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 Last summer, a woman posted a photo on our ward FB page: I waited a while to see if anyone else would respond.  I had just finished my year-long afghan (which I gave to Teresa) and was feeling pretty confident that I could crochet anything.  When nobody else responded, I told her that I would be willing to give it a try. Let me tell you: it's a much different thing, following a pattern and creating  a pattern.  I had looked so simple in the picture, but as I tried to reproduce it, I had problems.  I put it on the shelf (literally) for months.  Yes, I was so worried about something happening to this family heirloom that I kept it in a Ziploc baggie on a high shelf above my Polish pottery. A few weeks ago, Amy reached out to me, asking me how it was going.  I can't blame her--I'd had the thing since August.  I determined then and there that either I would have one made by the end of the week or I would give it back to her to find someone else....

I gave a talk last week in which I made several analogies between running and the gospel. I had another one happen today. I went for a 16 mile run, and a friend of mine said that there was a good loop from Oakwood that took you along the river and several trails. I headed out, sort of knowing where I was going, but thinking I could use my phone to check maps and figure it out when if i got lost. Well, apparently listening to a podcast drained my battery, leaving me with an almost dead phone and a vague idea of where i was at about 10 miles. At that point, I had a choice: run the ten miles back where I came, or trust myself to follow the vague directions I remembered and get home in less milage. I chose the latter, and while it was longer than 16, it wasn't 20. Just like my run today, if we keep pressing forward in life, trusting in the direction the Lord has provided for us, things will be okay. But that takes courage from us, which can be scary. it carries some risk when you'r...

 For several months, I have seen advertisements for "Van Gogh in Detroit".  I have also seen ads for "Immersive Van Gogh".  I knew I didn't need to be part of the immersive experience (it feels like a watered down/dumbed down exhibit), but I wasn't sure I was up to the task of taking in an actual exhibit of Van Gogh either.  So I asked my artistic child if she would like to go, and she didn't even hesitate to answer "yes". Occasionally I feel overwhelmed with the idea of doing something.  I think it comes from having done a lot of things and knowing that they aren't always as easy or as fun as they seem.  I've been to art museums before, and I always feel like I need to read about everything and give it its due course, but at the same time it's so tedious to read everything .  And having never been to the Detroit Institute of Art, I wasn't sure about traffic or parking.  Armed with my trusty girl though, I figured it would all t...