Fellow of Ships

Err I mean, fellowship.

To sum up this Media fast 2011 in three words it’d have to be fellowship, reassurance, and blessed.

Fellowship; because through the media fast, I’ve made so many solid friendship with people at my school, just talking about my faith! It’s been so incredible. People will be like, “ohh lemme show you this vid, pic…whatever” and of course I’d explain how I was on media fast.  It sparked a lot of promising questions and unexpectedly positive responses. I’ve also gotten to know my Christian buds at school so much better. We’re having bible studies at lunch all the time, lying on the grass, eating our lunches, soaking up the sun and just talking about God and our faith. Other kids were curious and joined us, even non-believers! It’s been so exciting. And honestly there’s nothing more reassuring then just talking about Christianity with others, we’re all going through similar things and it’s nice to have that connection and support. 

This leads on to my next word, reassurance. A lot has happened lately and not all of it’s been cake, especially in my family life. Fortunately though, I’ve had the blessing of peace and reassurance flood my heart. God is challenging me and searching my heart daily and though these situations and experiences I’ve grown to trust in him more and just realize, he’s in control.  I can’t rely on my own understanding. I think Philippians 4:6 sums it up perfectly;

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Which leads me to my final word, blessed. I am so blessed! I can’t even begin to describe it, and I wish I would realize it more often just how incredible life really is. We dwell so much on the past, the mistakes we’ve made. Or even the future, as in we’re not sure what it entitles. We begin to get anxious, scared and worried so quickly about the things of life. I need to realize more that God has incredible plans for me; he’s blessed me with an amazing family and friends so that I can life for him. Life isn’t easy but like it says in  1 Peter 4: 14,16, & 19                                      

¹⁴ So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.¹⁶ But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!  ¹⁹ So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.                                                                                                                       

Never fail me?!  Oh my goodness, there comes that reassurance.  God is too incredible for words.  What do I have to fear, even if things aren’t 112%, I’m living for God and it doesn’t get any better than that!

So with that, I leave you media fast 2011. It’s been difficult at times. Media is everywhere and forever tempting. But the time spent with God though this media fast has been more rewarding than any media could provide. 

So sorry for the rambling, this post had been far overdue and God’s put a lot on my heart and mind. Love you guys. It’s our last day, make it the best!

Last Day

The month went by so quickly! It's already the 30th, but it feels like just yesterday I was about to start the fast. I have to admit, going into this, I was worried that I would have a media withdrawal after the first week, but looking back, it wasn't as difficult for me and I thought it would be. But I guess that's a good thing! Doing the fast was really beneficial for me in the sense that I was able to see how much media does affect my life and how much of it I'm involved in on a daily basis. Having the month off also allowed me to reflect on my relationship with God and where it stands, and I've come to the conclusion that I have A LOT to work on haha, but I know with Him all things are possible. I'm very glad I did it and I wish I would've done it last year as well. The media fast overall was a positive experience and I'm thankful that I took part in it :) good job guys!

Last Day

Oh my goodness its the last day i can do this wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The End.

Well, I guess it's not teeechnically the end, but it's SUPER close! I'm not going to lie-I'm really excited to go on Facebook and add Taylor Swift back onto my iPod. But I've learned a couple of really cool things this month. I've learned that you can't just coast through relationships-- you have to put effort into them. That's how they become stronger. I also read some good stuff in Proverbs 20 last night. One of the first verses said "It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel". I'm kind of stubborn, so I always have to have the last word in an argument. So this was kind of tough for me to read. But that just means that I'll have to trust God to help me to live this verse out! Well anyways, it has been a pretty beneficial month. I'm going to carry some of the things I've learned throughout March into EVERY month, because it doesn't just end here. Thank goodness. :)

getting harder

wow, these last days of the fast are getting harder. my savior (little s, of course) right now is skillet and veggietales. throughout the fast, God has been showing me how i can try all i want on my own, but itll never count for anything unless i depend on Him to guide me. and i found a great band thats just starting: cloverton. look them up, i love their song 'take me to the beautiful'.

