My iPod Is My Best Friend
In Part 2 of my series, The Myth of Adolescence, I examined the effects of our media-saturated culture on our youth. I argued that it is squeezing young people into a mold where the attainment of Christian character and competence is nearly impossible, while offering in its place an ersatz maturity—technological, sexual, and superficial in nature—that will result in a generation of empty heads and shallow hearts.
My cry was not one of hopelessness. Rather, it was a challenge to my fellow young people to recognize that their restraints are illusory, not inherent, and to free themselves from the shackles of our culture’s expectations.
In response to that challenge, one of my good friends commented with an excellent follow-up question. In short, her inquiry was this: “How do we alert our fellow young people to what is happening? How do we fight this on a larger scale?”
Thank you, Lauren, for taking the time to really think about these things and ask questions. When our fellow young people take the truths that Brett and I have been discussing and begin to act on them, it validates everything that we’ve been talking about.
[Note: If you have not yet read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I would strongly encourage you to do so before continuing.]
Before we can change the culture, we must first change ourselves. To do so, let me begin by outlining a foundational concept of a rebelution.
In Proverbs 13:20 we read, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The meaning of this verse is clear. To put it plainly, we become like our companions. This is a simple but foundational truth. For us as young people to make our peers our primary source of companionship is to effectively pool our ignorance and foolishness. To walk with the wise is to walk with those who are older, wiser, and godlier than we are.
However, we will not glean the full wisdom of this verse unless we recognize that our companions are not limited to just people. Our companions include, not only our friends and family members, but also the books, magazines, newspapers, and comic books we read, the movies and TV shows we watch, the video games we play, the blogs and websites we surf, and the music, radio shows, and podcasts we listen to.
In today’s information-charged world, many people spend more time with these non-human “companions” than with their peers. According to a study published by Business Week, the average American spends 9.5 hours a day watching TV, going to movies, renting videos, reading magazines, listening to music, and surfing the web. This was in 1998. Since then, Internet use has skyrocketed, DVDs have supplanted VHS, and the iPod has ushered in a new era of isolation from fellow human beings.
The mistake that many young people fall into is this: while we may be careful as to who our human companions may be, we give little to no thought regarding the countless other companions that we constantly allow to influence us. This is why media, of any kind, is such a powerful societal weapon. We do not think of it as a companion.
If we truly wish to walk with the wise, we must choose the media we read, watch, and listen to, with the same care we apply to the selection of our friends… Because, they are our friends.
[Continue to A Shining Salty City On A Stand.]
September 4th, 2005 at 3:54 pm
Wow, that was awesome! I have never even thought about having media as our friends. Its so true though. I have been reading through proverbs in my devotion and just recently came across that verse. I read with the mind thought of, walking with the wise as walking with wise peers and freinds. I would have never thought about walking with media and technology. Thanks for pointing out that major detail to me!
God Bless!
Lauren
September 4th, 2005 at 8:05 pm
Excellent job…I’m looking forward to reading more from both of you…
September 5th, 2005 at 4:39 am
Wow, that\’s a really awesome post. But I\’m going to have to ask a question about this…what now?
Assume for a second we, as teens, really get it. We are watching/listening to the right things, choosing our friends wisely etc. But what do we really need to do to affect the people around us?
The blanket statement most would make sounds something like this: \”Just be a light to the world.\” Alright, cool, I need to be a light! Now, how do I do that?
September 5th, 2005 at 4:47 am
Right on, Jake. Exactly.
This post was preliminary, foundational, etc… Now that we have the basics down (changing ourselves), we come to the answer to Lauren’s original question. I had to cut my response down into smaller sized posts, otherwise no one would read it, and I wouldn’t have time to fully develop each section. This is a series, and we’ll be addressing the “what now?” question in detail in the near future.
September 5th, 2005 at 5:29 pm
Awesome, can\’t wait to read it!
September 5th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
Hey,
I was thinking another thing that our society has become very good “friends” with is food. Its starting to be very noticable. Like Proverbs said we need to walk with the wise…and as you added, with technology. We also need to be wise with what we eat. Its not bad to eat sweets every once in a while for a treat, but when thats all we eat…its not good.
