The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant: Overcoming The Giant Of Fear

"The antidote to fear is faith" 

Louis Giglio, Goliath Must Fall

Hello and welcome back to another article. If you are new: Welcome! We are back on track with our new series The Mighty God & the Taunting giant after one segue from the first article led to another segue (don't judge me).

Today we are talking about another giant that is somewhat difficult and embarrassing to name to the face of the world. We refuse to name it and even say it out loud because we are apprehensive of people's opinion and the way the world will look at us. The taunting giant we are talking about today is fear. It is everywhere, visible and yet so subtle, sometimes crawling under our skin, making our heart pound for no apparent reason or even keeping us up at night. Fear wears many faces and has a lot of names but the two that stuck with me were anxiety and PTSD because we spent quite some time together. I've had a tumultuous relationship with those two for about a decade, with a few (and brief) moments of finally being able to catch my breath (and sanity) only to be sucked back into the insanity again. 

Fear robs us from moments, from peace and from opportunities. Fear blinds us to the possibilities by binding our minds to the worst possible outcomes. Fear kills us by withering any hope we might still have to see and experience things getting better. 

As a christian fighting anxiety, PTSD and depression all together at some point in life, I have heard countless times that the answer was simply to pray because in itself, prayer is supposed to be a panache that cures everything, no matter what it is. In theory (which seems to be a rather amazing place where everything works or is better) it works. But in real life, it is an other story especially when those three can play tag and mess with your sanity at any random time of the day. 

Fear runs deeper than prayer and unless there is an awareness of where it comes from, praying will most likely look like taking an Advil to treat a recurrent headache which could be a symptom of something potentially serious or perhaps deadly. Uprooting fear from our core being requires a process just like explaining why those violent headaches mentioned above are reoccurring. It is a process of looking at the frequency of the headaches, what triggers them, are they always at the same intensity, how long you have had them and then once those questions have been answered, we design a treatment to be followed to possibly cure or lessen the intensity/frequency/duration/impact of the headaches. 

Where is fear coming from? Did you grow up around people that were all-time champions in the worrying category and so you were conditioned to constantly be worried? Did you grow up in an environment where fear was a constant thing? Was there a constant threat such as an abusive parent? War? Or was it an unstable environment that constantly left you on your toes wondering when things were good when they would get worse again?

Is it fear of your imperfections, mistakes or even sins coming out and all of the sudden you are afraid of people's stare, opinion or judgement?

Is it just the fear of not being in control of the way things are happening in your life and around you? 

I'm sure some of you will read this and will pinpoint one thing that you can identify with. My personal experience of fear made me check a box near all of the items listed above that Louie Giglio had organized in three categories: the conditioning, the concealing and the controlling. 

And just as some people believe that praying is the answer, it so happen that some of us believe that this taunting giant of fear - that shows up in the most unexpected way, at the most unexpected time, playing tricks with our mind and gripping us by the collar, leaving us grasping for air - cannot be defeated. And so we negotiate, we compromise, we accommodate the giant with liquid courage, we flirt drugs or sign up for a lifetime supply of Xanax. We try everything and anything that can silence the loud voice of the taunting giant of fear for a little while in order for us to catch a break and breathe a little. 

But what if we didn't have to live up to the expectations of this giant? What if we didn't have to accommodate it anymore? What if uncovering the root of our fears at the light of the Gospel and then bringing it to Jesus through prayer was the cure not to be fearless but to fear less? What if Faith was the answer all along? Not the one that Louie Giglio refers to as the "schizophrenic faith" where we believe in a mighty God capable of turning things around and yet, we accommodate the giant but rather true faith which foundations rest on the Word of God and His immutable promises.

Fear comes from what our giant tells us: You will never make it, you can't do it, it is happening all over again, things will always be like this, what makes you believe you are any different than your mother... father... sister...brother? you'll end just like them. Faith comes from what God tells us and says about us. 

So how exactly do you trade the words of the taunting giants with those of God? Louie Giglio gave us four powerful ingredients that when combined build a solid faith, which is the "antidote to fear." Here are the four things that we need to know and remember:

1- God is able

To save. To heal. To restore. To deliver. You name it. There is nothing too big for God to do. He is the same one who brought Lazarus back to life. He fed five thousand people and there was still food left. He is the one who delivered Israel from the hands of Pharaoh. The same one who fed the widow of Zarephath while his servant Elijah was dwelling with her. He gave Hannah a son and resurrected Jesus. His faithfulness and power are still at work and He is bigger than anything that might come our way during our walk on this earth. When faced with fear, these are the truths we need to lean on to build a faith strong enough to resist the assaults of fear and overcome it. Saturating ourselves with the Word of God is a powerful way to drown the voice of our taunting giant until he can no longer speak because his lies have been uncovered through of the truth of God that is His word.

2- Keep your eyes on the Lord

If you have read some of my past articles then you know two things: a) I am very found of the story about Peter walking on water and b) Hebrew 12:2 is one of my favorite Bible verse. Why those two together particularly? Well because I do believe that keeping our gaze on Jesus (and having faith) is what can allow us to do things similar (not quite literally) to what Peter has done. Nobody ever walked on water: the people before him failed but he did! When we set our eyes on the Lord, what seemed to be impossible before becomes possible. Setting our eyes on the Lord allows us to walk through the storm, to break through the ceiling of low expectations set up by the giant of fear and live a purposeful, fulfilling and abundant life, confidently knowing that God is with us even in the middle of the storm as He was with Peter when He commanded him to walk on the waters. 

3- Put a name on it

Name what it is that is keeping you up at night, making you feel anxious and restless. Bring it to God in prayer and for whatever it is that your anxiety, restlessness and fear is tied to, trust and believe that there is a truth in the Word of God, a promise that testifies of how big your God is next to that mountain. By bringing it to God and replacing fear with faith we are essentially telling God : "This look big and impossible to manage to me, but I bring this to you because I know you are a mighty God that can handle this". We give it to God and we go to bed, trusting that the God who came to the rescue of Daniel in the burning furnace and the den of lions will rescue us too and make a way where there seems to be no way. He is that kind of faithful and mighty God.

4- Praise and worship Him

Praising is not ignoring what is going on but rather acknowledging that God is with us in the midst of what we are going through. Worshiping and praising is standing tall, eye to eye, toe to toe, face to face with the very situation that the enemy is using to try to bring us down and tell that situation about your mighty God. Worshiping and praising is in the words of Louie Giglio :" [to] sing into the face of the uncertainty about a sure and unchanging God."

