¹Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Lovely time with my nearly 24 year-old but if you think of her, please pray for her. At a crossroads and just not sure what to do with her life. A couple very weak threads of hope for med school but nothing else.
Except she heads to the Nicaraguan jungle on Saturday for eyeglass mission trip #5–Mom has done her anti-Zika protection best. May God be glorified!
Michelle – I realize your family is full of high achievers, but wouldn’t being an EMT (which is what she is, right?) be a worthy calling (if she doesn’t get into med school)?
Michelle – I didn’t mean to suggest that she should give up the idea of med school, but that if it doesn’t work out for some reason, there is still honor in what she is currently doing.
There is honor in what she is doing, Karen (and to think, I taught her to drive myself and she saves lives doing it now!), but it does not pay a living wage for anyone really and she knows she is well gifted for more.
Indeed, they call her the PR person on the rig–she’s the one who talks to the terrified families because she can speak to their hearts in a way that calms.
She applied to medical school because she felt God wanted her to, “I’m just being obedient.” My husband and I would prefer a PA or NP job–so she can have a real life with husband and family.
But there are no boyfriends on the horizon and she’s–in my opinion–in a vulnerable spot without a close girlfriend or small group of Christians to encourage her. We’ll see what happens.
As she drove me to the airport I told her there are two sides of life and while it feels like she’s free floating right now, that also means she’s available to move when God indicates she go. Med school can call her up to the day before classes start and give her a slot (I’m half inclined to think that’s what is going to happen–and both schools would be my top picks for her anyway).
When Hillary was waiting on funding, she told me, “I hope God doesn’t act until the very end because my prayer is that it will be obvious this comes from God–if only to convince and convict all the non-believers in my family.”
This concept keeps cropping up in my own mind–and of course I told you all the stories two years ago about God swooping in to astonish us time and again with Hillary’s call.
The other thing I told her was she should find a small group, join a church, partner up with CRU at USC–which is a few blocks away from her apartment. She lives with a group of music grad students at USC. She needs to be in an encouraging group of like-minded people who will love her with God’s grace and confront her as needed.
Just like we all do! 🙂
Thanks for your prayers. The mom heart . . . never ends. 🙂
Fourteen year old daughter continues. I really don’t see much of a life for her outside of family in the future. Prayer for wisdom on how to deal with her and how to direct her.
I told eighteen year old daughter that her life work ought to be something she enjoys. And if not, then something that supports the hobbies she enjoys until the hobbies begin to pay. She likes the idea of being a jockey and understands that working as a CNA will pay for it until it pays for itself. She was going to be a forensic pathologist but only because somewhere along the line she got the idea we wanted that for her. What? We were encouraging her to be what she had an interest in and that is what she thought???
Many of the docs around here are in large practices so they can have more regular hours because other docs are on schedule to cover for them.
I am thinking that the cost of living is so high in CA that she would be able to make what would be considered a reasonable salary doing that work in other areas of our nation. Not suggesting she move, but that is the issue for my brother. He is unwilling to go to where he can get work and make a reasonable living.
Medical doctors don’t have as many perks and good situations as they did in the past given their level of responsibility and vulnerability to being sued. NP or PA might be better for those reasons, but the title of Doctor still carries more prestige. It all depends on priorities.
Hubby has prostate cancer. Not sure what will happen next but the way our “luck’ is running we are looking for a lawyer to get the Kid taken care of if the worse happens in both cases.
Kbells – You may remember that Lee has prostate cancer. He has had it for about 11 years now. It has been a roller coaster of emotion at times, with the treatment working, then the PSA skyrocketing again, then treatment working again.
Depending on when it is caught, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence (at least, not for a long while). In Lee’s case, his PSA was so high initially that the doctor knew that it had probably already spread from the prostate, so his prostate was not removed, but he had radiation on it.
KBells, a few years ago I heard, and I don’t know how true this is, that “if a man lives long enough, it’s pretty much a certainty that he will get prostate cancer.” The issue is more what type it is and so forth; some (for example) grow so slowly they hardly qualify as cancer at all.
Wandering Views 
Lovely time with my nearly 24 year-old but if you think of her, please pray for her. At a crossroads and just not sure what to do with her life. A couple very weak threads of hope for med school but nothing else.
Except she heads to the Nicaraguan jungle on Saturday for eyeglass mission trip #5–Mom has done her anti-Zika protection best. May God be glorified!
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Michelle – I realize your family is full of high achievers, but wouldn’t being an EMT (which is what she is, right?) be a worthy calling (if she doesn’t get into med school)?
Praying God will give her clear direction.
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Mr P will have the permanent stimulator installed on July 12th. I am praying this gives him the relief he deserves.
