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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As followers of Christ, we offer our whole selves—our minds, the strength of our bodies, our words, our hearts—in order to bring glory to God.
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“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.
In Praise Of Unfussy Hospitality
Unfussy hospitality focuses on people, not preparations, on loving others well instead of worrying what others think of us.
5 Ways To Point Our Doubting Loved Ones To Jesus
Our churches and homes need to be a safe place for believers and non-believers alike to express their uncertainties and doubts. We create a culture of grace when we welcome these questions instead of run from them and display the same mercy our Father has shown to us (Luke 6:36).
In Humility, Count Other Ministries More Important Than Your Own
When it comes to ministries we love, it’s easy to have tunnel vision. How do we free others from our expectations in ministry and celebrate the diversity of gifts within the church?
How To Embrace Your Dispensability
Oftentimes, we’re tempted to think things will fall apart if we’re removed from the equation. We’re afraid to give up control and trust that someone else can finish the task just as well, if not better, than we can. Pride says, everything will fall apart if I’m not involved. Humility says, things may even start to run better without me.
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If you’re in a place of insecurity, wondering how to handle a challenging task, remember three things.
Invite Someone To Sunday Lunch
The dinner table has a way of breaking down barriers between people. As we sip our coffee and eat our pie, we share about life and faith in Christ.
God Loves Ministry No One Else Sees
God rejoices in sea creatures and rare flowers that no one but him will ever see. He delights even more in children who serve him gladly in unseen ways.
The Proverbs 31 Woman Is The Church
We need one another. We depend on one another. We bless one another with our gifts…
Ready To Commit, Slow To Compare
Church communities look different for every group of believers. But what never changes is our desperate need for one another.
Make Room For Different Kinds Of Discipleship
In our efforts to encourage discipleship in the local church, be open to different ways God might choose to influence you.
What Muslim Women Taught Me About Love
How many God-ordained opportunities I miss because of my own preconceived judgments?
The Danger Of Theological Pride
Theological pride lurks behind many of the strong convictions we have. Convictions are a good thing, assuming we’re conveying them to others in a loving manner.
Loving Difficult People
God doesn’t call us to avoid or ignore difficult people, but to lean into relationships with difficult people, confident that he will meet us there.