Faith built through these four ingredients essentially boils down to one thing: being aware of God's presence in every situation we go through, every step of the way, no matter how long the process is. God is with us, sees us, and knows each and every one of our moves because He is an all seeing, all knowing God. Faith is to put our focus on God, just like David did, rather than the taunting giant of fear who shows up to demoralize us everyday. Overcoming the giant of fear is a process, but God already granted us victory and our only requirement to live that victory and freedom is to manifest Faith. 

This is it for the second article of The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant: Overcoming The Giant Of Fear. I hope you found something helpful and no matter what you are going through right now, know that this too shall pass and in the end, God always win. Always.

Until next time,

The Happiness Fairy 👸

Dear Diary...

Little miss perfect first birthday. As you can tell I was scared of being dropped right into my cake 😩

Life can bring the biggest surprises of all time or the hardest, most brutal heartbreaks. The worst thing about it is that it is all a gamble and you still have to show up for it because you never know what the day will bring. A month ago I turned 27 and I will not lie, my life is totally different from what I had imagined. I thought I would be done with school, married, raising my first kid, have a job I love and have a house. LOL joke's on me!

A week into being 27, I found myself battling depression and fighting to stop what seemed like a never ending fall into the abyss. Somehow during that time I was falling and praying to finally hit rock bottom,I asked myself :"when all of this is over, when months/ years from now you look into your rearview mirror, what are the things you want to remember? What are the things you want to carry with you for the rest of 27 and possibly take with you for 28 and perhaps the years to come? what are the lessons you want engraved on the table of your heart and in your spirit, that will pull you through the slump when you find yourself stuck again- because let's face it: it will happen."?

Here are the mental notes that I took to answer those questions, the things that I think will still matter, the lessons that I would like to carry with me for the rest of 27 and perhaps for the rest of my life. 

✔Be where your feet are*

I actually stole this (and a lot of other points on this list!) from Hannah Brencher's book Come Matter Here (review coming soon). I grew up with expectations- my own and other people's- that have been the fuel I have been running on for years. But somehow in the midst of all that running to get "there"(the diploma, the great job, the perfect relationship, etc...) I forgot to be here: to enjoy the little moments, to slow down. I forgot that all those moments I said "no" to because they would take away from the time I thought I needed to get "there", I would never get them back. So I am learning to be here now, to drink the wild air and to appreciate the present because it truly is a gift.

✔Turn down the do-it-yourself Beyonce anthem in your brain*

I was never one to delegate or ask for help. If I needed something done, I would go and do it myself because I always thought that: a) people will let me down so I can't trust them and b) they couldn't do it the way I did it or wanted it done. And I was right about those two facts but I was so focused on them that I forgot that:  c) God sent me great people to make up for those who messed up when I gave them my trust and d) sometimes they did things better than I would have done them. If we didn't need help, God wouldn't have created Eve. Alone I can go fast but learning to reach out to the people God has blessed me with for help, I will go far.

✔Wherever you are going next, tell yourself it will be good*

Years ago I had a taste for change and adventure: I would never say no to something that would break routine. But then, I started walking on the safe side and change became a major stressor for me. As a control freak, the fear of the unknown and the fact that there would be things on the other side of change I couldn't control terrified me. But the truth is that I had conditioned myself to believe that’s t my "next" was never going to be better than my "now". The funny thing is that times and times again, God showed up in unexpected ways and I found myself countless times being grateful that new opportunities for change and growth came up. So no matter how scary and uncomfortable change is, I am working constantly and consistently on reminding myself that wherever I go next, it will be good. It might not be what I want but maybe it is what I need and no matter how uncomfortable it is or how much hardship I encounter stepping into my "next", it will all workout because Romans 8:28 says so.

✔Don't be afraid to rebuild

New beginnings are hard. I have changed schools only four times into my life and moved four times but let me tell you that I hated the feeling of being the new kid on the block or in class. It was always terrifying and exhausting to me to the point where I just stopped getting attached because I hated goodbyes and starting over, everything from scratch. But new beginnings are nothing but an opportunity to do better: to lay better foundations, to build more solid/lasting relationships, to make a difference. So I am learning: learning to start over without repeating the same mistakes. It is a process but I hope by the time I look back and read this again, I will have mastered it. 

✔Loosen your grip

"A closed hand cannot receive" I don't recall who exactly said those words but they stuck with me. It is tempting to hold on to what we have but no matter how good it feels at the moment, we are only harming ourselves in the long run. Why? because we are blocking life's natural flow and preventing good things from entering our life. To loosen a grip is hard because there is always that fear that the next thing will never be better but there is also the risk of missing out on something better. Life is a gamble and all bets are off so let's make the best out of it.

✔See your people. Hug your people

It is hard to see the people around you and let them in when the previous humans before them made a mess into your heart and you soul and left you to collect the broken pieces and figure it all out by yourself. Years of hurt and disappointment left me bitter and angry but mostly superficial. I shut out everybody, even the people who wanted to pull me forward. I did hurt a good deal of them when all they wanted to do is to be there, help me and love me. People will disappoint. People will hurt you. People will leave. But look around yourself, find who your people are. That friend that will pick up your phone call at 3 am and pray with you because you're having a panic attack. That person who will celebrate you for bouncing back from life setbacks. That person that will cheer you, love you even during the darkest hour and hold your hand in the dark. That person who will know when to say something, when to add an extra ten seconds to that hug. Find out who that person/ who those people are and hug them. Hug them tight and don't let go until it's life's time to say goodbye. They won't be perfect but they will be real. They won't be there all the time but they will be there when you need them to. And God knows that life happens and one day they might not be there for you because they might be caught up with their own mess: hug them regardless because they are your people and they love you and it's all that matters. I do have plenty of hugging to do and it's a good thing I got started.

✔Stay busy in the valley*

If you haven't yet, I suggest you read my previous article because it ties up into it. The valley is not a place to stay- true- but nobody knows how long it will take to go through a valley. I am learning in my own valley to not stay idle: I'm working on myself, working on my vision as move forward, adjusting it to what each day brings. The valley is where things and people are taken away but it is also the place where character is built. It is the place where God molds you into the person you are supposed to be to fulfill your purpose. Don't just look at the valley or go through it with your "whatever mode" switched on. Pay attention. Pray. Practice what you are being taught in the valley because your life might very well depend on it someday.

✔Go deep instead of wide*

A while ago I stopped trying to make new friends. I stopped because a) I didn't trust people so I was being all fake to the people I already had around me and b) I hate small talk and at some point it seemed like making new friends was all about it. Right around that time, I also started downsizing my circle of "friends". I say "friends" because really, I didn't know half of those people and the other half didn't know me. So I started cutting ties. The past five years have taught me one important lesson: quantity doesn't matter, quality does. So instead of going wide, I am focusing on going below the surface and building, deep and long lasting relationships with the few that I still have. It might work, it might not but unless I try I will never know.

