Costa Rica

So I haven't yet written yet because I left for Costa Rica yesterday and in fact I am sitting in the computer lab thing at our hotel, yay for free internet haha. This keyboard is very strange because it was made for Español but whatever. So the fast, well the first day wasn't all that bad because I was just so busy preparing for my trip and my birthday and such, but my birthday was really hard. I woke up to one of my best friends, much earlier than I needed to I might add, baring balloons and such. I has a lot of extra time alone and I was like you know no one would know if I just listened to what I wanted to listen to. But I listened to the voice of reason in my head and made some CDs, awesome Christian ones that I am willing to make copies of :), and listened to them all day. It was awesome!!! The plane ride here was a little bit hard as well. They were playing a movie our second leg of the flight and I was much to awake to fall back asleep. Luckily I had some great books to read which helped so much. All of the music I have heard here has been in Spanish so I can't understand half of what they are saying, I figure I'm good lol. So I'm off to prepare for dinner and hopefully get some sleep tonight. We are doing a nature walk and hiking up a volcano, its 8100 meters above sea level!!!! Peace, talk to ya'll later!

first week

so ya im a little late. but my first week has been really hard. im still using myspace because i pretty much only use it for communication. but what ive really been struggling with is tv.. ive been babysitting my nephew and he loves all his shows like yo gabba gabba, and handy manny and stuff but i didnt feel like that was focused on God at all. so i think ive watched veggie tales about 6 times in the past few days. and i decided to read to my nephew from a little kids bible and he actually really liked it and so did i, cuz its so much easier to undrstand the message in the story when theres pictures! but its also been kind of easy because i can hang out with my parents and just talk with them=) and i don't remember where i read it but i remember someone saying to distract yourself by creating things with your hands or something along those lines, so i took up like 3 hours by drawing easter pictures. wow im rabbit trailing so imma go.

BY! i hope every ones been doing good on their fast!

-BRIANNA!

Need Yours Prayers ( Cancer)

hey everyone . I just recieved nws that my aunt moye might hae liver cancer so i just really ask fo all of your prayer right now that it wont spread and that it' s not really bad. i am also going into honors english next year and there are some strong subjects in the books that they want me t read that i dont fel comfortable with and know arent god related and just ask that you pray for me to hav guidance from god and to do what is right. thanks and hpe to see you all at the spring break thing and hope you are doing well with being tempted during the media fast.

Contest #1 Ends tonight!

Make sure you have posted your story. Refer to your green-colored card you got in your packet for more details on Contest #1. Not only are you given a chance to win a free CD and/or movie (God-centered by the way), but everyone who posts their story of how this commitment is impacting their friends will recieve an extra "raffle" entry to win "The Experience!"... more details to come soon!

Need Thoughts?

Why not spend some time with Jesus tomorrow? Read (or subscribe) to OurThirtyDevos and read through Day 4... it may be one of the best challenges yet.

so far, so good.

Well this fast has started out pretty darn slow for me. The hardest thing so far has been avoiding myspace. I've found myself reading in my free time, and I never can stick to one book at a time. One really good book that I've been re-reading is Blue Like Jazz, I highly recommend it. And I've been getting into the Bible and praying some more. I also recommend that, its very relaxing and peaceful.
I hope everyone else is doing well! Try not to forget the purpose of all of this. Its not as much to avoid media as it is to refocus our lives on God. Wow that sounded really cliche. But seriously. Good luck guys!

Catch!

Sorry, I’ve been meaning to blog for awhile now but school was tying me down. I think it was the official kill-your-students-with-homework-week at my school . . . Anyway.

So these three days have gone really well. I’m spending a lot more time with my brother (David) and he’s helping me pick up my long forgotten guitar chords. So that’s really cool.

The thing that’s been the hardest for me so far is music, but I’m “defeating the temptation” pretty easily.

Ok so, I was reading through the book of James on Wednesday night and a verse really grabbed my attention: James 1: 5-8, 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Wow, powerful stuff. James is that really grounded guy that gets straight to the point and I think this verse explains what someone is like if they can’t defeat the temptation, it really makes me re-think what I’m doing.

Well I’m going to go play USC monopoly and rat slap with my parents. :]

Good luck you guys.

~Heather Dunmoyer

Parents & Families

Comment to this post and let me know if your family or parent or sponsor is participating in the fast with you

Keep the stories coming of how the fast is making an impact on your friends... Contest #1 ends tomorrow at midnight!

Birthmark

So last night, one of the girls in our youth group came up to me and said, "I thought I was a Christian, but I wasn't but now I'm sure! I just accepted Christ into my heart!" I was so excited for her. The look of relief and joy in her eyes was amazing. It got me to thinking, when was the last time we were really excited about a relationship... actually, when was the last time we were excited about our relationship with Jesus? I'm not saying that we aren't... just wondering if we've thought about that?

