Saturating My Spirit

Have you ever said you're going to do something and ended up doing the complete opposite of what you said you were going to do? I have. I mean, lately, I've been doing it all the time. This year I said that I would start the year by doing a 30 day fast from secular music and no personal pictures -only business related pictures -on my social media sites. I read somewhere that it takes 30 days to develop a habit. Last year around this time I made the same vow -as it relates to music- and without notice I completely had no desire to listen to secular music. Months had past and I just wouldn't play secular music on my own. The only time I heard it was when I would ride in the car with my aunt and they'd play the local radio station. Other than that, everything I listened to was Christian/gospel music. Personally I have nothing against secular music. Aside from Christian/Gospel I love Pop, country, r&b, and soul to name a few genres. I'm a "words girl". I love words. I value songs with meaning; especially songs I can relate to. My music choice is pretty eclectic. I just love music. I can blast a song for hours if it has a nice instrumental. That's just me. My decision to fast from secular music is solely based on how certain types of music makes me feel. Like I've said before, I'm a words girl. I get caught up in the lyrics. Know what happens when a person gets caught up in the lyrics of a song? They begin to feel some type of way. For example, Beyonce -Resentment... I don't care how good my boyfriend and I are getting along, when this song comes on I sing it (of course, I mean who doesn't find enjoyment when singing a Beyonce song?). I mean I sing it like I wrote it lol. I begin to feel differently. I begin to get emotional lol. I'm literally laughing out loud because it's just crazy how drawn in I get when listening to certain songs. By the end of the song I'm feeling completely different than I was before I listened to the song. This summer as I watched my church's youth conference via streaming -I believe it was during one of the morning sessions when the panel of speakers/pastors would talk about real life topics - I'm not sure of what they called the session, but someone asked a question in relation to it being okay if Christians listened to secular music. Pastor Preashea's answer was so refreshing to hear because I felt the exact same way. She used the example of food and eating the right foods to nourish your body. She said something to the nature of you can't eat junk all the time. You have to eat your fruits and veggies in order to be healthy. Pastor YPJ said something to the effect that when you listen to certain songs you begin to feel a different way. I'm not sure if it was this past youth conference or another conference I heard him speak at; but he said he can't listen to Sade songs for whatever reasons... Anyway, I say all that to say, YES, They were right! In order to become strong in the spirit you have to feed your spirit man. Secular music doesn't feed your spirit, it feeds your flesh. You can't listen to Tupac or Jay-Z then go into worship. I mean you could if you wanted to -I guess- that's just not right. Seriously, I couldn't imagine listening to Pac and then trying to enter into a place of worship. I just wouldn't feel right. So as the New Year begins to flourish I've made the decision to do what it takes to continually strengthen my spirit man and do those things that will draw me closer and make me wiser when it comes to living my life for the lord. Saturday, January 10 will be the day I start my 30 day fast. I encourage you all to join in with me. Instead of listening to secular music on the radio during your down time just pop in a gospel CD, turn on a gospel radio station, pick up your bible, or play a DVD of a church sermon. To some of you this may sound boring but I always feel refreshed after hearing the word of God and singing his praises. I'm going to call this fast the "Saturating My Spirit" fast. I'll create a separate blog post with all the details and what I did to succeed the last time. This will be the first time I incorporate no personal posts on social media -I'm an Instagram junkie, y'all pray my strength lol. Anyway, it's not always about doing what you enjoy, but doing what's best for you in the long run. I just thought I'd share that with you guys and gals. I pray Gods peace and blessings over your lives. Much love!!! Xoxo Love, ChelCy