✔Stay rooted in the Word of God*

Abraham was a hundred years old when he had Isaac. Between the time where God told him he would be father of a multitude and the time Isaac was born there was approximately twenty five years. Joseph dreamed that his entire family will bow down before him. Between the dream and the accomplishment of it, there were twenty two years and very unfortunate circumstances that I am sure made Joseph wonder at time if God had truly spoken or if it was just his imagination. Someone said once that "God speaks from the future and between the time He speaks over our life and the time we see things fall into place, there is a lapse." That lapse is when things get tricky: it's the valley. And in the valley a lot can happen. The devil starts preaching, the internal turmoil gets loud. But the outcome of where we're heading and how long it will take to get there depends heavily on our ability to stay rooted in God and His Word. The lies of the enemy when looking at our circumstances might seem true and they might be louder than God's promises but it's only a matter of time until God wins, because He always does. The only thing we have to do until then is to hold on to His word, to His promises and to Him. 

✔Don't forfeit your right to say no

Pressure to conform, to agree, to nod, to follow, to join. That's how I ended up with about ten thousands emails at some point into my email inbox. That's how I ended up in situations or with people that did not honor me. That's how I ended up making plans I never really wanted to make in the first place and showed up forty-five minutes late because I spent thirty of those forty-five minutes sitting on my bed, with nothing on but a towel, debating if I reaaaaaaally had to go. That's how I broke my own heart thinking "if I say no, they'll be crushed" or "they'll think I'm stuck up" or worst "if I say no they will leave". I gave away my right to say no when breaking people's heart was more important than safeguarding my own. And it's not okay. I am on a quest to reclaim my "no" and to not feel bad about it because honestly there is nothing wrong with it.

✔Don't run: Stay*

I am a runner both figuratively and literally although my ability to run has been on the lower end of the spectrum because of all the lattes, the macaroons and the repetitive assaults my immune system has suffered the last two years. I have ran from everything and everybody my whole life: friends, lovers, love interests, feelings, emotions, relationships, friendships. You name it. Anything that required me to dive into my feelings made me break in sheer terror. Anything that required me to confront people and handle their feelings was a good excuse for me to run. Forever or until things settled. I'm trying to change my ways but it is very hard because old reflexes take longer to fade away. And the itch to run is always there because it is easy to just run but I realized that I also miss out on a lot of things. So I am slowly unpacking and leaving bits of myself with people and in places that will make me hold on to them when I am tempted to pack (figuratively) and leave. 

✔You don't have to be it all*

I have spent the last fifteen years of my life trying to be it all, and it's one of the toughest thing to get out of my system. I am yet to accept that if I am not all those things that the world and the people around me expect me to be but that I am only myself, it's still good enough. Y'all pray for me because the struggle is real 😭

✔Give yourself grace*

In the days where I couldn't be it all, do it all and save everybody, I used to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. In part because I believe I had failed myself but mostly because I didn't want to be like the people who let me down. I didn't want to be like them and I wanted the world to know that I could do it all, be it all and have it all. Needless to say that things didn't turn out well for me. One important truth to me is this one: Jesus is all. And He is all that I need. Him and sleep and coffee. Those three go a long way. In between, there is grace: for the things I couldn't do, didn't do. For all the times I could only be just enough and not all of it and a bag of chips. For the days where I let people down because I didn't even have the strength to carry myself for more than an hour at times before having an emotional breakdown in the locker rooms at work and going right back to do more work. For all of those in-betweens, there is grace and there will always be because a little bit of it goes a long way.

✔Put your phone down

I used to be so addicted to social media and texting and posting and then something shifted. I can't exactly pinpoint when it happened but it just did. And honestly I have grown founder of that privacy and being able to be in the moment. I am learning to be alive in a world where live-streaming is everything. Memories are great but being able to be a part of it is even better.

✔Chose prayer over patronizing*

It is easy to patronize people. To judge. To condemn. It is the human thing to do but the Christian thing to do is to pray. We all go through life motion. We all carry our very own heavy burdens and life has shaped/ scarred us in many different ways but the goal of it was never and will never be to be bitter but instead to be better. So when I see people acting funny with me, instead of poppin' off on them (and Lord knows there are days!!!), I remind myself to pray it out and to pray for them. Life is never easy. People can be nasty but praying for their heart is a necessity because we've all be there once.

✔Don't be perfect: be real

I used to be little miss perfect. I still am sometimes. But I have come to term with a truth that revolutionized the way I approach people and relate to them: I have become real, raw and honest. About the things I go through. About my struggles. About the state of my mental health. About life. Being able to be real was the beginning of a freeing process that I am still undergoing. It allowed people to not look at me like I'm some kind of boujie girl who doesn't know anything about life struggles. If anything I do believe opening up has allowed people to know me better, to know the why of certain choices I made/make. Being real came with a surprising amount of "me too"s from people I never thought were going through the same things I went through. But that's the beauty and the curse behind it: you won't know until you know and to know requires to be real. There is a ridiculous amount of people out there desperately in need of that. But we won't find each other until we can drop the facade and let people in.

✔"I don't know yet"

I used to be SO sure about so many things a few years ago and now... I can't even commit to a place to eat for lunch or dinner. I have rediscovered the beauty in saying "I don't know yet": it opens new horizons. It gives you options. It gave me the flexibility I needed to break away from the rigid mold I placed myself in. There is nothing wrong with it unless of course, you're wasting someone's time which is the purest form of evil. It's okay to not know yet, to go on your own journey to figure it out. Just know that not many will join you. But you know what? It's okay too.

✔You matter*

I didn't know back then. I was always putting other people's needs before my own. I never knew I mattered the way I do now. It might seem trivial and hard to understand but it is a truth that I came across during my mental self-care and decluttering journey. I am learning to speak up, to say no, to feel what I feel without being ashamed of it and without letting the world shame me for it because I matter and it is something nobody will ever take away from me again unless I give my consent. Being able to know and believe that you matter is a statement that is as powerful as you make it. It's your truth: live it. 

Here are my truths, my lessons, the mental notes that pull me forward these days and I hope you found this article inspiring. Life is not always what it looks like and people are not always what they look like, especially on social media. We're more than what we look like. We are more than our words and our "I'm fine, thanks". Once in a while, take a look back and check on your people because you never know which battles they're fighting.

Until next time,

The Happiness Fairy 👸

The sentences followed by an asterisk (*) are taken or derived from Hannah Brencher's new book Come Matter Here. 

