Mars Hill Grad. School

I am trying to make decisions about whether to finish my Master's in 2009 or 2010. I just got a new job working as a clinician at a mental health counseling center in Lynnwood , WA, which is pretty sweet, but it is a full time job 36+ hours a week, which will be a full plate with classes next year. I could go more slowly through my Master's degree (yet I've already been working on it for 2 full years), just taking one class next fall, and delay my internship till the fall of 2009, but that seems so s-l-o-w to me. The good thing would be that it would allow me to possibly do an acting class along the way or do some research (which will beef up my Psy.D application). But the thought of not graduating for two years... that kills me.

Things have been complicated because my school, Mars Hill Graduate School, is in the midst of getting its regional accreditation which is a pretty big deal for licensure and being able to transfer in credits to a Psy.D program. The projected date for that is 2010, but no one knows for sure. And chances are, with being such a young school, they may not get approved right away. And if that's the case, that would be really depressing to have waited just for nothing... that would also mean that my degree would have taken 4.5 years to complete. Ick. That is way too long for a Master's degree. Part of me would just hurry up already and get this degree DONE, and take a year break between my Master's and Psy.D. I could do my research and acting class then. 

It's just been stressful to think about. Joel and I are going to check some Psy. D/ Ph.D schools out in CA in three weeks , and for a while I thought I might just quit Mars Hill and just apply directly to the Psy.D... but that doesn't seem wise to me, after all I've invested. It would be sad to leave Seattle with nothing to show for all the time I've spent in school (since that's the reason we came out here in the first place).

We're really praying about discernment. It just feels so crazy right now. I feel peace about finishing out Mars Hill, though. For my own sake and sanity, I need to finish what I started.