Beautiful Freedom
How the Bible Shapes Your View of Appearance, Food, and Fitness
Endorsements
To be a modern woman is to struggle with how we look. We’re confronted with images of beauty, ideas about what to eat, and our own internal struggles with our bodies. In Beautiful Freedom, Stacy Reaoch diagnoses and gives the solution to our ever-compounding struggles with body image. If you think you’re immune to this, Stacy shows how it impacts everyone. But even more helpfully, she points to the path towards freedom—where we see everything we have as a gift from God to be stewarded for his glory.
— Courtney Reissig
Author of Teach Me to Feel and Glory in the Ordinary
A heartening and fundamental guide for anyone battling the relentless pressures of modern beauty and health ideals. Beautiful Freedom is bursting with Bible-centered wisdom and highlights Christ’s love for us. More than insightful information, this book is a soothing balm, offering real hope and freedom that is only found in Jesus Christ. I pray that God will use this book to remind the church that true beauty and freedom are ultimately found in him and not the fleeting standards of the world.
— Portia Collins
Host, Grounded podcast
Young or old, thick or thin, mostly satisfied or perpetually frustrated by what you see when you look in the mirror: whoever you are, you need an embodied theology, a grid for thinking about your body and beauty that is more than skin-deep. In her thought-provoking book, Beautiful Freedom, Stacy Reaoch will help you see yourself through the lens of God’s unchanging word. In seeing his heart rightly, you’ll finally be able to see yourself and your body choices with hope and freedom. You’ll want to share this book with every woman you know.
— Erin Davis
Revive Our Hearts; author of Fasting and Feasting and Beyond Bath Time
I felt like Stacy was writing directly to me. I see myself in the stories she shares about herself and other women trying to balance attitudes and actions around food, exercise, and aging. Discipled by the world, I find myself falling into deep snares in each of these areas. But Stacy’s wisdom, shaped by the word of God, provides a clarion call back to what’s genuinely good, beautiful, and true. This is a book I will be sharing with my friends at the gym and at church, and my own four daughters. How I long for us all to view our bodies rightly! Beautiful Freedom will help us get there.
— Jen Oshman
Author, Enough About Me
Many today are turning new attention to our bodies and the very practical issues of exercise, aging, and what we eat and how much—but few provide deeply Christian counsel. Stacy Reaoch knows the perils of our pendulum swings between apathy and obsession, but even more, she wants to help readers to find not just ‘balance’ but deep and enduring joy in Jesus, with genuine love for others. She sees these important issues in light of our ultimate reality, which enables her to meet our pressing need for wisdom, rather than scratch the itch for quick and easy answers.
— David Mathis
Executive Editor at desiringGod.org and author of Habits of Grace
Christian women are not exempt from cultural pressures around aging, appearance, and beauty. Stacy Reaoch offers biblical wisdom, truth, and encouragement that soothes the soul of any woman who is stressed out over how she looks, how she should exercise, or what she should eat. This book offers sweet relief and poignant reminders that the most beautiful things about us are not external but eternal.
— Heather Creekmore
Host, Compared to Who? podcast
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What Is “The Abundant Life?”
The trials of this life wean us from the world and teach us that our only true satisfaction will be found in God.
Honoring Your Mother-In-Law
How can we seek to show honor to our mother-in-law, even in the midst of a difficult relationship?
Everyone Has a Dream- Navigating In-Law Expectations
Among many situations, in-law gatherings can create the perfect storm for unmet expectations.
God Chose Your Mother-In-Law
Your mother-in-law may be far from the ideal person you’ve imagined, but she is the mother of the man you love and chose above all others. She is God’s hand-picked choice to be your mother-in-law.
Vacations Don’t Last Forever
Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t allow our mountaintop experiences to last?
A Way of Escape
In all honesty, sweets can be a big temptation for me. It seems like whenever I start to feel overwhelmed with life or stretched too thin, I’m drawn to the kitchen.
Letting Go
Taking our daughter to college is a significant way that God teaches us to trust Him.
To Hurting Wives in Ministry-How God Works Through Heartache
“How do you keep going in ministry? Especially after so much hurt?”
A Genuine Interest in Others
What opportunities do you have to show an authentic interest in others? Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness can pave the way for God to do so much more.
Mommy Guilt- The Robber of Joy?
Our righteousness does not come from providing our children with the picture-perfect childhood, or the most nutritious meals, or the best education. Our righteousness comes from Christ alone.
Adorning the Dark
I remember the first time I heard the music of Andrew Peterson. Ben and I were newlyweds, sitting around a table in a one-bedroom apartment, talking about life and ministry with our new friends.
When God Withholds Sleep
God made us to sleep. But when rest evades us for one reason or another, he will use even our sleeplessness to draw us nearer to him.
What Do Our Words Say To A Watching World?
As Christians, we’re to be beacons of light and hope. We’re to offer peace to a hurting world by pointing them to the sacrificial love of Christ. We’re to love our neighbor as we love our own body, caring for and nourishing it. But our biting words begin to consume our thoughts and affections, leading to animosity toward those sitting in the church pew next to us with different views. It’s a slippery slope that leads to division in the body of Christ and an ugly witness to the world.
When It’s Hard To Forgive
Have you been hurt or mistreated by someone? In our fallen world, relationships with others can be hard. Strong words are spoken, jealousy creates division, even our closest family relationships can be wrought with pain.
What Is “The Prayer of Faith?”
The prayer of faith in James 5:13–20 is a powerful, and often misunderstood, passage. Are we really promised healing if we just have enough faith to believe? Or could God be talking about healing in eternity, when we’re finally free of all sin, disease, and sadness? What is God trying to tell us through this important passage on prayer? Here are a few questions and main points we can understand about prayer from this passage.
Enough About Me - Find Lasting Joy In The Age Of Self
Jen’s book spurred me on to live a life of faith, to trust God in the difficult seasons of life. I’m reminded that the Christian life is not meant to be easy and comfortable, but one that causes us to lift our eyes to the Lord. He is our hope. And following Him will lead to the greatest joy possible.
Loving Your Neighbor Amid Crisis
A pandemic can breed selfishness in all of us. We run to the store to stock up on essentials: toilet paper, bread, meat, milk. We go to great measures to protect and provide for our loved ones. But how much of this falls into the realm of survival of the fittest? Are we only thinking of ourselves or do we consider the needs of others? I’ve struggled with the balance between protection and sacrifice.