Only by the grace of God, I kept my playful attitude going this week. The determination to change my perspective helped me get through a tougher week. I found some everyday play opportunities.I started with the weekly cleaning. The chore quickly became a dance party. Shine and shimmy! Play that music!

I moved to cutting costs and chemicals.  Think arts & crafts DIY-Style. So far I made fabric softener crystals, cleaning wipes, chocolate lip balm and deodorant. Some worked well: fabric softener and lip balm. The others I’m still figuring out the best recipe. Dear husband did panic a bit when I began cutting up old T-shirts {wink}. He is a good sport. {giggle}

I had to make the finances a challenge. Can I record the expenditures in my ledger and reconcile each paycheck with the bank records? I’d been putting it off through the holidays. Eight weeks of records and four paychecks are now up to date. The best part…drumroll…I only made one mistake. I transposed the numbers in the cents column once! Personal Best! {fist pump}.

What was the hardest challenge? It was this week’s appointment for a biopsy. What could be fun about that? Since receiving abnormal mammogram results several weeks ago, I’ve fought the devil’s own tool, FEAR. Fear of cancer, fear of the biopsy (never had one with a big fat needle before), fear of treatment, and the fear I may not be able to live my dreams.

Looking at the facts: The prognosis was an 80% chance of the micro-calcifications would be benign. When I got this piece of information my witty friend reminded me “…then the glass is three-quarters full.” That made me think – I’d like to take those odds to Vegas!

I decided to handle this one with strategy and rewards. Just going through the biopsy would get me my shiny prize. The strategy was to trust God to handle it and beat the devil on the head with prayer. I recognized my enemy…fear. Every time my mind went to a place of fear I started to pray. If I couldn’t think of something to talk to God about I prayed the Lord’s Prayer or just repeated “Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in you.” This meant I turned my attention from what I was comfortable with, the constant sense of fear, to walking with God again.

Here’s what I was rewarded with as I faced my enemy and sin. Yes I said my sin. Fear is a sin for me. Not the feeling. Oh no, fear is natural. It is the way fear consumes my life. Back to my point here, I was rewarded with peace. Albeit a nervous kind of peace. I don’t experience a lot of peace day-to-day. This a little foreign to me. It was peace in the everyday. The regular routine. I like this walking in the everyday with Jesus. I know the enemy and I am armed to defeat the fear. The reward is a breath of fresh peace.

Oh and the results? All of the samples were benign. I’m praising and thanking God for handling it all just as I asked him to.

Oh yeah and I also went for the Gold! As in 14 kt gold hoop earrings I’ve been wanting. I ordered them right after my nap on Tuesday! They should be here in a day or two. I’m stalking them through USPS.

I am enjoying life through the lens of a childlike eye. Finding the fun. In some ways I have to dig for it. But I promise you, as I found out this week, it’s worth it. We are worth it! I’m pretty sure (99.9%) this is on e of the reasons why Jesus said, “Amen I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” [Mark 10:15 (NABRE)]

I tentatively take his hand. Trusting, I walk with Him.

Love,

Milly