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To Tanya and the immigrant church culture she grew up in, the love of Jesus is more than a Sunday School lesson — it’s a lifestyle. Tanya carries this concept into her creative and entrepreneurial work as an artist, spiritual director, coach for women, speaker, podcast host and author. Her book, “Befriending God,” explores how Christians can experience a faith that moves beyond going through the motions into a deeper relational connection with God. This lesson shines, too, in her music. Having released four critically acclaimed albums so far, she’s set to release a fifth in 2025, all about returning to one-on-one communion with God.

Today, she’s giving us a look at some of the passions that drive her, including relational living, nature’s breathtaking beauty and prioritizing truth over perfection. Plus, discover her favorite books, podcasts and apps for spiritual growth — and where God’s leading her next.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

The meals we enjoy are about so much more than the food we eat. So how does a “go-to” meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?

I moved from Dallas, Texas, to Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 20. But before I left home to accept an invitation into artist development, I was a pastor’s daughter who led bilingual weekly worship within our Latin American immigrant church. Our congregation was famous for a few things: generosity, interdependence and the world’s most authentic food. Fajitas, tamales, enchiladas, mole — our people knew how to deliver the best of the best regardless of the specialty.

However, when we didn’t have a post-service meal scheduled, we’d frequently visit a small restaurant called Don Jose’s. At the height of its popularity, Don Jose’s became a social epicenter. The quesadillas were exceptional, but it wasn’t the food that drew us in — it was the intimate, relational setting that made this restaurant special. We were close friends with the owner, and every meal there gave family reunion vibes.

In our culture, everything orbits around relationships, so while we paid for chips and salsa, we lingered a bit longer for quality time with the beautiful people in our community. Looking back, every choice we made was relational at heart. It was always about the people, and for me, it still is.

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity do you love engaging in that also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?

In 2016, I had a strong urge to visit the coast of California. I had no contacts in that area and had never visited before, but I couldn’t shake the nudge I felt to satisfy my curiosity. On a whim, my husband and I flew out for four days in Malibu. I had no idea this trip would mark the inception of a life-changing invitation to relate to God through the wonder of the world he made. I’ll never forget pulling up to Zuma beach on the first day just as the sun was setting. My husband had his camera and captured me as I threw my arms up in the air and squealed with childlike joy. Witnessing the pulsing grandeur of the Pacific against the backdrop of a cotton candy sky transported me into worship.

The last day of the trip happened to be my birthday. As we left our Airbnb to head into LA, we drove through the Santa Monica mountains. As we reached the top of the mountain, a beautiful sunrise peeked through. I was in awe. The wonder felt so personal, like a perfectly timed “Good morning and happy birthday!” from God. It seemed he had found a new way to my heart — from one Artist to the other. This trip marked me. I began to be intentional about pausing to notice God’s invisible qualities revealed through the wonder of his creation (see Rom. 1:20). I have never been the same since.

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness; every human too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you deal with it?

I believe our deepest wounds have the potential to become our greatest gifts. Being raised in a culture of family equipped me with a strong value for the importance of relationships. However, when I left my own version of Mayberry at the age of 20, I was not prepared to navigate a world that is less relational and more transactional as a whole.

For decades, I gave my heart away with pure intentions to almost every person I worked with closely. This is all I knew how to do: show up authentically and let God be God over my sincerity. It has taken a lifetime to realize my cultural context is not a template that can be applied to every relationship without tension. So transactionalism, which had no place in my culture growing up, is the kryptonite I fight against regularly as it is a reality of the world we live in. If I sense it has become the norm in a relationship in which I’ve extended a deeper level of trust, I may gracefully withdraw to protect my heart. But more recently, I have seen God grow me as I've walked in wounded places, in environments where I know there is an incongruence in this value. 

God has taught me how to respect the diversity in the body of Christ, which includes a range of experiences that inform differing definitions of “family” and “friendship.” I believe that, ultimately, we all want to know and be known. We just have different ways of satisfying this longing. God has really used my cultural complexity in this area to draw me to the simplicity of relationship with him and to remind me he is available at all times to be the friend I’ve always wanted — a gift of all gifts.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?

In 2022, I completed a nationwide tour for my most well-received album. My prayers post-tour were a very simple “Thank you, God.” There was nothing left in the reservoir of desire. Then one day, I took a drive to pray and felt a strong impression to begin writing. But God’s directional guidance at that moment was not toward another record. His prompting was to write the book I’ll release in February of 2025.

“Befriending God” was the plot twist I could never have foreseen and a pioneering invitation into new territory. I traded all my plans for the possibility of being surprised by God for the next three years as I embraced the task of writing and stewarding a spiritual formation book. This book chronicles God’s relational heart based on the stories of the fathers and mothers of our faith and my own story as a little brown girl from a marginalized community. “Befriending God” speaks to the hunger I see in the church today for more than cultural Christianity and transactional faith. I believe this book is a response to the longing we all have to know God, not as a concept, but as a person. There is a level of intimacy available with him that many have yet to taste, and every chapter of “Befriending God” is an invitation to come face to face with the God of the Old and New Testament, a God who still jumps off the pages of Scripture and into our lives in real time.

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?

When I was a young creative, I had a tendency to overthink everything. I would sit at the piano and labor over my creative work and then leave my station frustrated within a few hours. One day while in prayer, I felt a question surface in my heart: “What would happen if you stopped asking whether the work is good and started asking whether the work is honest and true?” 

