well, that was a pretty busy weekend. on saturday i went to a worship conference at william jessup with dave, jess, keisha, and allie. i had to get up early though... then today with spencer leadin worship in high school (i love that guy) and seein jason again :D theeen i went bikin around to a bunch of places that im applyin at, and it started rainin. walkin in to the movie theatre (to apply, of course) soaking wet, not the best way to impress the boss.. but its all good!

ive been goin through the book of daniel, and all he has to say about the end of the world and armageddon and other delightful things. its fascinating to read about whats gonna happen at the end of the world and how everything unfolds. hopefully ill be watching from heaven though :P

well i gotta go mow lawns!!

Halfway

Phew! halfway already?! these couple weeks have been really good, i was skimming through my bible the other day and found a passage in Isaiah 58 about true fasting. i read it outloud in our small group and it was really good :)

Not of This World

Day 14 already?!?!? This month has definitely gone by a lot faster than last year. We're almost halfway there guys keep it up! I'll be praying for you all!

Anyway, I've been reflecting on the past two weeks, and I've come to realize that I make myself feel "deprived" of the secular media that I'm not able to take part in. I feel as if I'm not "in the loop" anymore and that I'm getting left out because I'm unable to keep up to date with news and events that other people can easily just look up on Facebook, the Internet, apps, etc. But I thought about it more, I came to the conclusion that I'm not of this world! I was spending so much of my time and energy wallowing in self pity that I was unable to stay informed like all of my friends at school and most everyone around me. I didn't know the new movies coming out, the latest results in March Madness, and so on. But the bible tells us that we shouldn't store our treasures here on Earth. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21) That was my 'Aha!' moment for the fast so far. I remembered those verses and thought it was an ideal facepalm moment for myself. I realized that I shouldn't be so concerned with these earthly things because I know I'll have it sooooo much better off in heaven. Yes, they help us stay connected and in the know, but will we need them in heaven? Nah. There are so many things that distract us in this day and age that we sometimes forget that we spend eternity with our Father, they won't be available to us anymore (although the thought of a Facebook for people in heaven is a pretty entertaining thought). That makes me even more thankful for the fast because it's a reminder of what we won't be having, because we'll be having a blast in heaven! So good luck everyone!

-Btw I'm looking forward to Saturday because I'll be having a movie day with two friends from school and Logan and we'll be watching Soul Surfer and some other Media Fast approved movie. It was really cool of my friends to be understanding of what I'm doing and still be willing to come over and have a relaxing afternoon. Yay for sharing about the fast opportunities!

No thanks, I'm just looking.

That is typically the response we give to all those pesky salesman in the department stores. They don't ever seem to leave you alone, do they? I mean, we just want to look around at all the stuff we want, with absolutely no intention of purchasing a single item.

I think that's what I've been doing in this fast, regrettably. I just go by every day, reminding myself of the media that I CAN'T have (things we can't buy) and don't listen to my friends/youth leaders (salesclerks) who are there to remind me of things that I CAN have and do. I accepted the fact that I can't have secular media (purchase an item) but don't really focus on replacing it with stuff such as: reading the Bible, praying, journaling, etc. I don't know about you, but whenever I'm reminded of that, I just kind of brush it off.

"Yeah yeah, I can read the Bible and pray but lets get real--I want TV." I have no intention of "buying anything."

It may have to do with the fact that I've been ridiculously busy with school, pit orchestra, and more. But nevertheless, I should not be making excuses.

This years fast hasn't been a complete failure, however. We're only halfway through! I did find a little extra time to write a story based on Jeremiah 29:11 which says: "For I know that plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

This verse is always very encouraging to me. Even though we may feel like we're just going through the motions, know that God has a plan for you and will always be there. He isn't going to settle for: "I'm just looking."

Praying for you all and I hope this fast is going amazing for everyone! :)

-Maggie

halfway done

its been a pretty great month so far! I forgot to bring my ipod to gym one day so i was stuck singing david crowder songs to myself the whole time i was there -__- haha but other than that its goin swell!

