When God says, “Be angry, and do not sin” He’s telling us a couple of really important things: Be angry: He’s encouraging us to feel anger. Not merely allowing us to feel it, encouraging us to feel it. Too many try not to feel angry when they actually do. They try to act as if they don’t feel it. Suppress it. Or convince themselves it’s wrong. But it’s encouraged, by God Himself. The anger isn’t right or wrong, it’s a signal. What we do because of it is what decides that. …and do not sin… Another thing He’s saying is that feeling angry doesn’t have to decide how we act or how we treat people. We can still control ourselves no matter how much anger we feel. …and give no opportunity to the devil. Not only that, but when we get this, we discover how to prevent the enemy access into our lives. Could it be that trying to suppress anger opens a door to the enemy? Could acting like we don’t feel give him access? Or is allowing it to decide what we do the thing that actually grants him a foothold? Yes, yes, and yes. In other words, dishonesty about anger is an opening the enemy will take advantage of. Honesty shuts him out.

I’ve been numbing out for too long. Hiding behind feel-good Christian worship songs, and church routines that made it look like everything was okay when, deep down, I was hurting and bleeding. The truth is, I was searching for validation from other believers. Hoping that doing all the “right” Christian things would somehow make me feel whole. But recently, a song by Eminem that he wrote for his daughter stopped me in my tracks. It reopened a wound I thought had healed and helped me see that so much of my pain comes from the emptiness left by an absent father. I’ve been looking for what only God could give me in people and in church. But I don’t need validation from the church anymore...that shipped has sailed. I’ve already been validated by God ...fully seen, fully known, and fully loved by my Heavenly Father. We can play church all day long, follow every tradition, and say all the right things, but what if church was never meant to be the man-made version we’ve built? What if “doing church” is really about living out love beyond the four walls!!!! Where real people, real pain, and real healing actually happen!!!! This isn’t me losing faith... I'M HAVING AN HONEST REALIZATION. It’s me learning to feel again, to stop pretending I’m okay WHEN I'M NOT!!! I'm not going to hell just because I don't fit the perfect Christian narrative. LETTING God’s love touch the deepest parts of my heart is the only way to true freedom... no religious garbage.

Hey y’all, I’ve taken literally almost every electronic device away from my son lol lately for decisions that he has made. I gave him a little freedom here and there as a reward for when I do see him doing good and felt like I heard God say Fortnite is OK for him to play every now and then. But his behavior is still still still a little mean sometimes and wondering if it’s because of that. Do any of you have a experience with it or revelation the father has showed?

We now know what spiritual bypassing is: where we desperately reach for a higher truth in order to avoid a painful one. Many of us have become quite good at it, learning to be honest with the pain and emotions, no longer clinging to a scripture to pretend things are fine when they aren’t. Often this is done out of fear of not being in faith. But we must also become aware of flesh bypassing: where we become mired in our experiences and emotions to the point where we forget and deny the reality of the gospel. This is not only where emotional health happens, but also emotional freedom. Ready to move to this place in your marriage? Join The Emotionally Skilled Marriage course now: spiritledfamilies.world/products/the-emotionally-skilled-marriage-2-month-course We start Feb 2.

Sandi Derby is speaking tonight on our emotional relationship with God. It will be one you want to join for sure!!! Sandi is the main trainer for specialists with The Grief Recovery Institute. The recording will only be available for those in the Full Course and the live for everyone else who wants to join. We start at 6p CST. Link is right at the top of the main page here in Skool or also in the calendar.