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 28, 2015

there and back again.

(Note that last post was incomplete. Totally disregard it. That is all.)

So, this it. The last weekend of March. I didn't think I would go on the mission trip, or do the media fast this year. I thought I was just going to sit around and play games or something like that, but I guess God had a different plan for me, at least different from my own , this year. But even though this was probably a harder year to fast, by God's grace I made it!
Between doing school work and vegging out with my friend Nintendo, I ended up wanting to talk more about stuff in the Bible, I like talking about God stuff with my Dad and Bible study group. And it is really hard when say, my family wants to watch TV, we have to make a conscious effort to find something to do. Or when I go to a friend's house we have to think of something other than playing Halo. Even forcing myself to choose my Bible study over reading my manga ( if you know me well you would understand why its hard).
Overall I am thankful and glad about doing the Fast this year. It gave me( and hopefully you all too) a chance of identifying those idols in my life.
Thanks to ALL of my sponsors and friends who encouraged me to be more!

2 days remain.

~DJ

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Almost done!

You guys we're almost done!!! I hope this has been a meaningful month for all of you, it has for me. I have learned a lot about myself and my values and I have learned to appreciate life and what it has to offer. I'd like to thank all of our sponsors for the support and prays it means a lot! Love you all :* 

Iron

Is it really halfway over?
Wow! I guess its true time flies when you're having fun.

Over the weekend I had a friend over as a belated birthday thing, and we had a lot of fun! We watched a funny christian comedy show and played board and card games too.

T-minus 4 days

Dude, guys, we've practically made it. There’s less than a week left. I want to encourage everyone to push through these last couple days. I know that for me, in past years, these last days have been all about getting to the end. That’s not a good way to look at it. We all need to take each day as it comes. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble,” Matthew 6:34. I love this verse because it is so real. Yeah, everyday we're going to encounter adversity, but when we focus on tomorrow, we are just wishing our lives away. Instead, we should focus on the ways that God impacts our lives each and every day. That is what this fast is all about—removing secular media in order to be able to see God more clearly.
Also, this past Sunday I did the scripture reading thingy and when I was told the passage I found this super awesome verse. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:37-39. I don't know if it’s just me, but this sounds super legit.  First of all we are called conquerors and I think that it is extremely encouraging. Then there’s the really amazing thing, there is nothing at all that can separate us from God. Even as the media fast begins and we slowly fall back into old habits, God will always be right there calling to us. We just have to open our ears to what he has to say.

Have a spectacular last leg of the fast. I can't wait for all of the adventures on Missions Trip this summer that I will get to experience with all of you. I'm totally psyched. Love you guys and I am still praying for you.
Also thank you to my sponsors who have continually encouraged me throughout the fast. You are the reason that I have been able to keep going. You guys are awesome and mean the world to me.

Monday, March 23, 2015

one week left.

its crazy, almost like I don't really miss my media anymore. My experience in the years that I have done the media fast is that the first week or so, you have some withdraws, because we are so used to always having our media right at our fingertips. as we go throughout March, and we begin to focus more and more on God, we begin to rely less on our media. That's the crazy thing about God, as we increase His value, other things in our life begin to pale in comparison, and their worth becomes much less prevalent in our lives. God should be the focus of our lives every day, and anything that distracts us from Him should be completely uprooted and gotten rid of. This, and other experiences during this time, have helped me, and my friends grow in our relationships with Christ. My friends noticed a change in the way I have been spending my time, and the way I have been treating others while on the media fast, and some have agreed to join with me in a media fast. so, thank you media fast, and high school staff for giving me an opportunity to be a testimony and have a ministry for Christ. I encourage you all to share what you have learned, and find new ways to be a light to those around you. I love you all and I cant wait for mission trip!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Almost Done

I have always had a hard time reading my bible and listening to christian music. After I went to the Rock and Worship Roadshow on Thursday I found an app that give me a bible verse each day and constantly plays Christian music. With the daily bible verse I am able to take a moment to focus on what the verse mean and how I can live it out. The verse I got today is Ecclesiastes 4:10, "If one falls down, his friends an help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up." It made me realize that without friends there will be no one help you and help keep you on the right path. Family and friends give you strength.

The Final Countdown

Imagine this. It's the bottom of the ninth inning in the very last game of the World Series. Your team has won three games, but the other team has also won three games. Your team is up to bat with the score tied 1-1. All you need is one home run and you've won the game and the World Series. You and your team have played their hardest tonight, and now you're up to bat. Your whole team is cheering like crazy for you; they are confident that you can do this. They are there for you when you need it most, which is right about now. You have done the same for your teammates as they have faced their own trials throughout the game. And then there are your fans. They aren't playing in the game, but they have come to watch and support you. They cheer just as loud as your teammates, and you're glad to have them there to support you, because you need all the support you can get. You're in foreign territory, and things can get ugly with all of those people against you. You take a deep breath and walk up to the plate. The pitcher looks at you with a gleam in his eyes that says "I'm going to strike you out." He winds up, and then releases the ball.
     "Steer-ike one!"
The pitcher winds up again and throws.
     "Steer-ike two!"
You take a deep breath. If you don't hit this, you have to go into a tenth inning. The pitcher looks at you with fiery eyes, and releases the third pitch. Your bat makes contact with the ball with a"crack" and you start running like the wind. The ball sails over center field and into the stadium. Home run! The crowd goes wild, and your team is whooping and hollering in the dugout. When you round third base, they pour out onto the field and surround you as you cross home plate. You did it. You won the game with the help of everyone around you. Your team, your coach, your fans, even the other team. But you won! The game is finally over.
     I use this analogy for two reasons. The first is because baseball is the only sport that I understand and care enough about to make an analogy out of. The second is because I feel like this is what the media fast had been like. But we haven't hit the home run yet. We are almost done with the game. Our team, all of the high schoolers, our coach, Matt, and our owner, Jesus, have been cheering us on as we all go through the game. Our fans, the people of the church sponsoring us as well as our own personal sponsors, have been cheering us on as well. They have watched us as we go through the game, each having our chance "at bat". But we are in foreign territory. There are many out there who have ridiculed us for doing such a thing as a media fast; it's just not a normal thing to do. And, to make matters more difficult, we're Christians. The other team can boo us all they like, but we have to keep playing the game. We have to turn the other cheek.
     This has been a very good experience for me. I have had my share of temptations, but the Lord has helped me resist them. I pray that He has done that for all of you, too. Three weeks down, one to go.