Checking with Yourself

Answer at least one of these questions, if not all to check in with yourself.

What are you angry about?
What are you sad about?
What are you anxious about?
What are you excited about?
What are you hopeful about?

Share with your spouse what you noticed about your current experience. Keep it safe.

Our Experience

For a few years now I have had the privilege of being a small group leader in a leadership course, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, based on the book of that title written by Peter Scazzero. The primary theme is emotional health is something usually ignored until we run into a ditch, hurting ourselves and those around us. The best proof of this thesis is the number of pastor resignations every year.

One core principle is that we must know ourselves in order to know God and love others. Libby and I grew up in a generation where knowing ourselves was irrelevant, except to know our sin. Knowing what to do to be a good person and how one was doing measured against that standard was the only thing worth knowing. What we were doing was always more important than how we were doing. Matter of fact, the how was always dependent on how successful were at the what.

And the opinions and approval of others determined the assessment.

Feelings?

What were those?

Negative feelings like anger, sadness or anxiety were failures of faith and courage, quickly to be dismissed or overcome. Plus, our faith was lived in our heads, not in our emotions since they were so unreliable.

Libby: “What a concept! Are we allowed to check in with ourselves? I have always thought that we are only supposed to think of others, how they were doing and what we could do for them?”
(Of course, that view has served me well, and everyone who has ever known Libby.)

“When I take the time to sit and write down some responses to these questions, I discover all sorts of things about myself. Without knowing it, perhaps I am heavy- hearted about something. I can then consider what may be behind that. I open myself up to a conversation that God may want to have with me to give me insight and understanding.”

What might you discover if you take a few moments to check in with yourself?