church Of Christ. I remember when I was younger I had wonderful friends who didn't share the same be...

Heart And Soul - Making Friends







Martin Zerrudo: You’re listening to Heart and Soul. A podcast from the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. I’m your host Martin Zerrudo. 







[Show Open]







Martin Zerrudo: With me again is my co-host, Shannon. Hey, Shannon!







Shannon Santamaria: Hi, Martin! I'm so happy to be here.







Martin: So let's dive right into our episode today. Today, we're talking about friends. Now, I know you can relate, Shannon, the pandemic has definitely changed how we socialize, especially those socially distancing mandates and wearing masks and a lot of different restrictions that we had to experience both here in Toronto and over there on the West Coast.







Shannon Santamaria: That's right. I mean, some and even today use masks as a fashion statement because of the mandates. And it just makes us feel safer. But before that—well, I mean, what did you do before the pandemic to, you know, hang out with your friends, Martin? I kind of want to see how fun it was to look back and to see how back and to see how things are now.







Martin: Back in the day?







Shannon: Yeah.







Martin: Oh, definitely. In my mid to late teens, it was all about hanging out at different people's houses, playing games, playing sports, watching TV. And then in my early to mid twenties, it was honestly being active in a lot of different Church activities. Interacting with different officers, doing visitations across not only Canada but also in the North Eastern part of the United States. And then a little bit later into my twenties and early thirties, it was really just, making your circle a little bit smaller and just having, dinner, you know, talking over coffee or bubble tea and and just, slowing down, not always going out so often and spending more quality time with a closer knit group of people, for sure. How about you?







Shannon: Yeah, I think before the pandemic, definitely before 2020. I don't necessarily even remember being at home all that much. I was always out, whether it was experiencing a new event or going to a sports event or hanging out with friends or just, enjoying my time, being in person with them. And I think you made a good reference about how, you know, the way you hang out kind of changes over time.







Martin: Absolutely. You know, it's really interesting to think about how much things changed from then to now, not only in the differences in our generation, the differences in the age group that you're in as you get older. But a big thing that has remained consistent despite all of these changes for me, at least, in maintaining my friendships, is that I do occasionally, you know, interact with my friends online, whether it's playing video games, whether it's discussing movies and TV shows. The ability to connect on the internet has really been a significant means to to maintain these friendships across a wide variety of different activities. What about you Shannon? I know you're super active on social media.







Shannon: I know! I’m guilty as charged, right. I think the pandemic really accelerated my use on social media. A lot of the time I'm making friends on social media and making friends with, you know, other members of the Church Of Christ who I haven't met yet or that I'm excited to meet. There's also some, you know,

Heart And Soul - Self-Care







Martin Zerrudo: You are listening to Heart and Soul. A podcast from the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. I’m your host Martin Zerrudo, and I’ll be interviewing young adults from across the world. Who are living Christian lives, but are also dealing with real-world problems. This is Heart and Soul.







[Show Open]







Martin: Hi everyone! It’s so good to be back for another season of Heart and Soul. And wherever you are right now, as you listen to our first episode of this season, I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. Like I said, this is the first episode of this season, and we have a lot of new and exciting things that we want to introduce to you throughout the season. But one of the new changes is that I’m very happy to announce that sitting virtually beside me, in another part of the world, is Shannon Santamaria, the new co-host here at Heart and Soul. Hi Shannon!Shannon Santamaria: Hi Martin! I’m happy to be here!







Martin: Super excited to have you join the show. What are you looking forward to most about being a part of the show?Shannon: The genuine conversations we’re going to be having today. I think these kinds of conversations are timeless and always serve as a memory to look back to. 







Martin: Couldn’t have said it better myself. So, let’s dive right into our episode for today. We’re talking about self-care. What is it? Why should we make time for self-care and what does self-care as a Christian look like? Now, the term self-care is so much more popular now than it has ever been a few years ago and may even be more practiced in certain parts of the world. But I wanted to share this definition that I found on everydayhealth.com:







Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day.







