The Friday Four, Part 70

~1~

More of #11, please.  And I prefer hot cocoa in #14.

Yup.  Pretty darn close.

~2~

I personally have absolutely no desire to ever run a marathon.  My couch-to-5k experiment last summer was sufficient for me.  But I admire those who do it.  Especially 91-year-old women who have run 15 marathons in the past 16 years and break records.

~3~

My sister and I went to the Neon Trees concert this past Tuesday at the Knitting Factory.  We ate in the District Bar right next door beforehand.  The food was decent, though the service was slow, but we got to go in before all the other ticketholders and snagged our favorite spot - at a table with chairs! - on a raised area to the side.  It was a great, great show!

Every concert I've been to at the Knitting Factory I've had trouble understanding the opening acts.  I don't know if it's a sound issue with the venue or if the opening acts just aren't as good, but there was such a huge difference between their performances and when Neon Trees came on stage.

~4~

This meme is a paraphrase from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk, "Come, Join with Us" from October 2013.  His words were balm to my soul and to many others as well.

Some might ask, “But what about my doubts?”

It’s natural to have questions—the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great oak of understanding. There are few members of the Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled with serious or sensitive questions. One of the purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the seed of faith—even in the sometimes sandy soil of doubt and uncertainty. Faith is to hope for things which are not seen but which are true...

Some might say, “I just don’t fit in with you people in the Church.”

If you could see into our hearts, you would probably find that you fit in better than you suppose. You might be surprised to find that we have yearnings and struggles and hopes similar to yours. Your background or upbringing might seem different from what you perceive in many Latter-day Saints, but that could be a blessing. Brothers and sisters, dear friends, we need your unique talents and perspectives. The diversity of persons and peoples all around the globe is a strength of this Church...

...None of us is quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin. With our heart and soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

If these are your desires, then regardless of your circumstances, your personal history, or the strength of your testimony, there is room for you in this Church. Come, join with us!

I sincerely hope and pray that our actions bear out the truth of these beautiful, inclusive words.