The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant: Overcoming the Giant Of Comfort Pt. 2

Welcome back to another article of this series titled The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant and if you are new here: welcome. I hadn't originally planned to do a part two to Overcoming The Giant Of Comfort and it isn't really a part two. I like to think of it as a bonus article or a case study if I can put it that way. I had originally named this article "Walking through the valley" because truly, it is all it is about. I had written this article weeks back but set it on the side as I was myself transitioning from the mountain to the valley. The valley is a scary place. It is terrifying. It is the place where you ask all kind of questions and where none of the answers make sense. It is scary because it is the place were your enemies can come for you without you even  knowing. It is scary because with regards to them, you are at a disadvantage: they can watch you and monitor you from the high tops and surprise you at a time of weakness. The valley is terrifying because it is first a place of war and battle. 

When I started my transition/ walk into my very own valley (when I thought of custom fit that is really not what I had in mind because there's nothing glamorous about the valley but anyway...), I started looking through the Bible of symbols of the valley and this is probably the first one I stumbled upon: the valley as a place of battle. I went to 1 King 20 which is the story of the war between the kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Syria. The most important, I would even say crucial, verse in that story to me is verse 28: "And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, 'The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,' therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord." Now let me give you the background to put that verse in context: the King of Syria sent messenger to Ahab, King of Israel, requiring from him to give away his silver, gold, wives and children, which Ahab refused. And so, he gather people to go on an excursion against the Syrian army and their King. The people marching with Ahab defeated the Syrian army and Ben-Haddad, king of Syria, fled. After that defeat people came to him saying that Israel had won because they fought on the hills and if they were to fight in the valleys, the Syrian army would certainly win. And so the Syrian army when against Israel in the valley and still, was defeated. This verse is important because of two things: 

 1- It speaks of the unchanging nature of God

 God is as much God in the valley as He is on the mountain. My experience in the valley is that we tend to see God as something different and less powerful/ glorious than what we experience on the mountain. Yes we do get to experience God in ways we probably don't know before but ultimately He is still that same God. It doesn't matter how high the mountains we stand on are or how low the valleys we walk through are: God is still God no matter where we stand;

 2- God can still give us the victory in the valley 

The thing with being in the valley is there is sometimes that "oh this cannot get better" mood that seeps into our soul and our morale. But this verse is here to remind us that no matter how deep the valley we walk through is, if our enemies come against us to surprise us at our weakest, God will deliver us from them because he is the God of the mountains as well as the God of the valleys. He created them both and the is sovereign over both of them and victory is independent of where we are, but exclusively dependent on God. And if you have followed me long enough then you are familiar with that say that I really love: "God always win".

After finding that first symbol of the valley I kept turning the pages of my Bible and of course did more research only and found two more symbols that I combined as one : the valley of Baca which translates into "weeping/sorrows" and the valley of the shadow of death. I chose to combine those two because they are symbols both found in the book of Psalms that was written by King David. If being attacked by your enemies is not scary enough then reading death and sweeping/sorrows in the same sentence should do. The valley sometimes comes with an isolation and a silence (sometimes from God) that can be deafening and deadly to us. It is a place where we get stripped of things/people we have sometimes carried for years, we hold close to our hearts, or that we believe we can't live without. But it is the place where God wants to take all of that away in order for us to be where He needs us to be. And that part not only is painful but it is uncomfortable. And sometimes God has not other choice but to shake us in order for us to overcome the giant of comfort because He realizes that the gentle nudges don't work out so well. It is the part where we are tested: everything that we are, everything we believe in.  And sometimes despite our best attempts to reach out to God, all we seem to hear back is the echo of our own voices. Things, people and situation that threaten us and everything that God has planned for us come from everywhere but, no matter how much we "text" or "call" God, it feels like He constantly sends us to voicemail, worse: like He ghosted us. 

But David said two things that stand true with regards to the valleys he went through and I'm sure some of us went through/are going through. He said "When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me" (Ps 23:4) and then to add about the valley of Baca "As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs, the early rain also covers it with pools." (Ps 84:6) Our experience of the valley is not turned around by our own strength or our willingness to see things change but through the presence of God with and withing us. Jesus says in John 7:38 " Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." The living water revives us in the time where we are weak, brings consolation in our afflictions and hope as we walk through the valley. Our strengths are and ability to keep moving are renewed and restored. The valley of Baca and the valley of the shadow of death are where we experience the faithfulness of God and the intimacy of a deep relationship with him, away from the distractions that we would have on the mountains, in the times were everything is going well, the times were we are comfortable. And as much as God tries to attract us away from the noise we're surrounded with while comfortable, the valley also come with an internal noise that can drown God's voice or have Him decide to be silent until we finally are quiet enough - both inside and outside- to hear Him in the soft murmur He speaks in (1 King 19:11-13) and give us the game plan. 

I kept the best one for last because this is an aspect of the valley I didn't really know about until I started looking into the scriptures to write this article. The valley as a place of Praise (2 Chronicles 20). When you go through the valley the last thing you want to do is praise God but it is in fact the thing to do and what brings about victory and a breakthrough. It sounds counter-intuitive but it is the thing to do considering that the valley is about faith thus challenging logic and intuition. Our intuition might want us to panic, to surrender or to find shortcuts to get out of the valley before the time appointed by God but faith is sticking the course of it, knowing that beyond what we see there is something bigger. Faith in the valley is similar to praising God in the hallway until the door He promised He would open, opens. Faith is trusting God to carry us through the valley no matter how long the journey and finding the strength to pray asking for the resources we need for the journey instead of saying "God take away from me that journey." 

In conclusion, both the mountain and the valley reveal characters of God we ought to know if we want to develop a deep relationship with Him. The valley is the intimacy of the darkest hour where all of who we are is revealed and we get to write other names of God we were not familiar with in the story of our lives.  Both the mountain and the valley are places that are necessary for us to go through in order to get familiar with God in ways that all fit together in His grand scheme of life for us. So maybe the issue is not really where we look for God, whether it be the mountain or the valley, but how we look at Him in the places He invites us to meet Him.

I hope this article encourages someone and if you are going through the valley: keep going because as my sister once said : "beyond fear and hopelessness, there is something bigger"

Until next time,

The Happiness Fairy 👸

The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant: Winning The Battle Against The Giant Of Comfort

Hi and welcome back to a new article and to the new series we are about to start: The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant. The first giant we will take about in this new series inspired by the book Goliath must fall by Louie Giglio is the giant and comfort. Why? Mainly because it is the most subtle giant, the one that is the most common across all generations. The most subtle one and yet the most deadly. 

I know what you must be thinking: “well comfort is not really a bad thing... Isn’t it?” And you are right. Comfort is not a bad thing and God’s desire for us is to not lack anything. However comfort has the potential to quickly become a double-edged sword that can slowly undo us and the people around us. In his book, Louie Giglio listed a few reasons why comfort can become harmful to us and below are the one that stuck the most with me:

1- We miss a great opportunity because we choose to go a safer, easier route.