[Source: everydayhealth.com]







Martin: Now when we talk about self-care, what does that look like for you, Shannon? 







Shannon: That’s a hard question! I can’t really define self-care except to provide myself the needs that it needs at that given moment or you know what I’ve been lacking lately in life. Whether it’s taking time for myself, going on a walk, or just meditating before prayer.







Martin: Right.







Shannon: Those are really important for self-care.







Martin: Definitely. For myself, I guess self-care is having lunch with my wife, making sure we don’t lose our synchronicity when watching a show, because we have to watch it at the same time, going outside on the balcony breathing in some fresh air, and just kind of not feeling bad about taking a little bit of time for yourself throughout the day. But on a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself in terms of your self-care game? 







Shannon: Oh man. My self-care game is like a solid 4. What about yours?Martin: I’m coming in at a solid 2.5.







Shannon: I mean we do live both very stressful and very busy lives. I mean everyone does.







Martin: Right.







Shannon: Especially now, you know, post pandemic, during pandemic, everything about it. I know and we obviously need more guidance in taking care of ourselves. I mean if I’m a 4 and you’re a 2 we obviously need some help with that.







Martin: For sure.







Shannon: And I’m not afraid to ask for help! And to help us with that I want to bring in our two guests f...

Heart And Soul - Unbroken Heart  







Martin Zerrudo: You are listening to Heart and Soul. A podcast from the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church of Christ. I’m your host Martin Zerrudo, and I’ll be interviewing young adults from across the world. Who are living Christian lives, but are also dealing with real-world problems. This is Heart and Soul.







[Show Open]  







Martin Zerrudo: Hi, everyone. We're back with another episode of Heart and Soul. Wherever you are right now, I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. With me again is my co-host, Shannon. Hey, Shannon!







Shannon Santamaria: Hi, Martin! I'm so happy to be here.







Martin: Absolutely happy to have you. Have you been recently?







Shannon: Good! I'm actually in California now.







Martin: Awesome. I'm very jealous as here in Toronto, it snowed three days ago, but who's counting?







Shannon: [Laughs] Maybe you.







Martin: Maybe just me. So let's dive right into our episode for today. Today, we're talking about the unbroken heart. How to move on from heartbreak. 







Now, I think, for a lot of our viewers that are watching and listening today, we're all at that age, right? We're at that time in our lives when we start to consider what we look for in someone we'd consider building a future with.







Shannon: Honestly, that is so true. If you don't mind me asking, Martin, what were some of your requirements – if I could say that – when you were looking for a future wife?







Martin: Yeah. You know, it's funny. In my late teens – like eighteen, nineteen – that was very different from my mid-twenties, which is very different from my late twenties to early thirties. But I think the only consistent thing that I was looking for was someone who was going to bring me closer and strengthen my relationship with God. How about you?







Shannon: I think, for me, it's more about how they can help me grow in my faith as well. I know that sounds very quote, unquote, “basic,” but I think it's a fundamental value that I would need to have if I am looking for someone. That they can help me in my performance in the performance of my duties. And you'd be surprised. I'm actually really picky about that! 







Martin: [Laughs] No, no. As you should be. You know, it's funny, like, aside from them being, you know, extremely faithful and active, I also wanted to find somebody who got along well with my family. You know, being able to get along in various situations, various instances – whether it's a gathering or a dinner or just hanging out – a lot of the time when you're married, it’s spent with family and friends. And so long as that dynamic is solid and is smooth and everybody gets along, it's such an important, important requirement for a healthy relationship, I think.







Shannon: I think for me, as well, if I could talk about one more trait that I am looking for, it's that independence, it's that independence that, you know, the person that I'm going to have and build a future with can understand how to be independent, you know, relying and trusting in God more than they are on me. I think that’s a good foundation to have as well because, yes, you know, we'll build a future together, but at the end of the day, you need to have a solid foundation within yourself.







Martin: Right. You're still, you're two people coming together as one.







Shannon: Yes.







Martin: Right. Two unique individuals. And, you know, these are really great requirements. Somebody who's independent,