Ten Years Later, Still Radiating Heart Rays (Birthday/Blogiversary)

Happy 10th blogiversary! It's hard to believe that I started this blog ten years ago. 

Ten years of sharing my story and shinning my light! Ten years of being authentically connected with you! Ten years of having you on my mind! Crazy, right!? 

Plus, Happy Birthday to me! 

Happy 10th Blogiversary

When I began this blog in 2014, I was just dipping my toe into the writing waters. I considered myself a poet, weaving words into rhyme, not being aware it was God who was connecting the dots and giving my life its rhythm.

In some ways, it feels like the years have sped by, but at the same time, a lot of life has been lived in those years! What remains consistent is the faithfulness of our God. He has moved in incredible ways than I can ever imagine. 

As published on June 26, 2014.
I launched out to the public - Heart Rays.

How do I start to express how much has changed since I first hit the publish button on Blogger? To get a sense of this journey, you might enjoy looking back at my previous Blogiversary posts:

• 2015: The 1st blogging year
• 2016: The 2nd blogging year
• 2017: The 3rd blogging year

I’d love to give you a brief history of the evolution of the blog but I wouldn’t want to keep you much longer. If I poured my heart into this as I’d wished to, you'd see how I've transformed—from single to married, jobless to self-employed, broken to whole, and everything in between, all while sharing my journey. If you're truly interested, I encourage you to explore the archives. There's a lot to discover!

Writing From Scratch Is No Longer Scratching, Is It?

I do not promote myself enough. No, scratch that. I do not market my products and services enough. It’s high time I started hyping up my own enterprise. 

Let me know if it’s working. ;)

‘I Write’ or ‘AI Right’

Recently, someone asked me why I had not been churning out content as I was doing before I got married. I laughed and I was surprised by the sound of that laughter.

Prior to that moment, such question would have taken me aback. I would have beaten myself up for not producing fruits as much as I wanted to. Thankfully, I had grown into a woman who knows what she has been called to bear in this season. 

If it was not because the question came right after a heartfelt appreciation of how one of my blog posts had helped her out, I would not have bothered with a response. However, I gave a reply stating that my content focus had evolved into videos and encouraged her to subscribe to my YouTube channel. 

Perhaps the reply was not satisfactory enough. This person now mistakenly said: Ahan, there is ChatGPT to help you create content nah. You can even transcribe your videos to text with AI.

I laughed again. But this time, the laughter was a private moment within me. No one heard it.

New Job Jitters? A Guide to Navigating Your First Day with Confidence and Success

I recently read an article I wrote that was titled "The First Day At A New Job", and I couldn't help smiling. Little Amaka has grown into a Senior Executive in the PR/Media Industry. Lol. Yeah, I’m back to full-time employment. :)

How To Survive Your First Day At A New Job

Starting a new job can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. As you prepare to enter a new working environment, you may feel uncertain about what to expect and how to navigate your new role. But don't worry - with the right mindset and approach, you can make your first day at a new job a success.

As someone who has been through this experience before, I have some advice for those of you who may be starting a new job soon. Here are some tips to help you survive your first day at a new job:

1. Come with an open mind

One of the most important things you can do on your first day at a new job is to come with an open mind. Be willing to learn, to ask questions, and to take on new challenges. Remember that you are there to grow and develop in your career, and that will require a willingness to be open to new ideas and ways of doing things.

How To Pour From An Empty Cup When You’ve Been Called

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”? Oh, well. It is not written in the Bible and I have been asked to inspire you so that you can destroy that empty cup - the particular one you’ve been trying to fill.

Pouring Yourself

As a Christian. Wife. Mother of two beautiful girls. Author, blogger, teacher, speaker, and book lover. I am heavy on SELF CARE this year. I said it here. Yeah.

HeartRays (This blog) has been my safe space to share all things Christian - singlehood, (un)employment, marriage, fashion, motherhood and conservative issues since 2014. I believe in bold truth-telling, authenticity and purposeful living.

Each time I am privileged to look back on this journey, I am utterly thankful and filled with courage to just keep showing up. Blogging is a form of self-care. I only realized this a few minutes ago. Immediately I decided to draft this blog post, I started getting it.

It was a lightbulb moment when I realized that sharing my life (whether by writing, speaking or taking photographs) is a form of self care. I imagined it like a cup being poured out and the Holy Spirit tells me, “no girl, rivers of living water are flowing out of you!” 

DIARY: November To Remember (2021)

As you know, it’s been my custom every year since 2017 to share each day in November  with you by a sentence or two.

November To Revival

I tagged November 2021 as “Revival”. Everything on my mind was leading me to get my fire back. For some reasons, I felt as though I wasn’t burning or even if I was, then I wasn’t burning hot enough. I was becoming lethargic and complacent in a number of things that I was too tired of using “nursing mother” as an excuse. 