The most striking stories in the bible happened because some people dared to take the difficult road. The one that was full of uncertainty and darkness at time. Anybody that God has called to a higher ground had to get out of the comfort zone. Let’s take the example of Abraham. His father was rich. He was living a comfortable life when God called him to leave the place where he was because God wanted him somewhere else. If you have ever had to relocate to a totally different country/ continent away from your family and everything you know for a certain reason in life then you know how difficult it must have been for Abraham. But he, unlike some of us, had absolutely no clue and no plan on how things would happen. He only had a promise, a word from God. Now Abraham was the father of a multitude made of Israel, the chosen people of God, as well as us Christians who have been saved by Grace through faith in Jesus. Abraham could have chosen the safe route. He would have missed out on God’s best and would have probably never been know. The same is true of Ruth the Moabite: she could have decided to go back to her people just like her fellow sister in law who had also lost her husband. Instead, she followed Naomi to Bethlehem, met Boaz and entered the lineage of Jesus. Now she would have definitely missed out on God's things if she had settled for the good thing (comfort and familiarity).

2- If comfort is sought ahead of everything else, including our desire to be available to God’s plans.

Suffer for the cause of God is one of the most difficult things to experience and yet the most noble for us as christian as we see how the souls and lives of the people we pray for are transformed. A very good example is talking to people about Christ. Very uncomfortable. Not only for those of us struggling with social anxiety but more so because of the fact that some of the reactions we get are not the ones we expect. Being in ministry is uncomfortable because the thoughts of God’s heart have to prevail on our own. Church leaders especially know how uncomfortable being called is: the fasting, the praying, the fact that sometimes the needs of your church and the work or for the kingdom of God will pass before your needs and desire. But the results show on those days where people give their lives to Jesus. The results show when the people we have been praying for, fasting for, preaching to and denying our own comfort for are submerged in the water of baptism and arisen as a new creation and a member of the family of God. To me it is a feeling that never gets old. But we can’t see and experience this unless we renounce to some extend to our comfort and make ourselves available to be used by God. 

3- If we grow accustomed to our sins and fail to confront and removed them from our lives. 

When it comes to sin, our walk with God will constantly require us to fight against what most people have justify as “natural instincts” or “human nature”. However, as christian, we are called to fight the good fight, to die to our old sinful nature (Colo 3:5). Being comfortable with sin in our lives leads us away from God. It is a giant that reduces our field of vision to the “now” as it yells louder and makes us forget all about the “later”, the eternal life God has offered us in Jesus which, unlike the “now”, lasts MUCH longer. Overcoming sin is an everyday work that will be sometimes marked by days where we fall short of God’s grace. It is perfectly normal. But the issue of comfort being a deadly giant comes when out of falling so much, we stay fallen and decide to dwell right there, to the dismay of a mighty God who has called us to higher grounds. 

Comfort has ruined lives and destinies, families and relationships but most importantly our relationship with God and the vocation He’s called us to. So how do we overcome the giant? How to we overthrow him from the throne of our lives that so rightfully belongs to God and has been hijacked by a taunting giant that is preventing us from experiencing God and the multitude of great things He has planned for us?

Louie Giglio gave us a road map to quit living life under the blanket of comfort and it is summarized in the following four bullet points.

1- There is no greatness without faith and there is no faith without discomfort

The most epic stories in the Bible were born from a step that was taken in the direction of faith (the battle of Jericho, the splitting of the red sea, peter walking on water, etc…) and those steps in the direction of faith required a discomfort from the people those stories were about. Our salvation happened as a result of the discomfort of one man who left his glory all behind to live as a man. Have you done life on this earth? Do you know how difficult it is? Have you ever had a lot of money and privileges and then all of the sudden you go broke? Add on top of this being crucified knowing you’re innocent for people who have done (and will do) some of the most horrible things. But that step of that one man in the direction of Faith and in the accomplishment of God’s plan for us has been the tipping point that has turned the history of humanity around. It was the birth of the most beautiful love story ever crafted and written. And for us to identify with him in our faith requires for us to go to the most uncomfortable places of our core being and existence, believing in a higher purpose that calls for our ability to leave our comfort in order to meet God in the higher places where he’s called us to be

2- God’s glory shines brightest at our weakest

Stepping out of the comfort zone and crossing that line into the unknown is where we get to truly see and experience God. Crossing that line is this tipping point where the story of our life becomes less about ourselves and more about God. And so when it comes to choosing between God’s great and comfort-good or God’s-thing instead of good-thing, remembering who we want to give the glory to should be what we need to keep in mind. God gets no glory from the things that are under our control: He gets glory from the things and situations we have no control over (2 Co 12: 9). Choosing to step out of our comfort zone (according to God’s plan for us) is taking back the glory the giant of comfort stole from God and giving it back to the rightful owner of it: God himself. Why? Because that’s when God steps in and work things that make no sense to the human mind but shows how powerful and mighty our God is.

3- Align with God 

Comfort happens when we lose track of what God expect from us. When following a worldly view or opinion takes over our ability to follow God’s plan for us because it is just easier. aligning ourselves with God is the surest way to get where we are meant to be and living a purposeful, full and meaning life requires us to align with God in order to know the steps to take, which direction to go and what decision to make in order to maximize out time on this earth. Aligning with him doesn’t guarantee that things will be easy, however, it does guarantee that we will make it to where we are meant to be according to God’s plan for us.

4- Keep in mind that you don’t have that much time

The biggest danger of being comfortable can be summarized in one word: later. The thing is later can easily become never, especially if we account for the uncertainty of life. Even though it might seem scary to think we might not live as long as we think we will, we should aim to turn that uncertainty into fuel to live a purposeful and meaningful life, one that goes beyond the safety line of comfort. 

Overcoming the giant of comfort is an everyday fight, an ongoing battle to pick God and step on his word when we are presented with the option of pulling the comfort blanket over our head and play it safe. We are not guaranteed that what we will meet on the other side will be pleasant, but we are guaranteed that once we move on God's word and align with him, when we are willing to be available for Him to work with us and through us, when we accept to be a little less comfortable so that He can have the spotlight, he meets us where we stand and adds the "extra" into the ordinary.

Thank you for taking your time to read through the first article of this new series and I will see you soon for another article of The Mighty God & The Taunting Giant series.

