I can DRAW NEAR to him when I see that beautiful moon shining brightly in the dark blue early morning sky. I want to DRAW NEAR to him when I find myself worried about many things. When my feelings have been hurt or I have felt offended, I find him inviting me to run to him, to DRAW NEAR. I know he welcomes me when I feel angry or when anxieties threaten to overwhelm me.

How we think and how we talk to ourselves has everything to do with the house (the life) in which we reside. Our thoughts affect how we view ourselves and the world we live in, how we feel, interact and react. The "walls" of our interior life can be plastered with wallpaper made of thankfulness and joy, or, in contrast, posters of anger, fear, and bitterness.

I marvel at the power of a bowl of homemade soup, especially when the weather is cold. I try to keep my latest soup-creation in our refrigerator, always ready to be warmed up for lunch or a quick dinner. My mother made a delicious vegetable beef soup which was always ready for us when we walked in the door after our long drive to see her. Even when they were in their eighties, Brian’s parents used to stir up the same Lipton Noodle Soup almost every day for lunch. I guess we come by our love of soup naturally.

Three years old, I found myself awake in the middle of the night. Not in my own room, I wanted to leave. But after walking around and around the room, searching with my little arms outstretched, the door just couldn’t be found! So I cried out. Immediately the hallway light came on and as I hurried to the top of the stairs, I discovered my dad running up the stairs to rescue me from the darkness.

Some days the box contained large round golden melons, the kind that just melt in your mouth with a sweetness not found anywhere but straight from the garden. Being a summer joy, we’d eat them for breakfast everyday for weeks.