What is a 30-Day Secular Media Fast?

What if the noise of godless media is drowning out the voice of God? Not all media is bad... but maybe the distraction away from God is making harder to hear and see God at work.

This is a journey of a group of high school students who have committed to take 30 days to focus on God through God-centered media. This includes TV, movies, books, magazines, smart phone apps, and many social media outlets.

Here, you can follow their stories, their lives, and their challenges. Feel free to leave comments and encouragement.

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Relate
Respond

Saturday, March 5, 2011

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.

Friday, March 4, 2011

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 :)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

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

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

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

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

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.

Monday, February 28, 2011

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