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These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Welcome back to Words of Life. We are now in our second week of a series where we're having conversations with Christian writers of all kinds. Today, we're being joined by our friend, Kara Rodriguez, as she shares her passion for journaling as an act of worship. Kristen, welcome back.
Thank you. And today we are joined by Kara Rodriguez. Hi, everybody. I'm Kara.
Sorry. I am. An officer's child. I have grown up in the Army my whole life. I'm actually sixth generation.
I've just always known this life. I've always known about Jesus, you know, and God and the creation story and all the things. But it's. It's funny growing up because you just always know about it, and then you get to the age where you have to really decide: is this what I'm gonna. believe in and do and it was just nice to have a whole family core wise and Sally-wise, because we're sixth generation, to just have people around you to say, hey, this is the way walk in it, kind of thing.
I'm also married, and I have two boys who keep us. Moving and grooving at all times of the day. And we, me and my husband, both were born and raised in Texas. But we moved to Georgia. 12 years ago, which is Crazy because we both said we'll do 10 years and we'll go back.
We'll go home. We're still here. We'll probably be here forever. But that's just. Me and who we are and I work in the THQ youth department.
I am the Young Adult Admissions Coordinator for the Southern Territory, which just means I get to hang out with young adults. and really kind of spearhead our Salvation Service Corps. What is that? Program.
So, our Salvation Service Corps is a six-week missions trip for young adults from the ages of 18 to 25. And every year, we try to send three teams at least. We usually keep a team within the states to go.
somewhere uh like last year they went to Alaska. This year they're going to Washington. Like, there's lots of things to do. And we send teams last year, we had 18. uh go out and they'll come in, do an orientation with us for a week and Get to try and know everything they can before they go out, but it's a six weeks.
Trip. where Our mission is to love, serve, and disciple. Anybody and everybody that we come into contact with. And it's just amazing to see these young adults go out and then come back because they are completely different people. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life.
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org slash wellness. That's chministries dot org slash wellness. I think. There's nothing more personal than your writing, like if you get a letter in the mail.
Somebody took the time to put those words down on that paper and send it to you. It is meant. For you. It's very personal.
So it just has more. meaning and uh I love I love mail and sending mail and getting mail. It's like one of my favorite things because it's so personal. You get to just bring a little bit of light wherever you're sending it, and it's really nice. But I also think when you're writing.
You have to take the time. To sit down and do that. It's not.
Something that you just rush through, or just kind of like, oh, well, we'll just say this and keep going. You have to. really know what you're putting into this letter and I think you can really see that. In Paul's letters in the New Testament, he is writing to these people to say, hey. This is what you're doing.
This is what you should do. Or here's how you fix this. It's just a very personal thing. Meant for you.
So I think that's why it's extra special and means more, at least to me. Yeah, I would say I mean One thing I encourage any guys out there listening to, and I know this goes the other direction as well, but as often as I text my wife. A million times during the day. She loves getting cards. And if you just give your wife a card just on a random day to just tell her how you feel.
Beautiful. Yeah.
So, Cara, what is your experience with journaling? Yeah.
Journal a lot. I have a lot of journals, and my journals get to be very thick in size because I write so much in them. For me, it's a really big... Mental health and spiritual health. process for me.
It helps me just I get up early in the mornings. 5.30 every morning because it is the only time of quiet I have. All day with two boys and a husband in the house.
So I go downstairs, I get my cup of coffee. And I journal. I get everything out of my head. I write everything down and I just start my day a little bit lighter because it's not still. In my head, or like processing, I've gotten it all out and um.
Just helps me breathe through the day and figure out where I'm going and clear my head and take the noise out.
So for me, it's just a way to like. It's like a pressure valve. Yes, it's like, okay, I can start the day because I'm. Ready to go. I've gotten all the anxiety out and all of this because I struggle very much with anxiety.
I take medicine, I go to therapy, I do all the things which are great. But journaling for me is a big method of helping me as well, just to kind of cool myself down and get ready for the day ahead.
So, in that way, would you say that? It's kind of a form of surrender, like a form of worship. 100%. 100% a form. Of worship for me.
I always think like the Psalms are David's journal. It is the way he you see everything. You see his lows, like the grief, the fear, the anguish, but you also see these big, beautiful highs, and it's like joy and praise and love and adoration. Again, like, what is more personal than your journal, than what you're going through, than all these things? Like, Your journal is raw.
It is, it's not for anybody else, is what I always say. This is for me. It's not for anybody else to read, and that's fine. But It's also where I can pour everything out. if I pray in my head, I get lost and I get distracted and I I've got too many things going on.
The Lord doesn't want us to not have emotions. The Lord is an emotional God.
So he wants your emotions. He wants to know what you're going through. And that's just. I think even just being more personal and having that conversation with him is an act of worship to say. Here's all of my junk I'm going through.
Can you help me or can you just take it for just a minute and let me like cry it out and be like, okay, I feel better, I can take it back. But it is It's just a way of like If King David can do this, I can do this. Like, this is fine. It's just, it. It's just a beautiful way of getting everything out of your head and having time.