My mom is an amazing cook and she has trained our family extremly well into not being picky and unhealthy eaters. That was just another aspect in a way we can be wise.
God Bless!
Lauren
September 22nd, 2006 at 2:12 am
Oh, wow. That picture is just WRONG. (laughs)
October 4th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
As my old buddy Darth would say “Most impressive”. You have a wonderful way with words. Normally as a very strong auditory learner I have to read something this high blown (at least for me with a public school education) out loud, but you can sound “muy intelligente” without killing me.
October 16th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
[…] I guess I’m not the only one blogging about globalization - how about that! Here are some great posts on the effects of globalization by Josh Harris and some by his bros - here and here. […]
January 6th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
[…] My iPod Is My Best Friend […]
January 14th, 2007 at 3:07 am
You can’t go into a debate without experiencing and fully understanding your opponent’s point of view.
A flu vaccine actually injects you with a virus in order to defend you from it.
When my friend read and watched “The Da Vinci Code” and agreed with what it said, I wouldnt have a foot to stand on unless I had experienced it for myself.
Sometimes, you have to be exposed to these “negative” influences in order to attain positive outcomes. Paul wrote, “To the Jews I become like a Jew, to those under the law I became like one under the law… I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I may win over some.” (1 Cor. 9:19) Paul is telling us that its not a sin to understand the world. It is not wrong to experience it. It is only wrong to succumb to it. In an earlier blog, you commented that you believe that teenagers should be able to handle more responsiblity. Well, here is the perfect opportunity. Let them
put non-christian artists on their ipod. Let them go on myspace. Let them go to a pg-13 movie (i recommend ‘Casino Royale’). These things will only define them as human beings and make them stronger for the experience. It will also help them realize the perspective of those who are outside of the christian world looking in, and enable them to honestly and truly connect with said people. Obviously, anything can be overdone. Yes, 9.5 hours spent on tv, movies, internet, is excessive. But the fact is, I’ve spent quite a bit of time on this website and, while much more positive then other sites I could be on, I’m still giving in to that “isolation” spoken of.
Anyway, I think I had a point somewhere in there. If your choice is to join a monestary and live a completely pure life, then by all means, do so and more power to you. But if you choose to lead the normal American lifestyle, I don’t think that it is necessary to rid yourself of all that is the world, for these things not only help deifine you and make you stronger, but they also help you to understand the viewpoint of those around you who don’t know Christ. My father’s counter to my thoughts was this:
“I don’t need to open up the lid of a sewer to know what’s inside of it.”
Good point.
But sometimes people you love are down there in that sewer walking around in it, and someone needs to go get them.
January 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Excellent work guys, not just on this article but the whole website. On the bit about isolation… ever read the book fahrenheit 451? The book emphasizes a future where people are constantly either plugged in or being entertained, leaving them unable to think for themselves. Certainly something the Rebelution is fighting.
Peace, Grace and Love
April 15th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
About watching 9.5 hours of TV a day in 1998, I read in a facts book that the average American will have spent 9 years of uninterupted viewing by the time he’s I think it was 60 yrs. old! It scares me that we waste our life in this way. My Mom and Dad got rid of our TV a long time ago, and when I’m over someone’s house and I see what’s on there, I’m REALLY glad they did!!!
Tory
May 8th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Hi!! i have a older cousin who has an ipod and sometimes you can not even get his attention to talk to him. It gets really annoying at times.I also agree with Tory about the T.V. some of the trash that is on there is not even fit for adults most of the time.
Keep up the good work you are doing. GOD BLESS
May 11th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Hey,
that was awesome
i had never thought of it that way. yeah we should choose our media very carefully just like our friends. God bless ya,
Stace
August 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am
Alex– you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that when young people make our peers our primary source of companionship, we end up with a pool of our ignorance and foolishness.
