Very thought-provoking entry. So many people I know are in "survival Christianity" mode. (I'm actually not sure what mode I'm in, but I'm working on it.)

I'm also fascinated that you can speak any Russian at all. I lived in a dominantly Russian neighborhood (in Massachusetts) for about 15 years and always kicked myself that I let my high school teachers talk me out of taking it as my foreign language credit. They insisted it was too impractical. =\