I'm reading through the Psalms right now. I'm kind of stuck in them. Yep. Probably a couple of weeks ago, I was reading one where David is complaining, of course, because he does so all the time. But he's like, these people are being so rude to me.
God, just give them what is coming to them. It's not even like, please help me deal with this situation. Please help me get through this. Maybe soften their hearts. No, it's let them have what's coming to them.
And I'm just like, that's real. Yeah.
And I think the Lord chuckles at us when we say things like that. Oh, yeah. Just give it to him. And he's going to be like. Oh, well, bless your heart because no, but we'll get there, you know?
So I get in your mind, God is Southern. Yes, he is. Yeah.
Of course, he is. Y'all. Just to be with you. We pray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. We're going to take one more ad break and we'll be right back.
Americans have a big healthcare problem. Over 100 million U.S. citizens carry medical debt, but that's not the whole story. With health insurance, your out-of-pocket and monthly costs are way too high. You get surprise bills, denied claims, and poor customer service.
That's a serious burden. As Christians, we don't have to pay for a broken system. Christian Healthcare Ministries is an alternative to health insurance at half the cost. You can enroll at any time and join a proven faith-based solution that's both reliable and affordable. CHM isn't just help, it's financial and spiritual support when you need it most.
Families across the country count on CHM to step in during their hardest moments, and it works. Stand up to health insurance with a low-cost, biblical solution. Join CHM today by visiting chministries.org/slash wellness. That's chministries.org/slash wellness.
So we talked earlier about Salvation and Service Corps. And part of your role in that is preparing to send the young adults into the mission field. Do you suggest journaling as a a helpful tool for them and how do you prepare them for that? Yes.
So before they go out for their six weeks mission strip, they will come here to Atlanta and meet with us for a week of orientation. And in their week of orientation, they're doing like trainings, they're meeting with people who they're gonna. Go and see who they're figuring out what they're going to do during this week's six weeks what they need to kind of plan and put together.
Some of these young adults have never done anything like this, so Major Matt did this really good lesson of like, here's how you can write a devotion, here's how you can write a sermon, here's how you can do a VBS, and it's just all of these very practical things that you'll need to know.
So the first day they get here, I give them like Like a little goodie bag. and it has a journal in it and it has a pen in it and it's like when you go out You can still use this, not only because it has all of your notes in it, but because This can be your process. Every night while they're on their mission, They are supposed to have a team meeting. where they meet They come together at the end of the night and just kind of process the day. They do like highs and lows.
Like, this is the best part of the day, this was the hardest part of the day, and like, where did we see God moving today?
So, even if you just wrote those three things down. in your journal by the time you got home from your SSC trip. It'd be so full of all the things that you did. But um I also do a check-in three weeks in.
So I'd call everybody individually. And out of the 18. Last summer, I think 15 of them said, I just put a lot of things down in my journal and it makes me feel better. And I'm like, yes, thank you. Uh from my own Small mission experience, writing the small details of the day.
Um, just throughout your whole t journey. And then at the end of it, being able to look back and see the big picture of what God was doing in every moment is just so beautiful to be able to see that after the fact. What advice would you give to people who are maybe interested in journaling, but? Haven't really dipped a toe in that, maybe who are interested in incorporating it into their spiritual lives, but don't know how to do that. Sure.
First of all, I would say just give yourself grace. If it doesn't happen every day, That's okay. It doesn't have to be so regimented. It can be when you need it most. Again, it's just for you, but give yourself grace.
And some days your journal can be really pretty with your highlighters and your washi tape and your stickers, and it's beautiful. And some days it is just your paper and your ink because you got to get it all out of your head and just like let it go because you got to get it out. And you can start. Easy. Start just writing your prayer down.
Start just writing scriptures that are in your head so you can get into the habit of it or you can go and see what you've prayed for and how it's been answered. is the best thing for me because I have stacks of journals that have been filled out. I actually use a planner as my journal, so I have a daily page every day. And, um, Mm. Just to go back even at the beginning of the year you're in and you're like, oh Man, like you don't even realize how much the Lord is working, and you just can go back and see it.
But I would just say, like, give yourself grace. You can get. A 50-cent notebook from Walmart and a pencil, and just go for it because it's yours. You can do it however you want to, however, you need to. And it's just give yourself grace while you're doing it as long as you're honest.
Start small and then you can grow from there. Oh. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support.
You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life.
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You know, everybody talks about life after death, but what about life during life? Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here, and on the Greg Laurie Show, we're tackling life's biggest questions like, why am I here? what really matters and what happens when I die. I'll discuss cultural topics with friends and experts and examine the biblical truth behind everyday issues, and even share stories about my own personal spiritual journey. Listen now to the Greg Laurie Show on LifeAudio.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Historical Jesus Podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate his acts and teachings. Join me, Mark Vinette, on this fascinating journey through time, exploring the many great works of Christian theology, literature, architecture, music, and art inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.