To Schlitt: You do not need to necessarily “experience” the other person’s point of view in order to refute or debate it–you should know what they think about the subject…
You are correct in saying it is not a sin to UNDERSTAND or KNOW ABOUT the world, but it is a sin to EXPERIENCE the world. I do not need to experience getting hit by a train in order to tell somebody that it is not healthy to stand in front of a moving train, neither must i do srugs so that i can tell addicts that drugs and drug abuse is bad. I wouldnt have to be an ex-witch or have been involed with wicca, just so that i can tell witches or other people that witchcraft is a sin. The Bible has already told me that it is wrong. I dont have to experience the sins of this world to know that they are wrong, or to tell other people that sin is wrong.
Why experience sinful things in order to tell other people that something is wong or evil? God wants us to have NOTHING to do with sin (that includes experiencing it). God _hates_ all evil and wrong and sinful things, so He wouldnt tell us it is ok as long as we experience that evil in smaller doses, or have a good intentions about it.
The evil is still evil, and the sin is still sin… we dont have to mar our hearts and minds because we think that is the only way to refute the wrong of this world.
Besides, responsibility does not include tainting one’s mind with movies encouraging teenage sexuality, homosexuality, crude behavior, perverted jokes, and sinful and lustful mindsets. Nor does it include giving excuse to hear musicians who sing about how “cool” and sin is.
You’re right though… it WOULD define them as humans… but it would define them as hypocritical Christian humans, who say they love God and follow him, yet watch and listen to wicked things. who do they mouthwork of Christianity, but whose life reflects otherwise. It has commonly been said “What doesnt kill me only makes me stronger”. that is not the kind of risks a Christian would be taking; especially when dealing with something so delicate and special as our walk with Christ.
Even as a Christian young lady, when i see commercials for perverted movies or commercials, or even have seen a movie that turned out to be not so good, i feel alienated from God (out of my own choice) because i feel too unclean to be before the Holy God. I of course have to resolve that, but it doesnt strengthen my relationship with God… it hurts it. And i’m sure many other Christians have felt the same way.
Philippians 4:8
And finally brothers (and sisters), whatever is noble, whater isright, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,- think about these things.
You had said that spending a fair bit of time on this site is giving in to that “isolation”, i would have to disagree. This is not some meaningless drivel meant only to entertain or provide temporary amusement or occupy time—it is a way to receive spiritual enrichment from other believers that will help us with our walk with God and with fellow believers, and in our seemingly short time on this sinful world, and how to make the most of that time (for Christ of course).
(Alex- _PLEASE_ correct that paragraph if i have misspoken…)
Deo et pax vobiscum,
(God and peace be with you [all])
Elisabeth J. Gruber
August 1st, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Alex, you are completely correct.
To Schlitt– It is correct that you need to know what you are debating about. True, you need to understand your opponant’s view. Someone who wishes to debate must first know the subject about which they are debating. They would never simply walk into the debate room and start arguing their side of the story without first understanding what they are opposing.
It is not a sin to understand the world. But the fallacy occurs when one thinks that they must expirience the world in order to argue against it. If it is true that expiriencing the world will make you stronger, how is it that so many Christians who have tried that before have fallen down the wrong path?
Schlitt, you mentioned in your paragraphs that “You don’t need to open up the lid of the sewer to know what is inside it, but sometimes there are loved ones down there, and someone needs to go get them.” That may be so, but to go get them does not mean that you necessarily have to go down there with them. If you go down into the sewer to get them, you risk getting stuck down there yourself. Would it not be better to brace yourself on solid ground at the top, and pull them up? God calls us to be “fishers of men.” This does not mean that we have to go diving headfirst into perilous waters full of rip tides and snares. No fisherman would ever fish that way, because it is to easy to drown. Instead, they stay in the safety of the boat to cast their nets and patiently wait. Besides being dangerous, diving into the water is a sure way to never catch a fish.
Alex and Brett: You have blessed so many teenagers with this website. God will in turn bless your hard work with an abundance of rewards. He will bless everything you do and hundreds of other teenagers will be able to be blessed through you two. thank you for answering God’s call.