6 days

ok i alwasys think the last days r the hardest because they are so long and your so close

Happy Tears

Have you ever thought that maybe rain is happy tears from God? Like someone told Him a super funny joke and He started laughing so hard that He started crying? I don't know.....I think that would be cool if it was. :) He's definitely c r a c k i n g u p right now if that's what it is. :)

Well I have to admit that this fast has gotten a lot more difficult. Television has been my biggest temptation. Kinda strange considering that I don't usually watch TV that often. But I'm trying really hard to avoid it. We were watching clips from Monte Python and The Lightning Thief in poetry class this week, and I felt pretty guilty since I was really loving it. But I guess it doesn't count.

Anyways, I love-love-LOVE the random sun and blue sky that has been popping up in between rain this month. God is such an amazing artist. Also, another good song- Movements by Rend Collective Experiment. In my opinion. Anyways, praying for you guys to stay strong 'til the end!

Last 10 Days

So... 10 days left. You have all been doing a great job. I've been slacking a bit on the devotionals. I'm sorry if you have been waiting for each day's devotional... this year I' have found myself more busy than in the past. I can't believe the month is almost over! But as we get close, I know you will all want to go back to your normal routine... but here's a question you need to answer for yourself: HOW HA THI MONTH CHANGE YOU? Seriously. Have you really connected with God? Or just filled your time with other stuff? If you haven't taken the thime to pursue God, then you are probably not growing a whole lot... I know I'm assuming, but I want you to take this last 9 days seriously... so take the time to read through some of the devos from the past month... and honestly pursue God... don't waste this month! You're almost done!

Got me relizing why do i complain so much. Its like i shouldn't some people are about to get radiation poisioning and i'm complaining about they dont like me. How do other people feel when they get told the same thing over and over. I love that verse about the speck or plank in your eye. Because i need to stop judging people ,because i'm going to get judged to. And even if we are beign judged its becuase of jesus. These whole 21 days i really need to get over myself the more i think what others say the worse i feel. I shouldn't have an identity anyways its all for christ. But i still have loooonnnnggg way to go.

Time Flies By

I actually didn't notice until today that it's almost the end of the month.....this month went by pretty darn fast I must say. Now that I think back, it's been a blessing not having secular media distracting me. I'm not going to lie, I miss some of my shows and stuff *cough march madness* but I've seen how much it actually affects my life personally. Listening to the Fish the past month has been good for me, starts off my day with a smile :) and I've also been more thankful that my family does daily bible studies, it helps me with finding time to read the bible every day :) The only part that I seem to be having trouble with is applying what I learn to my daily life >.< I think that's one of the hardest things, the applying what you learn, but I'm slowly starting to be able to do that with a lot of help from God haha :) hope you guys are doing good!!
1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Dropkick

Ok so I’m finally getting to this whole “blogging” thing or whatever you kids are calling it these days, and I’m sorry it’s taken me soo long. To be honest, I haven’t had the time, crazy as it might seem! School has kept me on my toes even without my usual distractions of music, 30rock, and the bookface. Not to mention I’ve been spending a big bulk of my time with friends. It’s been crazy good. I think that friendship has been the biggest thing for me this fast in all honestly, I feel miles closer to some of my friends that I’d hadn’t wholeheartedly talked to before. I could go on for paragraphs about my new relationships and how blessed by them I feel, but essentially, I'm so uplifted by them, and it’s all thanks to God. The best part though it these are my friends from school, that’s right chillins, public school. You public school goers can relate when I say it can be so hard to find solid, awesome, Jesus prasin’ kids there. Well look harder because these people are apparent and on fire for God! It is so awesome to have friends that are so genuinely excited for my relationship with God, and they're so encouraging! I’ve gotten so many good band recommendations (because the lack of my usual Katy Perry has been the worst!), bible passages, and just random gifts and letters. It’s ridiculous, and I don’t deserve any of it. The best thing my friend sent me was this verse though. I’d heard it before but it was just that right moment, perfect point in time where it hit me,

“For I know the purpose I’m planning for you, plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope.”    --Jeremiah 24:11

Days before she had asked me about the recent happenings in my life and I just spilled. A lot has happened in this year, lots of amazing ups, but more so the downs. It’s been tough but this verse is so true to course! God has an amazing purpose for it all, and the plan is for peace, not evil or despair. I have a future of hope in God, so there no need or reason to be down. And that my friends, is incredible. Praise God for these amazing friends and all they’re revealing to me about life and God. I’m one blessed little fool!

How great is our God.

