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One of my very favorite songs from one of my very favorite musicals is "Matchmaker" from The Fiddler on the Roof: As this Valentine's Day comes and goes, I believe the matchmakers of the world need a moment of recognition from many of us. This morning, I was thinking about Ethan and Rebecca, and I was once again thinking that they are such a great couple.  If God actually chooses whom we will marry, I believe he picked both of them for each other.  And in all honesty, I don't think they would have ever met each other if it weren't for Emily, Rebecca's sister.  She was the one who approached Ethan, and told him that she should ask Rebecca out on a date.  He did, and the rest is history. My thoughts then turned to Mark and Niki.  This time, a family member didn't make the suggestion, but a very loving mission president and friend stepped in and sent Mark down the best path.  He and Niki will forever owe President Clark a bit of thanks. Lest we for...

The longer I study horn here at U of Michigan, the more I feel a lot how I expect professional athletes feel in their careers. Unlike most majors in college, where study is focused on learning everything to pass exams and deal with problems you'll face in a future job, music, like sports, requires study that trains your body to respond in a very specific physical way. Sure, there's mental things you have to do, and thing you have to think about, but the people who are successful are the ones who are able to perform physically the best in a stressful situation. Learning how to and competing on the Michigan Rowing Team gave me a really interesting perspective on this. I couldn't understand how all that practice and hours of pain really amounted to just a race that lasts under 7 minutes, where all that was required was to perform the exact same stroke less than 200 times in sync with 7 other guys. It didn't seem that hard! What I've noticed though, with that experi...

This past weekend, John and I had the opportunity to meet up with our friends, the Morans, in Washington DC.  I personally had been trying to make this trip since the middle of December, and we had changed the weekend a couple of times.  No matter, because everything finally came together. We had a wonderful time, especially in light of how lousy things have been going for John and me lately.  The whole being-released-from-seminary mess has been a heavy burden to bear, and at times it feels like it's all that John and I can think about.  So, getting away was a perfect solution. Of course, going to the temple wouldn't be a trip to the temple without some kind of drama.  The night before, we had received several inches of snow, and the driveway was dicey at best.  Thankfully, John plowed it before he left for work.  Not thankfully, his car (which I was driving) couldn't make it back UP the driveway after I had been out running errands.  No worr...