I like my chai tea lattés hot...

so you know that verse in Revelation that's like: "'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! so, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth'"?

i don't get it. i mean, i know what it's saying--like, don't be wishy-washy or only worship God when it's most convenient; basically, if you're going for it, go all in and drop everything you have to follow Christ--but how is that supposed to look? like how am i supposed to go from "lukewarm" to "hot"? how are you supposed to get to the point where it's obvious that you're on fire for God? i know the "Christian-ese" answers to this stuff...but i'm looking for something deeper.

on the other hand, it's getting easier to abstain from secular media the longer that we fast. it's awesome. like, genuinely cool.

a lot of the extra time i've had has been spent trying to apply what i'm learning to my life. like there's this book called "do hard things"...it is literally one of my favorite books. it talks about how society has some super low expectations of teens today. like, we always hear those generalized comments about how "this generation is going down the tube" or whatever. but if we're trusting God to work in us & that He will guide us when we're doing hard things for the glory of God, we shatter those expectations. like, we can seriously have a revival for Christ. do you know how cool that would be? even in small things--like i tried out for sports-a-rama yesterday at school (WAY out of my comfort zone) and made it. i was praying that whooole time (even if it may seem like no big deal to someone else). when you're doing hard things, you realize that you need to depend on God--for reals, you honestly can't do it on your own. it was cool to live that out.

i'm praying for you all!

anyways. ...excuse my ramblings... haha. there's been a lot on my mind.

p.s.: thanks a lot, ALLIE, for getting me hooked on gungor. sheesh! they're sooo good!

Rock and Worship Roadshow

I have been listening to 103.9 a lot lately, and I realized I know the words to almost every song, and I catch myself singing these songs during school and things instead of the songs from the other stations.

By listsening to this radio station a lot, I heard an ad for the Rock and Worship Roadshow hence the title) and realized this would be really fun to go to. It is a group of about 5 Christian bands getting together at Power Balance Pavillion, and for only $10, you get to have a night of music. I thought this might be kind of fun to go to, and that I should spread the word. If anybody wants to go, we could all carpool or something.

Are you a human or a zombie?

Media Fast is just as hard for adults as it is for high schoolers. I have successfully navigated away from TV and secular music, but have not been incredibly successful at seeking God during this time of fasting (unless sleeping a lot counts... which it doesn't). It's not just about cracking open our bibles or thanking God every time we see a flower or something, but seeking God is a matter of the heart. I read an interesting blog yesterday (for those of you ready to pounce, it was a Christian blog). The author was discussing Christian music versus secular music. He said, "It’s the soul of music, whether that soul is good or evil is not the point, simply that it is the soul. So when you remove the soul from music and transplant the body parts (chord changes, instrumentation, dress, lights, and everything but the soul…) and parade it around with some more “positive” lyrics posing as Christian music, then what you have is a musical zombie." I think this zombie metaphor translates far beyond music. I don't want to be a zombie. I want to be a human (as sinful and screwed up as I am) -- a human that is seeking after God. When I read the bible this week I am going to do more than just decode the words on the page, I am going to compare those words to those written on my heart. When I am thankful for God's creation I am going to tell him why and when I sing songs to Him and for Him, I am going to sing from the heart. Or at least I will try to "press on towards the goal." Phil. 3:12-14

Do What You Will... or Don't

The world is constantly trying to pull you and I away from what we say we believe. It's not the world's fault... it's mankind and sin... but it is pulling none-the-less. So what can we do? We need to get back on track. The media is massively influential in convincing us whether certain things are true or not true. Issues that we don't think are a big deal any more... philosophies that steer us away from who God is... creativity is skewed to nothing more than robot-like behavior... all of these are extremely dangerous if not addressed. One part of us will say, "I can do what I want to do"... and that's true. But do we really believe that? John Lennon, quoting a man (a man that is said to be the most evil man to have ever lived) that he and the Beatles idolized said, The whole Beatle idea was to do what you want, right?  To take your own responsibility, do what you want and try not to harm other people, right?  DO WHAT THOU WILST, as long as it doesn't hurt somebody. . ." That sounds good... but that's the opposite of what the Bible teaches. In fact, that phrase "Do what you will" was distributed through the media in an effort to destroy Christianity and the American family in the early 1900's. And yet, still today, we are drawn away by a simple, "innocent" phrase by someone, and then we are suckered into turning that into a belief.


Do you really believe that? If you do, than you don't believe in the Bible and you put more faith in the Beatles than in Jesus. Ask around... do people you know listen to the Beatles or read their Bible more? It's my belief that what the Bible says is undeniably more important than "who is the walrus?" 


So it takes courage to say, "I am stepping away from 'not-Gospel-focused' media and putting my attention on 'Gospel-focused' media." This week, share on this blog what you are doing instead of 'not-Gospel-focused' media.

day five!

day five already! honestly, its not that hard right now, i got a lot of time to catch up on homework. but i miss wcar and tdwp -__- haha but im lovin david crowders new album!