February 6, 2026
So, I am in the middle of a few devotions, so I didn’t have one I’m ready to post about today, so I decided to look at old notes and screenshots on my phone to get my brain moving – hence the reason it’s taken me until Friday of this week. I came across a screenshot I took of a post made on November 30, 2025, by a Jillian Hickson (more than likely shared by one of my friends on Facebook because I cannot find the person now) I will share a picture of the post:
Well, this pretty much hit the nail on the head with what I struggle with – what about you? I will say I’ve worked on some of it and feel I am progressing. For instance, #1 – I am not good at praying out loud. If you know me personally, you’d probably think I wouldn’t have a problem with this. Being in front of a crowd has never bothered me, I did all the extracurricular activities growing up and did theater in college, so talking in front of others isn’t the problem. One thing I have acquired since then, however, (referring to my trauma in 2012 – read earlier post if you don’t know what I’m talking about!) is ANXIETY. No big deal, everyone has anxiety, right? Well, from what I can actually remember about life before my wreck, I didn’t have anxiety. I was pretty easy going for the most part, and I don’t remember having any panic attacks or really stressing out about anything. Post wreck, the panic attacks started, and now I’m on medication for all these things I didn’t have before – anxiety, depression (no I’m not sad, it’s a mental thing that stems from my TBI), ADHD. Point in all of this is, I am so very anxious/nervous that I’m going to sound like an idiot praying, or I’m going to lose my train of thought in the middle of it or repeat myself (another problem I formed). I haven’t conquered that fear yet, but I am working on it! I have prayed out lout a few times, making myself ignore the fright, with one person – I’ve prayed out loud with my Mom a couple of times, I’ve prayed out loud with my husband, I even prayed for someone I didn’t know one time. I don’t remember why I did, or even who it was, but I do remember praying for a girl (that’s how my memory works sometimes, I may not remember details, but I can remember pieces). I am praying to God to give me more courage when it comes to this, and I hope to be able to volunteer to close in prayer at one of my bible study groups one day.
Now let’s talk about #2, ‘skipping my daily devotional but still having time to scroll social media’. I am terrible at this, I have a whole tub of devotions that are only half done – and yet, I still buy more consistently. I just joined a group of women at church doing a devotion on the book of Hebrews – and I got behind the first week. However, I have been working double time on my bible time to catch back up (I had a sick kid on night one of the group meetings, but I am striving to make sure I am fully caught up by next week). I will admit, I used to spend a lot of time scrolling social media which took me away from bible time, but I can honestly say, since I’ve started this blog – I don’t even know what’s going on in the Facebook world anymore. The only time I really connect is to check my blog page I set up on Facebook (www.facebook.com/coffeenjesuswemily) or to post for my mom’s t-shirt business (www.wrenstees.com). Now, I may not stick to the same time every day, but I have tried to make it a point to catch up on each of my devotions every day – I literally set reminders on my phone because I know my memory might fail me. Making sure I have time with God every day has been a game changer for me! No, I don’t have a set schedule – my daily tasks differ every day! BUT I have to make it happen! I have to have time with God, or the devil will attack! If you have this issue too, take it from me, work it in when you can! Another devotion I’m doing, I think I’ve mentioned before – read the bible in less than a year – always decides to send me a reminder at the worst time, so I make it a point to leave to pick my daughter up from school very early so I can sit in line at the school and go through that reading. YES, it gets messed up sometimes, so if I can’t do it then, I read it in my bed before I go to sleep. It’s good to have a back-up plan in mind, because life happens!
On to #3; ‘Not having enough knowledge of the Bible… I feel like I never know enough.’ This is a big one for me! I love finding bible verses that fit my current situation, but it’s so amazing to me when people can think of one that fits right off the top of their head. I am not sure if I will conquer this one because I do have a poor memory, but that won’t stop me from trying! I am reading through the entire bible, but I have trouble retaining the information – such as knowing what essentially takes place in each book. To help myself with this problem, I asked for the Lord’s guidance, and suddenly, the only ads I seen on ANYTHING were from Faith Gateway – an ad to purchase the “Journal Through the Bible Exploring Genesis to Revelation”. I refrained for a while, but finally gave in. This journal has “Tear-Out Memorization Cards” to help in remembering – is that not EXACTLY what I was asking for guidance in?? I guess you could call that a God-Wink. I’ve included a picture of the journal, and you can purchase it from faithgateway.com if you’re interested too!
