Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Lou, this week we’ve discussed how anger is really a heart problem, and we’ve talked about how thoughts and actions play into creating the emotion of anger. Can you give our listeners a few practical ways to begin replacing those sinful thoughts and motives with righteous ones?

Lou Priolo:
Well, in my book, Getting a Grip, there’s a section where I talk about something called the heart journal. I actually talk about this in The Heart of Anger as well. But it’s simply a worksheet on which the teenager or child identifies the answers to four different questions.

The first question is “What happened that provoked me to anger or what were the circumstances that led to my becoming angry?” And the second question is really a set of questions: “What did I say to myself? What did I say in my heart when I became angry?” And secondly, “What did I want, long for, or desire when I became angry?” So you have to help the child, first of all, to understand what is going through his mind and what is in his heart at the time.

And then, once he’s got that figured out, maybe the next day in his quiet time, he can spend a little more time answering questions 3 and 4. Question 3 says, “What does the Bible say about what I said to myself when I became angry and then what does the Bible say about what I wanted, about my motives when I became angry?” And then the last question is simply, “What should have I said to myself when I became angry, and what should have I wanted more than my own selfish, idolatrous desires?”

Mike:
Well Lou, what you’ve shared this week is outstanding, but even more importantly, what folks need to do is get the book to helps us deal with anger with our kids. But again, thanks for joining us! And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.