Managing Your Emojis: Book Review and Giveaway

The tween years (ages 8 -12) can sometimes feel overwhelming. What if there was a book to help guide preteens in managing their emotions and remind them of God’s unconditional love at the same time?  Consider MANAGAING YOUR EMOJIS: 100 Devotions for Navigating Your Feelings.

I’m including a fun giveaway with this one. See details at the end of the post.

The Authors

Michelle Nietert has been a licensed professional counselor for over twenty-five years and is the coauthor of the award-winning book Loved and Cherished: 100 Devotions for Girls and Make Up Your Mind.

You may remember reading my reviews of two of her picture books, God I Feel Sad and God, I Feel Scared. These two books have helped many children in my family and community.

A passionate speaker, Nietert is a frequent guest on national television and podcasts, including her own “Raising Mentally Healthy Kids.” She and her husband, Drew, have been married almost two decades and have two school-aged children.

Connect with Michelle at www.YourMentalHealthCoach.com .

Lynn Cowell is a part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. As the author of many books, including Loved and Cherished cowritten with Nietert, she writes for all ages.

Cowell and her husband live in North Carolina. They have three children who are grown and married.

Connect with Lynn at https://www.lynncowell.com.

The Contents of MANAGING YOUR EMOJIS

 This book of 224 pages is written for children in grades 4 – 6.

After a short note from the authors, there is a section on How to Use Managing Your Emojis which focuses on reading, applying, and praying.

There are 100 devotions separated into four categories:

Sad – Embracing Hope

Scared – Embracing Brave

Mad – Embracing Calm

Happy – Embracing Joy

Each category opens with a “Meditation Matters” page containing several scriptures followed by twenty-five devotions.

The two authors take turns writing a devotion. Each devotion has a focus scripture followed by either a personal story or an experience with which preteens can relate. Several Bible versions are used, but the majority are from the NIV or NLT.

After the devotion, there are helpful tips and suggestions on ways readers can embrace their emotions in a healthy way. This is followed by a short, printed prayer.

Additionally, there are four pages for notetaking in the back of the book.

An Example of a Devotion in MANAGAING YOUR EMOJIS

One of the devotions written by Nietert is titled “Perfect Peace.” It opens with a question. “Have you ever been up in the middle of the night feeling scared, overwhelmed, and anxious?

The devotion talks about nights when kids are struggling with getting to sleep. A few possible reasons are given. Several helpful suggestions are presented to readers including keeping a journal by the bed, relaxing the body with warm tea or a bath, and learning more about God’s perfect peace through His Word and prayer.

The correlating scripture is Isaiah 26:3 (NLT): “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

It closes with a prayer:

“Father, I need Your help on the nights I struggle to fall or stay asleep. Help me sense Your presence that brings peace. May I not only know in my head that I am safe but feel it in my heart, as I rest trusting in You. Amen.”

Recommendation

I highly recommend this book for preteens. Each devotion is a quick read (two pages), yet the contents are a satisfying appetizer for further Bible study. I especially like how the authors coupled practical suggestions for readers on ways to embrace and manage their emotions in addition to pointing them to the God who wants to come alongside them every step of the way.  

Giveaway Details

I have a hard copy of the book, MANAGING YOUR EMOJIS to give away to one of you dear readers.

Winners must reside in the contiguous United States.

We will announce the winner on August 21, 2025. I’ll send an email to the winner from sallymatheny.com. The winner never pays for anything. I pay all shipping costs as a way to give back to my readers and to help promote excellent books.

As always, we select our giveaway winners from this blog’s email subscriber list.

However, for this giveaway, you can get a second entry if you find this blog post promoted on my Sally Matheny – Encourager, Writer, Speaker Facebook page or my Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sallymatheny7/ and post one of your favorite emojis below it!

WINNER, WINNER! Congratulations to April and Jay B.! You won HOW TO MANAGE YOUR EMOJIS. Be on the lookout from an email from this website for the details.

Motivated by the power of story, history, and His Story, Sally Matheny’s passion is telling the next generation wondrous things.

Her nonfiction writing appears in worldwide, national, and regional publications including Appleseeds, Clubhouse Jr., Homeschooling Today, and The Old Schoolhouse.

She and her husband live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and are blessed with three children, two sons-in-law, and armfuls of grandbabies. Connect with Sally on several social media sites, but her favorite hangouts are at SallyMatheny.com and Pinterest.