Something was unlocked in me. I began to focus on authenticity, originality and sincerity. As I released my grip on control and perfection, thoughts, melodies, words and phrases began to pour out. It was as if the stone, the one that had been hindering the flow of my openness to God’s voice, was finally removed. I knew a deeper work was unfolding within me. I was leaving a “do more, try harder” mentality of striving and moving into a posture of simply receiving what God wanted to impart. 

Choosing to prioritize truth over perfection and to yield to God-given instincts in my work began to produce fruit that was spiritual at its core. Stories of listeners and readers whose lives were being transformed began to pour in. I knew all the striving in the world could not produce the spiritual transformation we began to bear witness to. Surrendering control and dethroning the god of idealism has given way to a new posture of listening, receiving and yielding to a greater power that has been at work through my creativity ever since.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?

My favorite practice right now is a medley of worship, wonder and prayer. I frequently fast, read Scripture and take sabbath, but on a daily basis, I set aside 10 minutes a day to listen to the birds sing or watch a sunrise or sunset. Witnessing the real-time activity of God working in the world and discerning what is stirring in me as a response has been one of the most beautiful, personal ways to commune with God. I have also become intentional about quarterly and yearly trips into wonder as well. Our family has developed rhythms for this practice which include visits to the coast of California, the Redwoods, the mountains of North Carolina and many awe-filled spaces in between. In a distracted culture, contemplating the reality of God through the wonder of creation has given my soul a place to breathe and a conduit of stillness through which I can hear him and know him more personally.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and your heart?

I was 19 years old when I picked up Brennan Manning’s “The Ragamuffin Gospel.” I did not grow up as an avid reader, but this book ushered me into the belief that one good book really can change everything. Reading Manning’s words felt like my very first step into understanding the grace and mercy of God in a way that altered the course of my faith. I began to take in Frederick Buechner and C.S. Lewis as I embarked on a search for deeper faith. Manning set the trajectory for this hunger in me.

Years later, in October of 2016, I traveled to lead worship at a women’s retreat. On the way, I decided to begin listening to Henri Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved” audiobook. I was not prepared for the before-and-after effect it would have on me. During that season of my life, I wrestled with misplacing my identity in perfectionism and performance. Nouwen’s words were a balm to my soul and a mile marker in turning away from a false gospel of earning God’s love. 

There is also one podcast interview I listen to every year: “Gordon MacDonald on the View from 80, 15 Life and Leadership Lessons After Eight Decades on the Planet.” This interview, hosted by Carey Nieuwhof, is packed with gold that has been mined from a lifetime of process with God. In a culture that idolizes youth, I truly believe these time-tested voices of wisdom are ones we need to be learning from and listening to.

We all have things we cling to to survive (or even thrive) in tough times like these. Name one thing you’re savoring and/or finding indispensable in this current season, and tell us what it’s doing for you.

The YouVersion app is my favorite go-to resource whether I am in an airport or the comfort of my own home. Although I have several physical Bibles, I love the convenience of having multiple versions of the Bible at my fingertips along with the option to listen to the text while I am traveling.

I have been reading through the entirety of the Psalms again in this season and the emotional vulnerability of the psalmists never fails to move and inspire me to give God deeper access into my heart and process. I have come into a new awareness of the importance of praying unsanitized prayers and allowing the God of the mountaintop to also be the God of the valley in my life. It’s not uncommon for me to end my day praying a Psalm or two or three, and I have been consistently amazed at how these ancient prayers are frequently a mirror to my own heart. The Psalms validate our human complexity and aim our gaze at a God who is still in the work of redeeming the story of humanity and befriending us in the process. Though there are many well-written books available to us, nothing has compared to the comfort and hope I have found in this book of the Bible.

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?

Right now, I’m in a season of transition as I move into stewarding “Befriending God” with greater focus through travel dates, interviews and the like. However, in September of 2024, I had the opportunity to record my fifth album, a live album that would be the first of its kind. When coordinating the details of this album with the church that hosted this live recording, I was asked who I foresaw participating. I responded: “For decades, I have ministered to the masses, and now God has made it very clear that he is calling me back to the One, to himself. This is just between me and God.”

So on Sept. 6, 2024, I flew from Nashville to Chicago to record my fifth album in obscurity, in the sanctum of the secret place with God. There was no smoke, no laser lights and no congregation. The guest of honor was God himself. The depth of meaning and the holiness of the entire experience were unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. I look forward to releasing this singularly special album on the heels of “Befriending God,” a book all about relational intimacy with him. And while I am deeply moved by the songs and musical landscape of this offering, I feel that this story and the invitation God gave me to return to him in this beautifully obscure and holy way is an important story for this cultural moment.

Earlier in this interview, Tanya bemoaned the transactionalism that has inundated many Western cultures, especially in the U.S. But that transactional mindset hasn’t just crept into human-to-human relations — it’s also found its way into our communion with God.

Take a moment to reflect: do you often think of spiritual growth in terms of impersonal disciplines or one-sided prayer sessions? Or do you think of expanding your intimacy with him like you would a dear friend or family member?

If you find you lean toward a more transactional approach to loving God, consider taking 10 to 15 minutes this week to imagine what your spiritual life would look like if you approached Jesus and your time with him relationally. What would be the same? What would be different? And how would it impact every other area of your life?

Tanya Godsey is an artist, speaker, spiritual director, host of The Unforced Gifts podcast and author of Befriending God. She is in that seemingly small family of artists who are gifted and called to function as rare hybrids. As both a shepherd and a creative conduit, Tanya shares stories and truth, whether musical or spoken, with a heart for life transformation. Her relational heart for God and his people was deeply formed in the immigrant church she was raised in. Now 20-plus years later, Tanya has recorded four critically acclaimed albums, with her fifth set to release in 2025.

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