The Fuel We Need…

This post is by Tami Rodriguez.

“Food is fuel” is a very popular phrase right now. People are starting to realize health is about so much more than looking good in our swimsuit. But health is about more than our body- it’s also about our soul. Being well connected to God and seeking His will in how we live each day should be way more important than the size of our jeans…but often it isn’t. 

I hate admitting that, but our physical condition is…physical. It’s in our face. We SEE it! I see it when my pants are too tight or I can’t workout as strong as I could months ago because I’ve been slacking. My soul, for me at least, is easy to forget or ignore. I am so busy with family and doctor appointments and making dinner and cleaning a house and kids and…a beautiful wonderful life that sometimes the act of sitting down and connecting with God doesn’t happen. I’m not talking about reading my Bible or even the conversational prayer I have with God all throughout the day. I’m talking about something our grandparents would probably have called piety.

We don’t use that word very much anymore but being pious according to the 1828 Dictionary is “Godly; reverencing and honoring the Supreme Being in heart and in practice”.  To me, piety is a deep connect with God—slowing down and communing with Him—not just checking off my Bible Study or devotional for the day. 

If you’ve ever seen the movie War Room, Miss Clara is a woman I am jealous of over her relationship with God. She depends on Him. Clings to Him. Calls on Him. Trusts Him. LOVES Him. It’s a connection so deep with the Heavenly Father that HIS power becomes HER power. I know it’s just a movie but I have met people like that in real life. While we aren’t supposed to covet… I do covet that kind of connection and relationship! 

I’ve struggled with this most since my kids have become teenagers. They come and go and have deep conversations at random times in the day and I want to be available for that. But that kind of “always on” life has also made me kind of spacey when it comes to slowing down and finding focused time to talk with God. 

Something I have found really useful lately are two different prayer journals available through Coffee and Bible Time. Yes, two. They have one that is very busy—lots of sections and places for sticky notes etc. When my brain feels like it’s going a million miles an hour, I take a lot of joy and pleasure in skipping around and running with all these bite size pieces of worry, praise or need in my mind. But some days I just want to pour my heart out to God and for me I have a really hard time doing that in the traditional conversational prayer style. I have found that writing my prayers helps me feel grounded and intentional with my words and thoughts. The other journal is more notebook style yet still has some organization and direction such as praise, confession and petition sections that make me feel more relaxed and focused. 

If you’ve never tried prayer journaling I highly recommend it. Especially if you are like me and your prayers sound like this, “Dear Lord, I love you so much…oh shoot we need milk for breakfast this morning.” But even if prayer journaling isn’t your thing, let me encourage you to think about piety. How are you connecting in relationship with the Lord? Not a checklist, not a spiritual self help book but true connection. God wants a real relationship with YOU! How crazy and amazing is it that we have such a personal God? Let Him be the fuel that lights the flame of your life. 

Tami Rodriguez has been married to her high school sweetheart for 30 years and has 5 children plus a lovely daughter in law! She has homeschooled for 20 years and still has 5 more to go...send coffee! Tami is a lifelong learner who loves to study God’s Word and share with others whenever given the opportunity.  You can find her living life as “just a mom who likes to write” over on instagram @rodfamily007.