September 1st, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I own an Ipod. Yes I do like it, but I have a good amount of Christian music on it and most of the time I’d rather listen to some Steve Fee than Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was a great musician, but recently I’ve been trying to find more Christian music that I enjoy, that also has a good message. I read many Christian books, like Hood, River Rising, The Deceivers, and Left Behind. I still feel my Ipod and my books are my idols at times. Please pray for me that I might turn and use these as an influence to become closer to God.
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:07 am
These entries are amazing! You’ve put everything perfectly into words. Ciao!
!~Dew~!
November 12th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I realy liked that But I think that an ipod can help some people. Of course media has been carried a little (ok ill say it) WAY to far. But music can be one of the most encourageing things in the world. A study has been put out a year or so ago about how sme types of music can efect your SAT scores. If I remember right Classical music helped the scores a bunch. Celtic, Hyms, and some Rock had no effect. And Rap, Modern Rock, and Country lowered scores.
Another thing is that many time music can help calm stress. Control emotions. sometimes help the brain.
All I have to say is that dont abandon all of technology or burn your ipod just dont treat it like Gollum treats the precious. Thanks!
~John~
November 27th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
That blessed muse - given by God to give His sorrowing creatures a joy worthy of their destination (to paraphrase J.S. Bach)! Like all things, music should be used with a good bit of thoughtfulness. As a musician, I try to keep the following perspective: Listening to music with thoughtfulness == good; Learning to make music myself == better; Making music with family and friends == better still; Learning to give glory to our Maker through the blessed Muse == perfect.
To add a bit of that proverbial wisdom: Teaching another to give glory to our Maker through the blessed Muse with skill and thoughtfulness == perfect, both now and throughout all generations.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:14 am
I have an ipod, and i don’t idolise it!
February 1st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Are our sources of entertainment (music, tv shows, movies, video games, etc.) as much our friends as our human peers? First, we have to ask, what is a “friend”? According to dictionary.com, a friend is “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard”. What is affection? Affection is a feeling of loyalty and trust that a person feels for another person. Regard is respect. A friend is someone you enjoy and trust, who influences you, and who’s opinion you value. In a friendship, the feeling is mutual. On this premise, things cannot become our friends.
Now, I cannot and will not deny that things can be used in place of friends, but the reality is that these “friends” only impart a short-lived joy that is a weak copy of true, personal friendship with real people. It is the same as trying to find joy and peace in material things instead of God. We need friends just as we need God. Without them, we are missing something. As I said before, things and media may replace friends for a short time but they will soon be found wanting.
Also, media will only influence you if you let it. We are expected to take everything in this world with a grain of salt. The world is not our home and we need to be wise enough not to treat it like one. As the Bible states in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
SKS: I like that you brought up the verse about being as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves when we are sent out amidst the wolves. But I disagree that “things” cannot be “friends.”
Webster has the following entry for the definition of “friend”:
1 a: one attached to another by affection or esteem b: acquaintance
2 a: one that is not hostile b: one that is of the same nation, party, or group
3: one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)
4: a favored companion
(And then something about Quakers.)
The first two definitions Webster gives for “affection” are, 1: a moderate feeling or emotion, and 2: tender attachment or fondness. If you lent your ipod, favorite out-of-print book or computer to a friend or sibling and they returned it to you damaged, would you ask, “What happened? What did you do?” and start examining it closely to see if it was okay and check if it still worked, or would you ask, “What happened?” and check to be sure that they were okay incase what they borrowed was damaged in the process of them tripping, falling, etc.? I know I would probably, with some people, initally and unfortunately, respond with the former caring/feeling more for the “thing” than for the person. Wouldn’t that make me fonder for and more attached to a particular thing than a particular person in that instance? Why? Because music, books, and things are favored companions to me, at times, when people fail me or betray me. Or even when I’m just bored silly. Or sometimes when I want something only comforting or agreeable and I think I am too angry or upset to seek God and find out His Will for me (although, that’s exactly when I need Him most and should seek only Him).
We choose songs, articles, movies, books, etc. just the same as many of us choose friendships — we choose the ones that support our own beliefs, emotions, thoughts, or experiences.
