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!” 

50+ Ways To Treat Yourself With Love

Hi! Valentine is over, isn’t it? How are you feeling today? I mean, how are YOU really feeling? Are you being kind to yourself? Have you compared yourself to someone else today? Are you going on and about the past? I honestly want to know.

As Christians, we have definitely read the commandment,“Love Your Neighbour As Yourself.” Yeah? Great. Today’s article emphasizes‘As Yourself’ because how can you love your neighbour as yourself when you don’t even know how to treat yourself with love?

How To Practise Self-Care Using the 5 Love Languages

Yep. It’s post Valentine’s Day, let’s treat ourselves to top-notch self-care by diving into the five love languages and how you can practice them on yourself.

The concept was originally created by Gary Chapman in his book, The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, based on his experience facilitating marriage counselling. Essentially what he found out was that couples expressed love in different ways, and if they weren’t clear on how the other person liked to receive love, chances are there was a disconnect in the relationship.

I completely agree with Gary.

Everyone gives and receives love differently. And I’m not just talking about relationships…I’m talking about loving yourself, too! Your love language can also translate into a self care love language and can guide which activities will be most rewarding for you.

Wait.

Appearing in Light and Glamour

Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2024! You made it! You are still standing strong. 

Year of Showing

I would love to go straight into word declaration for 2024, but I think it’s wise to share a glimpse of my review for 2023. 

I have consciously and consistently created the system of defining my year with a word or a phrase as I receive divine blueprint throughout the year. From ‘Basking in Glory' to 'Prepare Your Heart', to 'Decide To Decide', etc., my journey has been incredibly beautiful to behold. 

However, last year took me by surprise. When I declared “New Hair, New Me,” I limited my definition and understanding to SELF-CARE. I assumed God was telling me that my port-partum hair breakage was going to stop and I will dwell and bask in pampering myself and all things associated with getting my natural hair back. 

Lol. Jesus Iye!!!

2023 took a TOTALLY DIFFERENT turn. Yes, you could say it was a year for self-care but it was actually self-care pro max-max!!!

New Hair, New Me

Welcome to a brand new blog post written by a blogger wearing a brand new hair in a brand new Year! Yipeee! 

Happy New Hair

Riding through the waves of last year was as one would say. . .very chaotic but I made it through the storm. I welcomed a lot of big changes and one of them was to birth another human being and I am super grateful that I did! Glory to God!

It was 4 weeks following the birth of my daughter. I brushed my hair and was quite shocked to see a large amount of hair attached to the bristles of my brush.

I had been forewarned about it, but this was worse than I imagined. By ‘it’, I mean postpartum hair loss. 

10 Practical Ways To Unlock Your Creativity in 2025

I want you to be able to look in the mirror and feel incredibly proud of the person looking back at you. This is to everyone who is committed to growing, refining their craft, and elevating their art, 2025 promises to be even better for you. Let’s dive into some practical steps to make 2025 your most creative year yet.

Unlock Your Creativity For 2025

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There are some things that I did in 2024 that I’ll work on even harder in 2025.

1. Self-Reflection

The first step in creating something remarkable is taking a step back to reflect.  

Why it matters:

• Understand where you are and where you’re coming from.  
• Define where you want to go next.  

Self-reflection is your compass—it reveals truths about your journey without sugarcoating them. As I worked on every project, I constantly asked myself:  

• Am I creating work I’m proud of?  
• Is this the path that aligns with my full potential?  

These reflections helped me refine my direction and focus.  

Meanwhile, AMAKAMEDIA PRODUCTIONS produced her very first movie. Go watch it on YouTube. 😊

2. Outline Your Creative Goals

Your ideas need structure to thrive. Once you’ve reflected, it’s time to turn those thoughts into actionable goals.  

Remember:

- Write your goals down. Ideas in your head are just dreams until they’re on paper.  

- Set goals that align with your creative vision, not to impress others.  

- Include timelines, action plans, and milestones.  

- Be honest about your capacity and priorities.  

3. Commit to Reading

Reading inspires creativity, expands your imagination, and improves your discipline.  

 I immersed myself in books about Self-Mastery, Parenting, storytelling, and business. Those books didn’t just inform me—they fired me up in various ways. 

Create a reading list for 2025. Include books, articles, and even scripts that challenge and inspire you.  

DIARY: I'm Weird Like That. It's A Gift

If you’re on the journey of self-discovery, finding your purpose, following your passion, enjoying your life, or living your dreams, people are going to think you’re weird.

Trust me, it’s a step in the right direction. 

Weirdness Is A Gift

I was pretending to be weird. And before I knew it, I became a weirdo.

Being weird is to stand out from the crowd, to separate yourself from the world. 

REVIEW: Make-up

...should a Christian wear make-up?

"Hmmm! let's hear what she's going to say!" I should guess that's your reaction on this page, right? of course, I'm not wrong.

"Make-up is the in-thing now."

"make-up is make-up. Everybody wears make-up. The powder, body cream, hair cream, lip gloss and blah blah blah are all part of make-up" says the girls next door. You too?

7 Thought-Provoking Quotes For Entrepreneurs And Career People On Balancing Work And Life

It’s important to enjoy your job, and being purpose-driven is also great. However, we should not become so engrossed in our career and just neglect other aspects of our life.

