First Week

I've successfully survived my first week of media fasting. It wasn't too hard because I'm not one to be glued to my phone 24/7, but I still experienced a lot of the challenges. I personally didn't turn off my notifications, so I still know when people text me, but rather than looking at it, I call them to see what it's about, if it's important etc. I'm sure that more than enough of my friends have been kind of shocked seeing that I'm calling them rather than sending them a quick text. Getting through this first week doing things like that has been somewhat of an eye opener for me. So many people these days rely on texting and are almost uncomfortable hearing my voice over the phone. I just think it's a bit sad that this generation loses a sense of sincerity and personality when communicating. Along more personal lines, this past week and the upcoming week have been/will be extremely stessful school wise and I'm really relying on God to pull me through it. I'm currently working on a major project involving the community and plastic pollution, and because of all of the outside efforts being put in, it's a lot more time and energy consuming than anticipated. Thankfully, after much prayer, the Lord has been by my side, working with me through it. In this post I just want to emphasize prayer. It's so powerful and has been so vital in my life. In my times of need I've prayed to God, and no matter the measure, big or small, he has answered. In this I just want to remind those reading of two verses, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" 1 John 5:14 and "He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along" Psalm 40:2. Both verses have been a source of hope in my times of need. As we continue throughout the month, remember that you are not alone, you have your sponsors, your fellow high schoolers, and above all you have God walking along side you. Thank you so much for all of the support, love, and prayer; I look forward to keeping you up to date on how the Lord is working in my life. :) 

Most Played Songs this Week:                                      

Oceans (where feet may fail) by Hillsong United         

Come Thou Fount by Shane and Shane                             

Great I Am by Phillip, Craig, and Dean                          

Let There Be by Gungor                                                   

You Have Me by Gungor                                                  
Some of my Favorite Verses: 
Isaiah 40:31
Philippians 4:13
Psalm 139:16
Jeremiah 29:11
Psalm 40:2

Long Week

I finally got through the first week successfully, though I can't say it was really that much of a challenge for me. It has been a long week though. I have been so busy with school and other extracurricular activities, that I don't have time for much media. When I do though, I find myself very bored, and very tempted to listen to that one song, or watch a short movie clip, or play a video game.  I think that the Pause series has been the best one that we've had, since I find myself pausing, thinking that sure, my parents and sponsors might be dissapointed, but the person it would dissapoint the most is God, the one I love the most.  The media fast is a pladge between you and God to devote time specifically to him, in place of the things that controll our life the most.  Going back to the Remote series, I think that this is the perfect time to give the remote to God, and let him control your life, since media is often a huge controller.  

I wanted to thank my sponsors for talking to me, and praying for me to get through this month.  I hope that everyone else will be successful, and will learn alot spiritually from this challenge.  

Love in Christ,

        Brandon

One Down, Three To Go

As I said yesterday, I have survived the first week. It was not always easy, but I know that God helped me (and all of us) through it. Thank you to all of those who are sponsoring me and/or praying for me; I really appreciate it and it means a lot. Thank you to all of those participating in the media fast; it takes great trust in Him to fast from something that we are in constant bombardment of. I pray that all of you are seeing the good things this experience is bringing about, and I pray that we will be challenged and stretched in a way that helps us see God. As Pastor Craig said in the sermon today, we do not come up with the ideas or the "Oh, I get it's" of God and Jesus, but rather, the Holy Spirit gives these to us; it is the spotlight that shines a beacon on Jesus Christ. I think that this is definitely the time the Holy Spirit will be shining a spotlight on Jesus as we fast from our distractions and lift our eyes to heaven.

