On Hold

Another five weeks have passed since I spent any time blogging. I suppose that I would prefer to only write on the blog when I have something noteworthy, something that people would actually like to read, something that speaks about actual mission work or about some sort of spiritual progress or epiphany on my part, occurs. I have decided that I should abandon the hope of only writing about thrilling or inspiring subjects because my life isn't all that exciting right now, and I don't want this to be a stagnant, neglected blog, no matter how boring. After all, I don't want you to give up reading now while my life is steeped in ennui and end up missing out on all of the things I will write about God's amazing work while I'm in the Czech Republic.

The most noteworthy things in my life lately: I've read some C.S. Lewis. That maybe doesn't sound too noteworthy, but for me, Lewis has a refreshing way of writing about God that reminds me of just how Big and Wonderful He is. It was good for me to read The Great Divorce. I highly recommend it. It was only about 150 pages and I read it in about three hours.
I have been getting fairly regular exercise, something I find vital to my sanity. It is so wonderful to go running through town, jogging to TobyMac, and just burning off all my pent-up energy. I also have spent time traveling on the weekends: a weekend in Ames, IA with my best friend Sandi, last weekend in Kearney with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law watching the cranes, and this coming weekend a trip to St. Paul, MN for the wedding of my dear, dear friend Elise.

I finally sent out my first missionary newsletter last week. Most of the information contained therein can also be found in this blog. However, if you would like to receive my newsletter, please email me at ashley.effken@lcms.org indicating as much.