Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to all of my subscribers and anyone who stumbles upon this blog.  I’ve been blogging over a year and haven’t divulged much of my personal life.  Here are 25 random facts about me:

1. In University I used to run quite a bit.  I haven’t done it in years but am trying to get back into it.
2. I like hiking in Montana.
3. My favorite sports to watch and play are baseball, hockey, and mixed martial arts(only watch for obvious reasons).
4. For over four years, I’ve been attending the Tridentine Mass as I believe it is the fullest expression of the Christian faith.
5. I’m a huge Star Wars fan and am trying to get into the new canon of books.
6. I like to study World War II since it has shaped the modern world as it is today.
7. I grew up going to a French school where all of my courses were in French.  I spoke English at home and continue to speak both fluently.  I’ve been studying Russian for the past four years for career purposes.
8. I’ve been to over twenty European countries.  My three favorite are Finland, Sweden, and Serbia.
9. For Bible Study, I use the Douay-Rheims Bible, the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, and the New American Bible Revised Edition.  I also read the Bible in French and Russian but I do my serious Bible Study in English.
10. My University degree is in Engineering.
11. My last name is German and my paternal ancestors are Germans who lived in Eastern Europe close to Saratov in Russia.
12. My maternal ancestry is from Poland and Western Ukraine.  This is where my Catholicism comes from.
13. I think that everyone should read the book 1984 by George Orwell.
14. I love doing pro-life work and believe every Christian should help out with the movement.
15. Although most of my Catholic relatives are Byzantine Catholic, I was raised in the Roman Rite.
16. I’m a fan of Dostoyevsky.
17. In 2014, I went to the Leper Colony in Molokai and visited the Church of St. Damien the Leper.
18. I love learning about Vikings.
19. I like watching movies and sometimes I dabble in the idea of becoming a film critic.
20. This year, my Bible study goals are to greatly improve my knowledge of the five books of Moses, Isaiah, Acts and Revelation.
21. I think that gold is a great investment.
22. I have never been and have no desire to go to Las Vegas.
23. I want to go to Ukraine and Belarus more than any other country.
24. I’ve kept a diary since 2009.
25. I’m currently reading: Orthodox Christianity: The History and Canonical Structure of the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, who is the Archbishop of Volokolamsk in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Now you know a bit more about me.  God bless!