Out of My Comfort Zone at MIBF 2025

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Yey! I did it again this year. I participated in MIBF 2025 as a writer and a reader.

For those who are unfamiliar with MIBF, it stands for Manila International Book Fair and is an annual event that many Filipino readers and writers eagerly anticipate. As a reader and writer, I have always been excited to participate in this event, especially if I have the budget (haha).

And this year has been, so far, my best experience of MIBF. And good news for those who know me: I stepped out of my comfort zone, or at least I tried, even if only for an hour, and I want to praise God for that!

With the help of PaperKat Books and Ms. Kath, I was able to book an hour of meet-the-writer and a book signing event during the MIBF 2025.

Initially, I only planned to consign my latest book, The Restless Mind, and hope for the best of its sales. I am scared to be on the frontline of the meet-the-writer and a book-signing event. But then, there was this desire to try the book signing activity. I took the risk. I thought I had nothing to lose, and it was not like I was going to do something bad or illegal.

"I am just gonna put myself out there, and be a little vulnerable in the eyes of spectators." I thought to myself.

So, yes, I did! I had the book signing and meet-the-writer activity with PaperKat Books. I am really grateful for the opportunity and the experience, and I am so glad I got to experience MIBF 2025 as a writer and a reader.

Special shout-out to the readers who took a chance on my book, The Restless Mind, during my book signing: Ram, Grace, Zu, LJ, and Thine!💙 If you bought my book at MIBF 2025, and I was not able to sign it for you, I hope I get to see you at other events. SLMT 💙

I am looking forward to experiencing more of this event.

I am joyful that I did this. It was beyond my comfort zone, but God did it again! He helped me get through 🙏🙌

I'm Gonna Be At MIBF 2025 Again

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

I have good news for you all. I will be participating Manila International Book Fair this year, 2025. I am excited to be doing this again after quite a while. I hope you are excited too.

The Restless Mind, my latest book, is participating this year. The book event will run from September 10-14, 2025, from Wednesday to Sunday.

Ms. Kath Eustaquio-Derla and PaperKat Books helped me to make this opportunity possible.

I also have a Meet the author schedule at Booth #2-122, 2nd Floor Function Hall, SMX Convention Center Manila. So if you want to meet me or get your copies signed, please feel free to drop by. Other freebies are waiting for you. I hope I get to see you guys and gals!

Self-Publishing 101: How to Print Your Book with IngramSpark?

Friday, May 23, 2025

This step is the part of self-publishing where you decide to have a print copy of your book. I have come upon this company that helps in printing self-published books. I am glad to find IngramSpark.

Who is IngramSpark?

IngramSpark offers printing services. It is a company built by indie publishers, for indie publishers. Fully integrated print, digital, wholesale, and global distribution to help you publish like a pro.

Now, here is the big question: Do you have a manuscript you want to print and an ISBN for your book? If your answer is yes, this might be the right time to try using IngramSpark.

You just have to prepare two (2) documents: a formatted manuscript and a full book cover.

1. Formatted Manuscript

For most of the books I self-published, the size I use is 8 by 5. I use Microsoft Word for the interior of the book or the manuscript itself.

2. Full Book Cover

The application I work with to make my book covers is Canva. The front, back cover, and spine are all created with Canva. Just make sure you use the template book covers for you have the right dimension. Since I use an 8 by 5 size for the interior, it is only right to have your book's front and back cover in the same size. On the other hand, the width of the spine depends on the number of pages of the book, and the height remains the same as the front and back covers.

To calculate the width of your book spine, you may use this tool from IngramSpark: Spine and Weight Calculator

Here’s a sample of the book I published on demand with IngramSpark. Behold! 😂

I hope this helps.

Self-publishing 101: How to apply ISBN for your self-published books from NLP online?

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Do you want to sell your books through a physical bookstore just like me?

As a self-published author, one of my dreams is to see my books in the shelves of many physical bookstores which seems like a pie in the sky for me before the boom of internet age. Right now, I can see light and hope for that dream. There are a lot of ways to make it possible and I am hoping and praying it will work.

But first, I needed that ISBN. So I did get it for my new book and good news just recently, I got approved of ISBNs for the book I have written entitled The Restless Mind. I got the ISBNs for ebook and print version and I did online.

Who is NLP?

