<div>Two friends--one an optimist and the other a pessimist--could never quite agree on any topic of discussion. One day the optimist decided he had found a good way to pull his friend out of his continually pessimistic way of thinking.</div> <div> </div> <div>The optimist owned a hunting dog that could walk on water. His plan? Take the pessimist and the dog out duck hunting in a boat. They got out into the middle of the lake, and the optimist shot down a duck. The dog immediately walked across the water, retrieved the duck, and walked back to the boat.</div> <div> </div> <div>The optimist looked at his pessimistic friend and said, "What do you think about that?" The pessimist replied, "That dog can't swim, can he?"</div> <div> </div> <div>Some people are like that, you know. The glass is always half empty to them. They always see the down side of things, and they have a way of bringing everybody else down with them. What's even worse, many of those people are Christians, which is almost a contradiction in terms.</div> <div> </div> <div>If there's anybody on the planet who should have a hope-filled, positive perspective, it's believers. We who are saved by our faith should live by it, and faith, by definition, believes in the possibilities of what God can and will do.</div> <div> </div> <div>So, how about you? Are your words filled with promise and possibility, or with negativism and frustration? Do you rejoice in all that is good, or complain about what's not? Do you see water-walkers or non-swimmers? Half full, of half empty? The choice, quite frankly, is up to you.</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>Here's hoping you experience the God of peace in all that you do this week, and that those around you notice His hope oozing out of your life on every side, no matter the circumstances. I'm praying for you, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.</div> <div><em>--Pastor Ken</em></div> <p>]]</p>