In the name of Jesus Christ I bind my body, soul and spirit to the will and purposes of God. I bind myself to the truth of God. I bind myself to the awareness of the power of the blood of Jesus working in my life everyday. I bind my mind to the mind of Christ that I can have the thoughts, purposes and feelings of His heart in me. I bind my feet to the paths Father that you have ordained for me to walk, that my steps will be strong and steady. I bind myself to the works of the cross with all its mercy, truth, love, power, forgiveness and dying to self.
In the name of Jesus Christ I bind the strong man and I loose his hold on everything he has ever stolen from me. Father I loose any stronghold in my life.
The Daily Encourager sent me this today. I thought it worthwhile sharing.
I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. This is my annual \”Guilt Trip.\”
No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town. As I checked into the \”Last Resort\” Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year\’s most important event… the annual \”Pity Party.\”
I wasn\’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there. First, there would be the \”Done\” family; you know, \”Should Have,\” \”Would Have\” and \”Could Have.\” Then came the \”I Had\” family. You probably know old \”Wish\” and his clan. Of course, the \”Opportunities\” family; \”Missed and Lost,\” would be present. The biggest family there would be the \”Yesterday\’s.\”
There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share. Of course, \”Shattered Dreams\” would surely make and appearance. \”It\’s Their Fault\” family would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly applauded by the \”Don\’t Blame Me\” and \”I Couldn\’t Help It\” committee.
To make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full well there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and subsequent \”pity parties\” COULD be canceled by ME!
I started to realize that I did not have to be there. And I didn\’t have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN\’T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as being encouraging.
Knowing this, I left Regret City immediately, and didn\’t leave a forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I\’ve made in the past? YES! But there is no way to undo them. So, if you\’re planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel all those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: \”Starting Again.\”
I like it so much that I made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, the \”Been Forgiven\” and the \”We\’re Saved\” are so very helpful. By the way, you don\’t have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either. That load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. Just thank God for salvation.
If you need directions, just look in your Bible and enter by \”Grace Way.\” No taxes or other cost. God\’s Son paid the price, in full, for all sins and transgressions, a long time ago. Look me up if you\’re ready for a total change in your life. I now live on \”His Will Way.\”
Sincerely, \”Born Again
In the article in \”Vroue Keur\” on social workers the heading is the \”kindervangers\” - the child-catchers and it is with a deep disappointment and some frustration that I read the heading and the article. The article points at some deficiency in the social work service delivering system.
The article has two sections. In the first section the stories of two mothers have been told. The two social workers involved did not comment. And I am glad. We should not throw stones. On face value, it seems that there could have been communication problems. It is every social worker\’s duty to do everything in her might to return a child to her mother if circumstances permit. Something went wrong and the mother\’s visiting rights have been suspended. In practice this very seldom happens and only for a very good reason.
The ideal relationship between the foster mother and the biological mother should be one of goodwill, in which case the foster mother and the social worker will agree to visiting times suitable to the biological mother. The biological mother should not feel threatened by foster placement, she should see it as a help situation. If the roles are correctly fullfilled and understood, the mother and foster mother could become professional friends, respecting each other to ensure the well-being of the child. It is not clear why the mother did not visit the child for a whole year. Why did she not continue visiting her child in the social worker\’s office? Family re-unification is a process and the parent must co-operate. There are too many facts missing in the story of the mother. I would like to know what the outcome will be if Jo could go to the social worker and say to her \”I have pulled myself together, I am a responsible person, I have my child\’s well-being at heart, help me get my child back. I will give all the co-operation needed. Give me time to visit my child at the foster parent and get to know her and then please consider returning her to my care\”.
What concerns me, are the statements in the seond section, that social workers have too much work and cannot deliver the service needed. As a result of the work overload it is said, it then happens that a child is unnecesarrily being removed. I cannot agree with that statement. This should be the exception and not the rule. I hope the statement is not a referral to Jo\’s case because too little information is available. Many people are involved in the removal of a child, the social worker, her supervisonr, the canalising officer (in some areas) and/or a panel. If the family preservation model is being followed there would also have been a family/community conference. The final decision lies by the Commissioner of Child Welfare. In the hearing the parent gets a chance to state her case and the social worker must convince the Commissioner that the mother is not in a positionn to care for her child. A care plan is then formulated, put into place and every effort must be made to place the child back within two years.
The article gives the idea that because of too much work, mistakes are being made. It is not a good reflection on social wokers and their services. I wonder what my fellow social workers have to say.