The National Library of the Philippines (NLP) is the repository of the printed and recorded cultural heritage of the country and other intellectual, literary resources and information sources.

Mission
The National Library of the Philippines is an ISO certified national repository of printed and recorded cultural heritage in the country that acquires, organizes, conserves, and preserves Filipiniana resources and provides equitable access to information resources on various platforms.

Vision
Premier national repository and gateway of knowledge, culture and innovation empowering Philippine society.

How to get ISBNs for your self-published books from NLP online?

1. First thing first, register as an author/writer with NBDB and here is how I did it:

Self-publishing 101: How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB?

and you can do it too, just click the link.

The confirmation email I received from NBDB.

2. Create an account on this website: https://web.nlp.gov.ph/isbn/

3. Prepare a document that contains the full book cover of the book/s and copyright page. Remember, make sure you follow the prescribed format of the NLP or else they will reject it, but you can still revise your application.

The proof of work I submitted for the ISBN application.

4. Submit a request by clicking ISBN Application tab and filling out all the necessary information about your book and uploading the document.

You will receive an email verifying your application and it may take up to two business days to evaluate your application.

This is the email I received when my ISBN application has approved.

I hope for your success in your ISBN application.

Self-publishing 101: How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB?

Thursday, April 24, 2025

As a self-published author, I had a little desire of registering with NBDB. I thought the process was tedious so I decided to forego the idea of being a registered author despite free online registration the agency was offering. I thought I could not squeeze it in my busy schedule.

But these past few months, I got no more excuses not to consolidate documents required to be registered as an author in the date base National Book Development Board or NBDB. The best part is the whole registration process can be done online. Tada! Isn't that good news?

Another reason to pursue this author registration is for me to be able to apply for ISBNs of my books, since I also plan to sell my books in bookstores and they require ISBN on books to be sold at their store. There is going to be a separate blogpost on how to get ISBN for books, once I got my author registration certificate.

Who is NBDB?

The enactment of Republic Act 8047, also known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, was a clear demonstration of the government's attention to the important role of books in nation building. The law created the National Book Development Board (NBDB) which is tasked primarily to formulate and implement a National Book Policy with a corresponding National Book Development Plan geared towards the development of the book publishing industry. The birth of the NBDB was a long struggle that started in 1998 in the halls of Congress by men who shared a vision and the desire to see the growth of the book publishing industry in the Philippines. That remarkable struggle ended on June 7, 1995 when His Excellency, President Fidel V. Ramos, signed into law Republic Act No. 8047, otherwise known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act which created the National Book Development Board. RA 8047 repealed Executive Order 492, series of 1991, as amended, the law which created the Instructional Materials Development Center, under the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).

How to register as an Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB? What are the requirements? How many days will it take to receive the author registration certificate? These were the same questions I had where started thinking about the process of the application.

Here is list the documents or requirements I needed to prepare:

1. One (1) valid government-issued ID. I submitted a copy of my passport.

2. Bionote. I limited my bionote to five (5) sentences, but I am sure you can write more than that. Here is a sample of my bionote for your referece.

3. List of Published and/or Unpublished Titles. There is a downloadable prescribed template by the NBDB that I had to fill out diligently and it looks like this:

4. Proof of Work. I consolidated the book covers and copyright of all my published books in Word document file. For my unpublished titles, I also put them together in a Word document file and most of my unpublished manuscript do not even reach twenty (20) pages, so I just put whatever I have. I saved the documents for my proof of work as PDF.

After I finalized all the requirements, I sent them to this email: registration@books.gov.ph. All the documents will undergo evaluation by the NBDB and it may take up to seven (7) days.

Please feel free to comment or send me a message if you have any clarification. This link will give you the full details of the registration process: NBDB E-Registration

Be a registered Author/Writer with Philippine NBDB and start your application now!

Book Review & Full Book Cover Reveal: The Restless Mind

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Good day y’all!

Good news, I just released a book for my birthday. I’ve been self-publishing for almost ten years. I am happy doing that, and I find purpose in all the books I write. I hope you’re having fun, too, doing your purpose!

Here’s the full cover for the print copies of my latest book, The Restless Mind:

The Advance Reader’s E-book Copy is now available for reviews and interested readers. Please feel free to message me or comment on my posts, so I can send you a copy of The Restless Mind. You may add the book to your Goodreads account.

