ALL THE FEELS
Discover Why Emotions Are (Mostly) Awesome and How to Untangle Them When They’re Not
Elizabeth Laing Thompson, Tyndale Momentum, (SEP 8) Softcover $16.99 (288pp), 978-1-4964-4179-9, SELF-HELP
Elizabeth Laing Thompson’s Christian walk brought her to know a passionate God. “We love wildly and give lavishly because he shows us how,” she writes. But figuring out what to do with emotions, especially those of the wild and unruly type, is not easy. And that’s a problem, because, while feelings classed as “good” bring happiness and joy to life, wild and unruly emotions often have consequences that are not pretty.
All the Feels identifies three different feeling types: “big feelers” (Laing Thompson confesses to being one of these) are sensitive souls who have deep feelings about everything, all the time, and tend to go overboard on emotions; “steady feelers” experience occasional mood swings, but avoid drama and emotional extremes; and “reluctant feelers” tend to rely on thinking and logic to the point that they may not give much consideration to their own emotions or those of others. When the different types get together without understanding how they, and the other types, handle their emotions, chances are that someone will feel misunderstood and hurt.
Christian “feelers” of all types will find help in experiencing, identifying, expressing, and occasionally wrangling their feelings with the book’s scriptural references, practical tips, and Bible-based strategies. The benefits and liabilities of each “feeling type” are illuminated, making it easy to see why recognizing them can make all the difference between successful, happy relationships and emotional disasters.
Treating emotions as a precious gift from God, who is shown in the Bible as shouting with joy, mourning, grieving, and loving, Laing Thompson writes: If you have always kept your faith in one compartment of your heart and your emotional life in another, get ready for something new. Get ready to bring God to your emotions and your emotions to God—the God who invented feelings and now welcomes yours.