Those who know me know I was not a person who loved to read. After fasting one day, I found myself picking up books and not putting them down. I started googling good Christian books to read and I came across one that spoke right to me, Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa Terkeurst. While this book is written by a woman sharing stories from a wife’s and mom’s perspective, I still feel she shares key components that can also help men as well.
Is anyone else like me where I sometimes let my emotions get the best of me? It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but it still happens. While I was reading this book, I came across a chapter called “What Kind of Unglued am I?” where Lysa talks about different reaction types. She recommends going to the Unglued book website to take the assessment to identify your reaction type. I recommend taking it, because the results may actually surprise you. Identifying this is so, so important.
Throughout her book, I find myself relating to so many of her stories about her reactions in parenting, as a wife, and even as a friend. She is so open and vulnerable in sharing these stories to help other people. She connects with others, identifies how she reacts, and how we can have better reactions in lifes’ crazy situations. Throughout the entire book, Lysa provides scriptures supporting her points and God’s grace and love for us.
How it Changed My Life
I found myself conscious of how I was reacting in conversations with my husband and even my son. I want my husband to feel safe to share his emotions with me. My son has a very similar personality as me and is very emotionally led, and I want to be the best example for him as well as be able to help him nurture this gift. I find myself more joyful and my family happier, because I am not overreacting to situations around us.
I love what she says on the back of her book, “What do we do with these raw emotions? Is it really possible to make emotions work for us instead of against us?” Yes, it is! Let’s grow and better ourselves. We are created to have emotions and to use them for His glory.
Friends, I didn’t realize how a book could be so life-changing. I found this book at my local library (who doesn’t love FREE). There is also a 60-day devotional available, and a DVD study with a participant’s guide to help you walk through your unglued emotions and reactions too. We do not make anything off recommending these resources to you. I just find them to be very helpful, and I wanted our readers to know about them. Don’t forget to check out our resources page to see other books and studies we recommend.
What Christian authors do you love? What are some of your favorite books that changed your life?