Please don’t hesitate to post your honest review of the book on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231233037

If you’re interested, please send me a message via Messenger, comment on this post, or e-mail me: arlenemanocot@gmail.com. I will send you an e-book version of the book for review.

Your time and interest are highly appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day! 🙏🤗

Self-Publishing 101: Where to Print Your Books?

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

As you all know, I am about to release another collection of poems. It is a collection of my written thoughts and feelings in the most creative way I can. It is also my way of releasing overwhelming or underwhelming positive and negative emotions.

The title of the new book to be released is The Restless Mind. You can know more about it from the article that I posted on this website. You may click this link to read more about the book: https://www.arlenemanocot.com/2025/04/new-book-reveal-restless-mind.html?m=1

So going back to the question, where to publish or to print book? This inquiry was sent to me privately by a Facebook friend and I was thinking maybe aside from him there are others who might want to know something about self-publishing.

In my ten (10) years of experience in self-publishing, I would consider that there are different parts of publishing: writing, editing, formatting, and publishing. I had to ask that friend of mine what specific part of publishing and it turned out, he wanted to print his own collection of poems.

There are two printing company where I can get print books for my self-published books, one in the Philippines and the other is in the US.

1. PH prints

I submit my soft copy and all the details of the books to JMD Prints. They have Facebook page, but personally I like to message Ate Joy on her Messenger account for every transaction I have with JMD Prints. They will ask you send the digital materials via e-mail. Here’s the link for their FB page if you want to get in touch with them and planning to print in the Philippines. In my experience they got the most affordable and high quality output.

JMD Prints Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C8RBXWX2A/?mibextid=wwXIfr

2. US Prints

This is the first time I am going to try printing in the US and also using Ingram Spark. I inquired to one printing company, but their rate was a little pricey. I have created an account on their website starting to format my latest book according to their requirements. Here’s the link Ingram Spark website for to explore and decide if it is the best option for you.

Ingram Spark: https://www.ingramspark.com/

I hope this article helps you to get an idea about book printing. Please don’t hesitate to send me a question about self-publishing or anything maybe hehe. Have a nice day!

The Birthday Book and The Birthday Girl

I am the birthday girl!

I don’t usually celebrate my birthday and maybe never post something about celebrating my birthday. It is hard to remember. But this year, my heart is just overflowing with gratitude to God for giving me this opportunity to live and to have a life. Even though life hasn’t always been easy, I thank You God for this gift of life.

Well, now that I think about it. I never had a sort of celebration for my birthday. Usually, it is just eating together or going somewhere to explore, and I like that idea, that’s the kind of celebration I would prefer. Never had the cakes and balloons with lots of confetti, and it’s fine. I guess that’s kind of celebration is never in my radar.

Birthday gifts from my love 🥰

Thank you Angie, Savior, Jared, Nay, at Tay for the video greetings and cake!

Thirty five is the age now. I am in the middle of my thirty’s. Right now as old as I am, I am in the phase of my life where I know exactly what to do but I do not know how to do it. Like I know what I want, I know my purpose, but I am scared because I just got out of one of the many things on earth that makes me feel secured which like everything else is temporary and will definitely perish.

Thank you for all those who didn’t forget to greet me on my birthday! 🎊

I just have this thought that I have surrendered everything to God. My trust and hope is in Him. I always pray for provisions, safety, protection, wisdom, endurance, and guidance for me, my family, and loved ones. My prayer also is to live a life that is content and glorifying to You, my LORD.

And this is the birthday book!

I tried to release every year and during my birthday. The Restless Mind is the birthday book this year and it contains some of my confessions. Maybe, I wrote this book out of grumbling and complaining about life or a specific situation and circumstance I needed to deal with.

I just hope and pray to inspire other people specifically women through this book. Another prayer of mine for this book is to earn a living out of my books. Please get a copy of this book. You may order a print copy of The Restless Mind through this pre-order form: https://forms.gle/B2MrroFvYJCY5fnm8

Please don’t forget to tag me on a post or send me a message if you want to get in touch. Have a blessed day y’all!

New Book Reveal: The Restless Mind

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Are you ready for my new book baby? 📚 I have prepared something for y’all. I am glad to announce that I am going to be releasing a new book baby on my birthday month. I hope you are excited because I am.

