How do you feel about how you feel?

Our emotions are complex. Some of us seem able to ignore our feelings, while others feel controlled by them. But most of us would admit that we don't always know what to do with how we feel.

The Bible teaches us that our emotions are an indispensable part of what makes us human--and play a crucial role in our relationships with God and others. Exploring how God designed emotions for our good, this book shows us how to properly engage with our emotions--even the more difficult ones like fear, anger, shame, guilt, and sorrow--so we can better understand what they reveal about our hearts and handle them wisely in everyday moments.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments
Introduction: How Do You Feel about How You Feel?

Part 1: Understanding Emotions

Sometimes It’s Good to Feel Bad
What Exactly Are Emotions?
Emotions Don’t Come in Single File
Emotions Happen in Your Body
You Relate to Others When You Feel with Them
Why Can’t I Control My Emotions?

Part 2: Engaging Emotions

Two Pitfalls
Engage: A Better Option
Engaging Emotions Means Engaging God
Engaging Relationships
On Nourishing Healthy Emotions
On Starving Unhealthy Emotions

Part 3: Engaging the Hardest Emotions

Engaging Fear
Engaging Anger
Engaging Grief
Engaging Guilt and Shame
A Museum of Tears

Appendix: Does God Really Feel? The Doctrine of Impassibility
General Index
Scripture Index

About the Authors

J. Alasdair Groves (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) serves as the executive director for the New England branch of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He is also the director of CCEF's School of Biblical Counseling.

Winston T. Smith (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the rector at Saint Anne's Church in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Marriage Matters.

Alasdair Groves

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