Tomorrow's devotional (Day 4) may give us some perspective on this... and maybe rekindle something in us about our relationships... check it out on the OurThirtyDevos tab above

Day 3

OK so we're three days into the fast ,I'm actually having an a lot easier time this year I've been reading "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne and listening to Air 1 and the 3 or 4 christian music CDs ive gotten over the last year along with Matisyahu. 27 days to go and ive realized the impact a simple greeting can have on someone im making it a habbit to say hello to people on the street and kids in the hallways at school and wishing the clerk at the gas station and people at subway a good day .

so far...

What I am missing the most is Myspace. I find it pretty sad how much time I usually spend on there! The music part of the media fast is not too hard, I have just been listening to air one a lot. And I never was a big fan of t.v. or movies. Another thing that i was tested with today was my friend came over and immediately turned on 107.9. But as soon as I told her about the media fast, she was happy to turn on air one instead. I also recently dug my old Switchfoot and Toby Mac cd's out of my closet. So I have been listening to those a lot too! 

Something I get out of the media fast every year is that i spend a lot more time with my family. Last night, my parents and I went to American River college and I got a quick driving lesson! It was nice to get out for an evening and just spend some quality time with them. I hope the Media Fast is going well with others too! I'll keep you all in my prayers.

New Thoughts

Those of you who came tonight, I hope you had fun. I mean, who doesn't like cereal? We had all the guys meet tonight and many of them had some really good thoughts and ideas for the Media Fast. One of our leaders, Scott, focused on praying when tempted. Many of them seemed to really enjoy hanging out together and encouraging each other. Chloe is hosting a movie party at her house where they are going to watch God-centered movies together.

Here's the thought I had... maybe the key to surviving a fast begins with our relationship with God. Spending time with Him (that's what the OurThirtyDevos are for). But an addition to that is our relationships with each other. Praying together. Hanging out together. Being together... focusing on God... hmmm... sounds kind of like youth group and church.

So what do you think? What are some of your ideas?

Help!

hey everyone! since the media fast has started Ihave been spending more quality time with the lord and have actually grown much stronger in my journey and relationship with the heavenly father. Iknow that after all this is done i will have grown in my faith and in the relationships all around me. I will be praying for you all to do well and i just ask that you pray for me too. I am also grateful for your stories.

Week #1 Contest

April 1-4: Share your story (on ourthirty.com) of how your fast is impacting you and/or your friendships. Make sure you share your feelings, thoughts, struggles, and triumphs. Also, remember to use your first name and last initial in the "Labels for this post:" box just above the "Publish Post" button. All who enter will be placed in a drawing for the new "The Fray" or "4th Avenue Jones" CD at Collide on April 9th... so share already!

OurThirty Devotionals

Sign up to recieve the OurThirty devotionals by clicking on "OurThirtyDevos" tab above... then subscribe

If you don't see your name...

It's because you haven't posted anything yet. Go ahead and follow the directions in "How to share your journey" and then, when you write your new post, make sure you put your first name and last initial in the section "Labels for this post:" before you select "Publish Post".

It Begins

So today is the first day of the 30-Day Secular Media Fast. I can't wait to hear how each of you are doing after the first couple of days. It's always interesting how slow and difficult it is the first week and then by the end of the month, you can't believe how fast the time went. Each year there are those who regret not taking the fast more seriously. Most of those who have done this find it easier to do when their family and friends are participating with them. This year, we have added a devotional sight. If you look above, you see "OurThirtyDevos"... if you click on that, you will be sent to the page with devotional content on it. If you subscribe, you will recieve daily devotionals and thought and experiences that you can share with friends, family, and refocus your attention on God. I look forward to hearing from each of you that are particpating.. be watching your email for info on this week's first contest for a free "The Fray" CD!

How to share your journey

So if you are participating in the Media Fast and you would like to share your journey, there are a few things you need to know:

1) Keep people up to date weekly, at the very least. The more you write, the more they can follow you and pray for you

2) You will need to have a "g-mail" account. I will make you a "contributer" and then you will recieve an email to log on. Follow the instructions by entering your Gmail account info (Gmail address and password). Once you are logged in, Blogger will come up.

3) On Blogger, you will see "Our Thirty Blog". Click on "New Post". Give your message a Title and begin writing.

4) Try to keep from rabbit trails. You want people to read what you are writing, so be honest and direct.

5) On the bottom of the box you write in, you will see in small print "Labels for this post"... put only your FIRST NAME AND LAST INITIAL in that box. This is VERY IMPORTANT! This is so all your posts will be listed under your name. I put my full name on it but I ask you not to... for your own safety.

6) Then click "Publish Post". If you want to edit it, you can go back and fix it. That's it!

I can't wait to hear your stories, if you need help, call me and I can walk you through it... I'm praying for you! Are you ready?