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I have every confidence she’ll get into med school. 🙂 She’s delightful and beautiful, it was so good to meet her at last — praying!
(And I have to say I was amazed at how you two literally changed clothes right there in the church parking lot)
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Michelle – I didn’t mean to suggest that she should give up the idea of med school, but that if it doesn’t work out for some reason, there is still honor in what she is currently doing.
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There is honor in what she is doing, Karen (and to think, I taught her to drive myself and she saves lives doing it now!), but it does not pay a living wage for anyone really and she knows she is well gifted for more.
Indeed, they call her the PR person on the rig–she’s the one who talks to the terrified families because she can speak to their hearts in a way that calms.
She applied to medical school because she felt God wanted her to, “I’m just being obedient.” My husband and I would prefer a PA or NP job–so she can have a real life with husband and family.
But there are no boyfriends on the horizon and she’s–in my opinion–in a vulnerable spot without a close girlfriend or small group of Christians to encourage her. We’ll see what happens.
As she drove me to the airport I told her there are two sides of life and while it feels like she’s free floating right now, that also means she’s available to move when God indicates she go. Med school can call her up to the day before classes start and give her a slot (I’m half inclined to think that’s what is going to happen–and both schools would be my top picks for her anyway).
When Hillary was waiting on funding, she told me, “I hope God doesn’t act until the very end because my prayer is that it will be obvious this comes from God–if only to convince and convict all the non-believers in my family.”
This concept keeps cropping up in my own mind–and of course I told you all the stories two years ago about God swooping in to astonish us time and again with Hillary’s call.
The other thing I told her was she should find a small group, join a church, partner up with CRU at USC–which is a few blocks away from her apartment. She lives with a group of music grad students at USC. She needs to be in an encouraging group of like-minded people who will love her with God’s grace and confront her as needed.
Just like we all do! 🙂
Thanks for your prayers. The mom heart . . . never ends. 🙂
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This heart hurts. It is shattered in more ways than I ever thought would happen again.
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I am sorry and I am praying.
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So sorry, Anonymous. Sending prayers up to God & love out to you.
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Michelle – With the importance of the work they do, it is shameful they are not paid a living wage.
I know what a PA is, but what is NP stand for?
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Fourteen year old daughter continues. I really don’t see much of a life for her outside of family in the future. Prayer for wisdom on how to deal with her and how to direct her.
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What “does” it stand for, not what “is” it stand for.
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Nurse practitioner?
I told eighteen year old daughter that her life work ought to be something she enjoys. And if not, then something that supports the hobbies she enjoys until the hobbies begin to pay. She likes the idea of being a jockey and understands that working as a CNA will pay for it until it pays for itself. She was going to be a forensic pathologist but only because somewhere along the line she got the idea we wanted that for her. What? We were encouraging her to be what she had an interest in and that is what she thought???
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Oh, yeah – Nurse Practitioner! Thanks for reminding me, Mumsee.
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Many of the docs around here are in large practices so they can have more regular hours because other docs are on schedule to cover for them.
I am thinking that the cost of living is so high in CA that she would be able to make what would be considered a reasonable salary doing that work in other areas of our nation. Not suggesting she move, but that is the issue for my brother. He is unwilling to go to where he can get work and make a reasonable living.
Medical doctors don’t have as many perks and good situations as they did in the past given their level of responsibility and vulnerability to being sued. NP or PA might be better for those reasons, but the title of Doctor still carries more prestige. It all depends on priorities.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has been my experience recently that PA’s and NP’s do the most real doctoring these days with less of the debt and headache.
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Hubby has prostate cancer. Not sure what will happen next but the way our “luck’ is running we are looking for a lawyer to get the Kid taken care of if the worse happens in both cases.
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I’m sorry to hear that. Praying for you, your husband, and son KBells.
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Oh, KBells, I am so sorry. All of you are in my prayers.
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Kbells – You may remember that Lee has prostate cancer. He has had it for about 11 years now. It has been a roller coaster of emotion at times, with the treatment working, then the PSA skyrocketing again, then treatment working again.
Depending on when it is caught, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence (at least, not for a long while). In Lee’s case, his PSA was so high initially that the doctor knew that it had probably already spread from the prostate, so his prostate was not removed, but he had radiation on it.
Will be praying for both of you.
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Praying
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Praying Kbells…. ❤
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Wow, KBells!! Praying for your family.
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KBells, a few years ago I heard, and I don’t know how true this is, that “if a man lives long enough, it’s pretty much a certainty that he will get prostate cancer.” The issue is more what type it is and so forth; some (for example) grow so slowly they hardly qualify as cancer at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person