Anna M. Aquino

I've had a few moments recently. I'm not going to start whining. Dan and I are praying about a lot of things, and are trusting the Lord to make a way where we have yet to see one. Sometimes when you get caught up in the rut of rehearsing all your own issues, you can find yourself very frustrated. Have you ever had those days when you are suddenly reminded of the fact your cars need replaced, your boss is annoying you, and your house has something go wrong all in the same day? Its the kicking you when your down days that you often can really feel. If you don't stop yourself from entering into a "woe is me" attitude the next thing you know you'll be in an all-out funk. Sunday Dan and I were talking and all of a sudden I started to say, "Well, so what we're frustrated about x, y, and z at least we have a roof over our head and food in our stomachs. Yes, I complain about wanting to lose weight but we're not on a forced fast.". We began t...

Dan and the girls brought a few more fish into our family this weekend. There was a small cat fish, a freshwater angel fish, and a beta fish that was added to our gold fish. I never knew you could add beta fish to a general population, but I guess as long as the other fish are non-aggressive you can. However, when they were going to buy them it was discovered that the cat fish was way too aggressive, and they would have to put the beta in something else. Long story short it was discovered that the cat fish was so aggressive they had to sequester it and put the beta in the regular fish tank. So this beta fish that has since been named 'Unique' that has spent the majority of its life in a tiny plastic container is now in my 20 gallon fish tank. 'Unique' was a tad freaked out to say the least. What is interesting is many fish grow to the size the fish tank will allow. We've had some of the smallest puniest gold fish grow fairly big in out tank. That happens a ...

I’ve been working very hard on a project that has a very quick coming deadline, and I’ll confess to be working so hard I’ve spent a lot of time at my desk away from daylight. I might have forgotten for a few moments what the outside might look like. Dan and I have been praying about several things regarding our life and ministry and have been seeking His will for our future. While I was waiting to head over to get the girls from school, I stepped away from my desk this afternoon. I looked down to the stepping stone that is right beside our entry way to our home. It’s has a block O on it from The Ohio State University. I remember when my grandmother gave it to me. I think it may have been the year I graduated from OSU, but I don’t know. It was a Christmas present. However my stepping stone hadn’t been tended to in a while. The Florida grass had begun to grow over it and I could barely tell there was even a stepping stone there. It was still there but hidden and away un...

I had a moment yesterday. Call it what you want…a moment, a pity party, a funk, a crying and letting irrational thoughts run wild, or just a need to renew my mind moment. I’m not perfect. Sometimes I have them. I’m a creative dramatic female so sometimes I need to guard my emotions probably more than most. I’m doing better not to have them often like I used to, but I had a moment. I had a really wise woman once tell me once, “that everyone has a moment here and there but the true measure of a person is if they stay in that moment or get out of it and start to renew their mind to the word.” I found myself out in the garage bawling my eyes out over something that was that was really very minor, but because my wheels in my mind were already churning…one thought led to another and another, and before I stopped myself I was crying. Many a times my prayer closet, when my family is home tends to be my garage. Usually it’s the one place I can go where I won’t get interrupted. Af...

Very little is known about Jesus’ early and adolescent years. Many often wonder did he always know what his destiny was, or when did he figure it out? I have always joked that being one of Jesus’ siblings wouldn’t have been easy. I wonder if they ever heard, “You should act just like your older brother?” It makes you wonder what he was like as a teenager, and like many boys he grew up with the goal he wanted to be just like is His Father. As he spent his early adult life as a carpenter and while the Bible isn’t clear on specifics we know that he was a man and like every man he was a man with human emotions. He wasn’t a robot. Jesus was sent to the earth with a purpose and He had purpose. Despite whatever he went through in life, we know through His ministry He never lost sight of that. He always kept his vision focused. If you think about it, whatever the measure He knew His future, His destiny was to die for the sins of the world. But I bet the death & burial part ...