For the Glory of God

Well, to say the least, I've survived the first week. It has been an experienc like I have never had. It has been one of those kinds of things that you don't really think it's happening until it impacts you. Hard. This week has been fairly easy, but there were the times when I didn't have anything to do and was tempted to play Crossy Road or check Pinterest. The weekend was the part that impacted me hard. My family doesn't do a lot of tv watching during the week, but we usually watch at least one episode of Upon A Time on Friday and Saturday nights. Last night, we couldn't do that, so we played a card game as a family. It was really fun, and I realized how much I love spending time with my family, even if sometimes they get on my nerves (it happens to all of us). I think that what God wants for me is to see the simple beauties of life. When we are on social media or other forms of entertainment, we miss those pleasures that He has put before us. I noticed a beautiful sunset that I may not have noticed had I been on my phone. I have also been only listening to Christian music or classical music (wordless). For the Christian music, I have tried to listen and think specifically about the lyrics and how they apply to my life. I was listening to Lose My Soul by Tobymac, and the lyrics went something like, "I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul". I think this is true for me; I don't want to gain the most followers or post the best post or pin the greatest pins at the expense of my relationship with God. For the wordless music, I try to focus on the instruments and imagine the people playing them. The music is so beautiful and the musicians are so talented, and I think that there must be a God out there who loves us that He would give us gifts and talents to share with others. And the beautiful thing is that there are so many people that use their gifts and talents to glorify Him. I want that, and I think that fasting from the things that distracts me from doing so will help me discover how to give Him glory.
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14

The first week

This first week has been hard. However, I realized how much drama there is around me and how much easier life is without it. I'm starting to actually appreciate the media fast and think that it would be good for everyone at my school (and other schools) to do it. 

Thank you everyone that is praying for us, it means a lot. 

Love,

Dasha 

first post

First, I want to say thank you to all of the sponsors that pray for us.
This past year was so crazy, I didn't even think about the Fast until something like three weeks or so ago.
So far, I don't have any real humongous goals or anything for the Fast this year, well, except not going crazy, and making more time to reconnect with God. It is really cool that I have all these people encouraging me to grow because I think that by myself I would have a very hard time with all of this.

So with that, I leave you to your Friday!

Joshua 1:9

DJ F.

Going Great but Big test underway

So far the Media Fast has been going great! After the first couple days, it is now becoming easier and easier. I've been putting in a fair amount of time reading the bible and doing the devotional, as well as getting ahead of next months homework and reading. I have also been having very long conversations with my theology teacher at Jesuit about my walk with God and how much good he can do for me in this month. Yesterday was a tough day because although I'm not the most popular guy, I was surprised to find like 15 notifications of text messages on my phone in just that one day. It's hard not only to not be able to respond, but also not being able to read the messages. It's also hard because at Jesuit we use iPads to do our homework, and we have our text books on there. I asked my colleagues to pray for me but instead most of them will shove their phones and tablets that have twitter feeds and games in my face. This makes it rather more difficult, Its also hard because when the teacher says we have free time all of the kids around me will pull out their phones and play games and check twitter. I have been pulling out my bible or studying, which can be difficult because kids are constantly asking me why I am doing this, and then I tell them why and they'll say something like "that's stupid". This next weekend I get to go up to Indian Wells to see a tennis tournament of my favorite professional players. This will be fun and a good distraction as this was a late birthday present. The good thing is is that this weekend I am going to Seattle to visit my sister and her boyfriend (Scott Sumner) as well as more of my family. This first week so far has been challenging, but thanks be to God I am staying strong and happy. I hope that all of my fellow media fasters are staying strong too, I am praying for you all!

First days are hard

If those who are like me the first days are the hardest but the you get into a groove.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
                               1 cor. 10:13

Not Easy

For me the hardest things this media fast will be staying away from social media and Netflix, I hope this experience allows me to get closer to God and my friends, thank you for all the prayers (:

A Call to Fast (and Pray)

  The Bible teaches us that fasting is a way to draw nearer to God, and to demonstrate seriousness when seeking the Lord in prayer. I believe that fasting, weather it be with food, media, or something else, shows God that we are serious in desiring Him more than food, or media. During these thirty days, I hope to prove this. I know it will be hard, it already is hard, but I hope that I will use this time, free from the distractions of media, to seek Him. I hope I don't just fast from media for a couple of weeks, only to binge back onto it again, forgetting what I learned from this experience. I hope that this time will encourage me to develop, and improve, habits and choices regarding my "media diet", and most importantly, my walk with God.

As I progress through this challenge, I ask that you would pray for me to keep going strong and grow in my walk with Him. To all my fellow media fast members, I will pray the same for you.

Myles.