Living Beyond Your Feelings

Joyce Meyer’s book “Living Beyond Your Feelings” takes anyone who reads it on a journey to self-discovery that uses God word to attempt us to understand our emotions and to let us know to be mindful of how we use the emotions in our everyday life. I read a lot of books that cater to mindfulness both Christian and non-Christian because I have always been fascinated with the concept of renewing the mind and God/Jesus promotes this in the bible and there is a lot of factual stuff contain in renewing the mind to promote a healthy/balance life. Joyce provides several illustrations, scriptures, science, and even tools to aid us all on a quest of healthy emotions and lifestyles for us all. Ever since I was a young lady, teenage years to be exact and my sister Vickie took me to get my first library card at 13 I made a straight B-line to the self-help section of the library and checked out books on being mindful and psychology books. I did get some great novels, but the themes of those novels have always been women and men who discover tools to aid them in gaining a balance and healthy life. The movies I watch are aimed that way too. I do enjoy watching an occasional action flick too. The point is that Joyce’s book gave some tools and helped me continue on my quest for mindfulness and even though she can be a bit brassy. I like that, because I see past her appearance and into the words that she is saying. An example of one of the words of wisdom she demonstrates “Most changes take place without our permission. But we can choose to adapt. If we refuse to make the transition in our minds and attitudes, then we are making a huge mistake. Our refusal to adapt doesn’t change the circumstances, but it does steal our peace and joy. Remember, if you can’t do anything about it, then cast your care and let God take care of you.”
I am still learning to “cast my care and let God take of it” part of that equation. It is difficult to do, because my emotions do take over all the time and at times they lead me to do destructive things. Then I end up feeling shame and guilt and I repeat the cycle. I am choosing to be mindful of my emotions and that is all Joyce Meyer is saying in a nut shell.