My mind gave birth to a collection of poems for the past few year. The poetry book is entitled “The Restless Mind”. It is a collection of my sentiments in life, somewhere in my early thirties.

I dwell inside my mind, more than in the outside world. It might leave positive or negative impression how my mind works. I am an introvert and I am comfortable being with myself. But I always want to be with the my most favorite person in the world right now. I always want and need to be with him. Proximity might not permit that all the time and I try to cope with it and pray for it.

In the book “The Restless Mind,” I shared my thoughts and emotions in situations that I struggled with in my early thirties. I need to let them out. I need to write them, so they will not accumulate in my mind and soul. Some thoughts and emotions can be disgusting, but I would like to believe that there are some good things dwells in my mind.

Book Blurb

Am I just grumbling?
Endlessly complaining?

I confess.
I repent.
But is it enough

I would like to share this book to all of you. For you to know that you are not alone, that there are people who struggle with these thoughts and emotions like you, and that they can be overcome and they will pass. They will not stay on you, with prayers and cry to God, everything shall pass. You will receive peace from God as He declutter all the unnecessary baggage you have in your life that will not serve a purpose in fulfilling your God-given purpose.

I hope and pray you find inspiration as you read my new book which is scheduled to be released on April 13, 2025. I hope you look forward to it and find a glimpse of hope in it.

Book Covers of The Restless Mind

Please look forward to my new book. I will be posting on how and where you can a get a free e-book copy of The Restless Mind. I hope and pray you are having a blessed week. Until next time! 🤗🙏🙌

Sayo Got Denied on Amazon KDP

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Sayo is on Amazon now!

Oops! It's a prank.

Sad news!

But to be honest, yes, I did upload Sayo on Amazon. I tried. Sadly, my latest book was written in my native language, and the online bookstore didn't accept content published in Filipino.

To be fair, I was aware that my native language was not supported by Kindle. I just took a chance that maybe it would go live and it did, but only for 17 days.

Here're a brief book description:

Sayo by Arlene Manocot contains poems in Filipino language, all published on my Facebook page and personal account, and Wattpad last year 2023. Sayo is literally translated in English as 'for you', 'I'm yours', or 'I belong to you'. This poem collection might be for you.

Good news!

You can still download a free e-book copy, just click the link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EzLNUD2FMMPMfte_v5a1VPF8kUZp5Mxo

Book Giveaway: Sayo by Arlene Manocot

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Birth Month is free book month! 🥳

Download an e-book copy of my latest book hehe

What is Sayo about?

Sayo by Arlene Manocot contains poems in Filipino language, all published on my Facebook page and personal account, and Wattpad last year 2023. Sayo is literally traslated in English as 'for you', 'I'm yours', or 'I belong to you'. This poem collection might be for you.

Cover reveal blog post: https://www.arlenemanocot.com/2024/04/cover-reveal-sayo-by-arlene-manocot.html?m=1

Kung ‘di man ikaw ang para sa kanya, sa’yo na lang ‘to. Charr, charmander, Pokémon! Gotta catch ‘em all! Charr again! 😅😂🤣

Free e-book copy download link is here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EzLNUD2FMMPMfte_v5a1VPF8kUZp5Mxo

Yay! 😉

Cover Reveal: Sayo by Arlene Manocot

Sunday, April 7, 2024

April is my birth month and I just feel like sharing a part of me through the pieces that I have written. My works are not that impressive and I don't intend to impress anyone hehe I put out my works for everyone to see in hope that it could help one or two souls who may have the same struggles as me and to remind them that they're not alone, and that what they're going through is something that will pass too and can be overcome.

And tada! 🎉

Cover reveal day of a new poetry collection on birthday month!

Sayo by Arlene Manocot contains poems in Filipino language, all published on my Facebook page and personal account, and Wattpad last year 2023. Sayo is literally traslated in English as 'for you', 'I'm yours', or 'I belong to you'. This poem collection might be for you.

Another year older. Another year arte. Another year wiser? Hopefully, yes! TYL! 🌸🩷

I will post a link soon, so you can download a free digital copy! Yay!

Book Giveaway: The Guy with a Tatt on His Leg

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Book giveaway!

It has been a while since I had a giveaway on my blog. I decided to be generous this year 2023. The first book to be giveaway is a book by moi entitled The Guy with a Tatt on His Leg. It is a portion of the story about Cristina and Lius. Below is a blurb of the story to give you a perspective of what to expect from the book.

