Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

I don’t know where you fall on the whole “glass half full, glass half empty” continuum, but I have been thinking about it lately especially in the context of this miserable series of 35-degrees and raining days we’re in the middle of here in Wake Forest.

I looked out of the window at breakfast to see this beautiful pair of Cardinals sitting in a tree, seeming to play in the rain – glass half full. And I noticed how the branches glistened, creating patterns we never see in the summer – glass half full.

Believe!

Then an alert on my phone showed me the “Play of the Day” email from All-Pro-Dad and it was an article recycled from three years ago titled Attitude is Everything. The byline is yours truly and it highlights a great quote from Rebekah.

The idea – the difference between naïveté and belief – is one I have written and talked about in several contexts. Rebekah and I do not live positively because we are naïve, we engage the world from the perspective of applied belief!

Not vague optimism predicated on wishful thinking, but specific faith rooted in hope and promise. Remember the discussion of how belief becomes faith when we put it into action? Well living this way is an act of faith. Faith cannot be naïveté because faith is by definition belief in action.

This morning another manuscript proposal was rejected by my publisher. That’s two in a row now after six successfully published books. But you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to dance in the rain like my friends the family of Cardinals. Why? Because not only do I believe, I am going to put that belief into action and make my next move based on faith.

Naïveté? I don’t think so – DEREK