I can’t fast. Why? I’m a nursing mother.

I can’t attend this and that. Why? I’m a nursing mother.

I can’t do this and that now. Why? I’m a nursing mother. 

Days before the start of the month, I decided to decide that this year’s November To Remember would be a REVIVAL. 

Are You Thinking: "Would I Miss Being 20-Something Again?"

It's 3 days to turning 30. Whoop-whoop! Do women get excited about growing old. Lol. I must be weird like that.

Saying Goodbye To My 20s

20s feel like they started yesterday. I have great memories about everything I felt from my 20th birthday up until now. I think it's because I am very intuitive.

I feel things deeply.

I am fully aware of what I feel when I feel it.

Writing In Your Diary Helps You Keep Track Of Your Life

It's a new day! What a great day to be alive! Thanks for joining me on this journey of keeping track of my life. I will be 30 on the 26th day of the coolest month of the year. And I have been sharing my lessons from being a 20-something right at the start of June.

This is the fifteenth lesson. I hope it inspires you in some way. Happy reading!

God Has A Track Record In My Life

At 15, I got a diary as a birthday gift. Ever since, I have not stopped keeping a diary.

Each year, I got myself a private diary to pour out my emotions, say what I would have said to a best friend, and just write.

At 24, I launched this blog as a birthday gift to myself. I didn't exactly know what I was doing but I knew it was the best thing to do at the time. I wanted to share my feelings and thoughts with the world.

Writing Is Prophetic

I’ve learned over the years that the exact same thing can happen when I write.

Prophetic Writing

I often find that when I sit with a pen and paper, if I anticipate that the Holy Spirit will give me something to write, He does. I receive thought impressions and visual images in my mind and write them as I receive them. It's prophetic.

Sometimes I don't even understand what I had written until days or weeks later.

Prophetic writing isn’t spooky or weird. It’s pretty normal. And with a little practice, it can become a beautiful way to communicate God’s heart to others.

It's 10 Days To My 30th Birthday! I Wrote Another Book!

Hi, hi! I will be hitting thirty on the 26th day of the coolest month of the year. And I have been sharing my lessons from being a 20-something since the beginning of this month. They are all HERE.

Twenty Pieces

I present to you the cover of my second book. Whoop!

My plan was to reveal everything on this blog, but God gave me a bigger one. This is nothing like what you have been reading on the #20Pieces20 blog series. Well, may be it is.

Being in my 20s was puzzling. It was a decade full of questions and quests as I try to figure out everything — who am I? Am I really in love with them? What am I doing with my life? What do I want my career to look like?

How to Start a New Lifestyle Blog and Stay Committed for Years

Hi, my name is Amaka. I've been blogging since 2014 and loving every moment of it. Blogging helped me find my voice, get a job and earn money on the side.

When I was learning how to create a blog back in 2014, it took me some time to find all the right information online and I had to look for it on different websites. That's why I've created this blog post to teach beginners how to make a blog fast and easy.

It's not as complicated as many people think.

Starting A Blog in this Season

Many people have walked up to me asking about how they can start their blogs too. I thought it would do a lot of good to put it out here on the blog.

First of all, I must let you know that blogging is hard work. It requires patience, consistency and passion. A lot of that. Without passion, I probably would have stopped blogging the following year.

If your primary goal for wanting to start a blog is to make money, then I'm sorry to let you know that this article would not be useful for you. However, if you are striving for living a significant and purposeful life, then you are in for a ride!

Yay! I have Birthed My First Book

So. . .yeah! I wrote a book. As if the title of this post didn't tell you enough. I wrote a whole book! Oh my! Everything that has led up to this moment, and everything that’s yet to come has left me completely in awe. I can't believe it!

I Present To You 'He Wasn't My Husband'

Clap. Clap. Clap.

I can't stop thinking about how impossible it is to have my name and face on a book cover. I dreamt of this. Yes, I did! And I am not sure about what to do now because I am too excited.

First, I was scared. I was scared about writing. Who will read it? I had no idea how to write a book. I wasn’t confident that my story would be interesting, or worse, that anyone would read it. Exposure was also a great fear. I kept worrying over what will my mum think? What will my friends say? Thankfully, I overcame that phase.

Relationships That Don't Lead To Marriage Become Lessons

Is it painful to end a relationship? Yes, of course. It’s never easy to break up with someone, especially with the one you have grown quite close to and pictured the future with. But I’m convinced it is even much less painful than spending the rest of your life being miserable in a marriage.

He Was Your Life-Lessons

Image By: Ogamars Creatives

I dated many cute guys. Some of them in my mind and most of them in real life.

They were not all bad guys. In fact, most of them had many good qualities. We genuinely cared about each other and had fun together. But in each relationship, there were things that didn’t feel quite right.