Before I get into the blog for today, I am very glad that I FINALLY get to post this link. http://youtu.be/OlNZWbmO5i0 This was a TV interview I did in Ohio back in June. I know it took us forever to get it online…sigh, I could go into all the technical pitfalls and the 8 hours it took to upload just today, but Thank you Jesus its up! ~~~ On Friday, I went to do my typical grocery shopping. My kids are still out of school and I had a friend of mine’s son as well for a few days. Grocery shopping with three kids is a challenge. But I have this thing where I go to a different fruit & vegetable store, a different meat store, and Wal-Mart. Add to that my stack of coupons and this wall of crazy Florida heat and it can all be a tad stressful. When I got to my first store I was trying to watch the kids in the parking lot and ran the shopping car over my toe and bruised my toe. The heat was already getting to me. Then I went to Wal-Mart and they didn’t have any 2% milk in ...

Yesterday my youngest daughter insisted I let her wear a dress that is a hand me down from her sister. I took one look at it and knew it was way too big for her. She pleaded and pestered. Finally I said “Ok, just try it on and then we’ll talk.” In my head this little inch of giving in was going to prove to her that it was way too big for her. In her mind it was just an excuse to pester further. I wasn’t about to let her in public looking like that. The dress was at least four sizes too big. I could see the frustration bubble up inside of her. “Hunny it really doesn’t fit you.” I could see it sagging on top of her clothes. “But when will it fit me?” She whined. “Maybe in a year?” Really I was exaggerating. Maybe in a few years is more like it. “So next week?” She pleaded. “No dear. Maybe in a year.” “So maybe by my birthday?” I watched her pleading with me. She wanted to be big enough to wear the dress. But she just isn’t yet. Then something like a li...

I confess that I have a love of musicals and certain ones I could sing out loud from memory down to the overtures. Camelot is one of those musicals. I found myself the other day singing this song http://youtu.be/TdrEmZ35fxc through the house. It’s C’est Moi. Lancelot sings it. In English it means “It’s Me!” If you’re familiar with the story he thinks he’s the most perfect man on the planet and more until he falls into an adulterous affair with Guinevere and it all comes crashing down around him. It’s like the scripture in Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)”Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Have you ever been around people like this? The ones where you can’t get a word in, and they spend the entire conversation focusing on how perfect and wonderful their lives are at the moment, how much they are so better than you, and you find yourself wanting to cry at their arrogance it’s so annoying. I had a conversation with someone like that sometime ago (IF you...

This isn’t a typical blog today, but I am just sharing my thoughts. Take them or leave them. Many of you may or may not be aware of the controversy that has spurred off of the Chick-Fil-A stores. In short, someone asked the founder of the Chick-Fil-A what his opinion was on marriage and he said, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” Thus it spurred a bunch of media controversy and debate. The next thing you know you have officials trying to block a Chick-Fil-A from ever coming to their cities and others trying to boycott the franchise as a whole. So as a result August 1st became “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” and people lined up all over the US, for waffle fries and a chicken sandwich. On a personal level I agree 100% with their stance, and I admire them in a time of a bunch of wishy washy “I’m ok you’re ok” mentalities. They stood up for what I believe is the truth. On a political level no one got in anyone’s faces...

Yesterday I got two bills in the mail, and I confess I started to get a tiny bit upset. Last year when I took my girls to their yearly visit to the doctor, I was assured that my insurance company covered all copays for it. Then three months later I got a bill, for which I paid. So this year we went to the dr’s appointment and was again assured I wouldn’t have to pay for the copay, and yesterday I got a bill. I was annoyed and upset. I’ll admit I was starting to get a tad snarky. It wasn’t just about the money, but it was also just the aggravation that is the healthcare rat race. At first I was just going to go ahead and pay for the bills, but hesitantly I opted to call the doctor’s office and voice my irritation. After I explained to them the issue, they emphatically told me that my insurance company doesn’t charge us copays for that service and I shouldn’t be charged, but instead of it being taken care of I had to call the insurance company. Calling any insurance company a...