I hope these quotes resonate with you.

Quotes On Work-Life Balance

#1

Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter

“Take care of yourself: When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers. Love those close to you: Failure of your company is not failure in life. Failure in your relationship is.” 

RELATIONSHIP: How To Deal With Being Horny As A Christian Single

Lol. Yeah, we all get horny! It doesn't make any difference if you're a virgin or not. Our hormones do not care whether we are born again or not. They do not care whether we have the Holy Spirit in us or not. They do what they do . . . drive us crazy!

Dealing With Your Sex Drive

I am not supposed to say this, but I will: I told one of my boyfriends that I was horny. And he was beyond surprised, "you get horny too?"

Yes, honey. We get as horny as you guys do.

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.

Stop Disturbing My Life

Hi sweeties! How are you today? The weather is so cool over here. There is a gentle breeze coming through the window in my little cozy room. Hmm .  .  . *inhales slowly* I am enjoying a breathe of fresh air.

Lemme tell you about it. :)

Do Not Disturb

I am a calm person. I hate drama.

A-ha! Remembering that I told I do have a dramatic personality yesterday, and then saying that I hate drama today sounds a bit awkward to me. Lol. There are two different things, you know that. Right?

DIARY: "You Are As Beautiful As A Butterfly"

A reflection on being likened to a butterfly and the grace that entails.

As A Butterfly

Me: *closes eyes to pray with tears in her eyes*

God: I have come on the wings of the wind to meet with you, My heart is aching, longing, desiring. My very being yearns to commune. O, how I have missed you.

Me: Lord . . .

God: You are no longer held captive in a cocoon, no longer hidden. It is time to fly with freedom under the protection of My mighty wings as you rise to see My face, as it flows with goodness and glory.

Me: I don't know why he . . . 

God: Awakening is here. Love is awakened, My beloved, swinging wide the doors of opportunity, favour, mercy, glory, and honour. Embrace it.

Careful Or Carefree?

Hello sweeties! Welcome to another week. I hope you are fine? I am good and I give all glory to God. I want us to analyze something together today. I hope you will find it "inspiring". :D

Carefree Vs Careful

Sometimes when I'm discussing topics I feel strongly about, I'd say things I didn't know (or think I knew) before then. 

And I be like: "Where did that come from??"

The Memorial Stones In Your Journey To The Promised Land

When life is going well, we are tempted to think that we can pretty much take care of ourselves. We tend to neglect God after getting our blessings, our victory.

The PYH Series: Joshua 4.

The Memorial Stones

The major take for me in Joshua chapter 4 is that God wants us, His people to ALWAYS remember what He has done.

3 Awesome Blessings For The Unemployed

This is the second part of 'How To Stay Hopeful While Searching For A Job'.

Yes, I'm an entrepreneur. But I am also somewhere between having a job and no job.

Blessed Are The Unemployed

After the interview, days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, yet I heard nothing from anyone.

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.

5 Shocking Realities You Discover As You Journey Through Life

We all get drilled with certain lessons in life. Sometimes it takes repeated expressions to really get it into you, and other times one powerful experience drives the point home forever. Here are 5 shocking things I’ve discovered about life at this point in my life.

5 Shocking Realities

Realities are always shocking.

For some, in their reality, it is marriages being delayed. You had wanted to be married at certain age, but you're now older and wondering.

For some, in their reality, it is child birth being delayed. You had wanted to have a baby immediately after, but not yet.

For some, in their reality, it is finding a job being difficult. You know you're smart but no organization has seen that. 

For some, it is getting into school taking a toll. So many things you can't explain.

We realize these "realities" mostly when we are alone and it can be disappointing than shocking. 

Shocking reality literally shocks you to the bones and marrow. It shakes your view about life. It's a rude awakening.

Shocking reality, to me, is when I realize what I believed in few years ago as reality was just an assumption. Here are 5 of them:

RELATIONSHIP: Rock Your "Singlehood" Before You Get Married

In case you're wondering why I should be talking about being single on a love-relationship Wednesday, may I let you know that being single is a relationship too. Yelx. Listen. 

Rock Your Singlehood

Please, don’t start looking at me as a hypocrite that is going back and forth between being in a relationship with someone and being single altogether. It's not because Jerry left. Please . . .

RELATIONSHIP: Nobody Likes Me!

First of all, this title is not true! It is either because you forgot those who love you, or you might need to find more people who do. Perhaps, you might also need to love yourself a little more.

Feeling Like Nobody Likes You?

Emotions come in cycles, and each time we go through different feelings almost at the same time.

One minute we feel so loved and cared for, the next minute we feel so lonely and unloved. It's normal, I have come to believe.

12 Reasons Why You Should Dress Up (Or Be A Fashionista)

About two weeks ago, someone made a comment that got me thinking deeply about the things we wear and WHY we wear them. The person was indirectly asking "why are YOU looking so gorgeous?" as if wearing something cute that makes you feel good is a "weird" thing to do!

Being a blogger (lol), I was inspired to make a post to help you in those awkward moments where you're being asked why you wear what you wear too.

Why Dress Up

Quite a number of people assume you need to follow the latest trends to be fashionable, but nah. If you mix a plain white t-shirt with denim one day and a black pencil skirt another day, you've got two outfits right there!

All it takes is for you to be creative and intentional.