I Second That Emotion – Session #7 & #8

Hey There Everyone, welcome back to Mel’s World for this week’s lessons from the book “I Second That Emotion” by wonderfully amazing Patsy Clairmont.

Here are this week’s notes, go ahead and check them out, comment, and even print them out if you want, but make sure to join us at 1pm (EST) in a Skype chat room for our small group time. If you haven’t signed up for Skype it is absolutely FREE for what we are doing and I am super easy to find. If you want leave me a comment or send me an email with your Skype handle and I’ll invite you to the group today!

Let’s get on with the study, shall we?

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Book Study Memory Verse
Romans 12:2 (NIV) ~ Do not conform any longer 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.
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Session #7 ~ Shoe Goo ~ “It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds, for the opportunity to rain on a tent.” ~ Dave Berry


Page 51 ~ Shoe Goo is that goopy gunk called moodiness that attaches itself to our personage.

Page 52 ~ I’m not a doctor, a psychologist, or a prophet, but I’ve been a moodologist (which means I have the skills set to be difficult to live with).

Question ~> Are we trying to capture the other’s attention or to control that person with our moodiness?

Question ~> Think about it…what types of people are you drawn to? Who do you like to spend time with?

Page 55 ~ We would be shocked to learn how many people have multiple hardships, but these folks still smile daily at others. They have purposed to compartmentalize their pain.

~ Speaking kindly when we feel stuck in sad shoe goo will be a liberating step.

~ Read from the book “Having a Mary Spirit” page 221 & 227

“Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.” ~ C.S. Lewis

~ a Smile is a Wordless way to Spread JOY!

Scraping the Shoe Goo Off Your Soul
1) Recognize your choices
a. What is your default reaction when things don’t go just right?
2) Know Yourself
a. How often to you see yourself starting to become “moody”?
i. What do you do about it?
3) Enlist a Prayer Partner ~ __________________, ___________________
a. Write down one or two names, ask God to give you an opportunity to talk to them about becoming your prayer partner.
4) Watch what you watch.
a. Are you affected by the shows you watch?
b. TV Free Monday’s
5) Choose to Talk
a. If you habitually”close down” to others force yourself to open up and talk about it.
6) Relax
a. Your mouth and yourself

Read Psalm 16:1-11
Page 147 ~ Life isn’t fair! Have you been there? Look at what David did. He asked God to protect him and admitted that apart from God, nothing he was going through made sense. Follow David’s pattern and express your feelings to God. Admit that your situation doesn’t make sense either.

Page 58 ~ I’ve found memorizing verses on JOY helps to protect my mind when I slip toward gloomy. I’m also affteced by music; so I encourage you, if you love music, to sing songs that lift and calm your spirit.

Book Recommendation ~ Boundaries by Cloud/Townsend & Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver

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Session #8 ~ Mourning Dew ~ “Grief makes one hour ten.” ~ William Shakespeare
Page 60 ~ Death makes us wonder. We wonder what life is really all about. We wonder if God cares that our hearts are broken. We wonder why he takes someone we love. Not only do we wonder, but also we wander about in the valley of shadows for a time, trying to work out within us all that it means. Often we come out of the shadows with two things; a dull headache and a deepened resolve to live and love more attentively in the days we have left.

“Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

Page 62 ~ Unexpressed grief doesn’t leave us; instead it waits to rise up another day to take our breathe away. If we don’t step through it, the grief will put on anger’s clothes and create havoc.

How do you vent?

How do you deal, process, or release your grief?
Screaming?
Crying?
Chocolate?
Workaholism?
Denial?

“Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’er fraught heart, and bids it break.” ~ William Shakespeare

Page 62 ~ Venting helps us to lower our pain level so we can make room for healing. Talking can help, support groups are valuable, exercise gives some physical relief, gardening or other types of life-giving activities provide distractions to give a bit of a break to our overprocessing minds, journaling can be cathartic, time really does help in mending, and crying releases emotions and toxins…grief is anything but tidy.

Read Job 1-2:8-10

Page 63 ~ Mrs. Job may have been hysterical and panicked when she cried out to her husband, “Curse God and die!” Who knows what we might say in the midst of catastrophic loss? Are we really surprised that surging anger gushed forth? Her comments contain her humanity. We never need God more, yet there may never be a time we understand him less than in our grief.

Question to ponder ~> How would you react? No…really, think about it. Re-read Job 1-2:8 to get a better idea of what had just happened in her life.

Read Judges 16:4-31

~ We’ve all been hurt at some point in our lives…by a friend, a family member, a co-worker, child, sibling. The fact of the matter of life is that it is a part of life here on this planet. It makes our story something that can be used as a part of HIS story and that makes for a beautiful testimony.

Question ~> If your life could be expressed by the words of a song, what song would it be?

Page 152 ~ Your life will include things you don’t understand and times of loss. Yet God is with you. Continue to remind yourself of his love for you and let him continue to live through you.

Page 152 ~ What can you do to keep your commitment to God at the top of your to-do list? Begin each day with God, asking Him to overwhelm you with his peace and love. Flood your day with godly thoughts and words. Listen to God in the music you hear. Meditate on His Word as you move about throughout your day.

Read Job 40:3-5

Read Job 42:12

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Come back NEXT Friday, March 27th as we discuss Chapters #9 (Breathing Space) and #10 (Imagination Station) here in Mel’s World. The notes are posted by 11am (EST) and then we meet in a Skype chat room on Friday’s at 1pm (EST) to a small group lesson. We’d love for you to join us!
Seeking JOY on the Journey,

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