Some of the dust settles

(in the order previously referenced)

I have an appointment for Thursday afternoon with the new doc. We'll see how that goes.

Julie is going to Guatemala! I'm so glad! After all, it is a college trip, and that was a few years ago for me. It turns out, it will be two adult men and three college gals. I hope they have a wonderful time and are a big help and encouragement to Brandon & Jenny. Thanks to everyone who supported her and/or let her use the money she had raised for Russia in order to go on this trip. (Yes, we are still going to Russia -- in May 2008.)

I've been doing a bit better on work/time management. Just taking it one moment at a time!

In order to facilitate Mark with the reading for our course, this weekend I recorded the readings for Lesson 1 on my computer. After I get closer to filling a disk, I will write it for Mark to listen to in the car. Not only does he commute about an hour one way every day, but he also often goes out to schools for computer installations that could also be an hour or more from the office. (Thankfully, he gets paid for mileage!) I really enjoy reading aloud, for some strange reason. I have read a couple of other books in the car to Mark, but right now we don't have much joint car time -- thus the CD idea. And I get my reading done in the process!

One of my blogging friends wrote about unbelief being the root of our struggles as believers. It really got me thinking. Resting in God, in the midst of whatever life brings, is probably one of the purest forms of worship I can offer. What difference does it make if I sing & shout & fall down before Him if I don't really trust Him. All of my unsettledness is just not trusting God. He is in control and knows much better than we do what is best for us. Thankfully, I have had a few favorite verses popping into mind (one from my blogging friend) as I am feeling anxious:

"Cease striving and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10
"Do not be anxious about anything..." Philippians 4:6
"...the battle is not yours but God's." 2 Chronicles 20:15

Please read the full verse in context. I just pulled out key phrases for me.

What do you have to do to make the dust settle? Stop moving! Have a restful day!

Unsettled

I'm feeling kind of unsettled lately.

First, one of my friends asked for a followup about the doctor visits of late. The thyroid scan was negative, my blood tests were normal, so no change in medication was needed there. My doc didn't volunteer to check anything else, and I'm still really tired all the time! Sometimes I think he thinks it's in my head! (As if there's anything in there!) A friend referred me to a different, less traditional doctor, both in testing and treatment. I think I'll give her a try -- when I know what I'm doing next month. (See below.)

Second, as I mentioned before, Julie & I want to go on the Guatemala trip. I have sent e-mails out asking for support, but I haven't gotten any response back (only 24 hours ago). I'm wondering if I'm not trying to force something to happen that shouldn't. But, now it is in God's hands. If the money comes in, we will go. If not, either one of us will go or neither will, and the money we have raised so far will go back to the Russia team. But I hate the waiting.

Third, I'm trying to get better on my schedule (work/sleep/life), which is hard when all you want to do is sleep. I want to put in my hours, both to be a good worker and to get paid more. And the new car payments start next month! (No pressure!)

Fourth, we're trying to squeeze in a course about missions into our busy schedule. It's an online course called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. I requires a lot of reading and listening to some lectures. We have a year to finish it. As we do this, we're also looking into missions agencies where we might be a good fit. We haven't made any contact yet, but a few look promising. It would be nice to figure out what we're going to do when we grow up!

I have to remind myself that God knows the end from the beginning. Even though I sometimes feel that life is spinning out of control, it is always in God's hands. At times like this, I have to remind myself frequently of Psalm 46:10, which in the New American Standard Bible says:

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

More Linguistic Hamburger, New Doc & Mission Trip Changes

Chief complaint: Tripping and falling with scalp laceration.

(Is that like "running with scissors?")

The patient denies any back pain when lying.

(So when he's telling the truth, he has back pain?)

I found a doc I'm going to try out. I actually discovered her online and through a friend's blog link. We'll see how it goes. I haven't made an appointment because of vehicle issues. My daughter's is in for some minor (I hope) repair.

We found out Saturday that our trip to Russia has been postponed until May 2008. I will wait to see how things shape up before I commit to continue. My daughter, on the other hand, wouldn't miss it! She'll continue on, so expect to hear more from her. Since I'm in charge of the Haiti trips, I have to make sure all those bases are covered first.