In some relationships, I found myself compromising some of my values to match with that guy’s. In other relationships, I began to think that some of the things I had wanted in a husband were perhaps more wishful thinking than things that could actually be.

Do nice, sensitive, funny, godly men still exist? I would ask myself.

Anticipate! HWMH Is Coming!

As my birthday draws near, I find myself reflecting on life — the laughs, the love and the memories. 

#HWMH Is Coming Soon

I am a memory keeper. 

I have always been a memory keeper. I record real stories through pictures and words and I LOVE it! I love it so much that it has become a part of my job.

We all love to reminisce. That’s part of life. And as long as we keep moving forward, we realize how important it is to look back with laughter and happiness at the great blessings in our lives.

Dear Diary, I've Got Something To Tell You

I’m staring at this blank page and thinking: This is one of the most important things you’ll ever write. Be brave, Amaka. Steady. Clear. Shameless. Gentle. True.

There Is Someone Now

I will pretend it’s just the two of us here in the kitchen. I’m making us toast bread. I pass a tray to you and ask you to come sit down on the bed with me. You follow me into my room, we sit down and I am looking at you. I can see that you’re nervous because you’ve figured out I’m about to tell you something important. So I quickly say: I'm fine. Everybody is fine. All is well. We are all okay.

We are. And yet.

Then you look at me with your eyes wide open, not knowing what to ask. Your expression does not tell me whether you are confused or surprised. You are quiet and look quite interested in what I am about to tell you . So I slowly say: I met someone.

Dear Diary, I Feel Heavily Pregnant

How can someone who's never ever been physically pregnant understand the feeling of pregnancy? Well, thank God for Google and the likes. I am reading everything about the feeling that comes from the expectancy of a new born baby. So it is relate-able.

Will This Baby Ever Be Born?

I've been "pregnant" so many times. Pregnant with a word. Pregnant with a vision. Pregnant with a dream. Pregnant with a promise. And in all my pregnancies, I have come to understand that timing is VERY important. In fact, timing is everything.

Life exists in time. Time is the river of Life. God gives us Time as the medium for carrying out our life’s assignment. To every purpose, there is a timing; to every assignment, an appointment. To fulfill destiny, God packaged us in the entity called “Time”. To live out the promise, God prepares you for the time.

Sometimes the spiritual pregnancy is long and hard. Sometimes it's frustrating. Sometimes you just feel like you are going to bust wide open. Sometimes the labour pains feel like too much to bear. Sometimes you don't feel like pushing any more.

Some pregnancy end in tears. Some birth bundles of joy. Some come with pain. Some birth streams of opportunities.

People Don't Read Blogs Anymore

I know people don’t read because what I write is so often not the trending societal issues or more often than not, about me. It can get really boring, yeah? You don't have to tell me. I know.

#BringBackOurBlogReaders

I have a special kind of love for those who read my blog. In fact, I have a special name for them — SWEETHEARTS. They are one of the best groups of creative humans with a heart so sweet that they enjoy the atmosphere of Heart Rays.

I miss quite a number of them 😢

Why I Don't Blog Everyday

"You are not a serious blogger if you don't blog everyday". "You can't be successful as a blogger if you don't blog everyday."

And those words made me bit my lip.

Not Blogging Everyday Works For Me

A digital expert and news blogger, who happens to be my boss highlighted on the fact that big blogs rank well on search engines because they tend to post more frequently with fresh content. He said the more posts you publish per day, the higher your chance of achieving higher traffic rank.

I've heard that before. But hearing it again at this time got to me.

5 Odd Things That I'm Currently Loving

70% of the time my content is planned out by a time table and I like my posts to have a general theme and message. But sometimes it's fun to just have a chat about random things. So that is exactly what I'm doing today, just sharing 5 of my most favourite things of the moment.

Things I'm Loving (Part 2)

1. Being Single

Although I am single, yet technically I always hadn't. I've always had some guy who had to play the role of a boyfriend. But lately, I'm enjoying being totally single.

Dear Diary, Blogging Changes Me

"Why do you blog?" Sometimes I wonder why I’m bothering too. I mean, what’s the point?

Blogging Changes Me

Through the course of my life, I’ve embraced a number of different hobbies: reading, singing, voicing, hosting, modelling, sewing, just to name a few. But none of them have changed my life or brought me as much fulfilment as blogging.

In too many ways to count, blogging has changed me and the way I LIVE life.

Diary: I Am Too Tired To Write Today

Hi. I am so so sorry for not putting up a post on PYH Series yesterday. Forgive me, please. I had an extremely busy weekend. By Sunday night, honestly, blogging was the last thing on my mind.

So, instead of writing in my diary, my diary was writing to me. Lol.

How To Write When You’re Too Tired

Hey!

What is the problem?

If you’re telling yourself that you’re too busy to write, then you really have to take a deeper look at what’s really going on in your life.