laupäev, jaanuar 21, 2006
Has this blog jumped the shark?
You know when you're talking to somebody on the phone, and you don't really have anything to talk about, and then the subject turns to the WEATHER, and you know it's really time to just make up some excuse to hang up? Well, is that what has happened to our blog (and our sister site, "The Chronicles of Chris")? In TV terms, it's called jumping the shark, and it's not a pretty sight! What has happened to all the interesting essays about Wiping Away the Blackness?
I think it's time to start thinking about some things we DON'T miss about America, after all this talk of central heating and cheesesteaks!
One thing I'm very grateful that God spared us from was watching the second season of "Joan of Arcadia". It was SO good the first season (we really want it on DVD -- a little over $40 at Amazon.com -- hint, hint!) but it certainly did Jump the Shark the second season. (How was that for a smooth transition?)
The truth of the matter is, there's been a whole bunch of stuff on our minds that we haven't been at liberty to talk about, and it's hard to write about other things when there's this one thing that you're thinking about pretty much all the time. On December 5th it was announced at the officers' Christmas party that it was probably going to be the Wittenberg family's last Christmas in Estonia, and on January 17th they flew back to America! It's not like being in USA East; when something happens with one of us here in Estonia, it really does in very practical ways affect everyone else.
So stay tuned; on Valentine's Day (which is also Karl-Gustav's birthday!) we promise to disclose everything that we have been worrying about!
In the meantime: please pray that we would stop worrying! It's a big waste of time and energy, as everyone knows, but very difficult to avoid doing.
"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)
When my mother was dying, I kept reminding myself not to "borrow trouble" -- not to get stressed out and upset about something that hadn't even happened yet, just to stay in the moment and take things one day at a time, as they say in AA!
When we were in Chester, this was very easy for me to do, as I had a thousand things to concentrate on at once (or so it seemed), so I could just turn my attention from one seemingly-unsolvable problem to a dozen things that I could actually do something about. This even made my sister think I had breast cancer or something awful happening at one point, because I just refused to get my feathers ruffled and always said, "I have bigger things to worry about!"
But here, our focus is very specific, and there are no distractions. That is a good thing, in many respects. But it means I can't retreat into busyness to take my mind off things.
As Chris says, my toes are froze, so I'd better shut up now.
Evelyn
I think it's time to start thinking about some things we DON'T miss about America, after all this talk of central heating and cheesesteaks!
One thing I'm very grateful that God spared us from was watching the second season of "Joan of Arcadia". It was SO good the first season (we really want it on DVD -- a little over $40 at Amazon.com -- hint, hint!) but it certainly did Jump the Shark the second season. (How was that for a smooth transition?)
The truth of the matter is, there's been a whole bunch of stuff on our minds that we haven't been at liberty to talk about, and it's hard to write about other things when there's this one thing that you're thinking about pretty much all the time. On December 5th it was announced at the officers' Christmas party that it was probably going to be the Wittenberg family's last Christmas in Estonia, and on January 17th they flew back to America! It's not like being in USA East; when something happens with one of us here in Estonia, it really does in very practical ways affect everyone else.
So stay tuned; on Valentine's Day (which is also Karl-Gustav's birthday!) we promise to disclose everything that we have been worrying about!
In the meantime: please pray that we would stop worrying! It's a big waste of time and energy, as everyone knows, but very difficult to avoid doing.
"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)
When my mother was dying, I kept reminding myself not to "borrow trouble" -- not to get stressed out and upset about something that hadn't even happened yet, just to stay in the moment and take things one day at a time, as they say in AA!
When we were in Chester, this was very easy for me to do, as I had a thousand things to concentrate on at once (or so it seemed), so I could just turn my attention from one seemingly-unsolvable problem to a dozen things that I could actually do something about. This even made my sister think I had breast cancer or something awful happening at one point, because I just refused to get my feathers ruffled and always said, "I have bigger things to worry about!"
But here, our focus is very specific, and there are no distractions. That is a good thing, in many respects. But it means I can't retreat into busyness to take my mind off things.
As Chris says, my toes are froze, so I'd better shut up now.
Evelyn
