The Holy Spirit is a Master Teacher - Colleen Cohen

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost ... shall teach you all things ..." - John 14:26

It was through a valley of trials that Colleen Cohen was led to unlock the gift of authoring a book, an accomplishment that she admitted has always been one of her goals.

Cohen explained that upon graduating from university and returning home to the 'country' St Elizabeth she had met challenges that pushed her to relentlessly seek God. It was during that time, in one of her morning worship sessions, that she was given the title for a devotional called The True Vine: Your Guide To Spiritual Upliftment.

"Here I was, thinking that this would be a book I would write in the future, but upon documenting the title, the Spirit of the Lord said 'NOW'.

"I was a bit confused as it was not a part of my plan to write a book now, but the Holy Spirit kept saying 'NOW,' so I decided to pray and seek the Lord more about this step until He confirmed it through me, as well as through other believers," she said, adding that it's not when you are ready, but when the Lord is ready and that when He says 'NOW,' you have to be obedient and act while trusting Him to bring to delivery what He had promised.

Faced with the struggle of creating a satisfactory piece of literature, Cohen found comfort in knowing that it was a divine instruction and thus would be accompanied by divine guidance.

She told Family & Religion: "It was a hard process! It took a lot of research before I could actually start in 2014, and trust me, when I say there were moments I cried as I didn't know much about writing a book, and people who I thought would have helped were unwilling. I had to wait a lot on the Lord as I couldn't write anything of my own. Each time I tried writing something based on my own knowledge and what I felt was right, the Holy Spirit would say 'no', so I had to erase and wait until the Holy Spirit downloaded what He wanted me to write."

And to think it would be easier to have someone dictate verbatim each chapter was a total misjudgement.

"I could be doing laundry or sleeping, and the Lord would start speaking to me, and I had to get up, grab my pen and notepad, and start writing. This has evolved into the habit of me sleeping with a notepad and pen, and I've come to appreciate it. It was also most frustrating each time I tried communicating my vision for the book, based on what the Lord told me He wanted, to individuals who I wanted to help bring the book to fruition. In this moment, the Lord stepped in again and told me He will teach me how to design and publish the book. I was most annoyed as I just wanted this to be done and over with. At one point, I gave up, and my dear friend and mentor, Omar 'OT' Trowers, encouraged me," Cohen said.

The True Vine: Your Guide To Spiritual Upliftment was published in April 2017, and today, the 27-year-old author is spreading the word that the Holy Spirit is a Master Teacher as He helped her to design and ultimately self-publish the book.

The devotional is for anyone who wants to be spiritually motivated through the Word of God as well as through practical power nuggets from real life experiences, a tool which, according the now public relations and education officer is different from all other devotionals on the market.

"It has a colouring and journaling section, which gives its readers the opportunity to meditate and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say after reading the devotional exercises.

"Colouring is a great stress reliever, and it helps to soothe the mind.

Also, as believers, we spend so much time praying, but we don't spend the time to listen to what the Lord is saying to us. So, this book gives readers a chance to listen and journal what they hear. Developing the art of journaling is very important as your next big idea can derive from journaling. Write the vision, says the Lord, for thou it tarries it shall come to pass."

The True Vine: Your Guide To Spiritual Upliftment is available on all online bookstores.

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