And just like people as friends, we for the most part can’t help being influenced by or learning from the media, etc. we choose for companions. Even if we try our best not to “let it” affect us, it does. Just as if you watched a movie with a dirty joke in it about (I’m going to be random) elk. Even if you don’t laugh and you don’t think it’s funny or agree that it should have been said, the next time you see an elk or hear something about an elk chances are you will remember the joke. Your mind has been perverted into thinking of such things. And of course God can cleanse us if we go to Him sincerely asking Him to. But I believe that we need to remove such influencing things from our lives in order to diligently seek, and to continue to want to seek, purity, if we are to attain it to a degree that would be pleasing to Him and that would bring honor to Him.
Also, I think your point about things in place of friends is rightly applied to earthly friendships in general. No friendship or relationship will ever satisfy us except the one we have personally with God. They can take its place momentarily as pale substitutes of what we really need, but they will never, ever be anything more than supplimental to the Friendship/Relationship we were created to enjoy with God. We need God more than anything. We don’t need friends anywhere close to how we need Him. For example, take away all your friends, your family, your money and your possesions (all necessities to a degree for some of us to “live” at a good standard) and what do you have? You still have all you need in God. He will provide what you need and all you need. To take it further, take away air, food and water. What do you have? Well, you’d die, right? Then what? As a Christian you’d have God, in Heaven. Would that be enough? By all means! Even if your friends hadn’t yet died and gotten there too? Even if your friends weren’t Christians and never made it there? By all means, God would still beyond satisfy your needs!
And amen to Elisabeth and Kirsten Gruber’s responses to the earlier comments.
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
One more note:
If you use the analogy that the color black is bad and the color white is good, consider that all gray IS tainted by black and thus is also bad — or in other words, it is just as, or more, dangerous than black.
Such as if we consider the belief that “there is no God” to be black — lies, and the belief that “there is a one, true God” to be white — truth. If we take the pure truth that there is a God and add lies (bad/black) to it by saying that someone besides God is God or that there is more than one God, then do we not create something more dangerous and harder to refute than downright black in this gray area of truth tainted by lies?
Likewise, I believe small, gray-area doses of sin or experiencing the world can be subtle in their dangers and harder to separate from what is good, and thus tougher to resist.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Great job!
Yes! anything that touches us in any way will affect us.
Good or Bad.
And when you come in contact with the bad it does change your mind horribly, but it is a wonderful process when you come to God and GET RID OF ALL THE THINGS THAT AFFECT YOU THE WRONG WAY and let him heal your mind.
God Bless
March 19th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Hey guys
I think you hit the nail on the head. However, I disagree with some of you who have written comments. I do not believe that media is in and of itself evil. I do believe that it is important to screen what you watch and listen to. I have and Ipod, and the majority of the music is Barlowgirl or Relient k and other worship songs. I think the most important thing is to make sure that the music or tv you expose yourself is not in any way detremental to your Christian walk.
I do not agree that experiencing the world is sin (depending) , I think allowing the world to permeate the important aspects of your life is where it becomes dangerous.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I think that when you have an addiction to something like video games, your ipod, television, or something like that, it could be pulling you away from Christ, I can understand how it can pull you away because it has happened to me. Me and my brother Jes, used to sneak into my sisters room ( who was at college) and get on her TV to play video games for at least two hours, also, after we were all done with school (we homeschool.) we wouls practicly BEG my mom to get on our gameboy DS. By now, we both have sold ALL of our video games to the local gamestore. my friends still bring their DS to church all the time. I don’t like video games at all anymore. I now know that they will pull you away from Christ and you would not be focused on anything accept beating your brand new mario game. My sister still plays some video games at school, but not much at all.
-Eavan
April 17th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Is that toilet real? if so SICK. It apalls me that someone would use electronics that much.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 am
that was some great points guys! keep up the good work.
by the way I have to agree, that toilet thing was WEIRD. =/
good illustration though.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Hi! My name is Naomi. I have been homeschooled all of my life and I live at home with my Mom and Dad and 10 other siblings. (None of us are adopted.)