Cristina always believes that love will find its way to her. But being a teacher who has never been in a romantic relationship instigates panic among her closest family and friends reminding her to get a boyfriend the soonest. Despite the pressure and annoyance, she keeps cool about it, believing that the right guy will come. What she really wants to do right now is to visit all the beautiful beaches one at a time and start an adventure.

That’s what she says so.

When she meets a shirtless hot guy with tattoos, it brings fire to her inexperienced heart. She’s not into bad boy looking type of guys but somehow his tattoos and his long, silky black hair bring second thoughts and shake the standards she sets for herself.

Tattoo artist Lius Gevarra, finally grants himself a Sabbatical leave after years of hard work in establishing his own brand of tattooing. Entrusting his shops to his friends-slash-business partners, he embarks in a journey, and Cagbalete island as his first stop is a feast for the eye as he spends peaceful time at the shore except for the woman who rants non-stop at him for such a petty reason—and what’s the best way to shut the mouth of an untamed woman?

...kiss her, kiss her until she can no longer utter a word.

Here are the mechanics of the giveaway:

Rafflecopter Giveaway Link accepts entries starting on January 30, 2023 (12:00AM), and ends on February 28, 2023 (12:00AM).
Prizes are one (1) printed copy for the PH winner and one (1) e-book copy for a winner abroad.
The ages of the participants should be eighteen (18) and above since the book contains explicit scenes.
The announcement of winners is on March 4, 2023. Please visit my blog and other social media handles on that day to know if you are one of the winners.
Winners will be contacted with utmost effort and in any way that I can. Prizes can be claimed until December 31, 2023, 11:59PM.

BOOK LINK

More entries, more chances of winning!

How to earn entries on the Rafflecopter giveaway?

Visit and like my Facebook page.
Follow my Twitter and Instagram handles.
Leave a comment on this post.
Subscribe to my Youtube channel.

You can earn up to twenty-five (25) raffle entries. Make sure you are logged in first on the Rafflecopter Giveaway installed at the bottom of this post so your entries are credited to your account. You may use your Facebook or e-mail to log in.

Let the giveaway begin!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Book Alert: Undeserved Grace by Moi

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

In case you missed it.

I have a new book. For those who know me and wonder if I still do this kind of thing, the answer is yes, aside from teaching, I still write and try my best to come up with a collection or story every year. My prayer is to continue doing this for years to come since it is one of my dreams to be a writer. I am not a famous writer or one who receives royalties every month, I am not. Now, I write hoping it can help or inspire someone to keep moving forward all by His grace. My objective in writing evolved as I moved on with God in life before I wanted to write because I had a lot in my mind, heart, and soul; I must let them all out, I needed to, or else it would be the end of me. But that was before. I am beyond grateful and thankful to God for giving and blessing me with this medium to empower and encourage individuals, especially the young ones.

Here we are, another book from me all through His grace, the Undeserved Grace, my thirteenth (13th) published book. I offer it in digital format. Interested individuals may avail of a copy from this website, in the FreedomJoyFaithShop section. For only 100 Philippine pesos you will have an e-book copy of my latest work. I published it last December 2022. It is in the English language and only has 21 pages.

I still wonder did you ever feel sorry when you said you are sorry.
You appeared on and off in my space and time.
I knew there was something odd but I brushed it off.
Told myself, to be content at least he replied or sent you letters.
Settle for that because you've got nothing else.
I even forgot for a moment I have everything I need, everything I love, of course, minus you in my life.
I was blinded for a moment.
Pained and hurt for a moment.
But God shed the light once again like he always did.
He showed me the truth.
My prayers were never in vain.
He answered them faithfully.
I was kept in the darkness for a moment thinking about why I wasn't enough.
He revealed the truth and freed me from your lies.
You tried to cancel me. Were you scared? I wonder.
I still forgive you even if you don't ask for it.
And I'm still glad I met you even if the feelings were never mutual.
Wander

Undeserved Grace is about a girl who pursued a guy who ended up hating her, and how she found God's grace again in that experience as she wondered what went wrong. Written in verses and stanzas, I tried to arrange the poems coherently, all by myself. I hope this book will inspire you to keep on holding on and never give up in life. Whenever you are tired, you can always rest in His presence. There is assurance in His presence. There is clarity in His presence. Even though there are uncertainties that surround us, our God is the assurance and clarity that we all need. God is overflowing with grace. He abounds in grace for we are saved by grace alone.

