Find the freedom from regret, hurt, and fear that God wants for you while discovering joy, relief, and hope as you become the beautiful human he created you to be.

We all carry regret, hurt, and fear. These are burdens that weigh us down and make us feel trapped.

In twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, Scott Sauls has come alongside countless individuals and communities through weary seasons and circumstances. From his own seasons of regret, hurt, and fear--including battles with anxiety and depression--he knows what it's like to be unfinished and on the mend under Jesus' merciful, mighty healing hand.

Beautiful People Don't Just Happen reads like a field guide that can help you:

• Find hope in how God is drawn toward you, not appalled by you, in your sin and sorrow.
• Practice emotional health with joy, gratitude, and lament.
• Quiet shaming, wearying thoughts with God's divine counter-voice.
• Discover how the defining feeling of faith is not strength but dependent weakness.
• Learn what the Bible calls "the secret of being content" in every circumstance.

Dare to embrace the contentment, hope, and fullness God wants for you--offered to all who will receive it.

About the Author
Scott Sauls is senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of Jesus Outside the Lines, Befriend, From Weakness to Strength, Irresistible Faith, and A Gentle Answer. Scott also served at New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian Church as a lead and preaching pastor and planted two churches in the Midwest. His work has been featured in publications including Christianity Today, Relevant, Qideas, Propel Women, He Reads Truth, Leadership Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, Table Talk, and Made to Flourish. Scott can be found on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram at @scottsauls. He also writes weekly at scottsauls.com.

Reviews
Each time I turned a page in this book, I felt less and less alone. By writing with honesty and candor about his own struggles, failures, regrets, and weaknesses, Scott became a companion on the journey. He understands my woundedness because he's been there. And as we walked together, chapter by chapter, he exposed (once again) the lies I've told myself, replacing them with the truths of God. Beautiful People Don't Just Happen is a trustworthy guidebook toward healing and hope, written by a man who cares. Al Andrews, founder, Porter's Call
Emotionally honest, confessional, and full of grace . . . this book reads like a rope ladder of mercy, lifting us out of the pit of suffering and into the sunlight of God's wisdom. Scott makes space for our brokenness and gives testimony to the grace that delivers us out of the low places of our shame and sorrow, up onto the high ground of God's strength. Sandra McCracken, singer-songwriter and recording artist
Equal parts personally vulnerable and pastorally wise, [I found this book] to be my favorite of Scott's books to date, and one I can't wait to share with others. David P. Cassidy, pastor, Spanish River Church; author, Indispensable
Every day in our counseling offices, we see confirmation that owning our mess opens the door to knowing and experiencing gospel hope. . . . Beautiful People Don't Just Happen provides meaningful help in addressing the depression, anxiety, and mental-health crises that have enveloped our culture. God makes beauty out of our regret, hurt, and fear. We are grateful for a seasoned, graceful, and humble guide like Scott Sauls to show us how. Sissy Goff, therapist and author of Raising Worry-Free Girls, and David Thomas, therapist and author of Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys
For those whose trauma and pain seems large or small: read this book and be prepared for God to draw forth your beauty, emerging as it will beyond your imagination and from the places you would least expect. Curt Thompson MD, author, The Soul of Desire and The Soul of Shame
I read everything I can find by Scott Sauls, and I can't help but think this might be his best book yet. Too many of us feel we have to hide behind an image of confidence and stability and put-togetherness. This honest, vulnerable, hopeful book shows us another way, the way of Christ, and does so with clarity, candor, and kindness. You will be glad you read it, and you'll want to read it again. Russell Moore
If you're in search of a book selling a gimmicky God who seeks fickle followers, leave this one on the shelf. But if you're open to a God who is far better than what we can conceive or control, and an author-pastor who has lived some harsh realities and dared to plot out a faithful way to sustain the Jesus journey, I urge you to read the wisdom in this latest book by my good friend Scott Sauls. A. J. Sherrill, author, Being with God; lead pastor, Saint Peter's Church
In Isaiah 61:3, God promises to turn ashes to beauty, mourning to joy, and a spirit of despair to praise. But how? In this life-giving book, Beautiful People Don't Just Happen, Scott Sauls pulls back the curtain on God's redeeming love; a love that restores and heals beyond our wildest imaginations. Read it and take heart. Our God will restore all that is broken, even us. Hannah Anderson, author, Turning Days: Lessons from Nature, Season, and Spirit
My brother and friend Scott Sauls has given us a gift. With pastoral sensitivity and care, Beautiful People Don't Just Happen takes us to the heart of a beautiful God who wastes none of our tears. Irwyn L. Ince Jr., author, The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best
My friend Scott Sauls knows a lot about pastoring people up and out of the miry pit. . . . Beautiful People Don't Just Happen is an extremely tender yet powerfully thoughtful volume that will help you embrace God through every affliction. For what Scott has written here is a definitive guide that will help every sufferer find their way back to hope, wholeness, and spiritual health. I give this remarkable book a double thumbs-up! Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center
Scott gently lifts our weary heads to behold our Father's grace and the glorious hope that we have in Christ to show us that our suffering is not in vain. This is a book that provides gospel-saturated meaning to our suffering, and it is a book that every Christian should read and read again. Bryan Loritts, teaching pastor, The Summit Church
Scott reminds us . . . that the darkest stains and deepest wounds of our lives will never, be wasted if we take small, faithful steps to entrust our 'worsts' to Christ. The ugliest parts of our stories are not only redeemed in Christ, they are often the parts he works gently to heal and powerfully to transform us into the most beautiful versions of ourselves. Mattie Jackson Selecman, author, Lemons on Friday: Trusting God through My Greatest Heartbreak
Scott Sauls pens hallowed words. Though we are pelleted by adversity, loss, and pain, he helps us become more pliable to Christ and the Spirit that we may walk in cadence with our creator. This book overflows with wisdom, everyday tactics, and aha! moments to help you live the beautiful life you're meant for. Don't miss this stunning gift to all of us. Margaret Feinberg, author, More Power to You
This deeply pastoral book . . . shows how suffering creates beauty in us just as long pressure turns ordinary material into diamonds. Christians are called neither to stoicism nor despair before adversity but to face it as Christ did, going through death to resurrection. A highly accessible Christian theology of suffering. Tim Keller, pastor emeritus, Redeemer Presbyterian Church
This is the book we need to understand that our weariness is not a burden to Jesus, the church, or our own growth as believers. Sauls invites us to embrace struggle as part of the human experience and to take heart in the fact that 'when we are weak, he is strong.' Rachel Joy Welcher, author, Talking Back to Purity Culture; editor, Lexham Press and Fathom Magazine
This wonderful, hope-infused book reminds us how God takes hard and ugly experiences and uses them to craft tenderhearted beautiful people. You shouldn't read this book just once; pull it out every couple of years to remind yourself that because of God's grace, hurt and fear don't win; beauty does. Paul David Tripp, author, New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense



Book Information
ISBN 9780310363446
Author Scott Sauls
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Zondervan
Publisher Zondervan
Weight(grams) 135g
Dimensions(mm) 139mm * 213mm * 9mm