Tag Archives: study

My Daughter Mary

Posted in Cancer, Family, Healing, My thoughts, Thoughtful Thursday by

Today is a special day of celebration for the Mc Cauley family. Mary received a Consultant post in Medicine.

She had an interview before a panel of eight professionals for the post of a Consultant this afternoon. I encouraged her. Surely all the years of education, dedication and sacrifice will come through for you on the day. Her hands have been a safe pair of hands to receive many new born babies from their mothers’ wombs whether by natural birth or by Caesarian.

Later this evening she received a phone call to tell her she was successful. She is now a Consultant Obstetrician, specialising in Maternal Multimorbity. Congratulations Mary.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago when Mary got a toy stethescope for Christmas. She listened in to other’s heartbeat. At the age of nine a prophet came to stay with us. His name is John Paul Jackson. He spoke into all the children’s lives then. He prophesied that Mary would do Medicine and Research.

Mary passed all her school exams and was accepted to do Medicine at Aberdeen University. She spent one year out of the six years there doing research.

John Paul Jackson was visiting Aberdeen. Mary saw a notice about him speaking at a local church. She remembered him staying with us. This is ten years on. Mary attended the meeting. John Paul picked her out again and prophesied into her life to encourage her. Later on he asked if she was Brendan Mc Cauley’s daughter. He asked her what did he prophesy to her back then. She said you prophesied I would do Medicine and Research. He asked what are you doing here. She told him she was doing Medicine and Research.

Mary’s faith in God took off after this divine encounter. She knows and believes prophetic words are very important. Those words many years before helped her when the going got tough.

I did not realise that it takes many years of training to qualify to be a Consultant. She has her own story to tell of her own difficulties to get to today. I’m very proud of my daughter. She is faithful to God. He has been with her through many trials and temptations.

I especially want to thank Mary for her support to me before, during and after my journey with fourth stage cancer. She continues to be a blessing to all of her family.

Bird Watching Again.

Posted in Birds, Family, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts by

I’m telling my children who are returning for Christmas to make sure they bring warm hats and gloves. No we are not going skiing. I’m planning to go Bird Watching instead of Christmas shopping. I have plenty of binoculars to share and I am blessed to live by the an inland sea Lough which invites many birds to stop a while. I will not have to organize a long journey. There is a variety of bird life nearby.

I am being restored in my mind and body as I take time beside still waters as Psalm 23 says.

He leads me beside still waters to restore my soul.

I discovered a group of birds I had not encountered before yesterday. They were a delight to watch. I was happy to look at these birds for a while. God too is taking pleasure in his creation.
I was reading today from Revelation 4 v 8 to 11

8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created everything,
And it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.

When I returned home I got out my bird books. Brendan has bought me quite a few over the years. I looked up my favorite one. It gives pictures and descriptions of the most common birds found on our shores. There were all kinds of birds, ducks, geese, swans, sea gulls, oystercatchers, and waders but there was no sign of my discovery. I looked through another. It must have been bought in America. No luck here either.

At last I picked up a hard backed book with a picture on the front. At last. There on the front cover was my new discovery, a bird with a few feathers sticking up from its crown, a Lapwing.

image

According to the book the lapwing has green feathers on his back and wings. I was not close enough to see the green colour of the back wings. His underbody is white. The lapwing gather is flocks. When one takes flight they all do. Their black under feathers make up a full wing span and aides it to spin, twist and dive in flight.
This bird is distinctive because of the tuft of feathers on his head.

Yesterday this group of lapwings were resting along the shore. They were within easy sight as the full tide allowed the water to come up near the bank. They were well camouflaged amid the stones and seaweed on the shore.

I didn’t have my binoculars or note book with me. I will make sure we are fully equipped for our nature study day at Christmas time. Who knows what other residents or visitors to our Irish shores I will find when I next go bird watching.
It will not cost us money. There will be no temptation to overspend or visit coffee shops. Just a flask and a few nibbles will help the bird watchers to endure. They will enjoy it so much; a welcome change from work and study. Time to breathe fresh air, slow down and hang out together like the birds. Time to heal and be restored. A time for peace.