Reneau Z Peurifoy - Why did God give us emotions?

This is a book that could change your life. If you are struggling with issues that keep you chained to your past or insecurities and you want those chains gone get a copy of this one.

Though Peurifoy holds a masters in counseling and has studied theology his writing doesnt feel textbook. Carefully and simply he explains the parts and pieces of our emotions and he helps the reader who wants to be helped wade through the lies and/or misinformation about those emotions.

I recommend this one. Dont put it on a shelf or buy it for someone else who needs fixing. If its not about you and what you need to do to become a whole person, then dont waste the shelf-space. One note... faith and specifically faith in Christ is an important aspect to his teaching. I dont know that his suggestions will work without willingness to explore Jesus.

Scrambled DregsTidbits on life, food, faith, and writing
K ELLY K LEPFER

Reneau Peurifoy... doesnt leave us with a knowledge-only book. He has recommended activities after each chapter that help you apply his principles while looking into your own emotional being, past and present, as well as Gods perspective.

His book also contains discussion questions for small group study, provided along with guidelines for managing emotions more effectively so they glorify God, rather than bring Him disgrace.

I definitely recommend this book as a good resource for anyone suffering from emotional issues, big or small. I am specifically excited that Peurifoys book is from a Godly perspective.

One Desert Rose
A Source for Christian Book Reviews

Why Did God Give Us Emotions? had my attention right from the preface. If you are looking for a book that actually addresses the issue of emotions from a Biblical perspective you have found it! Why Did God Give Us Emotions? is an excellent resource for every Christians library.

Empowering Christian Women
K ARLA M EACHEM

The most outstanding characteristic of this book is its clarity... A thoroughly God-centered work, this guide to emotional well-being guides you step-by-step through the healing process... Packed with biblical references and checklists, Why Did God Give Us Emotions? stimulates us to grow, not only inwardly, but also in the relationships that we have with others around us. If you feel emotionally troubled and would love to undergo a spiritual facelift, why not buy a copy of Why Did God Give Us Emotions? Its the equivalent of hours of therapy (and who among us can afford to pay for other forms of face-to-face counseling these days?).

Book reviews
by L OIS H ENDERSON

I have had this book for months. I really didnt want to read it because I was on emotional overload. I figured that it was a book written for lay people with a feel-good theme. Instead, I found a real tool book, with detailed descriptions on how our emotions are affected by our minds, our body chemistry, and our spiritual condition. Then, the author gives great tools to help take control and win the battle.

In my years of counseling, I have been frustrated with the lack of real resources for people who just needed to figure out how to control their emotions. Finally, we have something to recommend.

Staying Focused
K IM M ARTINEZ

I have found it to be a much deeper book that originally expected. Author Reneau Peurifoy gives a complete overview of the different aspects of emotionsphysical, spiritual, etc.while also putting them in the context of Christian beliefs (or misconceptions).

It is this combination that makes this book stand out from the rest. There are many resources that deal with happiness or anxiety or small slices of the emotional spectrum but few of them are written to address such a complete and balanced view of the role God gave emotions to play in our lives, and do so with a balance of medical knowledge and Biblical insight. Peurifoy also provides some good cautions about relying too much on emotions while giving some very practical exercises and examples of where our emotions can be trusted and where they can become a false guide.

... as someone that has struggled with an anxiety disorder in the past, I can only say I wish Id found this book years ago.

Highly recommend.
Faith... by Val

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version

Cover design by Lauri Worthington, Worthington Martino
Interior design by Pat Reinheimer
Photo of Mr. Peurifoy by Jessica Giblin

Copyright 2013 by Reneau Peurifoy

All rights reserved

Published by LifeSkills Publications

Citrus Heights, CA

Printed in the United States of America

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication

Peurifoy, Reneau Z.

Why did God give us emotions? / by Reneau Peurifoy.

p. cm.

Includes index.

LCCN 2009906686

ISBN-13: 978-0-929437-16-3

ISBN-10: 0-929437-16-0

1. Emotions--Religious aspects. I. Title.

BL65.E46P48 2009

204.4

QBI09-600109

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

I did not grow up in a Christian home. However, my mother wanted my brother and me to have some moral training, so she would drop us off at a Baptist church where we attended Sunday school. She would then pick us up and take us home. While I do not ever remember formally accepting Christ as my savior during my childhood, I do remember that I considered Him a friend. I would often have long conversations with Him, especially when I was angry or hurt.

When I was eight, my father ended a twenty-one-year career with the navy and we moved to the outskirts of Sacramento, California. I enjoyed church and helping in Sunday school and continued to attend faithfully until I reached junior high school. My parents did not object to my going to church, but they also did not really encourage or support my attendance. So around the seventh grade, I stopped going. I still considered Jesus to be a good friend; however, my junior high school eyes saw a lot of hypocrisy in those attending church. Deciding that I could know God on my own, I quit attending church.

During high school I turned to science as my source of truth. I was even given the nickname Spock by some of my friends because I reminded them of Mr. Spock in the TV series Star Trek that was popular at the time. I graduated from high school in 1967, the year of the summer of love in the not-too-distant Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. While I was never a hippie, the influence of the movement was certainly felt in Sacramento. This was especially true at the junior college I began attending. I spent the next two years drifting through college and playing blues guitar.

In 1969 I joined a Buddhist group and became an active member. During this time I advanced in their study department and became a teacher of their doctrine. This was when I met my wife, Michiyo. After five years I became disillusioned with Buddhism and turned to New Age teachings. After another five years, I became disillusioned with New Age teachings, and psychology became my new truth as I pursued my masters in counseling in preparation to become a marriage and family therapist. During this time my first child, a son, was born. When he turned four, I decided it was time for him to go to church, the way I had, so he could receive moral training.

At the time I was developing a home study mail-order program for people with panic disorder. I knew the lady who was helping design my material was a Christian so I asked about her church, and she invited me to attend. I began taking my son and attending the worship service while he was in Sunday school. I had not really read anything about the Christian faith in all my years since leaving the church and only remembered the stories and precepts I had been taught in Sunday school. Thus, as a young adult I considered the Christian faith to be somewhat simplistic. Now, I heard the gospel from an adult perspective, and it captured me. My search to find God was over, and I was baptized on December 2, 1984.