How great is our God? He has created everything from the massive tsunami, to this crazy windy weather to us. How great is that? The weather can be crazy and powerful, our god did that.
Sitting in church this morning, sure, i was disconnected didn't really take me until a little while ago for it to hit me. God created us how crazy is that? I can rattle off a list of friends and family that all have imperfections, physical, mental, or just personality wise. The God of the universe created us all, he made us in his image, imperfections and all. How great is our God.
I came to realize I still hold a resentment again parts of the church about friends of mine leaving. None of that matters. I'm not there for people, I'm not there cause I'm forced to be, I'm not even there for myself. I'm there for God. How great is our God.
I can't honestly say im a follower of Christ, yet. But all i need to do is obey what Jesus has said. Simple. Hard to do but so simple.
Parts of the fast I honestly hate, but this. Realizations like this I love.

Made It Through the First Weekend

And that officially concludes my first weekend of doing the media fast. I must say, I didn't realize how much time I spent every weekend watching T.V. or listening to music. It was an overall quiet weekend in our house surprisingly, given the fact that only the T.V. in my parents room was the only source of noise in the whole house. The days seem so much longer without any media distracting me, and it's rather nice to enjoy some peace and quiet. Friday and Saturday were the most difficult days for me, because the temptation to watch T.V. was extremely high. The restaurant we ate at Friday had T.V.s EVERYWHERE!

Day 17

Hey guys! Today I was in school and we had a socratic seminar with my class. It was really fun and we got to discuss several different topics, one of them being about whether or not we thought that famous people in our history made the right choices or not. When this topic came up, I thought of Jesus. He did what he deemed right, but what the law determined as sin and unjustice. Through this I am learning to be more about being true to who I am and listening to God for instructions and advice.

~Jessica Burns

Long time, no blog.

I'm not going to lie, and I know all of you have been wanting to say this too, but I miss secular media!! I love God and all, but I need skrillex. With the help of my brother, Iv'e found some good Christian bands though :) If you need some, ask meh! It seems like there's not much to do without media, but when you think about it, there's actually quite a lot to do. For instance, me, Katie, and our friend Jenine hung out all day today, with no secular media (Either than the music that was playing at T-Town, which was a constant loop of HSM, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry) We got a chance to just talk about random stuff, and just get to know each other better. And eat everything in sight, but that's a different story. Even though we aren't always necessarily having a Bible study, I think it's good how we get an opportunity to just talk with our friends and see how they're really doing, other than just the "hi, bye" friendships most of us have with each other.

"But wait Maggie, can't we do that after media fast too?"

Duh! That's the beauty of it all in my opinion. We can do all the Bible reading, fellowshipping, and journaling after the fast! It just took me the fast to sorta get me in that habit. Fellowship is a form of worship, right?

Sorry I'm writing so much, I tend to ramble. Anyways, I hope all of you are doing well! Eleven more days. Is it possible? I THINK YES!

1 Peter 3:8-9

8. Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be humble.

9. Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

ohio

so im in ohio visiting cedarville university, and all of the guys in the dorms are playing halo. its really hard to ignore them and just do homework. but no one said this would be easy, right?

Day 16

I am doing really well in school and I am realizing that my attention span for homework is much greater, becuase I know that movies aren't such a big distraction! I am going through Mark right now and enjoying every step of the way. I am learning so much by reading my bible more and praying about it! I'm so happy that we're half-way there!
~Jessica Burns

pressin on

i keep forgetting to bring my ipod when i go to the gym, and i have to sing a random christian song so i dont listen to the music playing in there. but at least theres no music in the basketball court. made it through the first half of march, just gotta keep pressin on!

Whats the point of this if we arent going to let it change us?

The fast has gone fairly good for me so far. Parts are hard and some parts are easy. Listening to a lot of music and i have really started to like a lot of different styles than i usually do like rap. Christian rap is pretty good.
Some lyrics that have really stuck with me are "we think the thoughts whether or not we see them through." We can go through this whole fast and if were not changing how we think it is all pointless. I had the opportunity to go to the Rock and Worship Roadshow Saturday night. Seeing so many people all there for the same purpose all there worshiping was amazing. Almost halfway done..... Heres to the rest of the month.....

usin' my muscles

well today i have tempted to watch tv with my sisters. they were wachtin some cake show.. i wanted to walk into the living room a look so bad, but i restrained myself. :D thank u Jesus for giving me "muscle"

