WOF:       What possessed you to write a book about emotions? Is it a topic you’re emotional about?

PATSY:    I am very emotional about it! I have always had more emotions than anybody needed to have. I’ve spent a lifetime either being beat up by them or learning how to live with them. For those other gals out there who are in my kind of emotional jumble, I wanted to give them some things I’ve learned along the way. Certainly the years I’ve put in (that have caused me now to be considered to be a ‘seasoned’ woman) would have something to offer. Even if it’s just to confess that I still struggle.

WOF:       It’s always good to know that everyone else doesn’t have it all together.

PATSY:    I don’t see anywhere in the Book where it tells us we will have it all together until we see the sweet feet of Jesus. We all have that ‘and they lived happily ever after’ little button in our brains that plays over and over; that’s why we’re constantly disappointed when life doesn’t deliver or we don’t shape up.

WOF:       Emotions are a lot of trouble. Wouldn’t we be better off without them?

PATSY:    Oh, no. Emotions are such a gift to our life. It’s what makes women as interesting as we are. We’re intuitive and sensitive…it keeps us lively and passionate. It puts the spark into our lives. We would be pathetic if we did not have emotions, because emotions are what deeply attach a mother to a child. They’re what cause one heart to be drawn to another. It’s a wonderful gift to our lives.

WOF:       Does God have emotions?

PATSY:    He certainly does! It says in the Scripture that He’s a God of love, it lists things He hates, He talks about being a jealous God. So yes, over and over, if you go through the Scriptures, you’ll find His emotions.

The way He has designed us is patterned after Who He is. So we didn’t end up with these emotions because God thought, “Well, I don’t have this so I’ll give it to them.” He’s really patterned us after Himself. Certainly though, our emotions have suffered the fall of mankind which led us into great emotional corruption and disruption. But then again, God saw our great need, which is why He gave us Christ, our Prince of Peace. If ever there were angry waves that He needed to step onto and say “Peace, be still” it would (often) be a woman’s emotions. It’s not that men do not have emotions as well, but we tend to not only have more but our emotions tend to be more delicate. And anything delicate has to be handled with more care.

WOF:       The idea of a mental ‘garden’ or spot where we can meet Jesus is so sweet. Why does that help?

PATSY:    I think God has given us tremendous power in our thought life; we can use that to our benefit or our detriment. One of my ways of learning how to keep my mind in perfect peace, even in the midst of a chaotic situation, is that I can run away in my mind and have a little refuge up there.

I was doing that the other day: I was at the drugstore and wanted to take my blood pressure. I had been running all over that store just before I got to the machine, thinking I’ve got to get this, gotta get that. Don’t forget this. Don’t forget that. Then, What was that other thing? WHAT was that other thing? I was kind of cranked up in my mind and I’d been in a flurry with my body so I sat down and thought, I just need that quiet place. So, in my mind, I just cozied into the big chair by the fireplace and had a chat with the Lord for a minute about my busy-ness and just settling down. And I began to settle down. It was reflected in my blood pressure, I might say.
       
WOF:       You said in Chapter 12, “God isn’t reasonable; in fact, often His ways are outrageous to our way of thinking.”  Why is that?

PATSY:    Because He is a mystery. A great deal of Who He is is a mystery. If we had Him figured out we’d be just like Him and we’re not just like Him, we’re walking toward Him hoping to become more like Him. It is not reasonable that He would have His Son, His holy Son, born in a stinking stable. That’s not reasonable. If you see that you have a friend who has longed to have a baby all her life and she can’t have one, then you meet a gal who’s on her way to have an abortion because she just doesn’t feel like it’s the right season for her to have a child, you say, “Now God, why didn’t you let this one over here, who not only longs to be a momma but has all the wonderful gifts it would take to be a good momma? And here’s one who just wants to discard her child because it’s not convenient.” We keep looking for the balance. We keep looking for everything to make sense. Part of that is our control issue; the more things make sense to us, if we can reason it out, then we feel safer, more in control. It is really an illusion that we’re ever in control, but we certainly like to think we are.

WOF:       Women of Faith’s 2008 Pre-conference is based on this book. What can women expect at that event?

PATSY:    When you put together a wonderful, articulate teacher like Jan Silvious, who is so well grounded in the Word . . . and you take a hilarious comedian, who loves the Lord with all her heart and soul and mind and strength like Anita Renfroe . . . and then you mix into that a cracked pot . . . I think you can expect almost anything!

I think you’re going to hear some very solid truth. I think you’re going to laugh outrageously. I think you’re going to be warmed by the connectedness of the three speakers. We’re each fans of the others; we appreciate the gifts God has placed in us and recognize the differences in our gifts. It’s a real privilege for me to work with both of them. I think it’s going to be full of wit and wisdom. I’m looking forward to it!

I personally plan on dipping into the life of Esther and walking around in there for a while, seeing how she’s doing emotionally, imagining how it might feel to be her. We’re going to slip on the emotional sandals of Esther and consider what that means today for us.