Every day we are exposed to messages about health, food, exercise, and looking good. It's hard not to get swept along with it all; in fact, it’s easy to end up caring too much about these things and even to feel trapped trying to live up to the ideals that we see in the media.
Author Stacy Reaoch points you to the Bible to find freedom! The Bible tells us that our physical selves do matter. But it also invites us to think about our bodies in a God-centered way—helping us to reset and find a balanced approach that is grounded in our faith.
Beautiful Freedom is an invitation to ...love the body God gave you and to explore his priorities for the ways in which you live, eat, and exercise.
This book will help you find freedom from damaging narratives about weight, fitness, appearance, and aging. Even better, it will turn your gaze toward Jesus and help you love him more and more.
Reflection questions at the end of each chapter are useful both for personal reflection and group study.
(Review written for 'Beautiful Freedom')
What does the Bible have to say about beauty? In Beautiful Freedom, Stacy Reaoch shows how the Bible shapes our views of appearance, food, and fitness.
Fitness, Health, and Beauty
A small, short book at less than 150 pages – it is a quick and encouraging read. As Christians, our approach to fitness, health, and beauty needs to be different.
...In defining beauty, Reaoch begins by helping us understand that when we think about God’s beauty, it comes down to his character. Christians reflect God’s beauty to others. Reaoch uses the story of Ruth to show that true beauty is displayed through our hearts.
Remaining Happy in Christ
Some worship our own bodies, and this is worship gone wrong. And unlike our bodies, only God’s kingdom will last. That being said, rest and exercise are still ways to care for our own bodies and serve others well.
Motivations for exercise include being ready for every good work, being able to share Jesus, and remaining happy in Christ. Reaoch also writes on eating healthy and overindulgence.
A Growing Relationship with God
The book ends by exhorting us to fight the fear of aging by focusing on a growing relationship with God. In every area of beauty, there is freedom found in Christ.
I received a media copy of Beautiful Freedom and this is my honest review.
(Review written for 'Beautiful Freedom')
“Our bodies are good, God made them that way! But even knowing that, its surprisingly easy to become worries and dissatisfied about our diet, our looks our exercise routine or our health. This book is an invitation to reset. With the help of Gods word, we can escape the worries that weigh us down. We can start thinking about appearance, food and fitness in a fresh way— in a Jesus centered way.”
What I loved in this book: I really ...loved finding a Christian perspective on topics of fitness and health. This year I started in January on a health journey and was excited to read this book. Stacey touches on a lot of topics with a biblical view of how we should approach appearance, food and fitness. She truly has a heart for women and wanting them to focus on Christ rather than ourselves and how we look. This world we live in is very focused on appearances and it was a refreshing perspective for me.
What I didn’t particularly love: I felt like the book lacked a little depth. I would have loved to dig deeper into scripture when visiting each subject.
Overall a good book that offers a fresh look on things the world often puts a lot of emphasis on and how we can view ourselves through the eyes of Christ and how He made us.
(Review written for 'Beautiful Freedom')
In the Introduction, the author shares: “My prayer for you, as you read this book, is that God will grant you new eyes to see your body the way he sees it—as a gift to enjoy and to steward for his glory. I hope that you will start to find freedom from the fears and concerns that weigh you down, and confidence in his sovereign work that knitted you together. And I pray that you will be inspired to love God more. Our Creator is the true source of beauty—fixing our hope on him will never disappoint.”
I love the ...heart behind her prayer, and I love that Beautiful Freedom is a book that invites women to trust God with all their bodily concerns and to walk in the freedom and joy that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
I also appreciate the questions at the end of each chapter; the stories that she shares throughout—her own as well as others—that most women can relate to or empathize with; how she clearly presents the gospel and all throughout points her readers’ eyes to God; and the chapters where she presents what the Bible says about exercise, food restrictions, overindulgence, and beauty and aging.
Where this book falls short for me is in depth. Though the author does share biblical wisdom and truth, there were times when I wished she would have delved deeper into what the Word says and fleshed out some of her statements more.
Overall, I believe there are some good truths and nuggets of wisdom for women to walk away with.
Thank you, The Good Book Company, for my copy of Beautiful Freedom in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
(Star Rating: 3.25 stars)
