Anna M. Aquino

  I’m going to be pretty real here for a few moments.   I had a rough night/morning.   I didn’t sleep well at all.   Dan and I have a list of changes and transitions going on in our household, which I will discuss more once we have more clarity (Prayers appreciated), and I confess I let my mind go in places of worry that it didn’t need to go to last night.   Yes, I know what the word of God says.   I believe it.   I know God is with us, we will have good success, and all will be well….sigh, sometimes God gets you in situations to stretch you and work your faith and I know it’ll all work out, but I’m kind of kicking and screaming at the moment. (Joshua 1:1-10, Jer 29:11)   It is true that the battlefield is in the mind, and I know that victory is ours says the Lord.   As a result of a super lack of sleep, I was a bit edgy this morning.   I grumped at Dan and the girls.   I made the mistake of going to the Wal-Mart closest...

This Saturday Dan, my youngest daughter, and I took our dog Mojo to the St. Cloud Lakefront.   It’s a nice park, beach, and has a long walkway out to a covering and benches.   I confess my attitude was a little snarky, and I was trying to put on a happy smile.   We walked down the pathway to the covered area, and on our way back my youngest daughter starting to skip. “Come on Mom.   You skip too!”   I realized I looked ridiculous skipping with her back to the park, but I have to admit it was helping my attitude just a tad.   She started giggling because in her mind she made her old mom skip.   We both started to laugh; perhaps for a brief instant we had a picture perfect mother daughter moment.   Until, and I don’t know why now, I purposely got off the path.   As a result I twisted my ankle badly, came down hard on my opposite knee, and collapsed hard on the pavement.   I could feel the pavement inside of the palms of my hands where...

  I remember talking to my mother in my teen years about how I wished God would just give us some kind of map or statement, ‘Like so and so is who you’re supposed to marry, and this is what career path you’re supposed to choose, etc. etc.”   Here I am probably 20 years later and I have still yet to see that map.   Don’t get me wrong, God always tells us what His plan for us is as we need to know.   Y’all should know me by now that Isaiah 30:21 is one of my favorite scriptures on the planet. 21 “ And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left ” God will absolutely direct His people!   But often He doesn’t always fill in the gaps, doesn’t tell you the next step until you need it, and as Bill Hamon says, ‘is often stingy on the details’.   LOL! As easy as it is to sometimes get frustrated in the place of seeking God for direction, I think we of...

On Saturday my daughter’s and I went shopping.   My oldest had wanted some boots and she was ready to find a pair.   We went to Ross.   I love Ross Stores.   My oldest daughter was quick to find a pair she liked.   It was at that moment I realized our mistake.   She was going boot shopping and was wearing flip flops…i.e. no socks.   So I took off my shoes, and gave her my socks. Quickly my oldest finds two pairs she likes.   We agree to put them both in the cart for the time being and decide later on which ones she’d get. While all this is going on, I realize we should have gotten a cart.   So I put my shoes on sockless and leave my youngest daughter with my oldest daughter and walk across the store to get a cart.   When I came back to the shoe aisle my oldest daughter is standing in the middle of the aisle looking as if she’s ready to cry.   “Mom!   Someone ...

              When I was right out of high school, I got involved with an Outdoor Ministry and I was supposed to be a camp counselor for a week.   Long story short though I knew God wanted me to do this week ministry trip; they didn’t call me to go.   Soon I was within days away from when I was supposed to be somewhere and I still hadn’t gotten a phone call.               In pondering this I felt the Lord nudge me saying, “Why haven’t you packed to leave yet?”               I wanted to respond, “Duh God.”   But I didn’t.   Instead, “God they haven’t called me yet.   I don’t know this is official.”             “Did I tell you that you were going to go?”   He asked me.       ...

              I’m going to get up on a bit of a soapbox this morning.   While this isn’t a topic I address much I just felt the need to here for this blog.   The issue I want to discuss is women in ministry.   I can’t tell you everyone’s journey, but I can tell you mine.               God called me into ministry through a divine encounter when I was in the 6 th grade.   Many have heard me retell this story over and over again.   The idea of ever facing issues about it due to gender never occurred to me.   However, it didn’t take too long for the opposition begin to pour in.   I have been told by a particular denominational group that I couldn’t have a call of God on my life because I was a woman.   I have been told the same by another church who is so religious about the subject that won’t even let women teach boys pas...

  I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet or not, but God is in the mountain removal business.   For some that are not familiar with the terminology, I am not just talking about a physical mountain here; though removing of a physical mountain is possible.   But I’m speaking of an obstacle; something that you can’t see around that is blocking your vision of what is beyond it. This morning in prayer this scripture kept rising up in my spirit. Psalm 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord , before the Lord of all the earth. That’s a pretty awesome image if you think about it, but then as I meditated on it I began to think about the word of God.   God’s power is on the inside of me.   He told me that I could move mountains too, and so can you! Matthew 17:20 He said to the m, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain , ‘Move fro...

  I have a new found love of hair chalk; The non-permanent wear it once funky hair colors that ideally wash right out in one washing.   On Saturday I was blessed to go to the Holy Land to speak at a youth event (JCHLE) and I decided to give myself purple tips with a chunk of hot pink right above it.   I loved it.   My youngest daughter who is very fair and very blonde begged me to put teal stripes in her hair.   I gladly obliged. We had a wonderful event.   My youngest begged me to let her keep her hair like that for church on Sunday and willingly we let her. It was Sunday night we discovered the issue.   While the hair chalk washes right out of my hair, it left some lingering color on my daughter’s hair.   So I sweetly told her to try washing it again this morning.   She did.   I would say about 70% of its out, but I sent her to school this morning with some teal still lingering.   They have a crazy hair day coming up whe...

  There are many going through a season right now where God is relocating and shifting them into new places and seasons.   It can be an exciting time, but it can also be a little scary and frustrating.   I think that many Christians live their lives in fear.   They are afraid of missing God and His will for their lives.   That fear becomes bondage, and isn’t from God.   A dear friend of mine reminded me this week of a quote from one of my hero’s in the faith, Hank Kunneman.   He says that “God’s ability to talk to you is greater than your inability to hear”.   Meaning God will talk to you, and He will lead you.   You have to trust in that.   As I look back on my life and I think of some of the wild divine stories he has orchestrated in my life, it gives me great courage to know that somehow despite all my questions and lack of a clear picture at times, God still got me right where I needed to go.   When you stay sensi...