Return of The Media

I tried to make a good title, probably too cheesy but the blog post won't let you down... hopefully. The end of the media fast will come differently for others. Some might look back and say "thank goodness I'm out of this mess". Others might think that "it was fine" and "it won't affect me later" but when I look back I'm going to remember this journey and how it will improve my future life. I know that media has became apart of our lives because we see it everywhere. We see it in our friends, our school, politics, pretty much everything except the Amish. We care for it and we use it for a lot of things. That transition from straight media to straight non media was a punch in the face. As I look back I realize that punch was knocking sense into me showing me that I have been blinded from the true power of God. When I was on this media fast I saw things through my daily life that seemed like it was influenced by God. I would ask him questions through my prayer and hope for an answer like he was actually talking to me but instead I would listen to music or read passages that would be like little puzzle pieces. Those puzzle pieces would be put together and form a big picture. That picture would be the answer to my questions, something that is not showed and covered when we are sucked into the excessive amount of media. I guess the real point is that we should all cut back on media and make sure that we are aware of Him and what He does for us. As I continue my journey to get closer to God I know I have to change some of my previous habits so I can make cutting out media a habit. I am so glad that I was able to do this and I'm looking forward to doing more than just one month of fasting next year.

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.

Obstacles in Every Journey

Man it has been 13 days and I am feeling it. I have noticed that my want for my music and my want for T.V. and games have come back. At this point I realize that nowadays society has taken the media and put it through every kids life, it sort of intertwines with them. When I walk around my school campus I see kids listening to their jams, I see kids on social media, and I see kids looking at their phones in general.  It's really hard to stay away from those type of things because it is all around you and to be honest when I see my friends on their phones I kind of miss it. But that is not going to stop me from completing my journey. As I refrain from this I look on the brighter side of things such as thanking God for giving me the chance to go to a great school with great friends and get a great education. Another good thing is that I am able to see the negative effect some media has on people. For example how it can spread things that aren't true about someone that could hurt their feelings. Another example is how some of the music we listen to today is focused on the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. Now I am not saying that all media is bad but I have realized that when this media fast is over I will have to cut back on a lot of it so I can stick with the motion of focusing on God. Hopefully everyone else that is taking action in the media fast is right on track and keeping up the good work. I can't wait to see what all of  next week has in store for me but until then I am going to stick with listening to my Christian jams.

A Fresh Start

     My name is Nathan Hatfield and I have been going to Arcade church my whole life. I love growing through the church and learning more about God every time I show up on Sundays but whenever I went home I would always go straight to my room take off my "church clothes" and turn on the T.V. to watch football. As I started listening to pastor Matt and pastor Craig I realized that worshiping God isn't supposed to be meant for one day its supposed to be meant for all days. After realizing this I saw that whenever I got home I would breakaway from God and put technology before him. Now I have joined the media fast so when I get home I won't be able to play games or watch sports I will be able to stay with God and remember and give thanks for all he's given me. I believe that during these 30 days of fasting my faith in God will rise and grow extremely. I do have to admit I love to play video games and listen to music other than christian but I am so happy to give that up for someone more important and all giving. I am hoping that after the fast I will take some of it and apply it everyday,maybe cut back on things that I don't need and not going straight to the T.V. after church.

    I hope the other people who are doing this for the first time like me understand and know that this is so important and it will be super good for us. I am praying for everyone and hoping temptation doesn't persuade others to break free from this fast.