Love Has A Story with Quina Aragon

·53 min·5 clips

Quina Aragon's first year walking with Christ was marked by the death of a mentor, her parents' divorce, and sexual abuse.

["Host Kathryn Benko introduces the episode with her four-month-old daughter Collins present, welcoming guest Quina Aragon.", "Aragon explains she is a writer and spoken word artist from Orlando, born in the Philippines, called to use words to point to Christ's resurrection.", "She recounts her conversion at age 16, feeling emptiness despite success, and being drawn to the raw emotion in Psalm 69.", "A friend shared the gospel using a tract on a volleyball bus ride, leading Aragon to accept Jesus.", "Her first years as a Christian involved severe trauma: death of a mentor and friend, parental divorce, relocation, sexual abuse, and a loved one's addiction.", "Aragon reflects on holding space for both grief and gratitude, recognizing she was a kid processing these events.", "Benko connects this to her podcast's mission of using hard stories to encourage others.", "Aragon describes her book as biblical theology meets story work, showing God redeems the ugly parts of our narratives.", "She emphasizes God does not discard our past but transforms it, unlike spiritual bypassing that avoids pain.", "Benko shares her own grief over four pregnancy losses, relating to the need for Jesus to sit with us in sadness.", "Aragon discusses her secondary infertility, stage four endometriosis, five surgeries, and loss of six organs.", "She references biblical figures like Hannah and Job to validate lament and challenge faux theology about suffering.", "The conversation touches on church culture idolizing productivity over being with God, using Elijah's long training as an example.", "Aragon explains her book's structure: 100 meditations tracing God's love through scripture, interspersed with personal poetry.", "She mentions endorsement by Christine Caine and how a spoken word piece about women's worth connected them.", "Aragon details her start in spoken word: a high school teacher made her perform, leading to impacting peers with Christian poetry.", "She later used YouTube with her husband's help to share videos of her performances.", "Benko and Aragon discuss the value of artistic diversity in the church, referencing 'The Chosen' TV show's impact.", "Aragon answers rapid-fire questions: currently obsessed with reading Harry Potter to her daughter, looking forward to new video content, loves embracing her identity as writer and athlete.", "Her parting encouragement: 'God's love isn't done so neither is my story.'"]

As heard by us

Kina Aragon brings spiritual language to grief, infertility, illness, and the long work of endurance.

Heart and Soul follows Katherine Banco and Kina Aragon in a close conversation about faith, suffering, and the grief of a family dream that does not unfold as hoped.

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Why you'd press play

You want faith that can sit beside grief without reaching for a slogan.

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