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Optimism is defined by Webster as the belief that good will prevail and cheerful hopefulness. When we are prepared for change the change is not as frightening and can be challenging and fun. God’s changes in our life are always for our good .
Faith is defined by Webster as unflagging trust; belief without firm proof; belief in a Supreme Being; fidelity. As we trust in God our faith grows.
Can we have faith without optimism or optimism without Faith?

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the glass half full or half empty? Somebody said that optimists invented the airplane, but a pessimist invented the parachute. “Blessed is the Man Who Remains Steadfast”:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown
of life, which God has promised to those who love him.  (James 1 : 12 – ESV)

Some people complain about Autumn. They hate to rake the leaves. They have to prepare the house for winter. The weather fluctuates so much between hot days and cold days no one knows what to wear or how to dress the kids for school.  Autumn means Winter will come very soon.  Many think Autumn is a time of leaves dying and leaving bare trees for a dismal landscape where winter is cold and bitter and dead.

What?? Just look at the colors of those leaves!  The brilliant reds, rich maroons, 

neon oranges, chartreuse, grass greens, emerald greens, flaming yellows, fiery oranges majestic purples, rust, and  chocolate browns. My favorite trees have all the colors and look like painter’s palates ready to bring the rest of the trees to blazing life. The evergreens provide a background which makes the Fall colors even more vibrant. What a breathtakingly beautiful season!

As for those leaves to rake, leave them there to enjoy as an Autumn blanket of many colors. Then be a kid again and jump into the pile. Or use a mulching blade on the mower and use the leaves to feed the lawn.

By making us get the house ready for Winter, Autumn is forcing us to do something which helps keep your house comfortable and safe and cheaper to heat. It also helps us attend to little problems so they don’t become big expensive ones.  In Autumn there are many days when we don’t have to use air conditioning or heat J

We should take the time to enjoy the exhilarating chilly-sunny days of Autumn, with its collage of colored leaves, pumpkins, chrysanthemums, geraniums, Fall festivals, football games, and Thanksgiving dinner.

And Fall and Winter bring Spring with its promises of new life and new beginnings, and the warm luxurious days of Summer. God gives us such reminders of His incredible love for us. We should enjoy them. We truly have much to be thankful for and optimistic about.

Optimists are healthier, happier, more productive, less accident prone, are more successful in school, relationships, work, and life, and they live longer than pessimists.

Studies show that people with strong faith and especially those with a strong social support of other believers show these same characteristics. No wonder. Can you have optimism without faith or faith without optimism?

SCRIPTURE

“Ask And You Will Receive”: And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  (Luke 11 : 9-10 – ESV)

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever, amen.  (Psalm 23 : 1 – 6 – ESV)

Don’t Worry”:
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you  (Matthew 6 : 25-33 – ESV)