Day 14

While doing the media fast, I have finally taken the time to really try to understand what God is trying to say through different verses. I love all of the parables that Jesus tells the disciples and his other followers about. Through them I am able to understand the various messages he is trying to get across. I am learning to be patient with people or actions that happen, knowing that God has purposely put that there to teach me a lesson.
I have been able to see God through the everyday gifts that he provides my family with. I am very thankful that I have a dog, Boo. He is super funny and he keeps all of my family laughing constantly! (:
~Jessica Burns

1 John

So I started reading through 1 John and in chapter 2 verse 15 it says "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" and over the duration of the media fast i have realized how prized i hold media some very unholy bands/artists and its become apparent that i care about some of these things one could say i love them and knowing these things are of the world i scare myself thinking that these things could actually prevent the love of God from flourishing in me and i have decided that im even after the media fast going to really pay attention to what i truly value in my life and i think by the end of this month im going to have a very new outlook on what is going in and out of my mind daily

things to do

so to keep my mind off the media i have been doing things. Like reranging my room and stuff feels great :)

Veggie Tales and Planet Earth

Well this week has been pretty good. Iv'e been watchin' a lot of Veggie Tales and Planet Earth. It's been pretty cool seein' all of God's creation and how creative he got with all of it. I have also been flippin' through the New Testament and readin' whatever sticks out to me. i fgound a few really cool verses. It's been pretty "chill" and i am havin' fun with it. So ya, until next time :)

Day 10 Already?

Hey guys! Right now I am working on my own bible journal. It's coming along wonderfully! I am currently reading through the book of Mark. As I was reading it, I found some verses on fasting and how we should not stop believing in him no matter your circumstances! This way we can constantly be dependant upon him, whose name is highly exalted.
Can't wait to talk to you guys soon!

-Jessica Burns

It is going well for me, except for the books, It is very hard for me not to read seculer books. It is almost imposible, I go to pick up a book and I need to use all my will power to put it dawn. It is hard, but sucsessful. One really good thing about the media fast, I went to my friends house the other day, and we normally just watch TV and play Video games, but because of the media fast, we couldnt so we did other things, We got to get to know one another in a different way. It was awsom. God is very good!!!! He is showing me many things in my bible studies.

Very tempting

This past week has really been hard on me. Ive had a bad headache and have really wanted to just give in. I know I can get through it and keep going but it has been hard on me.
I did rent this really cool movie called Walking on Water. Its a surf documentary about a pro surfer who takes two boys on a surf trip around the world. It was really amazing to watch and know that there is a huge community of Christian surfers out there. Made me think how thankful we need to be. There is many people out there with nothing and they make the best of it so why cant we be happy with what we have instead of just wanting more and more? And also that its not that we are put through things that we are strong enough to handle, its what we can go through with god. Also watched To Save a Life couple times. I might even be starting to quote it to much. I hope this month get easier as time goes on.

I love Christian Music

so i was listening to this song called we gotta grow and i like some lyrics how. It say you cant just "cant stay in the same place you gotta seek his face. And also since i've been doing the media fast i'm calm almost. I really have stopped trying to figure out who likes me and who is being fake or not. All i'm suppose to be doing is living for christ even if we dont get along they still need jesus to and i cant be selfish. Because who knows whats going on in there own life. I have to keep remembering christ is the reason we are here i am nothing i'm just a happy servant living for him just being myself and not anyone else. ANd i got all this from day eight

I heard a song today

I was listening to some christian rap today and i heard the lyrics "he keeps the tv off cause videos just make him feel like he aint nothin without money girls and shiny wheels" and it really made me think about what is valued in our society and how glad i am we get to take a month away from what everyone else is conforming to and listening to and how blessed we are to be able to take the month and really focus on what we believe in without all the distractions

a moment of peace

Well we've made it to the end of week one :) Hope you are all doing good! So today I was stuck at ARC waiting for the bus, so I decided to wait in the library (cause it started raining on me :P). As I was in there I started thinking...what do i do?? I mean I usually just play some games on my itouch or something but I knew that wasnt going to happen. Instead I sat at one of the tables upstairs and just thought, little did I know I had been thinking for 45 minutes! ...I began to think about God's creation and how beautiful He has made everything...I was sitting there watching the rain start to come and the sun behind the clouds and I was completely at peace. You know in certain movies where everything around them just stops and they cant hear anything...it was exactly like that! I really felt the Holy Spirit within me and I had such a love for life at that moment. I then began to think of all of you guys and I prayed for all of you, I prayed that God would give you the same peace that He gave me because let me tell you, it's quite the feeling! There is nothing better than to sit in silence, have no worries and be completely happy from the peace of God...I hope you all keep it up and I hope that we can all help each other throughout this month because it is hard to do this on your own. God has a plan behind everything and He can do anything, even if its just in 30 days.
-Emma