Until then,

The Happiness Fairy 👸

Goliath Must Fall

Welcome back to the blog for a new article and if you are new here: welcome. Lately it's been a little bit of a struggle to keep up with my post schedule as well as my commitment to this blog and my audience. As you know ( and I have said times and times), my writing is nothing but the reflection of [sometimes] my inner dialogues and the unfiltered emotions that hit my soul. And lately my soul has been going through things: peaks and valleys, ups and downs, twists and turns, rising mountains and drops in the abysses. And if you are anything like me, feeling like living this life can be equivalent to walking on the edge of a precipice, then you know how exhausting this can be. I felt (and still feel at time) like I was put through a wringer and sucked dry of any resources that I could possibly depend on to keep walking. In the midst of what seemed like a drought, a moment where I couldn't even find the courage to step on here and speak of matters that summon our ability to hope against all hope, to fight and walk banking on God, I wrote In The Midst Of The Heartbreak. And then I went to God and to my person, the one who, along with God, was there when that whole blogging journey began, the president of the board of director of my Godly counsel: my sister. I went to her and to God with my worries and my fear of never getting past one of the biggest writer's block I have ever had in the six years that I have been blogging and she said something like this: "sometimes the things you write when your soul is going through all kind of battles don't always make sense. But still, you ought to write because out of the dryness of your soul, will come something that someone reading your words needs". It is the light version but it actually sounded deeper and more poetic than that.

Anyway, I went back to God and thought about something I could bring to you. Something that stood true to my writing voice and my commitment to bring authenticity and transparency (to some extend) in every post in such a way that people could relate to and identify with the things I was talking about. And as I brainstormed and prayed and sought directions, it so happen that I had finished up reading Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio and was thinking of an angle I could exploit to do a review of this book that would do it justice. In a split second, it all clicked and the next series - inspired by this book- I would write about was born.

"I doesn't have to be alcoholism or anorexia or depression. Giants come in all sizes, some subtle and others stark. The good news is that it's not God's plan for you to live with anything standing in the middle of your life, demoralizing you day by day by day. These giants harm you and rob God of his glory in your life. God wants you to live free. God wants your giant to fall. [...] But first need to realize that it's not a simple wish that your giant will fall some day, some time. No. it's a mandate. Goliath must fall. [...] If God has it his way, we live free and He gets glory for being the giant-killer"

Louie Giglio, Your giant is going down, Goliath Must Fall.

But first let's talk about the book. I came across it a few months ago after a listening to a Goliath must fall podcast series from Agincourt Pentecostal Church and I found it so interesting that I needed to get my hands on this book it was inspired from. After finishing it, I tried siting and working on a review but there was something particular about that book. It wasn't a book you could just get three or four lessons from, all  summarized in bullet points, and then keep moving with your life: it was a deeply life altering and transformative narration of a story we've all read before (and which, ironically, I had happen to write about) : The story of David and Goliath [with a twist to it].

Although we have been hyped to see us through David in our attempts to fight and slain our giants, Louie Giglio is inviting us to look at this story from the battlefield as the soldiers who couldn't gather the courage to face Goliath, and look at David as Jesus, the mighty savior who seemingly wasn't much but defeated at once all of our taunting giants by triumphing of them on the cross of Calvary.

Not only is this book interesting because of this twist when it comes to covering the main storyline, but also because of all the background stories and subtle yet taunting giants hiding in it too.  

It is a book that addresses the most obvious giants that show up into our lives as Goliath such as anger, fear and addiction and the subtle yet taunting ones such as rejection and comfort (probably the sneakiest of all as we don't think of it as being a giant but it very much is). This is a book that goes beyond the surface and calls the readers (myself included) to take an honest look at the state of our lives, souls and hearts, acknowledging (and accepting) our need for a savior to deliver us from our taunting giants which we've successfully failed at defeating. It is a book beautifully crafted and stitched together with words that break down our walls and bring us to a place of safety in God where surrendering and being vulnerable while calling upon, crying to him and pleading, leads us to the victory, deliverance, healing, restauration and most importantly the presence of God; things we all long for whether we dare to acknowledge it or not. It is a powerful paradigm shift that moves us from relying on things and people (just like Saul relied on his weapons and army) and overcoming deception, to relying on God and His powerful grace to finally see the ending that brings Glory to Him in our life and leaves us fulfilled, satisfied and not wanting for more except for His presence. 

It is a beautifully and inspiring book that I cannot wait to share with you in the upcoming series called The Taunting giant & The Mighty God, hoping it can do to you as much good as is did to my soul. Until then, you can get this book from Barnes and Nobles (where I got mine from), online and/or in any other store where it is sold. I truly think it is a staple that any christian needs, one of those books that should be found in the vicinity of where you read/study your Bible. It is a definite five stars for me and I am sure that as I write this series and long after, it will be one of those books I will reach for.

It's all for today's edition of Underneath The Cover!

See you soon and may God keep you safe, grant you strength to get through what you are going through and turn what you think are defeats into victories and testimonies.

Until then,

The Happiness Fairy

👸

In The Midst Of The Heartbreak

A broken heart can be disheartening (no pun intended) but not as much as ministering with a broken heart. Life has been challenging lately and the reason why this article is coming up late is because I couldn’t find words to write, words to say in order to bring hope, light and minister the way I have always done and the way I started doing it this year particularly (if you have been following me for a while you will know what I am talking about). So I sat down, trying to process my emotions but truly my own heartbreaks, trying to write something, anything. But nothing felt “good enough” to be shared here. But most importantly, nothing sounded real. All the words that I penned down felt like a lie and if I could not identify with it, then certainly people that come here for solace or really just to find something to carry on, would definitely not identify/ relate to it. So I stopped. I prayed and I waited for my heart to settle and for a solid word of encouragement to step on and start building from and here we are today. So if you made it to this article welcome [back] and thank you for your patience. 

When people think of ministering, the first thought that comes to their mind is church: preaching, being a pastor and/or hitting those high notes on the choir rehearsal. But ministering really goes beyond the pulpit or the church as a building or a community. Ministering is about God AND the use of the gifts that you have received. And one of my gift is writing. If you have ever been to that space where everything just feels like a constant struggle, where you barely get away with making it day by day when it come to the things life throws your way and if you are as passionate and creative about what you do, then you know how disheartening it can be to not be able to tap into your God-given gifts to inspire/ bring light to people around you. Ministering with a broken heart is hard: when you can’t deliver, when you feel stuck and can’t move, when the taunting voice of Goliath drowns the echo of your faith and the word of God in your heart and you feel defeated, unsure of whether or not you will make it. It is hard. But God is bigger and He is the one who delivers us with a mighty hand. 

So how do you minister with a broken heart? 

