Today I chose to have a good day. It was not as if everything was going perfectly. In fact there were a number of small irritating things that popped up. I was tempted to let those irritations set the agenda for the whole day, but I decided that I could choose how I would view my day. It is a lesson I learned from my father-in-law. Dad was by nature prone to be depressive and had a mother who could see the dark side of any cloud. For her there was no silver lining. My father-in-law transcended all of that and chose to be positive and lived out that choice. He benefitted by his faith and the sermons and writings of Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking). I have benefited by his example. Some days can be overwhelming but most of the time I know that I can choose what kind of day I will have. The circumstances of any day doesn’t determine my response. I can choose to be positive. My faith helps me in this. While I acknowledge the stresses and difficulties, pains and problems of this life I know that the grace and love of God gives me a reason to choose hope and even on the difficult days.