Anna M. Aquino

“Your passion dwindling out isn't Father's fault either. You can't blame that on Him. He has you in Merchant for a reason. You may not see it yet. But there is purpose. Father always has a purpose.”

“I looked up at the wall. My bachelor's degree had been in History. Films like Back to the Future and Quantum Leap had been some of my favorite programs. Could time travel really be possible? This seemed too unreal.”

“Ninja Mom's have to learn that when they mess up, they get right back up again.”

“I remember my father, who had served in Vietnam, once talking to me about how real courage is when you're scared out of your mind but you do what you have to do anyway. I didn't feel very courageous at the moment. I felt like a small mouse in the mouth of a lion.”

“There is a lost and dying world out there. They need to see that the Church is different from their socially-segregated high schools. They need to see a 'family' operating as a team, not a bunch of cliques playing a role.”

“Ninja's understand that training time is never wasted time.”

“Gossip is multiplying like breeding rabbits in the Church today. We may pretend it isn't, but we're only lying to ourselves. We like to put pretty little bows on it in the Church today. We like saying that we're just passing on some information so that so-and-so can be prayed for by our other sister. We like to justify it in our heads, but sin is sin so I'm going to call it that.”

“Some battles take more than one ninja to win.”

“Ninja Mom's know that God has never left them!”

“Ninja mom's understand that life is a balancing act, and in order to keep the balance they have to learn to enjoy the moment!”

“In your life, the people become like a patchwork quilt. Some leave with you a piece that is bigger than you wanted and others smaller than you thought you needed. Some are that annoying itchy square in the corner, and others that piece of worn flannel. You leave pieces with some and they leave their pieces with you. All the while each and every square makes up a part of what is you. Be okay with the squares people leave you. For life is too short to expect from people what they do not have to give, or were not called to give you.”

“You are a victorious ninja because God created you that way!”

“In order for us to become the Bride of Christ, we must stop being so divided. We must start coming together. We must be places of refuge for the nonbelievers and start being places they want to come. That doesn't mean that we will always agree on everything, but we must start pursuing unity.”

“The couch and I were what I would describe as frenemies. I loved to hate it. It was too small for my frame. I had tried to tell my wife that fact when we bought it off of Craigslist, but she assured me that it went perfectly with our room decor and it was a good deal.”

“When new believers come into the Church-when the young and innocent who are so full of life come in-we must treat them with honor and respect. We must be careful not to violate them in anyway. We are held accountable for their spiritual growth.”

“We used to live in a society where if we saw one person struggling in our boat, we'd all stop what we were doing and help that person. We'd all work together as a team. In today's world, we see that person struggling in the boat, feel glad it's not us, and pick them up and throw them in the water. We just don't really care about each other anymore.”

“Selfishness is the root of all jealousy. When we are caught up thinking about ourselves, we can't think about anyone else.”

“Having true compassion for people isn't about the words that are spoken and the actions that are done. Having true compassion is an attitude from the heart that can't be faked.”

“God isn't looking for a bunch of actors. He is looking for people who are sold out to His plan and purpose.”

“Accuracy is not the measure of a true prophet. You will know the true prophets by their fruit.”