If only our emotions were as adorable as our emoticons.....

I don't know about you, but some days, it seems like my emotions and feelings totally take the reins and leave me hanging on for dear life. Sound familiar?

Emoticons on Facebook or text messages can be pretty cute, even the sad or angry ones. I love using those things!!! But in real life...emotions aren't as adorable. 

It's easy to chalk it up to "That's just how it is" and "that's life" and give up claiming victory over our thoughts and emotions. 

Well guess what? We DON'T have to live that way. Jesus came that we might have life and more abundantly! 

But we can't deal with issues we haven't yet admitted are there yet, can we?  ;)

So to get started - take this quiz like I did, and see how you measure up in handling your emotions! You'll need a scrap of paper and pen to record your scores. Then let's talk about our results in the comments section! Because the best part of dealing with these issues is that we are NEVER alone in how we feel...

 http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/hottopics/faithvalues/17.32.html

I'll go first. I scored "Mostly B's", which puts me under this category: 

If you scored mostly B's:
You seem pretty balanced, and that's a good place to be. You're comfortable with your emotions. You're not afraid to show them, but you don't let them rule your life, either. You're able to shed a tear now and then, but you also know laughter is definitely the best medicine.

But there were two answers where I scored a C (the most emotional choice) and some of the B answers were borderline between B and C. I want to be balanced in all areas, and not let any C's in my life to get the best of me. 

So how do we work on overcoming our feelings?

1. We apply God's word to our thought life. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." We have to actively thought our thoughts captive. 

This is also referenced in Romans 12: 1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Do you see the common denominator? Our minds, our thoughts. Our feelings are based off these things. If we are thinking on negative, sad, depressing, or downcast circumstances and situations in our lives, our feelings are sure to follow. So we take the thoughts captive, and let our feelings follow. In order to take thoughts captive, you have to redirect them and choose to think on things that are of God instead. You can do this by praying, internally or out loud, and singing/worshiping Jesus when the bad thoughts come. It's a choice, and it's never easy, but always worth it. 

2.  We have to remember that feelings are not always true. In fact, I would say, MOST of the time, our feelings are very misleading and can override what we know to be true (God's Word) if we aren't careful. So remember that just because you might FEEL insignificant or FEEL unattractive or FEEL unloved or FEEL unworthy, that does NOT mean that you are. Quite the opposite, my friend!! :)  Fight those thoughts with God's word and His truth. And kick those bad emotions to the curb. 

What are your thoughts on this? Do you struggle with your emotions? How do you handle it? Do you have any other ideas to share?