How to beat the economic slump

Americans are having a difficult time financially these days. You wouldn't know it by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which keeps hitting new highs. But we know it by the sagging retail sales, by foreclosures on homes, by the subprime problem, by people who took out adjustable rate mortgages that they couldn't afford.

Edwin Louis Cole wrote a column in 2001 about what he thought was necessary to beating an economic slump: God. Cole encourages us to slow down, listen to God, and "only fight the battles God has given you to win."

Cole also recommends that we reach out to others who have been in difficult situations before for help. I think Cole's plan pretty much sums up God's plan for successful lives -- depend on God, and depend on each other.