I agree that it is wise to be careful of what you watch, read, and listen to. And be careful in your choosing of the friends that you hang out with. All of the above should be pleasing to God. The devil can use some media to try to shake our faith and to tempt us into doing things that are wrong. The bible says:
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
-James 4:7 ESV
May 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
I don’t know why, but I really want that toilet!
May 6th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
you guys are so cool. I saw you in Portland. I loved how you could just get up in frount of all the people there. I have a bible club at a High School. it’s my last year in High school. I loved that you guy where able to put all this together and that you did it, your making the world a different place. even if you have to take showers .
May 17th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Geez I never thought of it that way that that junk is kinda destroying happyness….
May 30th, 2008 at 8:47 am
That was one thought that struck home. I never really thought about that in that depth. I have always heard that the junk we put in our head becomes us. But I never put it as being a friend. Wow. But how do we break away from stuff we have already put into our heads with the media and other stuff? How can we more focus on Christ?
May 30th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
It’s so easy to compromise in what you allow to be your non-human friends sometimes. This post really opened my eyes. I’d never seen that Scripture that way before.
Stephen F: I think one way you break away is by making a conscious effort to do so, then saturating your life with the Word, same way you stop eating chocolate and start eating more fruit. Try and let everywhere you turn be a reminder or instruction from the Lord. It’s really cool
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
this post sorday makes me think of myself my brother my sister and the rest of my familey and freinds. it’s true all we think about is electronics
June 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hey!
I think that it’s great that I’m not alone in thinking that what we do with our electronics makes a difference. Lot’s of people who ‘claim’ to be Christian walk away from church on sunday, crank up the radio and drive away listening to what I think is inapropriet. We really should think more about WHAT we choose to hang out with.
Great post and keep them coming!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Awesome post.You”re right electronics have taken over our lives.The person who invented the ipod probably didn’t know what the results would be.
June 26th, 2008 at 6:13 am
You guys are awesome! I love your website and I agree with what you wrote. We need to guard ourselves from the dangers of the world, but that doesn’t mean we should hide in the basement. Paul says to be in the world but not of the world. And I love the verse Naomi referred to.
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
July 11th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Alex and Brett are right. We live in a media-saturated world. Not that media itself is bad, it’s just some of the stuff the media is throwing in our faces. Who knows what will happen when someone invents a next-generation TV or iPod. But you have to notice something: that the iPod is called an iPod, not an usPod. People are being isolated by the media, and we need to steer clear of that isolation.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Wow! This really is neat! I now realize how much I rely on my Mp3 Player. Whenever it’s quiet on a trip with my family, I immediately turn it on, or become “plugged in” as my dad calls it. I really should be spending time with my mom, dad, and little sis, instead of being selfish and ignoring them so I can enjoy my time with my music. I love music, and it’s a part of me, so I know I can’t desert it completely, but I realize that I need to “chill” a bit and not absorb myself in it too much or too often.
Thanks so much for this article guys!
Katie Nofsinger
July 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am
this is a great article- i love the whole rebulution website, tours, and the book Do Hard Things. It’s really awesome. I rely on my iPod nano to get away from my little brother and sometimes my parents, and no matter how hard i try. I almost always have it on for at least two hours a day! It’s agravating, but I know that there are people out there who don’t socialize, listen to it 24/7 and watch all the junk that the media puts out there or listens to music that is just gross. I really wish everyone could read articles like these and see how wrong alot of things are now adays that the media promotes.
thanks for all the great articles and for all you’re doing for this. it’s amazing.
July 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
WOW! I’m could never imagine how media, electronics, etc. could be peoples’ friends. My dad uses my iPod when he goes to the gym so he doesnt have to listen to the unpure sounds of the world. When i just need to relaxe i turn on my iPod and when i’m upset or mad at a member of my family.
thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for all of the articles you right!
God bless you.