First you go to God and you give it all to Him. Jesus has called us in Matthew 11:28 to come to Him and He will give us rest. So you really, you just go to God: for all the things that just seem to be too much, too painful, too big and too heavy to carry; and you exchange all those heavy burdens for His peace and His rest. He is the only one that can lift up our burdens and lighten our daily load. And Peter in 1 Peter 5:7 is as inviting as is Jesus to go God because He is a a good father than can care for us in ways nobody else would. As you go to God to cast all your cares on Him, you ask Him to give you strength and carry you through whatever it is that you are going through. God can allow some things to come your way but He will ALWAYS - and trust me when I say ALWAYS- show up when you need him and deliver you (Ps 34:19). And God will give you strength to carry on if you rely on Him and Him alone (Ps 55:22). And there is a reason for it: God’s riches supply is unlimited (Eph 3:16) while as human you grow tired and weary. God is the only one who can renew our strengths and keep us going when, to any human being, it seems impossible to overcome some of the difficulties that we may encounter in life. Our ability to overcome will directly depend on our ability to tap into God’s unlimited resources by going to Him. All we have to do is to ask 

The next thing to do is arm yourself with patience. A heartbreak doesn’t heal overnight and sometimes it can take a while for God to work through our situations and/or mess. You have to be patient as God perfects His work in your heart and your life. I have come to understand in the various situations and circumstances that have happen during my walk with God that He is the master of time and timing. He is not moved by time or our feelings of being out of time: He moves on his own timing and yet, is never out of time. So if He is never out of time and if perfection – which is defined here by the work of God in our lives- takes time, then there is no need to rush. The end will always be the same: God always wins. 

Last but not least, as we constantly go to God exchanging our burdens for his light load our strengths being renewed every day and patiently wait on Him, it is necessary for us to keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. We have to keep our eyes on him because if we don’t, we go back to square one. Why? When we are not looking at him, we are looking at all the things going wrong, and then we get into our feelings and the healing time starts to feel longer and before we know we are looking for something else (or someone else) to heal things, deal with things or mend the things that can only be healed by, dealt with and mended by God. And I know because I have been there. The end sight is not pretty and the consequences and delays are never worth it. Now will all of this be easy? Absolutely not! There will be things and people and situations that will test at least one (if not all) of those things mentioned above. There will be taunting giants trying to discourage you and there will be your flesh and your feelings and your thoughts standing in the way of your healing, restoration and breakthrough. But the good news is they need not win. And if you truly dwell in the Lord and keep your eyes on Him for all and everything, He will get you through it. 

Hoping this blessed someone and if you are going through some difficult times, know that things get better and they will because God always wins. Always.

So You Think You Can Write?

New week, new day, new challenges to conquer and of course: a new post. If you are new here welcome and if you are one of the tribe, faithfully creeping on the blog every over week to read the new post that goes up: welcome back. The past few weeks have been very interesting and eventful hence, the lateness with which is post is going online. Taking a break from the emotionally and spiritually heavy stuff to talk about a passion of mine, the very one that led me to creating this blog in the first place: writing. Today, I want to share with you my experience and the tips that helped me when I wrote my first book this past November. Saying those words, reading them, thinking them still sounds/feels as weird as it did when I first finished writing that book and I am still getting used to it. 

Let me start by saying that I have always had a love for letters, ever since I was a kid. I had a passion for books and words which kind of explain why on so many occasions I was told that I talked too much (many years ago. This statement doesn’t apply anymore as I have learned to use my words sparingly and only when needed). I used to read a lot as a kid and actually started writing when I was thirteen. Nothing really serious: occasional stuff here and there, mostly poetry. And then I transitioned to writing fiction stories. Again, light stuff to keep creativity going and entertain my classmates during breaks and empty hours in middle school. Then life happened, shit hit the fan and I went from writing fiction to writing my heart and feelings away in a similar fashion than I do on this blog. Fast forward a few years later: I created this blog with the encouragements of my person (my sister💖) and a few of my close friends.

I know you are telling yourself “well this is all great and fluffy and cute but how did you actually come up with the idea of writing a book?” Well it didn't actually "just happen". I had been curating that project for years however, I couldn’t seem to find the time, motivation or even words to get started. But then something really magical happened last year: I found out about a movement called NANOWRIMO which stands for NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. Every year in November hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world take on the challenge to write a novel of at least fifty thousand words in thirty days. Sounds crazy? Well that’s because it is. The idea behind it is not to win or meet the fifty thousand words: the idea is for you to get started on that book you have always wanted to write and have a support group of struggling randos to do it with so that you don’t feel that desperate, lost and clueless. Sounds weird? It is. But take it from a participant: it is a fun as it is weird. Misery loves company. Writing a fifty thousand words novel is the only time were this say will not make you feel bad at all.
I jumped on the NANOWRIMO wagon last November and ended up writing my fifty thousand words the day before the challenge was supposed to end. I guess that qualify as being a winner but it’s beside the point (still worth mentioning though). So today I am sharing the tips that I found helpful in writing a fifty thousand words novel in thirty days. So without further due let’s get into in.

Tips #1: Have a plan 

Don’t just jump into nanowrimo thinking you’re going to wing it. You won’t. Unless you are some kind of writing guru/god/goddess or your creativity just flows non-stop in a way that can make a novel make sense. If yes, good for you! If you are not any of these just plan ahead. The week before the nanowrimo challenge is actually dedicated to brainstorming ideas and lining up your plot, your characters and the overall make up of your novel. Don’t squander that week: use it or you might end up regretting it later. 

Note: It is okay to have something lined up before the challenge starts and actually change your mind. It happens. It happened with me: I started off with a fiction novel with a solid plot, characters and a story already lined up. But my heart wanted something else: my heart wanted the book I was longing for for so many years. So two weeks into the nanowrimo challenge, I ditched my fiction novel and went for a memoir and I absolutely do not regret it. It is okay to change your mind and start over but if you do, just make sure which way you are heading. Everything doesn’t have to be planned down to the “t” but have a general sense of what you want your final product to look like and work from there. 

Tip #2: Do not panic 😱

I will finish you mere mortal *insert evil laugh*

Panic has a weird way of messing up with your creativity. I have been there: I know what it feels like when your brain start turning into mush because you think “fifty thousand words, thirty days… What on God green's earth was I thinking?!” If this is your first time, you will come to that realization a few days before of after the challenge and it will hit you like a brick on the head and, if you’re anything like me, you might have a panic attack and start hyperventilating and then everything you had planned will just go down the drain. Just breathe and know that you will be okay. It sounds overwhelming but it can be done with a little organization and a lot of motivation from your part. Leading me to my next tip. 

