Fast As I Can

At Whit's End, everyone is trying a weeklong fast - and not just from food. Matthew gives up computers, Connie stops styling her hair and wearing makeup, Wooton swears off junk food, and Eugene vows to speak only words of two syllables... right before his big speech at a science conference. Temptation lurks everywhere: computers pop up even inside the Imagination Station, and Wooton's mail route is lined with snacks. One by one they find a way through, as Matthew starts writing letters by hand and Wooton prays for a name from the phone book every time his stomach growls. Connie, annoyed that nobody notices her plain new look, discovers her fast has uncovered a vanity problem instead of hunger. By week's end, Eugene's short-word speech wins over the scientists, a handwritten letter brightens Matthew's aunt's whole day - and a runaway duck named Gertrude waddles straight into the Moses display.

Found on Cause and Effect Album 52 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 3 0665 The Jubilee Singers A Fisk choir and their determined director set out on a perilous tour to sing their school out of debt, facing hostility and hardship at every stop.

3 of 3 0666 The Jubilee Singers With Fisk University on the brink of collapse, a weary group of student singers must decide whether to keep performing on a grueling tour that has cost them their health, their dignity, and nearly all hope.

1 of 2 0667 The Mystery of the Clock Tower When City Hall's computerized clock mysteriously keeps resetting itself to 11:45, Eugene's investigation uncovers black roses, a warning note, and a twenty-year-old secret someone in Odyssey has kept hidden.

2 of 2 0668 The Mystery of the Clock Tower When a mysterious countdown on Odyssey's clock tower grips the whole town, Whit and Eugene must untangle black roses, a buried family secret, and a trail of clues that all point somewhere a little too neatly.

0669 Wooton's Broken Pencil Show When Connie steps away from her Kids' Radio show to deal with a blaring car alarm, Wooton takes the microphone and improvises his way toward answering whether entertainment really needs a point.

0670 Stage Fright When an eerie voice haunts the theater during rehearsals for their middle school musical, Emily and Matthew must unmask the phantom before fear shuts down the show.

0671 Fast As I Can When Whit explains the spiritual discipline of fasting, the Whit's End gang each give up something they love for a week - and discover their sacrifices are far harder, and stranger, than expected.

0672 Opposite Day On school Spirit Week's Opposite Day, Olivia's game of doing everything backward lands her in a friendship she never meant to start - while Barrett discovers his five hundred online friends may not add up to much.

0673 The Owlnapping When the Odyssey Owls' beloved mascot vanishes before a critical stretch of games, team captain Ryan must decide whether to chase a ransom-demanding kidnapper or convince his superstitious teammates that their luck was never in a stuffed bird.

0674 Square One When Matthew is invited into a secret club of boys who take machines apart to see how they work, one broken promise puts his new friendships - and a rare pinball machine - on the line.

0675 A Thankstaking Story When an ice storm strands Whit and his friends at Whit's End on Thanksgiving, they pass the time by inventing a tale about villains scheming to steal the holiday from a cheerful town.

0676 An Agreeable Nanny A polished new babysitter seems to agree with everything the Parker kids want - which turns out to be exactly the problem.

0677 The Malted Milkball Falcon A church fundraiser turns into an all-night mystery when the candy prize at the center of a rock-a-thon vanishes without a trace.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

Mrs. Randolph Chris Anthony Thomas Jefferson Will Ryan Guy in Audience Rudy Haerr Spiritual Disciplines Display Will Ryan Mr. Romer Gary Clemmer

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer Marshal Younger Writer Dave Arnold Director · Executive Producer Christopher Diehl Sound Designer Bob Hoose Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Whit prepares interactive displays about spiritual disciplines such as prayer, solitude, Bible study, and fasting. Matthew struggles to understand why Moses, Jesus, and others in Scripture deliberately went without food. Whit explains that fasting means setting aside something the body enjoys so a person can focus more fully on God, especially while preparing for an important task or decision.

Whit has given up reading newspapers and uses that time for prayer and Bible study. Connie, Eugene, Matthew, and Wooton decide to try weeklong fasts of their own. Matthew gives up the computers he normally uses, Connie stops styling her hair and wearing makeup, Eugene limits himself to words of two syllables so he cannot display his vocabulary, and Wooton abandons unhealthy food.

Each choice becomes harder than expected. Computers seem to surround Matthew everywhere, and even an Imagination Station visit to Thomas Jefferson's time fills with modern technology because Matthew cannot stop thinking about it. Whit redirects him toward pen and paper, and Matthew begins writing personal letters to people he knows.

Wooton sees tempting food all along his mail route. Connie suggests praying whenever he thinks about junk food, but his first prayers merely list everything he cannot eat. A telephone directory gives him a better focus: each time hunger distracts him, he chooses a name and prays for that person's needs. The practice deepens old friendships and begins a new prayer network.

Connie becomes irritated that no one notices her unstyled appearance. She eventually realizes that demanding attention for looking unprimped is every bit as vain as demanding attention for looking polished. Her fast exposes the attitude she needs to change.

Eugene's restriction collides with a keynote speech at a science conference. He fears that explaining complicated ideas with short words will make him sound foolish. Whit introduces the unusual speech as an exercise in making scientific ideas clear and accessible. The audience responds warmly, although an unexpected question-and-answer session forces Eugene into some awkward verbal gymnastics.

At the end of the week, Matthew learns that a handwritten letter has brightened his aunt's day and wants to keep writing. Wooton's prayers have helped him care more attentively for the people on his route. Connie has confronted her vanity, and Eugene admits that his panic kept him from using much of his fast well, even though the speech succeeded.

Whit discovers that he hardly misses the news and has gained insight for the displays. As he demonstrates the completed scenes, an unexplained quacking sound returns. Wooton finds his wandering duck Gertrude inside the Moses display, bringing the week of spiritual discipline to a suitably disorderly close.