When my children were small, they loved A.A. Milne's books about Winnie-the-Pooh. They especially loved Tigger for his bounciness. I love Tigger's attitude—that life is fun and things will turn out for the best. He's the original cartoon positive thinker.

These days, many of us tend to think like Tigger's nemesis, Eeyore, who started almost every sentence with "oh, no."

We're living in times more financially difficult than anyone under the age of 70 or so can probably remember. It seems every week we hear about another company going out of business or laying off thousands of workers. My church has had layoffs as well which has been difficult, to say the least. Upwards of 25 percent of U.S. homeowners are "upside down" on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than the house is worth. Our lives feel uncertain. Anxiety has become normal.

Ordinarily I'm an optimist. I see the glass half or even three-quarters full. Of course, I married a guy ...