Announcement: I’ve moved!

annamoran.wordpress.com will no longer be updated. Most of my blogs have been erased. Eventually, all blogs will be on this site will be erased.

I have moved to my very own www.annamoran.com.

I hope to see you there!

Night and Day

24 hours in one day, is that enough?

I tweeted just now wishing to have more hours in a day. I have been thinking lately how I want to be able to do more and accomplish more. I want to be able to have more hours during the night with my husband to talk, to watch dvds, or just to be with each other. I wish that I can have more time to be with everyone I want and need to be with too. Sometimes I feel 24 hours is not enough to be all that I want and need to be— a wife, a mom, a homemaker, a friend, and everything else. I hate ending my day feeling a lot has been left undone.

Thank God for His infinite wisdom. If it were left to me, I would just tire myself out everyday and I will not have the discipline to stop, or to rest, or to simply enjoy the day that God gave me.

I read this verse this morning– Genesis 1:14 And God said, ” Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them mark seasons and days and years.”

and Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

This was a good reminder and a gentle rebuke for me. God gave me 24 hours in one day. God gave me night and day to remind me that I start the day in faith and I end the day in faith. I am not supposed to carry the burden of making my day work or being all that I think I am expected to be. I start the day in faith knowing that He directs my path, and that I am only called to do what He wants me to do, and  His grace is sufficient for me to be all that I am called to be. And I end the day in faith knowing that I can rest and that He is in charge and in control of my life, not me. I can sleep because He is there looking after me and the affairs of my life.

And during the day, during the night, during the seasons of my life, I choose to be at rest. I choose to trust. I choose to be in faith.

And my hope is that at the end of each day, I have lived in such a way that honors and pleases Him.

And another day will come and start, and ultimately end again too. I wanna learn and relearn how to love each day (and all that it brings) as it comes and goes.

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

(Random) Thoughts and (Practical) Tips:

1. This portion which I just thought of now is probably going to be part of my blogs. This is way better than having unorganized side comments.

2. Regardless of how much you try to accomplish in one day, there is always more to be done. That is why having wisdom when to start and stop is crucial.

3. I have learned this principle: Decide early on. And this works for me and I highly suggest this. Decide early on what your priorities are, what you stand for, who are important in your life, what are your non-negotiables, who you live for. It is so much easier and simpler to make decisions if you have decided on these matters before hand.

Just to give you an example…this is what I have decided early on: Love God above all else and honor him in everything that I do, in every aspect of my life (1st priority). Love, respect, support and serve JA (2nd priority). Love, serve, equip and train Andi and my future kids (3rd priority).

4. Start by having some alone and quiet time with God, and read His Word. This is the best time management/decision making strategy that you can ever make. He is the one who gave you this day to live. And it is a gift. It is but wisest that you ask Him first how He wants you to go about your day.

And as a parent, I love it when my daughter Andi comes to me, hugs me, and spends time with me when she wakes up. I know our Heavenly Father awaits for us, and longs for that undivided time we spend with Him.

Big Dreams, Small Beginnings

All great things start from something small.
So I want to encourage you…

If you have an idea, go ahead, nurture it.
If you have talents and skills, go ahead, use and develop them.
If you have something that you are passionate about, go ahead, fuel that fire.
If you have a dream, go ahead, live it out.

One of the things that excite me the most is seeing people live out their destinies and becoming the best they could be. I believe most have lost the desire to do great things. Just imagine if every person in this world would want to be excellent and stop living mediocre lives.

I used to dream of being a world-class singer, but I stopped singing when I was 12. I used to think maybe I could play the piano, but I stopped learning after a month or two playing it. I used to want to pursue ballet, but after one recital and one person’s discouraging comment, I stopped dancing.

I dream of becoming a writer and impart to millions around the world. I read books of Stormie O’Martian, Elizabeth George, Elisabeth Elliot, and even Martha Stewart and deep in my heart, I am hoping and praying that someday I could do what they are doing too.

So here I am, almost 30 and I am now writing. And I am determined now not to stop. I have taken one small step, and I continue to take these small steps everyday. And only God knows where He is going to take me.
All I know is that regardless of where this leads me, I am glad I have decided to start anyway.

I dream of having a beautiful and loving family, a strong and happy marriage and to raise up children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who will live for God and do great things in their lives for Him. I am living that out now, every day being JA’s wife and being Andi’s mom. And everyday, every decision is a small step towards that dream.

Small steps, that is where it starts.

Keep on going, you are going to get there.

If you are going to dream, go ahead, dream big.

I decide to dream big because the possibilities are endless, and my God is limitless.

Space

Space

Side notes:

1. I have other dreams that I have decided not to disclose, just yet. But I know in God’s perfect time, I will start to live them out too.

2. Have a vision for your life. The Bible says, without vision, people perish. This is another topic altogether, and maybe I can write about it another time.

3. I mentioned that I wanted to be a singer, and there were so many other dreams that I had when I was a child. I used to want to become a grade school teacher too, but for the wrong reasons. I just wanted a lot of gifts every Christmas. Anyway, upon hindsight, it was a blessing that those dreams did not materialize. I know now that those were not for me. My only point there was, I wish at that time I had the guts to keep on trying. At least I will not have any regrets or what ifs.

4. I need to mention this. All of us, each one of us has a purpose in life. God made all of us unique and special and we have a role to fill. You may be trying to figure it out the way I did it for most of my life, doing hit or miss. I was clueless and I didn’t know what I was made for. And it is difficult to live without purpose.

My point is this. Get to know your Maker, so that He can tell you who are and what you were made to do.

5. God’s timing is perfect. God works through seasons. One major lesson that I have learned is that God makes us go through a process. Great things do not happen overnight. He molds us, He prunes us, and the fulfillment of our dreams and His promises come when we are ready.

6. Determine the non-negotiables. Ultimately our lives are meant to please and honor God. Our dreams were from God and are for God. It is not about us and it will never be about us. Our families too should not be sacrificed or be left behind for the sake of pursuing a dream.

Andi loves to paint

7. If you notice the books and authors that inspire me to write, they are women who share about their faith, family (marriage, parenting, motherhood), and lifestyle (homemaking, home management, cooking, food, hosting, etc). I have just realized it just now that those are exactly why I purposefully themed my site and my blogs to be. I guess that is who I am. Naturally that is what I end up sharing about.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ” –Mark Twain

Proverbs 15:33b …Humility comes before honor.

Job 8: 7 Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous your future be.

Jeremiah 29:11″ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”