True Feelings

“Emotions aren’t a hindrance to wise decision-making, but are central to the Christian life.”

– Carolyn Mahaney

Title: True Feelings: God’s Gracious and Glorious Purpose for Our Emotions

Author: Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

Who should read this? Women who are curious about their emotions, are discouraged by their emotions, or are driven by their emotions.

Summary:  A mother-daughter duo co-author this piece about God’s purpose for our emotions. In everyday language, the authors explain how to better understand our feelings, and more importantly, utilize our emotions for good.

A few quotes to whet your appetite:

“The myth that ’emotions are bad’ puts the blame in the wrong place. Emotions aren’t inherently bad or unruly…”

“Our emotions don’t necessarily tell us the facts about the situation, rather they tell us our interpretation of the facts.”

“If we want to get to the source of what we feel, we need to figure out what we believe and value.”

“God created our emotions to work in harmony with our other two most fundamental faculties: our mind and our will.”

“Emotions are the reporters for the soul.”

“Sinful ruminating can reverse the good effects of time spent in God’s Word. It slows our growth and keeps us stuck in the same sinful emotions. We can’t expect to grow godly emotions in the soil of our sinful ruminations, so if we struggle to change our beliefs and values, this bad habit is the place to start.”

What I liked: I expected this book to focus on biblically handling emotions; What I didn’t expect was a new appreciation for my emotions. The authors did a great job explaining how our feelings are a part of God’s good design, instead of a nuisance to control (or avoid). Like a “reporter for the soul” our emotions teach us a lot about ourselves. Ultimately we are reminded that emotions are not our problem, our sinful thoughts and values are the problem (and our emotions helpfully alert us to our sin).

You can find “True Feelings” as Paperback, Kindle, or Audiobook here: