Stasi Eldredge - Beautiful Me: Believing Gods Truth about You

God has revealed both himself and yourself to you in this book. Now its time to flex your faith muscles and choose to believe him in the moments when you are feeling beloved, beautiful, and accepted and in the moments when you are not.

The more we know Jesus, the more we love him. The more we love him, the more healed and the more ourselves we become. People will ask you for the reason for the hope that is within you! Jesus is the reason. He is so marvelous, and there is no end to discovering the beauty and majesty of his alluring heart. So let the adventure continue. Were in it together!

BEAUTIFUL ME

Published by David C Cook

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David C Cook Distribution Canada

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David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

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The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved; KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.); MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved; RSV are taken from The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version. Copyright 1946, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

LCCN 2015944608

ISBN 978-1-4347-0994-3

eISBN 978-1-4347-1012-3

2016 Stasi Eldredge

Published in association with Yates & Yates, www.yates2.com

The Team: Alice Crider, Elisa Stanford, Amy Konyndyk, Helen Macdonald, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Nick Lee

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To Abigail, Gracelyn Rose, and Hartley Faye
With love, joy, faith, and true hope from your auntie.

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

Philippians 1:6 MSG

Did you know you are beautiful? Not just pretty or cute or acceptable, but beautiful . Beyond measure. Beyond anything else God created. I know you dont always feel beautiful. I struggle with that too. But God sees us as beautiful, radiant, gifted, valued, and loved. Im excited to think of you receiving that truth in your mind and spirit now, as a young woman, so that you can live out your beauty and your gifts throughout your lifetime!

That reminds me of a secret I want to share with you: life gets better. No, really. It does. It might feel hard for a while there. Life is kind of like that, but cross my heart, Im telling you the truth. It gets better.

You will find your way. You will grow and learn and figure it out and change in the ways you so long to. Because of Jesus. Because of Jesus, change is not only possible but its promised.

You are being transformed into the very image of Jesus. He who has called you is faithful, and what he has begun he will complete. You have a part to play too in Gods work in you, and God will guide you in what that looks like. Jesus wants you to be free to be who you are! Beautiful, beautiful you . And thats no secret.

Jesus, you are transforming me into your image. What part do you want me to play in that transformation today? Show me how you want me to see you. Show me how you want me to see myself! In Jesuss name, amen.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mothers womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Psalm 139:1314

Self-assured is not how anyone would have described me in high school. I may have looked that way. I sure tried hard to appear that way. But if there had been a sign hanging over my heart, it would have read, Just tell me who Im supposed to be and Ill be that. My parents had an idea of who I was supposed to be. (Smarter! Thinner! More popular!) My friends were quite willing to tell me, without even speaking, who I was supposed to be. (Funnier! Prettier!) I let my sisters tell me who I was supposed to be. I sure let boys tell me.