Crossing the *Finish* Line

And the media fast is officially over...

I have to say, I have mixed feelings. I think I’ll like being able to watch TV again (I went to a friends house and had to miss out on watching Thor 3), and I’ve missed some of the other things too. Don’t get me wrong,  I think it was good to take a break from those stuff, it kinda serves as a reminder of where your priority’s are it life, and helps you refocus on God. 

I’m excited on how much I grew these past few weeks and I’m looking forward to the Mission trip this July.

Until next time...

-Erik W Washburn

Not the End

Wow. Thirty days ago, I was telling myself, "Just get through it, it's only thirty days and then you can go back to everything." Now I'm telling myself, "It doesn't have to end, you can continue and you don't have to go back." I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK. AT ALL. I feel so connected with God and I'm scared I might lose the connection if I let the distractions back in. Life is so so much better without media and with God. So many christian movies have inspired me, for example: "I'm Not Ashamed". Because of movies like that and music and reading devotions and stuff, I have realized that nothing else of this world satisfies me as Jesus does. And that is why I am so so thankful for this media fast. I have also decided to get baptized. I have grown to love Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I really truly believe that this media fast has changed my life so much. It has made me realize that I want to live my life for him. Jesus gave his life for me, so I will give my life to him. Thanks for the prayers over the fast, they obviously really helped. I know God has something great planned for my life, and I can't wait to find out what it is and serve, love, and make him proud while doing it. Please pray that I continue my walk with Jesus, and that this love I have grown continues to grow even after the fast. Thanks again. :)

It's Almost Over!

I can't believe the Media Fast is already almost over.  To be honest, it has changed my life in many ways.  I realize how much I have been on my phone, and how much social media has been pulling me away from God.  So much of life has passed me by while I am on my phone.  I have missed out on many things.  That is a hard thing to realize, but I know now, and I won't let it happen again.  I have been keeping a Gratitude Journal this month, naming three things each day I am grateful for.  I have been reading my Bible a lot.  In fact, I read through the Book of Esther and some of the Book of Proverbs.  I am also working on daily devotionals on my Bible App. 

Stay 2 Serve was amazing.  I loved teaching all the little kids about God and Jesus, and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  The language barrier was hard, though, because sometimes the kids couldn't understand what we were saying.  Sometimes the kids could understand the basic concepts of what we were saying, but all the time, the kids could understand our smiles and laughter.  God has changed my life in so many ways this month, and I am already looking forward to next year!

Almost There!

Stay 2 Serve ended yesterday and we had so many kids and parents. It was a lot of work but it was really cool. I'm excited that the media fast is coming to an end. Even though I don't want to go back to the same old habits I still kind of want to watch my shows especially "A Series of Unfortunate Events". In the beginning of the month, I was kind of struggling but now it feels like normal daily life.

             

Philippians 4:13 

                                     ❤"I can do all thing through him who strengthens me"❤

Few more days!

I can’t believe that the media fast is coming to an end! Stay 2 Serve just ended and we had A LOT of kids and I thank God because He gave us an opportunity to share the gospel to so many different people and in so many different ways! The fast hasn’t been that bad so far, because I’ve been keeping myself busy with writing Bible verses in my journal. I don’t want to go back to my normal habits of being attached to my phone more than usual after the media fast is over.

Forever

Its coming to the end of the media fast and I realize that this doesn't last forever. I think to myself for a little bit on how I've done and what I have learned. I go back to my Spotify playlist and shuffle my songs and the first song I hear is Forever from Chris Tomlin. I was listening closely to the lyrics and I thought it related to the media fast and questions I have today. One verse says "he is good he is above all things". When I heard this a thought clicked in my head as if It was meant to tell all of us that God is above all media, all technology, and anything on this Earth. I also thought to myself the word Forever. I realized that even though this media fast may not last forever our faith in God will and my striving to get closer to God will also last forever. I think God shows signs to everyone through there daily life even if its in a song or a book or media. God has worked through me all month and I now know that when your on media it covers or blinds you from what God has given us. This media fast is almost over and Easter is coming up and i'm making sure I notice everything that comes my way.

Home Stretch

For every person who participates in any kind of fast, there is the home stretch where your mind takes over. You start thinking about the day after your fast, the things you can finally do (watch, listen to, read, play) when it's all over. The problem with this thinking is that we begin to forget what we have done and why we did it. Here's some questions everyone needs to wrestle with this week:

• What was I fasting from?
• Why was I fasting from it?
• How has this fast changed me? My stress? My everyday life?
• What have I been doing to grow closer to God during my fast and how can I keep that moving forward?

This is when leaders become leaders... when they recognize how a decision they have made has made their life better or worse... then responding to it to continue to be successful. 

Success during this fast IS NOT avoiding media... it was to remove something in our lives that was taking up time we could spend, growing closer to God. My hope and prayer is that you have grown closer to God through taking time to read His Word, prayer, memorizing Scripture, and listening to music that helps you focus on Him.

The Last Week

Tomorrow is Stay 2 Serve and I am so excited! This is my first year doing it and I'm kind in the middle of being nervous and excited. I can't wait to work with the kids and to teach them and bring them closer to God. The media fast has been good even though on our field trip last week everyone was on their phones the whole bus ride. At least my friend brought slime so I can occupy myself. To be honest, I don't really want to go back to media after March 30th. Yeah I want to watch my shows but I think to myself, "What a wonderful world that God has created and being on secular media has drawn me away from it". I'm thankful for the people who are praying for me and supporting me.