The Praiseworthy Project - 30 Days of Choosing What's Beautiful

At the beginning of August, I decided to try an experiment.

The experiment was pretty simple. For 30 days, I wouldn't consume a lot of the secular media that I enjoyed. It was during summer break, and I've been wasting a lot of my time on entertainment—and I wasn't being very careful about what kind of entertainment it was.

Why did I do this? Well, because I wanted to see what would happen.

My hypothesis was that the passive entertainment that we consume on a daily basis affects us more than we think. We read and watch so many things that aren't necessarily sinful but that aren't from a Christian perspective, and the ideas soak into our brain.

I wondered how this affects us. And I wondered what would happen if I did something different.

I called it the Praiseworthy Project after Philippians 4:8 – "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Today I'm going to talk about what I learned, and also give a list of some of the resources that I found helpful (some of which you guys sent me—thank you!) during the month.

 

What I learned

Overall, I'd say that the month went quite well.

I learned that even though it seems like there's not much good Christian media out there, there is. And it's really good when you can find it.

So many times, I was blessed by something I listened to, read, or watched. And it just wasn't something I got elsewhere.

Another thing: I thought I was going to be bored, but I wasn't. We don't need to watch bad stuff. We just don't. Having experienced life without the secular content that I used to read, I can honestly say that I haven't really missed it.

 

Did I succeed?

Eh... partially. 

I accomplished what I set out to accomplish. I tested what it would be like to take a month off, and I found out.

That's not to say that I did it perfectly. There are a lot of things I'd do differently next time around—like make sure the books I read are God-honoring, too, instead of passing all books off as okay—and I did still waste a lot of time.

But also, I learned a lot! About myself, about entertainment, about the Bible, and about God. Turns out a lot of Christian content creators have some awesome things to say. 

Who'd have thought?

 

Top 5 Resources

And—the moment you've been waiting for—here are my favorite resources I enjoyed.

 

1. Youtube - FarAwayDistance, The Bible Project

FarAwayDistance has "videos about Jesus," in Becca Elizabeth Bowen's own words. The channel geared more towards girls, but I'm sure that the gentleman can benefit from them too! 

And I always enjoyed videos by the Bible project ever since we watched them in my school theology class, and they're quite illuminating in their own right. The drawings are engaging, and it's talking about the Bible—how can you go wrong?

(It also explains confusing things about books of the Bible very clearly, and I've learned a lot from them. Check out their video on Jude. Like, Jude is confusing, guys.)

 

2. 30 Minutes With the Perrys

This podcast is hosted by Preston and Jackie Hill Perry (author of Gay Girl, Good God and Holier Than Thou). It's so much fun to listen to, and even though I'm usually not much of a podcast girl, I have enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's engaging, fun, and extremely profound—they tackle hard topics with maturity and humility, and they always go back to the Bible.

 

3. This Messy Thing Called Life blog

Rue Arrow is a missionary kid in Africa who runs a wonderful blog called This Messy Thing Called Life. I'd highly recommend you check her articles out—they're so thoughtful and encouraging, and I've loved reading them.

 

4. The Star That Always Stays

I feel like a book recommendation is a little different than the fast-paced modern entertainment that we're all used to, but no matter! It is entertainment nonetheless.

The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson is a wonderful book. The best books always make me cry, and this one is no exception. 

I hate spoilers, but read it. Read it. You'll be the better for it, I assure you.

 

5. Bible Memory app

Mobile games are always fun, right? You can tap on your phone you want, enjoying the little dopamine rush is, and taking a nice break from the world around you.

How about you do all that, but you memorize Bible verses instead?

The Bible Memory app does that. It feels like a game (to me, at least) and it's an excellent way to memorize Scripture. I've always struggled with memorizing Scripture outside of school, but using this app I've gotten almost all of the first chapter of James into my head in just one month!

It's free on the App Store (if you have an iPhone, at least... I'm not sure how Android apps work), and it's just called "Bible Memory." I'd definitely recommend.
 

 

So will I do this again? Probably. Some of the changes I made I plan to continue indefinitely, and I'm heading in to the months ahead with what I've learned in mind.

If you'd like to join me, then please do so! Comment your favorite Christian entertainment sources below, or email me at rosesofgrace@gmail.com. This will be a fun journey we have ahead of us.