Refuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God [Hardcover]

Doug Fields (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2008

If you've always struggled with the stereotypical quiet-time, don't give up hope!

As a Christian, you know you need to have devotions. You've heard it from your pastor; you've seen the study guides; you may have even made a dent in the One Year Bible. Some of you have valiantly set your alarm clocks back an hour for morning quiet time, only to find that life creeps back in to steal your resolve. It isn't because you don't love God. You quit because you "bought into" someone's unsustainable habit at an unreasonable pace.

But you don't have to keep running on empty. Bestselling author Doug Fields offers an uncomplicated, practical plan that you can carry out. This book won't teach you how to "cram God" into your already-full schedule. Instead, Doug will show you a practical, doable way of setting God first, and then letting everything else in your life fall into place. You will experience the fullness God has for you-just take some time to refuel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 084992054X
• ISBN-13: 978-0849920547
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Doug Fields graduated from Southern California College in 1984 (now Vanguard), and received his MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1986. Doug has served as a youth pastor for 25 years, and has been teaching pastor at Saddleback Church since 1992. Doug has been a global youth ministry leader through his books, speaking and youth ministry resources. He is the award-winning author of more than 40 books, many of which serve as curriculum in Seminaries and Bible Colleges. Besides speaking regularly to teenagers and the congregation of Saddleback Church, Doug can also be found speaking to youth workers around the world. Doug would say his greatest accomplishment is marrying way out of his league to his wife Cathy of 23 years. They have three teenage children: Torie, Cody, and Cassie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It bears repeating: this is a short book. There's no need for it to intimidate a book buyer or receiver., March 4, 2009

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Refuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God (Hardcover)

From personal experience and what he has heard from parishioners, Doug Fields knows the final results of New Year's and other resolutions to read a Bible chapter a day or the Bible through in a year or pray for 15 minutes every morning. The "ought-ful" motivation for "devotional time" often gets bogged down, and the resolution becomes mired in guilt.

In REFUEL: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God, Fields --- teaching pastor at Saddleback Community Church in Mission Viejo, California (the church pastored by Rick Warren) --- briefly lays out an alternative approach to spending time with God.

The opening chapter starts with an engaging anecdote about Fields's teenaged son's first week owning his first car. The son asks dad for extra money because he has run out of gas. He had no idea that a car required so much fuel; he didn't understand how fast the tank emptied. Fields quickly turns to a spiritual parallel --- how quickly we spiritually run out of power, enthusiasm and connection to God. When we realize we're running on fumes, we may turn to alternative fuels that prove unsatisfying --- food, work (or busy-work), shopping, music (or noise), anything other than God. Or we let the guilt --- over running out of gas --- further deplete us.

After setting up the problem, Fields proposes solutions that draw us to an ongoing, empowering connection to God. Solutions involve finding frequent, maybe very short, silences during which we can reach out to God and God to us. "My appeal is to stop within your normal schedule. Simply allow for small margins of stop in the midst of daily life. I want you to learn how to create pauses --- each day, several times a day, where you stop, become quiet, and connect with God." Becoming quiet --- turning off the music, the phone, the TV, the DVDs --- is a critical part of the piece.

This is a simple book with a simple message. It ultimately is about prayer and Bible reading but, at least for starters, in small bits. "Try reading a few verses and read them over several times. Don't read for speed; read for depth."

The last chapter summarizes some characteristics of the life and times of Jesus' biblical apostles, characteristics that compare to contemporary times and might well apply to readers who desire a closer relationship with God.

It bears repeating: this is a short book. There's no need for it to intimidate a book buyer or receiver, if you choose to give it as a gift.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refueled and Recharged, November 26, 2010

By 

Victorious - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Refuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God (Hardcover)

What an amazing book!I was feeling so empty inside, as if I was walking in a desert. I mentioned my emptiness to a co-worker while we were flat stacking a pallet, he looked at me with blank eyes stating, "That's a good way to start a conversation" LOL. Well he told me to google, "7 Steps to refueling your spiritual tank". This is where I saw this little book, the battery in the middle caught my attention. I am a student at ITT Tech and my field of study is in electronics, so I took a peak and read a little. The message of the book was reaching out to me, I recommend this book to anyone who has a relationship with Jesus. It will help you reconnect with Him and understand why you feel so empty inside.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful little read, September 15, 2009

By 

Glee Kieny (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Refuel: An Uncomplicated Guide to Connecting with God (Hardcover)

This little book is a quick delightful little book. The author writes with humor--you feel like you're sitting in his living room having a Pepsi with pretzels. Very positive message