Tip #3: Plan for a set amount of time to write in the day ⌚

If you want to do this you need to have some kind of organizational skills going on here. Do not try winging this otherwise it will get ugly really fast. Have a set amount of time during which you plan on writing. Every day. It doesn’t have to be long but it has to exist. That is how you get it done and make sure that you write something during that time. A word. A phrase. A sentence. A paragraph. A page. Just write something. A little bit goes a long way. I have had times where I didn’t feel like writing a word and next thing I knew, I was down on my third page with two more pages to go and I had to just shut everything off and go to bed because I had to be up the next morning going to work. Now I know it sounds difficult sometimes to do that. I know it very well because when I was writing that memoir, I was involved in the organization of a wedding, it was busy season at work and on top of that my work hours require me to be up at 4 am in order to be on time because my commute is two hours long each way. So really the last thing you want to do it is write when you are exhausted and all you want to do is sleep. But I did find a way to squeeze into my day a quiet time to put in my daily words. 

Note: Life happens. Things don’t always go according to plan. Be flexible. If you missed a day it’s okay: just jump back on the wagon and pick up where you left at. Make up for that time that you missed and perhaps, pick up the pace to meet your missed day goal as well as the goal for the day you get back on track 

Tip #4: Write everywhere, whenever you can 🌏

On top of the set writing time that I had, I was writing everywhere, whenever I had a chance. If you are a fan of having a physical notebook, invest in a good one and whenever you get an idea write it down. If you don’t have your notebook or if you find that notebooks are not practical, you can do what I did: write notes on your phones and at the end of the day (or when you are ready to write) send them to yourself by email. That is how I did it. I wrote everywhere: on the train, during lunch break, on the bus, in an Uber ,etc… As soon as I had a moment + an idea I got into the zone and wrote it so that I did not forget them. 

Tip #5: Just write ✍

The fifty thousand words novel that you write during the nanowrimo challenge is meant to be your rough draft. Not the final one. It will be the foundation you will build on to get that polished, glorious book of yours that you will parade around. So of course it will be just that: rough. Don’t be too concerned or obsessed with the fact that you have way too many typos or that your story doesn’t make sense. You will have an opportunity to refine your work during the “What now?” months (January and February I think) but during the nanowrimo your only goal should be to write as much as you can. Resist the urge to go back and edit. I know I had to fight that urge every single minute. And I did not work on my chapters in a particular order. And to be honest, to this day (five months later), the order of my chapters is still changing. I have added some things and taken some things away because I am that much of a perfectionist and some little things bug me that much. Point is: just put those words in and you will worry about everything else later. 

Tip #6: Writer’s block happens: Push through it.

I have been blogging for six years and writing for fourteen so I am very familiar with writer's blocks. It doesn’t freak me out as much as it used to (still does though… a little bit). It won’t always be nice and easy to write and inspiration won’t always flow easily. Sometimes you will feel stuck and frustrated but when you do, you don’t get stuck there: you have to push through it. Remember tip #5? That’s when you’ll need it the most. Write something. The more you will dig and write those words, the higher your chances at finding gold will be. And perhaps the words/ ideas you will get from pushing through your writer’s block will be better than the ones you thought were great. It has happened before so don’t let a writer’s block stop you and keep you from greatness: believe in yourself and believe that you can get past it. And you will. 

Tip #7: Take a break 👯: Eat a kitkat (or not) 

You do not have to eat a kit-kat but you will definitely need a break and snacks. Now... Your amount of sleep might be limited if like me you are caught in ten thousands different things. But you absolutely need a break when writing. A break is to your brain what rebooting is to your computer: you need a break to refresh your mind, give your eyes a break and avoid that hand cramp (if you actually like writing with a pen on paper or a typing machine. I'd love me one of those...). It might seem like a waste of time but it will actually make you more efficient and motivated (sometimes). Take a break. Do something else. Get your mind totally off that novel for a few minutes (or hours) and come back with new ideas and a new perspective. Just DON"T PROCRASTINATE and you'll end up on the dark playground. You don't want to be there. It's not worth it. I know because I play there EVERY SINGLE DAY to my dismay. It's fun for a minute then it turns dark: just like the name indicates. Don't do it. 

Tip #8: Write with people (if you can) 

Get together with other struggling writers and watch your confidence level go sky high. Sounds bad but it's comforting. And I am very sorry if anybody is reading this thinking "what a jerk". I am truly sorry but desperate situations call for desperate measures. Not only will your confidence level go up but you will be able to motivate each other and actually putting your brains together might bring about new ideas for your book. When I was doing the NANOWRIMO challenge, I attended write-ins with other people. We were provided with free snacks (wait… whet? 👀) and on top of that you get to meet great people and hear all about what they are writing about (some stories were really interesting) So I highly recommend that you attend a write-in if you can. If you can’t NANOWRIMO has forums gathering the people writing the same genre you are writing. So it is also definitely a place to go if you need a pick me up. 

Tip #9: Don’t be intimidated 

This is your journey. You are the only one who gets to set the pace. Some people are natural at writing, for some others it’s a struggle. Some people are neat and organized and some others are a total mess but there’s a method to the madness. Whichever category you find yourself in, do not be intimidated. Do your own thing and stay in your line. And last but not the least...

Tip# 10: Have fun 😎

Oh em gee! Just have fun with it. When you get all wrapped up and caught up in the idea that you need to win, that’s the time where you need to back up, take a breather and remind yourself that there is nothing here to "win" (except a certificate) Well technically you get a chance to get your book published later on (if you want) but that’s not the point of it. The point is to write and get your creativity on and have fun doing it. My memoir wasn’t always fun to write because it was emotionally supercharged and some days it fell like I was reopening old wounds to pour out some wisdom and share my life experience. But nonetheless I had fun with the whole process. It was madness from day one to the end but it was so much fun and if you don’t even meet the fifty thousand words mark and get to “win”, you should at least be able to look back with fondness and say : “I had so much fun and I would do it again” 

A little bit of a lengthy article but this is in a nutshell my experience and my tips for anybody willing to participate into a NANOWRIMO event or even write a book. Some people I know have mentioned that they would love to read the book but I am still in the editing stages. I poured so much of myself, my story , my heart and my emotions into it that reading and editing that book feels like reliving some of the things I talked about. So I am taking my time to not be too overwhelmed but also to pull back when I need to in order to override my brain and remind it that I do not dwell in those emotional places anymore because some days, those emotions feel very real. I am anticipating doing another NANOWRIMO this year and I am hoping it will be easier this year but you never know. The same things can sometimes come with different levels of challenges. So we will see. If it is something you would be interest in doing leave a comment or reach out by email and I would be happy to connect with you. 

If you have made it to the end: congratulations and thank you for taking your precious time to read through this article. Whoever you are reading this, you motivate me to want to write and get better at my craft. So thank you. 

Until next time, 

The Happiness Fairy 👸

P.S: Want to know more about the NANOWRIMO movement? Click here. Happy browsing 😊