The Battle

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Doula Faith

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Romans 7:15

It was our anniversary, and I had determined it would be a good day, avoiding silly disagreements and not insisting on my way.  But already, the old attitude was finding its lofty place.  I wanted romance, unpredictability, and my husband to just come up with the surprise without my communication. He’s a practical guy, and he just doesn’t think that way, especially since he’s tried in the past to surprise me, but it somehow didn’t meet my expectations.  But this time I was without excuse. We had planned to spend time on the Sanibel Causeway, just sitting on the beach during early morning,  and then find a restaurant there and go to lunch. But I had insisted on having an egg biscuit at McDonald’s and an iced coffee for breakfast, which of course ruined my appetite.  When it was time to have lunch, I just wasn’t hungry and decided maybe we could do some shopping first. Since my husband cannot read my mind, he went to a shop I immediately rejected.  Then we went back and forth on where to eat lunch, and finally decided on Pinchers, a restaurant we liked, but off the island.  Finally, my husband said, ” Is this ok with you?”, which it wasn’t, I had someplace else in mind I wanted to go later that day.  Then it happened, that old, stale, resentful attitude was springing up, identified as gross self-centeredness. But this time, I knew the signs and asked the Lord to help me get over it.  And so, I resisted the flesh and had a wonderful time with the one I love on a beautiful day.
Thank You, Lord, you always offer a way of escape whenever I ask for your help!
(1 Corinthians 10:13)

This reminds me of Cain, who God warned to get a handle on his anger or it would spiral into something worse. But Cain ignored the warning and killed his brother, Seth.  I wasn’t going to end up murdering my spouse, but it would have ruined our day and maybe the next.  So as I am learning, I need to take captive every thought that rears its ugly head. I am also learning how it results in the abundant life Jesus promised. It’s so much better this way. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, John 10:10)

Lord, thank you for your Word, full of examples and warnings that convict us of your truth and protect us from the evil one. Surely, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a bright light to your path of righteousness, that you provide for our sakes and yours.  (Psalm 119:105)

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What’s Behind those Interruptions and Distractions?

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Doula Faith

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

Every morning, I set my alarm at 5:00 a.m. so I can spend the first hour of the day with my Lord. Sometimes it’s longer, and sometimes it’s shorter, but this is my secret place where I seek His Face. But if I neglect to prepare and dedicate this time exclusively to Him, you can be assured that whatever I allow will intrude, even fatigue, so I must guard it in every way. (Matthew 26:40)

This morning, as I prepared the family room for my exercise routine. I turned on the video, put the volume on mute, moved the center console out of the way, set my Apple Watch to monitor my heart rate, turned on my iPhone music, and put on my weights. All of this to exercise for just 30 minutes.  Well, needless to say, I set my robot vacuum cleaner to clean a distant room at the same time.  And lo and behold, you got it! It went rogue and entered my exercise space. So every few minutes, I had to stop to untangle cords and move out of the way.

This reminded me of how easily we can be entangled in other things if we do not guard”Our Secret” Place. There is just no room for any other one or thing when focusing on God’s Word and prayer. It’s like allowing an uninvited guest to break in on your conversation. God wants our full affection and attention; hearing His voice, and He accepts nothing less. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Lord, forgive me for not guarding our time together. Remind me how you need my full attention as we come together, one-on-one, in our intimate relationship.

PS As I am writing this blog, I hear the sound of my rogue robot vacuum coming my way! Yipes!

“My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.”And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.” Psalm 27:8

 

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Communion with God

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Doula Faith

Updated and Reposted: 4/20/2026

May 2021

Testimony of Dianne Trinder on “His Abide Bible Study
                         

“His Abide”
How to Abide in His Word

                           

The word communion generally brings to mind the sacrament of the Eucharist.  However, communion also has the more general meaning of “intimate fellowship or rapport.”  At no other time in recent history have we had more time to reflect, and spent more time alone.  For many, this time of isolation has been catastrophic.  However, for others this has been a time of refreshment, recommitment to the Lord our God, and truly a deepening of our faith.

The internet became a blessing and a curse throughout the pandemic.  It allowed us to remain connected to family and friends while we were physically distant from each other.  We were even able to attend church services online.  But social media  can eat up a lot of our time if we are not careful.  And though Google may seem to have all the answers, the sources of that information are not always reliable.

The Holy Spirit has increased my desire to get to know Him better, and He also put me in touch with a woman named Mary who has developed this communion with God through studying the scriptures, reflecting on them, and applying them to her life.

Today everything is made easy, and so I don’t need to wait on the Lord for His insight for me.  I can go to the internet and it’s immediate.  I don’t go to the source for milk — God’s Word — I go to preachers and teachers online, because they feed me and make it so easy for me.  But when we choose convenience, we risk losing out on the richness available at the true source:

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

So I don’t hear from God directly.  Well, Holy Spirit, I get it now!  I want to hear from YOU.

I have journaled throughout my life and filled many books.  But I have often used my quiet time – and many pages – to rant and complain to God about everything I was going through.  My journal was about me, and not about Jesus.  Mary helped me start a Biblical Meditation Journal.  She advocates a Bible study method that incorporates a written  Summary, Reflection and Prayer.

First, I summarize the scripture(s) I have read, and note when a scripture jumps out at me.  I believe when that happens, He wants me to look deeper into that particular scripture.  Hosea 4:6 reminds us of the danger of biblical illiteracy:

                              “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” 

Summarizing helps me to remember these scriptures, so I can grow in the knowledge of Him.

Reflecting on scripture(s) is important because it provides time and space for the Holy Spirit to speak and direct my understanding.  During reflection, I can receive His interpretation of the passage.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15

I must reflect with the right motive so I can understand and hear what God is saying to me, believing I will hear from Him with a hunger and thirst for more of Jesus.

. When I rely on the Holy Spirit’s discernment and understanding of God’s Word, I can pray into the scripture(s) with right motives (James 4:3).  If I am praying in agreement with God’s Word with Spiritual understanding, I believe I am praying according to God’s will.   Affirming the Word of God in my prayers is speaking God’s language.  His promise is to answer my prayer:

“And this is the confidence that we have before Him:  If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him” 1 John 5:14-15

Mary encouraged me to study the whole chapter of Luke 24 over the course of a week.
One day, Luke 24:52-53 lit up for me.  I felt like the Lord was speaking these words directly into my heart.

In my summary, I wrote, “all they could do was worship Jesus, and every day they went to the Temple to do the same thing.”  During my reflection, I was convicted.  All the distractions of this world keep me from a mindset of worship and praise to You, Jesus.
And so my prayer was this:

“I pray for Your help to make better choices of those things that I read and listen to.  Help me, Holy Spirit, to focus on You, Jesus.  Amen.”

As you can no doubt guess, I was not instantly made perfect.  However, the Holy Spirit has empowered me to make some changes, and I continue to grow and learn.  I have developed a habit of doing my Bible study early in the morning, before the distractions of the day have a chance to claim my attention.  I am also learning not to spend so much time on social media.  That is a major distraction for me!

Since I started using Mary’s recommended method of studying the Bible, the Holy Spirit has faithfully shown up to give me His insights.  This experience has given even deeper meaning to the word communion:  true fellowship with God.  He has so much He wants to share with me, if I only give Him that opportunity.

Go to the “His Abide” Study Page to view how you can do this to. 

Doula Faith

Learn how you can also have communion with other believers.
Meeting “one on one” in Jesus Christ

Hebrews 10:24-25

 

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