Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
Encouragement and Inspiration for women choosing to rise above the “just survive” mentality and instead set their mind on thriving in all that they say and do. The ultimate goal is to equip you to pursue whatever is excellent in the midst of your ordinary life and in all that you say and do.
Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
09: Empowering You to Navigate Emotions on Election Day
Ever wonder how to equip your children with the tools they need to navigate the emotional ups and downs of life?
Discover practical strategies from David Thomas's book "Raising Emotionally Strong Boys," as we discuss ways to teach both boys and girls to recognize, regulate, and repair their emotions. This episode offers valuable insights into using tools like feelings charts to help children understand the boundaries of their control—focusing on their reactions and emotions rather than external outcomes. We explore how high-pressure events, such as election days, can become opportunities to practice self-control and trust in a bigger plan, guided by teachings from Romans and 2 Samuel.
In uncertain times, strengthening resilience and maintaining faithfulness become essential. I'm here to remind you to keep advocating for positive change while living by the gospel through your actions and words. Respect and prayers for our leaders, alongside emotional composure, are key components of a responsible citizenship. Join me as we transform challenging moments into powerful teaching opportunities, instilling a sense of strength and confidence rooted in faith.
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Today's episode is going to be short and sweet. We all have a lot on our mind and probably have some emotions that we are sorting through, so today I want to talk about emotions. Raising emotionally strong children is important in our family. After reading the book Raising Emotionally Strong Boys by David Thomas, I learned how important it is to teach all of my children not just my boys how to recognize, regulate and repair when it comes to their emotions. So that looks like recognizing how your body signals an emotional response, regulating with calming strategies as needed, and repairing by taking ownership of any relationships that may have been damaged and work to make things right. Have been damaged and work to make things right.
Leanne:One suggestion in this book is to have feelings charts displayed in your house to be used as a point of reference when naming and recognizing the different emotions. Since I am an action-oriented person, this seemed like a really easy step to take. So I bought a pack of feelings charts and they are up all over the walls in my house. The one that ended up in my daughter's room which this was probably more intentional than I'd like to admit is the chart that was labeled control the controllables, or perhaps more aptly, referenced when regarding the things that you can actually control. For example, you cannot control the weather, but you can control the clothes that you wear for the day. Some of the things on the chart that you can control are things like your reactions and emotions, your daily routines and habits, how you respond to challenges and setbacks. You cannot control the feelings and emotions of others, you cannot control the habits of others and you cannot control how someone else reacts to challenges and setbacks. So why am I sharing all of this with you?
Leanne:Today is election day, and that means emotions are likely high and, at the end of the day, everyone is going to feel a type of a way today, whether you are pleased with the results of the election or you are not. And yet the results of the election are not one of the things that you can control. You can control how you choose to respond to the results of the election. I get that you are passionate about politics or that you have deep feelings regarding one or both of the candidates, and yet the results of this election can only influence how you feel. You are still in control of how you react to this election.
Leanne:Romans 12 says do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. This verse implies that you do have some degree of control over your emotions, as you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. For example, you might feel like you cannot control your anger, but you can control your actions. The same is true for other feelings and emotions you may experience today or any other day, because of course, this extends beyond just election day. There is a certain degree of self-control that comes from maturity and learning how to control what you can control and surrender the rest. As a believer, you can surrender the rest to the Lord, knowing that His ways and His plans are always best, no matter the results of the election, are always best, no matter the results of the election.
Leanne:I have been slowly reading through the Bible this year and I ran across this verse in 2 Samuel and I felt like it was perfect for such a time as this. 2 Samuel 10, 12 says Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight. It's the last part of that verse that really stuck out to me the Lord will do what is good in his sight.
Leanne:This passage of scripture comes from a part to when Joab, the commander of King David's armies, says to his warriors they find themselves in this impossible situation. They have enemies on both sides and he's kind of giving them this pep talk. They're surrounded and he says he doesn't yet know the results of this conflict. He doesn't know if they will be victorious or if they will be defeated. And yet he is still choosing to trust God. He believes God will do what is good in his sight. We might not understand what God is doing or why he is allowing a certain result. We can be confident that he is alive and active and fully aware of everything that is going on. So what is our role in all of this? Be strong.
Leanne:No matter the results of today, whether we celebrate a victory or we feel the pain of defeat, we will keep fighting bravely for our people, for our cities, for our nation and for our children. We will keep seeking what is true and right and excellent. We continue to show up and obey the laws and be good citizens and we stay on mission to present the gospel to those we come in contact with through our words or our actions. You are still on mission to honor, respect and pray for the leaders of this country. As a woman of excellence, you are responsible for what you can control, like how you react to the results that are posted today or whenever they're posted.
Leanne:Matthew 5, 16 says in the same way teaching your children how to react when strong emotions or feelings creep up. Teach them to recognize the emotions, show them how to regulate their emotions in a healthy way and model how to repair any relationships that may have been damaged during the emotional response. And you can start this today. You can trust that God has the result of this election firmly in His hands. The Lord will do what is good in His sight and you have the amazing opportunity to teach your children about emotions with a real-life, real-time example. And in the meantime, there is power in prayer. Keep praying for this country and be encouraged. Romans 8 to 28 says and we know that in all things, god works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.