My daughter and I are going to attempt to jump onto the trip to Guatemala at the last minute. This means we'll have to raise $2000 in two weeks! They leave July 2. We are going to visit some missionaries who are former members of our church moved to Guatemala last October. They will be taking North American teams to visit their sister churches. Right now, they are getting settled and working on learning the languages - Spanish and Mam (the Mayan language).

The team going from our church in two weeks is a small group of college students going to build bunk beds for the guest house the teams will be staying in. Hey, we know our way around drills & screwdrivers! Please pray for us as we prepare to join this team.

Linguistic Hamburger

What is hamburger? Meat that has not only been butchered but ground up into an unrecognizable mass.

As a general rule, we Americans are lousy at learning languages -- even our own! I am not that surprised when I see spelling and grammatical errors in online chatting and forums. We never know what level of education folks have obtained. Nor does spelling and grammar come easily to everyone, regardless of their position or educational background.

I occasionally come across something that is very obviously wrong, redundant or just funny. And I have to share! Here are my contributions for the day:

-- from dictated medical notes (rephrased):

"PAST MEDICAL HISTORY:
The patient has a history of (a disease or condition) in the past."

"We will keep her overnight for 23-hour observation so we can watch her."

(They must work for the Department of Redundancy Department.)

-- from an author's biographical information in the back of a novel:

"She... later became the mother of three sons and an elementary school teacher."

Ouch! As my daughter said, "I hope she didn't have a ruler in her hand!"

The Key?

I have a kid who is wonderful at avoiding activities. Every time he is pressed to do an undesired activity, he is hungry, he needs a break, he needs to go to the bathroom, etc. He works harder at avoiding the activity than he would actually doing it! I can't figure out the key to motivating him!

We have tried positive and negative reinforcement -- anything from wonderfully desired rewards to withholding favorite privileges to (dare I say it?) spanking. Nothing seems to work consistently. Spanking definitely doesn't! (I wish it did!)

The thing that works best is sitting right with him and insisting he stay on task. However, this takes constant attentiveness and excessive use of time, which is not always available for this use. Any lapse in attention and he is off!

Oh, and he also has to tell you about EVERYTHING he does and discovers and makes, whether you want to hear or not.

I don't know if this is an extreme need for attention, a bad case of ADD, or just a very clever kid. But it's getting old!

Any ideas on what the key might be?

The Daily News continues

I had dinner last night with good friends, some of whom are "professional" missionaries!

My thyroid was scanned -- results pending. I found out several other friends have thyroid problems. I was also reminded that "Aging is not for sissies!"

My friend's wrist only needed a cast, not surgery, and the doctor thinks it will heal well. And I got to spend more than half the day with her!

My son went to the memorial service for his friends' mom. (I didn't find out the time until I had missed it.) He also spent time hanging out with his other friend, Juan, who had hung out with me last week.

Thought for the day -- Friends are precious! Handle them with care and spend time with them often. And don't forget to save time for your best friend, Jesus!

The Daily News

The crew got home safely from Mexico and had a great trip! My son got sick on the first work day, which really frustrated him. He doesn't know why, and he knows all the rules about drinking (what and how much). This is his fifth trip (plus two to Haiti), and he hasn't gotten sick since the first one. He missed the second day of work completely and felt the effects for the rest of the trip. I suggested to him that since we've had such a cool May, he may not have been as acclimated to the heat as previous years. But really, God only knows! He survived, and the trip was good.

He was bummed to hear about his friends' mother's death. I also told him about an adult friend's broken wrist. He replied, "Yeah, I leave and everything falls apart!"

I'm taking the broken wrist victim to a specialist on Monday. It's nice to have a vehicle to be able to do those things! I was going the same direction for a sonogram on my thyroid gland (in my neck). One side felt enlarged and was tender, so the doc wanted to check it out. He also wants me to have a sleep study since a sleep disorder can cause fatigue. I think I'll wait to see how the thyroid checks out first (and spread out the expense!).

My hubby painted the entire shed by himself today! Other than the trim work, it's done. I stayed inside and did some more sedentary work -- mostly preparing some course material for him to complete. We're taking a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement as an online course. Some of the online stuff is just a bit of reading, so I printed it out for him, deleting some irrelevant parts. We are taking this course as a preparation for missions work, should God continue to lead us that direction.

Well, that's probably more info than you wanted on my life. Maybe tomorrow I'll get deep and spiritual!