HE > I

I spent the entire day yesterday soaking up sun rays outside and reading through the gospel of John, mostly to catch up with the rest of the church. It is so. Freaking. Good. I don't think I had ever taken the time to read the whole entire thing before. Read it. Like, right now. Jesus is so bomb! I especially like the verse that Logan pointed out a few Sundays ago, John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease".  It's kind of a punch in the gut, but it shows what our attitudes & actions should be like if we are in Christ.

Then today I went to the ocean and waded through the water and just watched the tide roll in and out. Like, who says God isn't real?! The ocean is like proof that we have a Maker. It gets me so pumped! He deserves praise for it.

I'd encourage you guys not to wait until next year to fast from media again if this month has grown your relationship with God. God is way more important than media or anything of the world.

The End... Or the Beginning???

hey so this it, the last day of the media fast.*WHEW* while i`m glad it`s over i kinda don`t want it to be! like i wanted to listen to more Christ-centered music other than Air1 or my Red CDs. i was thinking that this thing, the whole point is to spend more time on God and on no one else (or nothing else).
 i thought of a song by Kutless called 'To Know that You`re Alive' and there`s this one line in the song that goes 'will the moment get the best of you or will the situation bring you around? *heavy guitar* when it`s said and done *more guitar*  will it bring you around? what will you become???'(look up this song it`s good) so are we gonna let this be a "this was cool, i`m gonna do it again after i update my Facebook" kinda thing? or will it "Bring you around"? i hope that you guys will have a good spring break (unless it ends today then that sucks =P) and just... y`know be cool?

that last part about staying cool sounded really lame (LOL)!
i think what i`m gonna do is that i`m gonna be more attentive to what media i`m watching/listening/playing/reading etc... see you guys and gals all sunday!

DJ F.
Coram Deo. haven`t looked it up yet? it means For God (think like 2Cornthians 5:9)!

Last Day?

Over the last week I have seen God in so many amazing ways. I was able to meet many people with great stories, was present as the quietest kid in the room stepped up to speak, and witnessed three people rededicate their lives to Christ. All in one week in San Francisco for the Jr. High Mission trip.
   One thing I must say-- it was harder to stay commited to the media fast on this trip. In SF, the amount of secular media is overwhelming, even from my own group. I just so happened to be the only one in the car on the media fast at one point, and it took strength to stand up and say I couldn't listen to what they wanted to listen to on the radio. But I'm so glad I did, and I'm glad I wasn't the only one of my friends who was doing this.
   Before I started this fast and even while I was doing it, I didn't catch the whole point of it. I thought all I had to do was avoid secular media and I'd be good. Until one Sunday morning in church, when I was singing along with Pastor Jasen in worship. He started a song I had heard a million times, but I had never really thought about before:
   "Oh, I'm running to your arms, I'm running to your arms, the riches of your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to your embrace, light of the world, forever reign."
   Before I even knew what was happening, tears were streaming down my face, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. A whole new meaning to the song arose inside me as I lifted my arms and closed my eyes in surrender. A thousand thoughts burned through my mind at once:
   I don't need to thirst for the applause of others. I shouldn't strive to please my peers or the people around me, as I had been doing. The only thing that matters is God, and He's the only one that can and will love me and has loved me eternally, extremely, with no limitations or boundaries. He has given me life, so I will use this life to honor God, which is the least I could ever do.
   At that moment while Pastor Jasen was singing, I ran into God's arms, and He covered me in His love. It's one moment I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.
   Thank you, everyone who has been here for me. Thank you Matt for giving me the opportunity to participate in this amazing fast. It's been a wonderful experience, and I'm not going to stop fasting just because the month is over and everyone says I can go back to secular. I can't wait for next year. :)

                                                                                                       ~Luke 9:23~

Last Few Days

Well, so this month  has been really long, but we only have a few more days! My weeks have been filled with Ted Dekker books and christian music on replay. So this month doing the media fast I was looking for something more than just avoiding secular media (that's pretty much how it was last year for me). Normally, I am terrible at reading my bible because I get really distracted, but this month I have actually read the bible and got something from it. My favorite thing that I've read so far this month is Colossians 3:1-4, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory." I'm praying that we can have a successful last few days of the media fast!

Only 9 days left of the Media Fast. I have probably read at least 15 books so far. I leave to go on the Jr. High Missions Trip on Monday, and I am super excited for this experience. I went last year and loved it and am stoked to do it again. I have been really struggling with having nothing to do a lot of the time. I have been making bracelets, reading and listening to Christian music most of the time, but that gets very old after awhile.  But I intend to persevere and finish up the Media Fast strong. :)

Megan W.