‘Giving in to worldly temptations’, now this one is a tough one for everyone, I’m sure. I will admit, this has always been so hard for me. Yes, I realized I needed to come back to the Lord after my wreck, but again, it wasn’t that simple. I had to figure out why these worldly things were so WRONG and realize I didn’t need them. I still drank some, and no drinking is not a sin, but getting drunk is, and the things we do because of drunkenness can be as well.
Isaiah 5:22 states, “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!” This verse condemns a lifestyle centered on habitual intoxication, portraying people who devote their entire day to pursuing alcohol, neglecting spiritual duties, personal responsibilities, and moral discernment. The repeated phrase “rise early…continue until night” emphasizes the totality of their indulgence, showing that drinking has become a dominant focus of life rather than a controlled or occasional activity (christianitypath.com).
Ephesians 5:18; “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Proverbs 20:1; “Wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
Romans 14:21; “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
These are only a few verses I found, but there are plenty more. In summary, the Bible does not outfight forbid drinking alcohol but emphasizes moderation and the dangers of drunkenness. It encourages individuals to reflect on their choices regarding alcohol and how these choices align with their faith and the well-being of others. (Google’s Copilot summary when I searched bible verses about drinking alcohol). Personally, I thought it was okay to drink every now and then – but it always messed with my brain, like should I be doing this if I’m trying to be more Christian? My husband quit, shouldn’t I be a good wife and quit too so he isn’t tempted? I even tried to say it was medicinal, but it was getting out of hand. One night, I was at a restaurant that my husband and I frequented, and I was having a margarita on a weeknight. This was right after we started our new church, and as I’m sipping my margarita, a man from said church walks in and stops at our table to talk. No big deal, he didn’t look at me in disgust, or he may not have even noticed the drink at all, but I was mortified. I felt so ashamed. That’s when I realized I must confront this. I took it to the Lord in prayer. Before when I tried to quit, I’d always ‘crave’ it and give in so easily. After that prayer, I haven’t wanted to or craved alcohol at all. I’ve been around others that were drinking, and I’ve been offered but I’ve said no without even thinking about it – and let me just tell you, it is so freeing! Before, I felt like if I went out to a restaurant, I had to have a drink too, or I had to have a glass of wine when I had a rough day, but now – I don’t want it, at all! I was so amazed at not having that feeling anymore, I wanted to tell everyone about it. If you have a worldly problem you can’t seem to conquer, TAKE IT TO THE LORD! It may not be alcohol, but whatever it is, I promise He can make a change!
Next on the list, patience. This is another one I’m working on. I have very little patience. I don’t know if I had it before my wreck or not, but regardless, it’s a problem now. I lose my patience with my husband and my daughter the most, and that is something I beg the Lord to free me from. I love them both so much, and I hate how my lack of patience leads to anger. I lose patience at other times, with other people too, but I can tell I have gotten better since I’ve started praying about it. I’m not perfect yet, and may not ever be, but I will continue to take it to Jesus and pray for healing in my patience so it will not lead to anger with others.
The last thing this author said they struggle with as a Christian woman was forgiveness. This is one of the first things I had to confront when I decided to fully surrender to Jesus. If you know me, you know I am a very emotional person, and I take everything to heart. I had been hurt so much by people in different circumstances and it dragged me into depression – along with all the other mental stuff I had going on. I could never understand why people treated me in certain ways or did certain things that affected me and it was so overwhelming. I just couldn’t let stuff go! I finally learned, in order to have faith in Jesus and live this life for Him, I had to forgive others, whether they were sorry or not. If I wanted to be at peace, I had to let it go! Not only in the big things that have hurt me in the past, but I have to forgive the little things too. For instance, if my husband and I fuss or fight over something small, I have to forgive him.
Ephesians 4:32; “Be king to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Mark 11:25; “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive your trespasses.”
1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve sinned and fallen short of the glory of God PLENTY of times, and I want to be forgiven!! So, the way I see it, after reading these verses and more, in order to be forgiven, we must forgive! Simple as that. Yes, I admit I still get irritated and angry at times, but I am trying to be quick to forgive and forget!
That’s all for today but thank you for reading my blog! I hope if you are having any of these issues as a Christian woman, or just any Christian in general, you found some insight on how to face it! Leave me a comment or send me a message and I’ll be happy to discuss further 😊