Crazy Grace

I really love the book of Isaiah. The stuff that I've been reading in there is awesome. I've decided that my favorite chapter (so far) is 43 (I've been skipping around). It's wild that no matter how much I mess up (which is often), God promises to still love me. He even says that he holds our hand as we walk through life. That seems like CRAZY grace to me. The fact that He wants a personal relationship with me.....I don't know. It kind of blows my mind. It gives me hope. Anyways, if you have the chance, check it out.

Also, I came across a cool verse that I really liked: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God" -Isaiah 41:10. So, knowing that, I'll really be trying to live that way from now on. :)

Oh, and one last thing-- I'm pretty much addicted to Tenth Avenue North and Remedy Drive lately. I've been listening to them sooo much. VERY cool bands. Just saying. :) Anyways. I hope everyone's doing well!

day 7

todays been good but sometimes i really tempted to watch my shows i usually watch instead of reading the bible on doing my homework

Weekend No. 1

My first weekend doing the media fast is so much harder than the weekdays!!! I've been doing everything to keep myself busy since I can't watch TV like I usually do or go and surf the internet so its pretty much been homework, sleeping, and reading for me. Not that my parents are complaining since i actually did the chores since i got bored-at least they are getting something out of this too :) So we went out to eat and there were flat screens everywhere, like pretty much all the walls were lined with them no lie! Sad little me had to face a wall to resist temptation...but it worked. Hope you guys are doing awesome, keep it up!

to save a life

just saw 'to save a life'. its a great movie, and it really made me think. how often do we walk right by people with no idea how theyre hurting? we judge them without taking even a second to talk to them and find out whats going on in their life. i know i do that way too much

God.is.AWESOME.

Seriously, He and the way He works is truly AMAZING. So i must admit, that my day one was a bit of a failure, but i started fresh day 2 and it has been going great since then. All thanks to God, i got the awesome opportunity to start off the fast on an island far, far away and i'm so glad that i did. I didn't hit any troubles the first few days (after day one of course) because it was so easy for me to not be consumed in the media that i usually follow up on, i was able to wake up, put on some great Jesus tunes and hit the beach and spend the whole day in the beautiful world that God made for us. Most of the time it was God, me, and lots of trees/bushes/beaches and occasionally my sister would join. It was even easy for me to talk about it to the people that i met there because they are so understanding. In fact, i've never seen people so passionate for Christ as the believers there....truly it was so awesome to see them and meet them and know that they are following exactly what God is telling them to do and seeing all of God's work being done on the island. I was in the beautiful country of New Zealand and i knew that my first great media fast challenge this year was going to be the 14 hour plane ride back home. And so i had my ipod loaded with all the good stuff for me to listen too. And it turned out that my flight wasn't bad at all, the kid that sat next to me for the first 9 hour flight was totally curious for why i was doing the fast and in the end totally loved the idea and was planning for a time that he could do it himself for like a weekend or something..then he went through pretty much all the music on the plane and showed me all the christian bands that he knew of and made a great effort to get the games on the plane to work since they are pretty much like board games. Then on my second flight, (it was one of those planes where you can't choose what to watch and they just play random movies and such) the movie that they played was one of the chronicles of narnia series, and i just thought that God is so awesome and kind that i would be able to watch the movie on the flight (but i ended up sleeping the whole way through)....anyway i have a feeling that this year is going to just reach new levels for all of us and im so stoked for it! I think i have read all of the posts so far and it sounds like so far everyone is doing pretty well with it.
Full of prayers for everyone and can't wait to see the result at the end of this great adventure :)

day 5

God's not being easy on me. He showed me on thursday how different my life is from how it should be. I got a lotta work to do.

Seems like weeks.

