There was once this optimistic farmer who couldn't wait to greet each new day with a resounding, "Good morning, God!" He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, "Good God. Morning?" They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she saw problems. What brought him satisfaction, brought her discontentment.

One bright morning he exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful sky! Did you ever see such a glorious sunrise?"

"Yeah," she countered. "It'll probably get so hot the crops will scorch!"

During an afternoon shower, he commented, "Isn't this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today!"

"And if it doesn't stop before too long," came the sour reply, "we'll wish we'd taken out flood insurance on the crops!" And so it went.

Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in this hardened woman, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible feats which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform.

"Fetch!" he commanded, as he tossed a stick into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked ON the water, and retrieved it.

"What do you think of that?" he asked, smiling.

"Hmmm," she frowned. "Can't swim, can he?"

I believe that attitudes are the world's most communicative diseases. They can be as catching as any known virus. And when negative and cynical, they can be just as deadly.

But a stubbornly positive attitude can often make the difference between happiness and misery, between health and illness and even between life and death. Once infected, you'll never be the same.

PRAYER:

Father, I ask you to bless those reading this right now. I am asking you to minister to their spirit at this very moment.

Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.

Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability to work through them.

Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, patience, and strength as they learn submission to Your leading.

Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.

Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them your courage.

Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them.

Give each of them discernment to recognize the evil forces around them, and reveal to them the power they have In You to defeat it.

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.