Breaking-Free-from-Body-Shame-Audiobook-PDF (PDF)

A PDF COMPANION TO THE AUDIOBOOK  ZONDERVAN BOOKS Breaking Free from Body Shame Copyright © 2021 by Jessica Ashleigh Connolly Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 Zondervan titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected] ISBN 978-0-310-35259-4 (audio) Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Connolly, Jess, author. Title: Breaking free from body shame : dare to reclaim what God has named good / Jess Connolly. Description: Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021. | Summary: "For women who love God but have a love/hate relationship with their bodies, join Jess Connolly to discover a bold new way to rest in God's workmanship and heal the broken beliefs that have held you back from your fullest life"— Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021000401 (print) | LCCN 2021000402 (ebook) | ISBN 9780310352464 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780310352501 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Body image in women— Religious aspects. | Self- perception— Religious aspects— Christianity. Classification: LCC BF697.5.B63 C657 2021 (print) | LCC BF697.5.B63 (ebook) | DDC 306.4/613— dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021000401 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021000402 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.® Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Published in association with literary agent Jenni Burke of Illuminate Literary Agency, www.illuminateliterary.com. Art direction: Curt Diepenhorst Cover illustration: MURRIRA / Shutterstock Interior design: Denise Froehlich Printed in the United States of America 21 22 23 24 25 /LSC/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 6  C H A P T E R 1 Why Body Image Is a Spiritual Issue 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 1 Questions If your heart was a house with many rooms, what room would represent your body? What does that room look like? Is it cared for or hidden? Is it visited often? Is God invited into that room? What have you been told about your body? List the first three messages that come to mind. Is there someone in your life who loves her body simply because God made it? How has her friendship or relationship impacted your life? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 18  Questions What body image movements have you been exposed to? Which of these has been a blessing? What has helped you to form a positive body image? How does it make you feel to know that God is not neutral about your body? Do you agree that mainstream Christian culture has shied away from these messages? Why do you think that is? What’s your immediate response to the idea that your body lives in the kingdom? What would it look like to live as if the kingdom is real in your body today? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 43 C H A P T E R 2 A Better Mindset 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 21  C H A P T E R 3 Renaming What the World Has Labeled Less- Than 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 45 Questions What do you think about when you think of your own name? How do you describe yourself? What negative occurrence of naming comes first to mind? What kind of name- giver do you want to be known as? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 64  C H A P T E R 5 Resting from the Quest for a “Better” Body 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 85 Questions What are you getting your body ready for? Would you like to pull the lever and scream “stop” too? Would you like to stop trying to “get your body right”? What would it look like for you to let your body rest from the ongoing work of “making it better”? What will your soul say for your body when anything tries to provoke her? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 107  C H A P T E R 7 Restoring Your Body to Its Original Purpose 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 127 Questions Have you ever thought about why you want healing or restoration in your body? Why do you want to grow? What if living in your body was less about how you could make it better and more about seeing God? When you eat, when you move, when you spend time in your body, are you more in awe of God? Are you aware of Him at all? What would an act of worship in your body, outside of the typical singing and dancing, look like today? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 147  C H A P T E R 9 Welcoming Revival 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 169 Questions If repentance, prayer, and returning are how revival begins, are you in? Are you on the lookout for other women walking in freedom? What happens when you see this kind of fruit? How likely is it, in your opinion, that women in our time and culture can see breakthrough in the stronghold of negative body image? When was the last time you told God you’re sorry for how you’ve treated your body? 9780310352464_BreakFreeBodyShame_int.indd 184  Resources Revelation Wellness: www.revelationwellness.org Online Christian Counseling: www.faithfulcounseling.com Onsite Workshops: www.onsiteworkshops.com The Wellness Revelation by Alisa Keeton