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Yes your right my Ipod is my best friend. .. when im with my cousin in her car and shes listening to some kind of music thats all like oh im gonna beat you with my gun .. i put it on or when im at home.. i listen to it.. i put it on to block out all the worldly things.. yeah i have some miley cyrus on my ipod but thats about it..when i need to push in to God when things are rough around my i turn to my music which is on my ipod.i usually put on like barlow girl and then go read some devotions and just pray .. my ipod is my best friend but Jesus is an even Better one..
In his amazing name
Tabitha
August 9th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hey guys!
I just got home from my churches youth group video confrence on this book! And wow, when I heard and saw the things you said on this subject I realized you are right! I have been a child for so long of such a disfunctional family I turned to music as a way out and I LOVE music its like a best friend to me really! I dont trust people, especially because of a recent thing that happened like yesterday, now my trust level is so low, your book is also challanging me in that area.lol. Well anyway, I wrote some lyrics for a song my youth group is soon to start working on to perfeorm and I think you might be interested in seeing the lyrics because they are from what this book brought from my heart! I thank you so much for it too! And now I am even getting my once, “myyspace only” blog into a public one for people to comment, i have been wanting to get so much out and now I see how I can do it, and thanks to you I feel so….so overfilled with such emotion as I find myself posting pictures of the book around our city and people have asked me about it and wow. things have certaintly gotten so much better!
~Monica~
August 15th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
that is WAYY interesting… i think you guys are amazing.. im reading your “do hard things” book right now and im really inspired… Thanks guys.. keep it coming
August 24th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I really like this article because it speaks to me a lot. I went through a period of time where I really didn’t have any friends. So I constantly listened to music as a replacement and the music was violent and it affected me in a deeper way than any person ever did. I really know what it means when you say that media and other things like that can influence us just like people. I have recently rededicated my life to God and I changed myself and I even had to cut off or improve some relationships I had with other violent or sinful people but it still wasn’t enough. I still listened to that kind of music and it really does get into your head. About a week or two ago I realized that I needed to change this too so I deleted all secular music off my Ipod, I stopped watching some of the TV shows I used to enjoy and it has been very difficult because they had been such a huge part of my life for so long. But the rewards from God for doing so have just been amazing! I don’t remember a time when I was ever happier. So if you are trying to change for God don’t stop with your relationships with other people. Truly look at all aspects of your life and realize what you need to change. God will help you with the rest if you ask. Also thanks guys. I started reading you book shortly after I began making all these changes and it has really helped me and encouraged me not to give up! Keep writing! =]
September 9th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
AMEN
September 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
wut up joe
September 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
nothin much, u?
September 9th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
not much, rough day at school, u wanna bake some **nis cookies
September 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
ok maybe later, catch u on the flipside, p.s. you got a sister
September 19th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Stephen -
I know u posted a while back, but I didn’t see any answers to your questions. And just so happens, I may have one that will help. (my answer comes from personal experience) Fill your mind with God’s Word. Meditate on it. When I say may “meditate” I don’t mean sitting cross legged on the floor with your hands out. No,; actually think about what it says, not just read it, and ask God to take away the thoughts u had before, and replace them with ones that are pure before Him. I praying that you will defeat these thoughts.
In Christ.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
wow. i’ve never really thought of things (not ppl) as “bad companions” You guys are so right! its amazing these things that i’ve never even thought about pop up on this blog and totally opens my eyes. thank u so much for these amazing articles!
October 24th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
You guys are right on the dot. But I really didn’t realize it until now.
You Guys Rock and GOD Bless!
October 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
wow this is amazingly true….i never realized until i read this how much time we spend on entertainment and how much influence it has in our lives- time that we should be spending w/God and let Him be our influence. thanks for sharing this…it really got my attention!
i wasn’t allowed to have an iPod until i turned 14…i was always upset that i couldn’t have one when all my friends did but I’m so glad that my parents saw what happens to kids who live in their own “world” w/iPods– and waited until i was responsible enough to know what to do with my time.
thanks again for sharing this
October 29th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
love your book. every once in a while i just read it again i myself don’t have an ipod and im fine i just listen to a lot of air 1:) its a great Christian radio station
November 1st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
i think its totally true and its very scary road the world is heading down. i own a i-pod but i don’t really listen to it much