This Is My Body (Library Edition): From Obesity to Ironman, My Journey Into the True Meaning of Flesh, Spirit, and Deeper Faith

The cacophony of voices about our bodies is so loud, it s hard to hear the voices that matter. Some of us decide to forget it all and give in to one addiction or another. I ve done that. Some of us decide to perfect our bodies and obsess over every muscle or wrinkle. I ve done that too. Then I discovered the truth about my body: It is a gift. A sign of God s love. And so is yours. Many of us think our physical natures are burdens that drag us toward failure and guilt. But what if God actually glories in the flesh? What if we had the same joy about our bodies as He does?
Ragan Sutterfield brings us back to a biblical perspective a freeing, corrective viewpoint that reminds us of the connection between spirit, mind, and body. Along the way, he shares his journey from overweight addict to Ironman competitor. He counts his success, though, not in his decreased clothing size, but in his increased understanding of how much God truly loves us and of what it means to be stewards not just of our souls, but of our skin and bones too."

Ragan Sutterfield's work has appeared in a variety of magazines including The Oxford American, Men's Journal, Triathlete, Gourmet, Fast Company, and Books & Culture. Sutterfield is an endurance athlete and long time naturalist who loves records, film, and living the good life with his wife Emily and their daughter Lillian. He has worked as a teacher, librarian and farmer, but he is most of all a reader and a writer. He blogs regularly at the "Word + Flesh" blog on Patheos.com. His work also appears regularly in the Englewood Review of Books and at SustainableTraditions.com. Articles and more can be found at his website RaganSutterfield.com.