Did you know that an average U.S. citizen spends 3,700 hours a year watching some form of mass media? That’s a little over five months!

At last month’s InterHigh Monthly, we learned facts such as this as we excitedly witnessed once again over 160 students flocking from all over northern California to attend, as well as a group that drove four hours all the way from Fresno!

The night started with a talk on the influence of media, as we watched a video created by Focus on the Family titled “Mind Over Media” discussing the subtle effects of music, movies and the Internet. Although people will often say that media has little impact on the decisions they make in their lives or that blaming media is a cop out, the video showed otherwise, stating that media has a significant role in affecting the mindsets of viewers, such as the example of Ted Bundy. We were called to keep a critical eye on the mediums we take in, and to live out more noble, pure, and admirable lives as Christians as Philippians 4:8 calls us to do.

Afterwards, we had a delicious nutritional supplement of chicken and meatball bakes with carrots and ranch, and then headed into our high-intensity game time with eager anticipation.  What surprise would this week’s game hold?  I’m not sure how to describe it, but let’s just say it included everything from whipped cream bubblegum digging, an event referred to as “Spirit of the Flamingo” and demonstrations of strength including one handed push ups and sitting on imaginary chairs while holding a chair!  Tons of laughter and much expended energy later, we needed a slight break, but of course, an InterHigh session wouldn’t be complete without a time of exhilarating praise and worship.

Lastly, we ended the night with a session from Pastor Will on the age-old question of “What Is True Love?” We discovered that it’s not Troy and Gabriella in “High School Musical”, Aladdin and Jasmine in “Aladdin”, or even Wesley and Buttercup from “The Princess Bride”.  We even saw a video clip from the last example, and the awfully long stares, overly sappy dialogue and a fading shot of the sunset was enough to gross us out from the media’s example of true love, but we were further told that true love isn’t this kind of romance, but God’s love.  With Valentine’s Day coming up, Pastor Will exhorted us not to spend time feeling lonely or hoping for that special someone, but to seek out true love from God and to express that love to others.

We ended the night with a time of sharing and prayer in small groups, reenergized for another month of tackling the pressures of teenage life.

Praise the Lord for InterHigh Monthly #4 as it was a blessed time!  Looking forward to Rise on April 17 with William Lane Craig and eagerly waiting for the next InterHigh Monthly on February 27!