This week to me has gone by so slowly for me. Its actually pretty easy to find other things to do with my time than watch tv. I have yet to find productive things to do, mostly just listening to religious music online, but i still have many days left. Telling people what I'm doing they say I'm crazy and they would never be able to do it, but wish we luck on it.
I think the day 3 verse says to not be caught up in sinful things in public or in private and try to and life life like your children of god.
It's amazing how many "mainstream" singers have religious music out there. Makes me see some of the artists in a different light. i know this month will be worth it in the end though.

Day 4 Already?

So far this Media Fast has gone pretty smoothly. It's astonishing to see how much time "media" takes up in my normal life. Escaping from the tight grasp that media has us, high-schoolers by, if only for four days so far, is truly eyeopening. I've been spending time in the Corinthians.

Fav. passage so far: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.

-1 Corinthians 10:23-

Day 4

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share with you a really neat passage that I found while I was reading through Matthew...

It was Matthew 6: 16-18:

(16) "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (17) But when you fast, pour oil on your head and wash your face, (18) so it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

I just thought that that passage was really cool, so I thought that I would share it with you! Thank you again my sponsors and everyone else for your prayer and support!

-Jessica Burns

day 4

Yesterday was easy because i didnt go home and i had to work. So i really could only do my H.W. Its easy when i have someting to do and not laying around the house so that was a really good thing to do. I think i can do it :)

Breakthrew

So after youth group tonight i cam home and read yesterdays devotional again and took a couple minutes to just bask in the meaning i closed my eyes for seemingly only a few minutes i opened my eyes at around ten thirty and ny dad was just standing there and the first thing i thought is oh crap what did i do then he proceeded to ask me various questions about my faith then we had a long discussion about christianity my faith and why i believe what i believe at the end we shared a nice big bowl of chicken soup i think we may have made a breakthrew into him possibly accepting Christ but that will come with lots of prayer and hope im praying for you all dont be discouraged with small road blocks all things are possible through christ

Kick-off

So, it took me like an hour to remember how to blog on this thing. Again. :) Anyway. So far, the fast has been going pretty well. It hasn't been that difficult, really, except it's sorta weird not going on Facebook after school. The cool thing is that I've actually finished my homework at night these last few days, instead of scribbling it down before school in the locker room. STRANGE. :) Without Facebook, I have SO much free time. And I've been spending tons of that time playing guitar. I love it. Oh, another cool thing is that I got to talk to my friend a little about the media fast. When I told her, she gave me a look like she thought I was on drugs. :) Well, maybe I planted a seed or something. So anyways, this month, I really want to learn to put my hope and faith in God. Like, 100%. 'Cause that's hard for me. By the way, "Your Hands" by JJ Heller: awesome song. Anyways, I'm praying for you all!

Day 2

Hey guys! Now that I've actually started my media fast, it has gotten a lot easier than I expected. I know that it's only day 2, but I have a strong feeling that this year is going to be a lot easier than last year! Yay! And I already feel as though my relationship with Christ is getting more and more developed, every night that I spend time in his word! (: For the last few days, I have been reading through the book of Mark. I love seeing the kinds of things that Jesus had to encounter while he was on earth. It makes me feel like I am not alone when I come across a sticky situation. I know I can rely all of myself on him, and that makes me feel great. I am really looking forward to starting Part 2 of a lifetime adventure with God! XD

-Jessica Burns

the beginning

i really miss my music. this is gonna be a hard month. but i got all caught up on school already, so it looks like God's already working.

A good day.

Well, its coming towards the end of day 2. Honestly...i feel like its been a week! Im not gonna lie, I miss my music so much!! But I am getting along alright without it. Well, today was pretty hectic. There was school and my family was babysitting the Reedy boys(which actually kept me pretty busy) and also I had a spanish presentation due today and I was SUPER nervious!!! So in the spare time I had until my class started I didnt watch TV, and I didnt listen to music....what did I do?? I took a nap. :D It was AWESOME! :D I cant tell you how long its been since ive taken a nap....way overdue haha. It was actually really nice because it gave me time to calm my nerves and just reassure myself that everything will go smoothly and pray that God would give me strength, and it worked! I wasnt even as nervious as I thought I was gonna be and I felt SO good afterwards :) So that was a good part of my day. The song Hold Me by Jamie Grace was a big help as well. Very happy-go-lucky :D So its safe to say my day 2 was pretty descent. Hope you all are doing well so far, praying for you guys! Trust in God cause we still got a ways to go :)
-Emma

Beginning

Well this has been my second day of media fasting!! Super exciting right? Course it is! So far I've re-fallen in love with my christian music and have been tempted with my secular media-already. I've been reading my bible a lot already too, though so this has already impacted me and helped me be closer to God :D I must admit I've wanted to just turn on the radio and go to my old radio stations but its been the Fish and K-Love all the way through for me. And I've had my carpools turn the radio stations too, they all support me and my friends and teachers who know about this totally love the idea ad think it's a cool thing to do. The TV is just sitting there...resisting the urge though! I am soo going to see this through but it's kinda hard right now and its barely just begun. This is for you God and I'm happy to do it. Overall, a pretty good beginning I think...

day 2.

