Deny Yourself {DVD review & give away!}

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UPDATE: give away closed
WINNER: JEN (I will be emailing you about getting your DVD to you!!)

I was privileged to review another True Beauty short film by Lisa Chan recently. You may remember before that I reviewed Be Still, also by Lisa Chan.  These short DVD sessions are anywhere between 22-25 minutes long and are focused on authentic, Biblical conversations about subjects that truly matter to women.

Deny yourself. 

Those words aren’t the most inviting, are they? But, those words are given to us in the Scriptures…what do we do with them? Denying ourselves is the topic of this video session and I know that for me personally, it’s a topic I struggle with.

But, it’s more than “a topic” isn’t it? I mean, it’s what Jesus did. It is who Jesus is. It’s what we are called to do…to be…to live. It’s such a huge part of who we are as believers…yet it’s also the most difficult.

As women, we are faced with many tasks throughout our day…we have become pros at multi-tasking…we are the queens of “getting it done.” But, even amidst all the “stuff” we do for our families, are we denying ourselves? Are we taking up our cross and following Jesus? What would it look like if Jesus was walking in your shoes? We often think about what would Jesus do, but truly, how would your home look if Jesus ~ the ultimate servant ~ were the “mom” in your household.

Sadly, I think my home would look a lot different. I often think that by being home and homeschooling my kids I am denying myself…but I’m not really living as Jesus would have me live if I’m holding a grudge about it. And, quite honestly, sometimes I do. Ouch. That hurts. But, it’s true. Sometimes I resent all the things I have to do for others day in and day out.

If I truly deny myself, I won’t be worried about not getting “me” time. {that doesn’t mean it’s not to ever happen, it’s just my focus of it at times is out of proportion.}

If I truly deny myself, I will push past the tiredness and do that one last thing out of love…and not out of guilt or frustration.

If I truly deny myself I will quit sighing and complaining about how many times I’ve picked up this same room and how many times no one else has done it. ha!!

I’m being very real here. I want to say that I strive to be more like Jesus. But the truth is…I have so far to go. And, praise God, He isn’t finished working on us yet!! I cannot focus on all the times I MISS THE MARK…but I can take a few moments, from time to time, and watch videos like this that ENCOURAGE me to deny myself. I need the reminder and I need the encouragement to live my life like Jesus did. Sometimes it’s hard to admit that I’m a selfish human being and need to learn to deny myself…but the truth of the matter is, I do need the gentle nudges.

Let’s face it, our society is not going to encourage us to deny ourselves. I think that is why I need the reminders and encouragement so often…it’s hard to go against the flow and live life so differently than those around us! We have to flood our heart and soul with God’s Word, resources and friendships that will encourage us along God’s path.

These True Beauty films are available here for purchase. {The quotes in yellow boxes above from this post are taken from the reflection guide that goes along with the video, which is a free download on the website.}

And here is a clip from the Deny Yourself video.

True Beauty Deny Yourself – God Is Better from Flannel Staff on Vimeo.

Give Away Details:
If you’d like to win a copy of this DVD, please do the following:

1. Leave me a comment telling me one reason why it’s hard to deny yourself.
2. For extra entries (1 each) share about this give away on facebook, twitter, or google+
3. Give away ends Friday, April 19th when I will post the winner.
4. Make sure you leave your email in your comment so I can contact you if you are the winner!!