Media Matters: Part 1
Welcome to 2025 Tirzah! This year I was praying and God put on my heart to do some articles discussing the meaning of social media, internet, and influence to all of you. In this era, we live in a tech world. It’s been called both the worst and the best. I, personally, think the internet is one of the greatest tools to spread the Gospel. Join me on this year-long adventure to discuss WHY media matters!
Why media matters to me begins with my graduate school years. I was sitting in my parent’s house doing what I always do. Scrolling through all the latest and greatest Christian blogs that existed online. At this point, I’d been blogging and helping promote Christian authors since I was 16 years old! I loved it because they gave me free books, sent me cool gifts, and I even once had a character named after me. I was a bookworm who lived in lands far, far away.
This time, though, I found another bookworm who had a different focus. It was another girl looking for friends. She grew up in the church, loved books, and was getting her master’s too. In an effort to make Christian friends, she started this little blog called “Tirzah”. Maybe you’ve heard of it? This woman was looking for people to write and assist her!
That day I applied to be a writer and submitted my first article. This nerdy, shy girl wrote her first article about why she learned so much about Jesus from her best friends - preschoolers! I didn’t know that day why the media would matter so much to me. Now, I look back and don’t know who I would be without God orchestrating so many details, through the internet, in my life.
When I look back, that moment became a pivotal one to my future. I kept writing articles and a position opened to be associate editor of Tirzah. After that, it moved to managing editor. Let me tell you a secret though - it was not glamorous! We were doing this for fun, and so since day 1, Yelena, some other young women, and myself, have provided the bulk of the money to provide the url and everything else you need for the media. In other words, I was excited to take a job where I got to give away all my money and work lol.
The next thing I did on this list of wise decisions was decide to hop in a car and meet a stranger from the internet. Everyone should try this because that’s what the internet is for, right? (TOTALLY kidding…one of these months of media matters, I will discuss the importance of verifying people’s identities before driving hours to meet strangers on the internet). That adventure changed the trajectory of my life even more.
I’ll continue this story next month, but wanted to start by saying my story is a story of how the internet became an instrument of God. This series on media matters is not to turn you away from the internet. Rather, my desire is that you learn to use it effectively and wisely for God’s Kingdom. All things can be used for God’s glory when our hearts are aligned with Him and we use His words to guide us. I hope you enjoy this humorous journey where God orchestrated so much of my life from a computer screen and taught me how He uses the most unexpected things for His glory!