{A Review and Giveaway}: New Devotional Film Helps Women Overcome the World

I was once again contacted by Lisa and Francis Chan's ministry, asking if I would like to be apart of their "Not of this World" Blog Tour, to review the third and final film in Lisa's new devotional film series for women, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus.

Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, hello...when a best-selling author (Crazy Love, Forgotten God, Erasing Hell) asks you to be apart of something they are doing, you don't say no! Plus, I absolutely LOVED the first two dvds in the series, Be Still and Deny Yourself. You can read my reviews here and here.

It amazes me how Lisa's videos always seem to arrive at my doorstep, at just the right time, when I need them most. For the past few weeks, I have been overcome with worry, stress and anxiety, related to several areas of my life. I prayed and prayed, begging God to take it away, showing me how to lay my burdens at His feet, and yet despite my desire and assumption that He would, it remained. Ugh!

I felt overwhelmed, beat down, hopeless, to say the least. Can anyone relate?

This morning I finally had the chance to view Not of this World and as usual, it was exactly what I needed to hear! It made me realize that the things I was so concerned about, were not important at all. They were things that the world says are important, pressures that the world puts on us, unrealistic expectations that make us feel as though we are inadequate, helpless, a failure.

Sometimes the burden of mothering my children is honestly more than I can bear! A little, insecure voice in my head likes to tell me that I am failing as a parent, that my children are not going to turn out alright, if I don't get my act together. Have you heard this voice? It is probably the area in my life that I struggle the most, to let go and let God.

And yet, I was reminded by this wonderful article that "the voice of truth, tells me a different story." That it is not up to me! What a relief!!! All God asks me to do is to turn my children over to Him, strive to be the best example that I can, and He will do the rest!

It is exactly what Lisa's calm, soothing voice invites us to do in her video...quit looking to and listening to the world...to simply turn our eyes upon Jesus and we will be amazed at what we discover...more abundant life than we could ever imagine!

Trouble-free? Absolutely not. But as my daily excerpt from "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young so lovingly reminded me what Jesus promises us, if we would only follow Him:

"Knowing me intimately is like having a private wellspring of Joy within you. This spring flows freely from My throne of grace, so your Joy is independent of circumstances."

Oh, how much better is a relationship with Him than anything this world has to offer! Amen?!

On that note, I am so excited to giveaway one copy of Not of this World to one lucky winner...to be able to bless another with the same blessing that was given to me.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post!

For extra entries (leave the designated amount of extra comments for each one that you do)...

1. Tweet this giveaway (leave 1 extra comment)

2. Post this giveaway on your FB wall (leave 2 extra comments)

3. Pin this giveaway onto Pinterest (leave 3 extra comments)

4. Blog about this giveaway (leave 4 extra comments)

Winner will be announced Saturday, August 24th. 

If you would rather just purchase a copy, pre-order yours here.

Have a great week, friends! May God bless us as we follow Him!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

{Deny Yourself} Devotional Film Giveaway Winner

Again, I am a day late posting our giveaway winner, but again I was out of town watching my boy play some awesome baseball!

Here is a snapshot of my little man...

And now, without further delay, the winner of our Deny Yourself Devotional Film giveaway IS...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:2Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Congratulations, Allyson! Contact me at worthyoftheprize.erin@yahoo.com TODAY to claim your prize!
Thank you to all who entered and to Lisa Chan and David C. Cook for their generous donation!
If you did not win, you can purchase your copy of this fabulous devotional film, the second in Lisa Chan's series "True Beaty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus" here.
Go here for my review of this film and here for my review of her first film.
Happy Sunday, friends! :)

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

{A Review and Giveaway}: New Devotional Film Helps Women Selflessly Navigate An "All About Me" Society

I was once again contacted by Lisa and Francis Chan's ministry, asking if I would like to be apart of their "Deny Yourself Blog Tour," to review the second film in Lisa's new devotional film series for women, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus.

Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, hello...when a best-selling author (Crazy Love, Forgotten God, Erasing Hell) asks you to be apart of something they are doing, you don't say no! Plus, I absolutely LOVED the first dvd in the series, Be Still. You can read my review of it here.

I don't know about you, but I have recently been struggling with my purpose in life. Maybe I am having a mid-life crisis of sorts! ;) Basically, I feel like I am constantly running from one thing to the next, always busy getting stuff done, but never doing any of it well. I wear myself out doing things that I think God wants me to be doing with my time, my family and my ministry, only to look back and realize that I never even consulted Him first about these plans of MINE. I continue to jump in head first without a life vest, not realizing it until I start drowning!

No wonder I live overwhelmed, beat down and flat worn out most of the time. My best is simply not good enough. It never will be. I need to quit trying to do everything in my own time, by my own strength, according to my own plans. Can you relate?

Deny Yourself was exactly what I needed to hear...a reminder to give it all up in exchange for a better life, the abundant life that Christ offers us if we will simply lay down our own lives, our own plans, our own dreams and follow Him.

I know you will be incredibly inspired, as I was, by the story of Irene and her husband, who (by the grace of God) overcame a struggling marriage due to his alcoholism and ended up with a marriage better than they could have ever imagined. She obeyed Jesus' command to forgive, even though she didn't want to, and was tremendously blessed by this changed man and the large number of orphans they welcomed into their home!

