Teach Me to Feel
This book review was first published on March 2, 2020.
My wife is currently pregnant with our second son. We have experienced many emotions, but there is one moment that stands out to me, and that was when we felt scared. We were scared because my wife had thought that our baby had stopped moving. We thank God that everything is okay right now, but we acknowledge that there are going to be many ups and downs in this particular season. In Teach Me To Feel by Courtney Reissig, we are shown how we can worship through the Psalms in every season of life.
Meditations in a Hospital Bed
In the introduction of this book, Courtney Reissig shares about her time spent on hospital bed rest. When she was 33 weeks, pregnant, her placenta partially abrupted. Although her placenta stopped abrupting, she still had to spend time in a hospital bed. She says that the Psalms were the only thing she read during this time. So this book is an outflowing of her many mediations.
In 24 chapters, Reissig examines 25 standout Psalms (Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are covered together in Chapter 8). She highlights the verses that hit on a singular feeling or emotion and helps us to understand what they mean. For the most part, these are heavy feelings to process. Despair, pain, grief, and shame are touched upon. But this book also takes us to the highs of contentment, gratefulness, forgiveness, and hope.
For When You Feel
The primary audience for this book is women, but I found this book to be helpful for me as a man in three ways. First, it helped me see a woman’s perspective in many experiences I would not know. Second, it helped me read words to feelings that I have felt but have been unable to say or write about.
Chapter 11 was particularly important to me as it tackled the emotion of envy. Psalm 73 was the Biblical text, and Reissig wrote on how envy can often arise in our social media-saturated world. When the wicked prospers, Reissig reminds us that we must have God’s perspective. The nearness of God is for our good and He is all we need.
Psalms For Every Season
At the end of each chapter, additional Psalms are referenced for further study. Also, pages for journaling are included to interact with the text and help process or pray through your own feelings. This is an excellent book to revisit and reference in life’s ever-changing circumstances. The Psalms have proved to be a significant portion of Scripture before, and I hope to continue to pursue them as I enter into a new season with my family.
I received a media copy of Teach Me to Feel and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.