BOOK LINK

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"
Ephesians 2:8

Happy (Book) Birthday Pinuno!

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Hey! It's Not About Us is a new book I want to share with all of you. I have posted a blog entry about it already and you can know more about it here.

I just finished formatting the book the other week. I don't know if you're aware, but I also write stories, poetry, and prose aside from writing reviews and other entries here on my blog, and I self-published them, my own written books. hehe. For now, this kind of setup is economical for me and my craft, but of course, I also dream of hiring or having professionals to touch my books but now is not yet the time.

I would like to share the process before I release a book. I only came up with three simple and basic steps.

How to Self-Publish Your Book

1. Write your piece

Either you like to write fiction or non-fiction is up to you. You can't publish a book without written works. As for me, writing is an outlet for my emotions and thoughts. It helps me process my feelings most of the time and I also want to write stories that inspire other people. Right now, I haven't written any story like a novel and I have 3 pending series that I must and want to continue, but I haven't, I can't, or maybe I just don't have the right inspiration for those pending works. I've been meaning to finish them, but... just but... I just can't, for now.

And for my draft, I usually put them on my phone and laptop for offline and on Wattpad for online. The pieces included in this book were written from the year 2020 to 2021.

2. Create Book Covers and Illustrations

I use the Canva app and website for book covers and illustrations. Most of the book covers of my books are from Canva, thank you so much Canva! So for my latest book, I got these illustrations and photos from Canva and put a little personal touch, as in super little. haha. On the copyright page of the book is where I put the credits for Canva. Big thanks Canva! Love, love, love!

3. Layout and format your book

Using Microsoft Word, I format my book with the size 5 by 8, use a font style and size that are pleasing to the eye and also readable. I convert the final document to pdf as an e-book format of the book.

And now finally, It's Not About Us is out, today, September 14, and free for all of you to download, just click here and get 3 other books for free. Get them all for free on this special day!

Special shout out Pinunong Pablo! Happy Birthday!

You and the whole SB19 and your story inspire me to pursue my dream. Thank God, for your lives!

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

~Ephesians 2:10

It's Not About Us But What If

Saturday, September 4, 2021

We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word. We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives. Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed.

Proverbs 16:1‭-‬3 CEV

One of the many struggles of humans is to surrender to God. As if surrendering shows the weakness and flaws in us we always want to forget and hide in the darkest part of our closet. That giving up our rights and entitlement to God would cause such loss of every right of our own humanity. That accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior would take away our freedom and liberty to experience life to the fullest. And a lot more misconceptions about God. All these may appear to be true to us if we do not know the character of our heavenly Father, our One True God, if we don't have a personal intimate relationship, there is a danger of believing all these lies from the enemy.

But God is gracious and merciful. He let us know what we needed to know and never left the essential wisdom and knowledge unheard of from Him. He uses everything and anything to deliver His will right to our doorstep, yet sometimes we tend to be insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and most of the time, we are impatient. Yes, we are impatient selfish human beings, and our human nature leads us to compromises, and the worst, causes us to sin. We may have past experiences that hold us back and the trauma is still there, but I assure you based on my encounter with Christ there is nothing more redeeming and liberating than accepting Jesus in our lives, He gives us peace, He is the peace we all need to reconcile us with Father God.

Our existence in this life and in this world is not only for us, not solely for our own selfish gain. There is a greater purpose for everything. It is never just about us. We are designed to cooperate and submit to God's law. We are His workmanship and He already prepared us for good works.

Let me share with you Bible verses from Philippians 3:13-14: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. These Scriptures always encourage me to continue and be intentional in my walk with Jesus. The Christian life is not easy, I can even imagine my sisters and brothers in Christ right now saying in unison that it is not just hard, it is impossible, and I couldn't agree with them more.

Now that all have been said and done, I would also like to share with you a story through the chapbook I mentioned from one of my vlogs. Yep, you read it right, I'm releasing a new book this year 2021. It's a poetry and prose collection or some might say it is a thought catalog, but I'd prefer to call it a journey of letting go and let God be God.

I present to you the book cover of It's Not About Us (But What If It's About Us).

Pages