Anna M. Aquino

I’ve coined a new catch phrase in the last week. “Have you hugged your destiny?” It might sound weird to some. But I think it’s a spark of divine inspiration. Most people have this crazy unscriptural concept that destiny is this some vague thing that’s out there somewhere, but they deep down don’t think they will ever find it. To them it’s equal in their minds to a banshee or Loch Ness Monster. But in truth Destiny is something physical. The word destiny is a noun! Jesus is your destiny, Heaven is the destiny God wants for you, and what he called you to do on this earth is your destiny. About a week ago I had a God moment in my garage. I was praying about a few things and if only for a few moments it was as if I could feel the heart God greatly saddened by the numbers of people that give up on their God given destinies. It was if I could feel the frustration of people for feeling they could never fulfill His purpose and at the same time I could feel God’s heart on the matter...

I’m getting ready this morning to go to a funeral. I have to admit I don’t like funerals. There is no fun in funerals. But I’m struck again with how fragile and fleeting life is on this earth. Pastor Hank served for several years as the associate pastor of Freedom. Dan and I were he and his wife’s armourbearers for five of those years. While he and I weren’t that close in the last few years of his life, I am saddened by his loss. Among some of Pastor Hank’s famous catch phrases were “I’m on top the world with both feet.” and “What’s happening good?” He was a man who loved being a pastor and genuinely loved people. His life was cut too short. Life is so short, and eternity is so long. I realize funerals are merely closure for the people left here on the earth. I know that Pastor Hank is now rejoicing in heaven. I know that my spiritual father, mentor and friend Pastor Arthur met him at the gates and together they are praising Jesus, and rejoicing once more. James 4:14 (NI...

A few months ago I found myself loving the new trends in headbands. Throw some tulle, feathers, and bows at this girl and watch her automatically jump on the fashionista bandwagon. As much as I found myself loving the new trends, I kept telling myself that I didn’t look good in headbands and therefore it wasn’t for me. Suddenly one afternoon I had a breakthrough moment. As I was telling myself why I wouldn’t look good in a dashing peacock feather look with a bow, suddenly I thought what is my issue with me against headbands? Then like a flash out of my memory I knew exactly what my issue against me and headbands were. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but suddenly like a movie screen in my mind I saw the scene play out before me. I was in the 6th or 7th grade and these girls that were supposed to be my friends, used to steal my headbands and make fun of me for them. They used to tell me I looked horrible in headbands, and should never wear them. I can remember they cl...

As I had mentioned in my last blog that I have spent the last several days at ICRS or CBA a very large Christian retailing convention that was awesome for me to go to. I was able to network with several publishers, and from here I’m continuing to believe that God opens the doors he wants opened. But I have to tell you of a mistake that I made on the first day. But really it wasn’t just my mistake. It was the honest mistake of most girls everywhere who simply are trying to look cute. It was the dreaded footwear mistake! (Cue overly dramatic nightmare music) I had thought I had a planned this, I would wear not so cute heels and therefore my feet would be able to walk for the miles I needed to walk. My friend who’d gone to the conference with me did what most girls do. She reasoned in her mind that she could do this and opted for the cute heels. Together we set off to network. In about an hour I was in pain but trying not to show it and my friend was looking longingly to...

The last several days have been intense and it would take too long for me to write everything down. However I’ll write another blog sometime this week on something else that happened at CBA. Most people don’t know what CBA is. It’s the Christian Retailers Association. I realize that doesn’t sound like a big deal to most people, but they have these big conventions and anyone who is anyone in Christian publishing and retailing show up. Which means under one roof was a mecca of people and publishers (Including my own). Many of them that I spent hours trying to get them to give me the time of day for my books, and to me this was like being a kid in a candy story. To say I was a bit overwhelmed was an understatement. My nonfiction is with Destiny, but I am still seeking prayerfully a home for my fiction. At first I wasn’t even sure if I would go to this event. I had several tell me I should and wasn’t sure if I’d even be in town. However a very dear friend of mine decided s...

On Sunday morning I had the awesome privilege of getting to minister in Payne, OH at Living Water Ministries. But getting there wasn’t without issues. The entire town of Payne had been without power for a week and up until the night before I wasn’t sure how this meeting was going to happen. I had spent the night in Bellefontaine, OH according to MapQuest my destination was only 1 hour and 40 minutes away. However for some crazy reason the GPS kept insisting it was 2 hours and 40 minutes away. Sometimes I wonder how anyone got anywhere before GPS and MapQuest. I’m not sure I could have done it. I have a personal pet peeve of being late so even after double checking MapQuest I left a little early for its time, hoping the GPS was wrong. I took a few wrong turns but I was so excited. With 20 minutes to spare I turned down the road to reach to my final destination. I wasn’t going to be late but on time! Until I saw the big orange detour ahead sign! What?! No! I wanted t...

My oldest daughter’s birthday is fast approaching, and as part of her present I made her a purse out of duct tape. I know it sounds odd, but it’s actually a very cool thing. I had made one for myself, and she loves it. However what she doesn’t know is that I went out of my way to pick out a roll of duct tape with a pattern that I knew she would really like. The purse has been made and even made its way to Ohio so that she could get it on her birthday. It’s been tucked away waiting for her special day. Today I decided to make a duct tape purse for one of my nieces too. So I could put it with her birthday present as well. They share the same birthday. I knew immediately what pattern of design duct tape I wanted to use. It was a different one than the one I used for my daughter. When we went to Wal-Mart to pick up the tape, my oldest daughter took one look at the different colors and patterns and picked out the exact one that her purse is made out of, but she doesn’t know ...

This weekend I had several events in Jackson, OH. It was an awesome weekend that wasn’t void of issues. But I thought I would share. I arrived at the Tea Caddy (a very cute shop in the heart of Jackson) in the downtown ready for a book signing only to realize that the storm the night before in the OH area was a little more vicious that I had realized. The storm had not only wiped out people’s power all over the community, it had left a world of storm drama in its path. The Tea Caddy lost power for about a half an hour in the book signing. Thus not a whole lot of foot traffic came into the store and the signing was okay, but I thought it would go a bit better. But the people were awesome and I had to learn to just go with it. Course I could have chosen to get annoyed and bugged by this, but really that wasn’t going to help. It was what it was, and I can honestly say I’ve had my first book signing in the dark, and really how many people can say that? Then, I was so excited to ...