Not so tuff

The fast so far is not very hard but thats cause I've done the media fast before and am used to it. I have enjoyed growing closer to God also listening to music I haven't listened to in a while like Toby Mac, David Crowder band, and Group 1 Crew. I have also enjoyed spending time with my family. I've been reading in Philippians, the verse is that has stood out to me is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Another Day

well today it looks like we`re 2 weeks away from the end of the Media Fast... what the heck?! wow! good job everyone!

if i said these last 2 weeks were easy for me that`d be a lie, i mean, NO Kingdom Hearts or any other video games?!?!? GAH! well that part was kinda easy (i`m stuck in a level). i was reading my Bible and i had book marked some of the verses that some of posted and i made this connection to my favorite verse "And so we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it"(2 Corinthians 5:9) with (SHOOT! i forgot i`ll be right back... *runs to get his Bible*...) i`m back it`s 2 Chronicles 15:7 "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded". you have to flip the quotes around but i think you all get the picture: (paraphrasing) if we stay strong in our pleasing God(which He never promises will be easy) we will be rewarded! ...at least something like that.

so that`s my shpeal. oh yeah today i got to dissect a frog! yeah it was fun but it got to the point we (not me) started to completely mutilate the frogs and it was gross...but kinda fun! 

i hope you guys and gals had a good day and remember God made you special... and there`s only 2 weeks left in the Media Fast(GOT YA ^_^)!!

Corum Deo (look it up, hint: it`s Latin)

~DJ F.

 

2 weeks down

it has been 2 weeks since i started the fast and i am really missing listening to one direction. but i got to go to the rock and worship roadshow to see family force 5 with my dad, sister and friends. 2 weeks left.

My Media Fast Story

My name is Grace Brown, and this is my first time doing the media fast. I've actually been very excited for this opportunity for a very long time. "The media fast is what the high schoolers do, and I want to be like the high schoolers," I would think. But as I grew older, I forgot about it. Two months before given the chance to do it, I was constantly listening to 103.9 and 99.5 on the radio for great Christian music. Every day, all day. I could listen to my beloved Taylor Swift music, but never wanted to miss what song might come up next. Years before even that, I had given up watching TV, except maybe X-Factor from time to time.
   The day my mom went to a meeting for in coming high schoolers at church, she came back with a small slip of paper about the media fast. "Matt said you can do it this year!" she said. I didn't expect that. I'm in 8th grade, and I had already been given the chance to do a high school thing? When my mom handed me the card, I hesitated.
   In fact, I hesitated for several days. Why? I'm still not sure. I don't watch TV, and I only listened to God-focused music anyway. Books-- that was the problem. Books are one of my top favorite things. But I knew my best friend, Jael's mom would have a lot of Christian books I could borrow, especially Ted Dekker ones.
   I may not be sure why I hesitated, but I'm so glad I said yes in the end. Yes, of course it was hard at the beginning of the month, when only a couple days in it seemed as if the month would go on forever. I brought in an iPod to block out the music that was played in PE everyday, which I hated. I was the only one with my iPod, and it always threatened to slip from my pocket and become lost.
   But I carried on. Within the first week, I was lent a six-book series called the Lost Books by Ted Dekker. The books are amazing, and they definitely keep me occupied. The music is great, and I love listening to songs from Tenth Avenue North, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Third Day, Anthem Lights, Tobymac, and more. It totally keeps me feeling great, encouraging me in my times of sorrow and anger.
   I'm sure this media fast isn't as hard for me as it is for others. But still, sometimes Satan tempts me into wanting to listen to other music, read other books. I fight it, but it involves much struggle. I never realized just how much secular media there truly was in my life around me, but I'm determined to avoid it and spend the time with my Father, my Savior, my Lord.

Perfectly weak

So you know that verse "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'"? Story. Of. My. Life. Trusting people, and God, is not necessarily one of my strengths. It's hard, and quite frankly it scares the poop out of me. Let's be honest. Ha. So can you guess what God has been teaching me this month? Trusting Him. Of course.

For reals, though, it's actually a good thing. I'm so conflicted about what I'm going to do once I graduate, but in that confusion, Jesus is leaving me no choice BUT to trust Him. If I'm not trusting Him through it, I'll only go crazier. So in my quest to trust, I'm growing closer to God, especially since I have time this month to go to Him more frequently. The funny thing is that I'm kind of okay with wherever God wants to send me next year. I mean I really really really want to do YWAM, but if college is where I need to be, God is in control of that, and He can use me in either situation. However it all ends, if I continue learning to trust God about it, His power is made perfect in my weakness.

On a completely different note, do you know that song Smelly Cat that Phoebe from "Friends" sings? It has been stuck in my head for the ENTIRE. WEEK. I'm going crazy, I swear. Ha.

Hope everyone's doing well. We're more than halfway there already! We should all do something together during spring break with our freed-up time. Fellowship; holla! Praying for you all.