After hearing her story, I am beyond excited to see what God will do in my own life when I truly begin to deny myself on a daily basis, choosing Him and His will instead of me and mine.

Will it always be easy? Absolutely not. Jesus had to endure the cross in order to claim the victory. But His glorious resurrection was definitly worth the sacrifice! I know that what God has in store for me (and us) is better than I (we) could have ever imagined! I have already seen Him answer my prayers in amazing, unexpected ways when I forgo asking for specific things, but instead simply ask for His will to be done in a particular situation.

"Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." [Luke 9:23-24]

What about you? Do you want to experience the abundant life that only Jesus can give? A life better than you could ever imagine?

Everywhere they turn, women are fed the message that self-indulgence and having-it-all is the end goal. Each season brings a new style, a must-have bag and a better-than-ever face cream that will turn other women green with envy. Sacrifice isn't applauded, but rising up in the ranks is but, as they climb, they realize that this way of life isn’t shiny and happy—it’s empty. In the second film of her new series, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus (David C Cook/Flannel, March 2013), Lisa Chan–co-founder of the mega-church Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley—presents another option for women: Deny Yourself. In this impactful teaching, she demonstrates a way of life that is full of contentedness and joy.

I am so excited to giveaway one copy of Deny Yourself to one lucky winner...to be able to bless another with the same blessing that was given to me.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post!

For extra entries (leave the designated amount of extra comments for each one that you do)...

1. Tweet this giveaway (leave 1 extra comment)

2. Post this giveaway on your FB wall (leave 2 extra comments)

3. Pin this giveaway onto Pinterest (leave 3 extra comments)

4. Blog about this giveaway (leave 4 extra comments)

Winner will be announced Saturday, April 27th. 

If you would rather just purchase a copy, pre-order yours here.

Have a great week, friends! May God bless you as you give up everything to follow Him!

Our regularly scheduled {Hope for the Home} linky party will return next week, as planned.

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

{Be Still} Devotional Film Giveaway Winner

The winner of the {Be Still} Devotional Film for Women IS...{drumroll please}...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:5Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations, The Lewis Family!! Contact me at worthyoftheprize.erin@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

A BIG thank you to all who entered and for those of you who didn't win, you can pre-order your copy of the film here.

Happy Friday, friends! :)

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

{A Review and Giveaway}: New Devotional Film Helps Women Who are Caught Up in the Busyness of Life CLOSED!!!

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Lisa and Francis Chan's ministry, asking if I would like to be apart of their "Be Still Blog Tour," to review the first film in Lisa's new devotional film series for women, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus.

Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, hello...when a best-selling author (Crazy Love, Forgotten God, Erasing Hell) asks you to be apart of something they are doing, you don't say no!

And then the stress set in. Add this awesome opportunity to the "no end in sight" to-do list that has been looming over me this fall.

Between school starting, t-ball for both boys, work, my ministry, church, my husband's ministry, my sister's upcoming wedding and on and on and on, I have seriously felt as though I was drowning, on the verge of a breakdown, with no end in sight.

Anyone with me?

So, I put it off. I procrastinated. This good thing that I really wanted to participate in, I let it loom over me. Haunt me if you will.

Until finally, this past Saturday (in between college football games), I watched the film. And Oh. My. Goodness. The tears immediately started streaming down my face. Isn't it fascinating how God works?

Be Still was exactly what I needed to hear. Lisa's soothing voice giving me permission to take a break from the world and all of it's requirements. An invitation to put down the iPhone, the iPad, the computer, the to-do list...to spend some time by myself and simply rest at the feet of Jesus, allowing His grace to pour over me, filling me up, reviving my soul...until I am spilling over with His love, His strength, His power. 

Like a refreshing glass of sweet iced tea on a hot summer's day, Lisa is calling all women to take a break and drink from the fountain of living water. 

"Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." [John 4:14]

What about you? Do you want to experience the refreshment that only Jesus can give?

Lisa Chan believes that in our quest to do it all, women are missing God. In the first film of her new series, True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus (David C Cook/Flannel, September 2012), Chan focuses on what it means to Be Still.  Be Still addresses the issues that confront women when they forget to spend time with Jesus—something that, like most women, Chan struggled with herself.  Lisa knows firsthand what it means to be overwhelmed, overcommitted, and out of time.  It was an unplanned, extended time alone with God that fueled her desire to encourage every woman to see the beauty of coming before the Lord in stillness. She has seen firsthand that women in the church are suffering from depression, anxiety, and stress at alarming rates—and recognizes that women need to make the choice to find hope and healing and truth from God's presence and through His Word.

I am so excited to giveaway one copy of Be Still to one lucky winner...to be able to bless another with the same blessing that was given to me.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post!

For extra entries (leave extra comments for each one that you do)...

1. Tweet this giveaway (leave 1 extra comment)

2. Post this giveaway on your FB wall (leave 2 extra comments)

3. Pin this giveaway onto Pinterest (leave 3 extra comments)

4. Blog about this giveaway (leave 4 extra comments)

Winner will be announced Friday, September 21st. 

If you would rather just purchase a copy, pre-order yours here.

Have a great week, friends! May God bless you as you are STILL before Him!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.