How will you choose to live?

Time flies when you are having fun! I often wonder if this statement is really true.... because, for what it is worth, time flies whether you are having fun or not. The big question is......Are you willing to have fun with it? Perhaps I have shared this story before, but I had a professor in college who often said to me, "Life is like a roller coaster......you can either spend the ride screaming out of fear...or sit back, throw up your hands, and enjoy it."

Many times in my short life I have come back to this statement. It is so very true. Life is made up of choices. How will we choose?

I am naturally a pessimistic person. It has taken me years to just get to the point in life that I currently find myself to be able to consider happy thoughts about each and every circumstance that comes my way. Oh, there are times that I still find myself dwelling on the problem before coming to the choice and perspective stage. But I can honestly say I have come to live my life one day at a time---doing my best to choose the optimistic perspective. I definitely know when I choose to be negative. I enjoy it for a day, then get back to reality. Life is what you make of it. Life is how you choose to see it. Life is a gift that God meant to be all about HIM. We have to choose to look up to him. We have to choose to acknowledge the hope of His promises. We have to choose to walk optimistically by FAITH. Oh, it doesn't mean life will be a bed of roses with no trials, no bad thoughts, no unhappy endings, no painful memories, no regrets. But when we look up and forward, failures tend to become stepping stones to a successful life in Christ.

I look back over this past year. Time really did fly up here at Northland. I miss the kids already---and summer break has just started. But I find myself thankful for the time I have from May to August to actually sit back and think about this past year. Really, my life is and has been so simple. I kinda like it. So different from the swirl of Chicago. However, simple does not equal easy. Oh, this past year has had its hardaches and trials. But I find myself so often saying to myself, "That's just life." The older I get, and the more I settle down into a perspective of "what does God have in this", the more life seems bearable. Not easy, but livable because of hope, because of His promises. Because of HIM. And it stops there----there doesn't have to be a reason, a reward, a repayment. It just makes life simple.

These are my thoughts today. I know there will be day when I need to read this blog over and over for the reminder. But I hope I can continue to live inside the little saying by one of my favorite people up here, our Chancellor: We would be a whole lot better off if we spend time talking to ourselves, rather than listening to ourselves.

So what is the secret to having fun on this roller coaster ride of life? Well, how will you choose to live? Will you enjoy the ride for what it is, for what God allowed it to be? Or will you hold back with fear and despair? It is a choice, you know..............each and every moment of the day.