Recently, I got to thinking about moodiness. I even wondered if the bible spoke to moodiness, because it seems to be a more of a 20th century psychological buzz word. Guess what? The bible TOTALLY speaks to moodiness! Consider Saul in 1 Samuel; David in Psalm 25, 31, 42, 77 and Elijah in 1 Kings 19. I was relieved when I discovered that moodiness did not elude these bible heroes. It reassured me that it’s not just a “girl thing,” or an “age thing.” It is a human thing. Before we discuss moodiness, let’s discuss another emotion, anger. Is anger, inherently wrong? No. Again, even Jesus got angry. Like the emotion of anger, I think the emotion of moodiness begs the question: what do we do with it? I might be thinking about this way too much, but as a person who has dealt with severe mood swings all my life, I want clarity. More importantly, I want to be a good steward with the “me” God calls his temple and dwells in! I have a clinical diagnosis of manic depression, namely, high-highs, low-lows. Does that mean I get a 2-for-1 voucher on being a jerk to people because of moods I can’t control? I don’t know. Something in me tells me that if I can be a good steward with my emotion of anger (i.e., I get angry at people but I don’t murder them) and my desire for sweets (i.e. I eat dessert but I don’t hoard it and make out with it) then with God’s spirit of self-control activated in my soul, I can be a good steward with my moods. I leave this post open for discussion. All thoughts welcome. Just don’t be mean. 🙂
Thank you Heather!
Thank you for always posting the REAL things we go thru; which most people are afraid to share..
Your blogs are always on point . I’m just grateful for you & wanted to let you know this particular post hit home right at the moment I opened my email … This post was confirmation and just wanted to thank you for keeping it real, love you!
Thank you Heather!
Thank you for always posting the REAL things we go thru; which most people are afraid to share..
Your blogs are always on point . I’m just grateful for you & wanted to let you know this particular post hit home right at the moment I opened my email … This post was confirmation and just wanted to thank you for keeping it real, love you!
This reminded me of the time when Brent and I were first married and I gave him a fair warning of my impending PMS. I said, “Baby, in a few days I might get grumpy, irritable and a little less fantastic to be around. I know I get ugly. I’m sorry ahead of time.” To which he replied, “Oh. So you know you get ugly? Ok, then you know it’s coming? Ok, so we can totally plan ahead and not give you an excuse to be ugly? Ok. Great talk.”
:/
and I’m like..I’m sorry. Do you have an angry uterus throwing a tantrum in the core of your person with hormones flying around your veins like little gnomes running with knives and tripping all over your last nerve? Do you? DO YOU?!”
=D
He was like, Tam…get yourself together.
Men.
This reminded me of the time when Brent and I were first married and I gave him a fair warning of my impending PMS. I said, “Baby, in a few days I might get grumpy, irritable and a little less fantastic to be around. I know I get ugly. I’m sorry ahead of time.” To which he replied, “Oh. So you know you get ugly? Ok, then you know it’s coming? Ok, so we can totally plan ahead and not give you an excuse to be ugly? Ok. Great talk.”
:/
and I’m like..I’m sorry. Do you have an angry uterus throwing a tantrum in the core of your person with hormones flying around your veins like little gnomes running with knives and tripping all over your last nerve? Do you? DO YOU?!”
=D
He was like, Tam…get yourself together.
Men.
FUNK! I haven’t read one of your insightful posts in a loooong while. I saw this mood thing, and I’m like, “I’m aggravated today, let’s see what I can learn about moods.” One of my favorite parts is this, “I want to be a good steward with the “me” God calls his temple and dwells in!” That’s just excellent sis. Till next time…
Flav.
FUNK! I haven’t read one of your insightful posts in a loooong while. I saw this mood thing, and I’m like, “I’m aggravated today, let’s see what I can learn about moods.” One of my favorite parts is this, “I want to be a good steward with the “me” God calls his temple and dwells in!” That’s just excellent sis. Till next time…
Flav.
Scripture speaks of moods, and anger. Ephesians 4 is rich with insight into managing moods and emotion. “In your anger do not sin” (Eph 4:26). An acknowledgement that anger is a natural emotion. Be angry, but do not sin. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30).
As I look at some of the other verses about anger, I notice it’s really about WHY someone is angry, which takes me back to Eph 4:26 and not sinning in one’s anger. Am I angry because I didn’t get what I want or can I be very, very, very, very, very sure my emotion is justifiable?
Your case is different, I think. You have a medical diagnosis which makes your ability to manage your emotions a greater challenge. But you also have an awareness of your situation which means that even as you might rely on medical support, you also know that you have to rely on the Spirit, whom you do not wish to grieve and because you want to be a good steward of the temple in which He dwells.
I think that’s a really cool perception because we know it’s not about us, or we should know it’s not about us. It’s about how we serve our Lord; it’s about how we respond to the everyday challenges and situations–of which He is acutely aware. It’s about how we listen to that still small voices and about how well we listen.
There are times we cannot choose NOT to be moody. Most of the time we can choose not to be irritable or aggravated or whatever. But there are times the greyness simply envelopes us. We might be able to fight it and we might not. My own experience with the greyness tells me there is something to be learned, and often about my own perspectives and awareness. It is a sort of reset for me.
I think it is always what we do with those experiences that matter most.
Scripture speaks of moods, and anger. Ephesians 4 is rich with insight into managing moods and emotion. “In your anger do not sin” (Eph 4:26). An acknowledgement that anger is a natural emotion. Be angry, but do not sin. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30).
As I look at some of the other verses about anger, I notice it’s really about WHY someone is angry, which takes me back to Eph 4:26 and not sinning in one’s anger. Am I angry because I didn’t get what I want or can I be very, very, very, very, very sure my emotion is justifiable?
Your case is different, I think. You have a medical diagnosis which makes your ability to manage your emotions a greater challenge. But you also have an awareness of your situation which means that even as you might rely on medical support, you also know that you have to rely on the Spirit, whom you do not wish to grieve and because you want to be a good steward of the temple in which He dwells.
I think that’s a really cool perception because we know it’s not about us, or we should know it’s not about us. It’s about how we serve our Lord; it’s about how we respond to the everyday challenges and situations–of which He is acutely aware. It’s about how we listen to that still small voices and about how well we listen.
There are times we cannot choose NOT to be moody. Most of the time we can choose not to be irritable or aggravated or whatever. But there are times the greyness simply envelopes us. We might be able to fight it and we might not. My own experience with the greyness tells me there is something to be learned, and often about my own perspectives and awareness. It is a sort of reset for me.
I think it is always what we do with those experiences that matter most.
Terrifvic work! That is the kind of innfo
that are supposed to be shared around the internet.
Shhame on the search engines for no longer
positioning this publish upper! Come oon over
and seek advice from myy website . Thank you =)
My homepage seo Stevenage (Pearline)
Terrifvic work! That is the kind of innfo
that are supposed to be shared around the internet.
Shhame on the search engines for no longer
positioning this publish upper! Come oon over
and seek advice from myy website . Thank you =)
My homepage seo Stevenage (Pearline)