First day wasn't to shabby, a pretty normal day. it was weird not watching TV, but i found a great station on Pandora. the almost station. its pretty good, but I'm sad that there are no christian artists that sound like weezer. or chili peppers for that matter. I'm reading this book flabbergasted, that jess lent me to read. its pretty good, about this guy who goes to a church to meet women, and falls in love with a missionary girl that is leaving for ecuador in a month. So i figured out what im going to do after college. ill prob do 2 years at AR and then 2 years at a state, but after that im going to do 2 years with the Peace Corps and go live somewhere exotic for those years, helping out little kids! then ill come back to the states and be a sideline reporter for ESPN, or a journalist for WSJ or NYT or something. i mean, who can refuse a resume with 2 years at the Peace Corps on it!! I've started to pray about it, and about everything else too. its so much easier to pray when its quiet.

Everyone should listen to the song awful direction by the almost

and to the acoustic versions of all the Relient K songs.

-Jess

First day

First day went very well i am foreseeing a very spiritually enlightening month for me

Day 1 Complete

I made it through day 1. I never thought i would. It hasn't been as hard as i thought it would be. I'm actually looking forward to the next 30 days. I found myself glancing at the TV today then remembering and looking away. I know the weekend will be harder, school helps alot with taking up my time. I figure I can make it without anything for a week at summer camp, just because I can't go to the beach everyday dosen't mean I cant find other positive things to take up my time.

Reading through Plillippians 2 verse 2-3 really stuck out to me

3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 4 Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interest of others as well.

I have really high hopes for the rest of the month..... Hope it all goes well.

Not So Bad

Today wasn't so bad but i know its going to get much harder!! I almost caved reading a magazine at my dentist appointment today but i reminded myself the goal for myself :) this month is def not gonna be fun....

One down, 29 to go.

Congratulations everyone, we've made it through day one! (Yes I'm aware it's still relatively early in the night, but for those of us that are sick, it's the end of the day.) I hate how on the first day, you realize how much secular media really influences your life. I went to go on facebook at least twenty times today. But Emma changed my password, and I hers just in case :) I did, however, hear a good song though! Hold Me by Jamie Grace. Super up-beat and really catchy! I know you'll all love it if you haven't heard it already. I'm really excited to see what God does with me this year, and I know he'll work wonders with all of you as well. Praying for you!

-Mags

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Him that gives me strength.

Day one whoops

So today i was doing great right i knew what i was doing. Until i got in the car its sorta like a day to day thing. And i accidentally turned on the radio without realizing ! Until my mom said Brittany what are you doing and i pushed the button and i was like whoops but that was my first slip up.
I'm being so forgetful these days.

Ready to go

So what do you think of the "New Look" site? Not bad... not bad... so you might be wondering what you need to do on here? Well... the cool thing is that there are years of examples of things people have written on this blog so feel free to look through their previous posts. It's amazing to see how God was working through different individuals during the fast. I know God has been excited for this month... yes... I said God is excited. How do I know? Well, wouldn't you be excited to have some time with someone you would die to meet? Imagine... just one day with that person you never thought you would meet... imagine that day turning into 30! How cool. Do you realize that God sees you as a person He is dying to spend time with... in fact... He did die! You... the creator of the universe... and 30 days... AWESOME!

So what do you do with this? Just use this place as a spot to share your journey. This month won't be easy. There will be temptations. There will be tough days. But share about your day on here. Share if you saw (or didn't see) God show up... this gives those who are praying for you and your friends a chance to respond, encourage, and know how to pray for you. You have sponsors who want to hear from you. You have people who are on this journey with you... so share it! And share it often... not just once or twice. Plan on going on here at least 2x a week and sharing what is going on...

If you have questions, call me or email me... I'm praying for you all!

Matt