GerdaHannah

Hi Neighbour, The trouble here is that we practice Christianity/prayer/love for Jesus at home, we just cannot get baptized due to a lot of other troubles. I wanted my son to have the exposure to prayer and faith at school also. In contrast, my Catholic friends do not even pray. But because they have the baptism certificate, their kids get in. I would have been okay with being rejected if they had spoken to us, even over phone and asked us if we intended to have a similar prayer atmosphere at home. We were rejected right off the bat just because we were not baptized. Whereas my friends kids who just had a non-practising Catholic parent got in. I am not blaming their intent - they want people who are truly invested in Christ. I am only questioning their methods - deciding to take a student in based on a piece of paper instead of finding out if the family truly worships the Lord doesn't seem ok to me.

Thankyou teddy, unfortunately I cannot afford the fees. Maybe someday if my son qualifies for a scholarship, we will get in.

Hi, I had to deal with yet another setback today. I live in Toronto with my son, and we have 2 types of school here - regular public school and Catholic public school. I tried to get my son into Catholic Public School so that he will have exposure to prayer and have a faith based education. Turns out, one of the parents or the child has to be Catholic, and I cannot convert to one because my son will be taken away. And I do not want to be coerced into converting anyway, because a piece of paper doesn't decide my relationship with God. I am pretty upset and angry. I have Catholic friends who do not even pray and are completely worldly, and their kids get a chance at a faith based education, but my son won't. I am almost tempted to give up Christianity altogether if this is the way people are. I am doing everything I can to join a good group of Christians, but everywhere we go, we get kicked out. I do not know how much more I can take being excluded before giving up religion altogether. Thanks, GerdaHannah

Hi, I am a single mom. I have a lot of issues going on in my life - son's health, not a lot of money, no emotional support etc. I find myself praying all the time - a good thing, except that I am scared to focus on anything else, even work. I am scared that if I stop praying, God will not deal with my problems and bless me. I don't know how to fully explain it - I somehow feel that unless I am constantly petitioning God, He will not bless me and my son. How do I overcome this? What I really want to do is tell God something like - 'Lord, I have focus on work right now. Please take care of me and my son, I will pray again once I have finished my work'. I am unable to do this for two reasons - one is I am hardly able to fully focus because there is constant noise around me. Two is even if I manage to focus and pray, I do not completely believe God will take care. ((In hindsight, I realise my decisions were wrong. Marriage is not for me. I would have been much happier with God and a job. But now that I've a son, I have to take up the responsibility.)) Thanks GerdaHannah

Yes debp. That is what happened. When I asked for child support, both the lawyer+spouse said you ask for child support, but you won't give child custody. Ultimately I gave up and said I did not want child support, but my spouse can meet my son once a week in my presence. I checked in Canada as well, and it's the same. Everyone pushes for 50 50 custody.

@Debp Raise your child as you wish in the Lord. I wish there was a scripture that stated this, it would clear up so much of confusion. please continue praying for my ex spouse to convert, and for my son's health. What he has missed in his womb, let him grow and make up outside.

I had a small win on Saturday. I mentioned in passing to my ex spouse that my son and I go to church (so that my son can take part in activities). He did not say anything, and thankfully did not forbid me. Please pray that he must convert to Christianity. That way,no matter where we are, my son and I can serve the Lord.

Thankyou, that is very practical advice. 1) I do not need my ex spouse permission (even in things concerning my son). - Is there a Bible verse that supports this? 2) if I keep my faith (and my son's faith) in the Lord a secret, is it a sin?

I wish I could stay here 😔. Unfortunately the health system is overburdened here, and my son is not getting the care he needs. He needs to meet a lot of specialists, but hasn't met anyone yet. We cannot pay to get care either because health care is fully government funded. Is there a verse that says I need not obey my spouse even in things concerning my son? If so, I would be so relieved. Does he not need to know about my son eating meat or being a Christian? Does my ex spouse have authority over my son?

I wish I could stay here. Unfortunately, the Canadian health system is under a lot of stress right now with very few doctors. It is fully government funded, and there is no parallel private practice, so I cannot even pay for the private care. My son recently got the flu + penumonia, and we got emergency care only after his oxygen levels dropped and he couldn't breathe. Aso, the courts here push for 50-50 custody. I've spoken to an attorney here, and they said that since my ex spouse did not directly harm the child, he is eligible for custody. Nothing he did against me, or even interfering in my son's diet counts since it is his 'right'. Even in India, my spouse let me get custody only because I have up child support. All that said, I mentioned to my spouse that we go to church for a few activities. Either he overlooked it or did not hear, but he did not forbid me. So that is a win for now. Please, if you find time, pray for his conversion to Christianity. That way,no matter where my son and I live, we can serve the Lord.

My spouse has done worse things than restricting my son's diet. He took my money and hasn't given it back yet, he tried to hit my mom, he threatened me with a knife. Unfortunately all this counts against custody only if he has directly harmed the child, which he is too smart to do. As for eating meat, padeatricians never insist on eating meat - they even say the child can be a vegan (not eat even milk products). The problem is if my son eats meat, he has a wider range of foods to choose from, so he eats better. If it is just vegetarian food, he has a smaller variety, so he eats less and his health doesn't improve.

Yes, he was iugr + premature+ low birth weight mainly because I was stressed out and malnourished during pregnancy. My spouse forbid me eating meat, even eggs. I could not keep any vegetarian food down.

Yes, my lawyer told me, and I've also done reading online to confirm. I also am scared of telling him, because if he forbids me to give my son meat or not teach him Christianity, it will be a direct disobedience. Please pray for me - it will really help. All I want is to do God's will and bring up my son as a man of God.

I live in Canada, but may be moving to India shortly for my son's health.

Thankyou John D. The only thing I really want in life is to trust in God and follow Him. I've made enough mistakes so far that I understand being practical is the way to darkness. I really wish I could withdraw from the world and spend my time in prayer all the time. The only thing that is bothering me is, as believers our duty is to lead others to the Lord. Will my actions lead my ex spouse away from the Lord? Your answer is very comforting, I will continue to seek the Lord's counsel on this.

Yes I am Christian.

Hi, I am a single mom with a son. My ex-spouse is an unbeliever. I was frequently abused, and my ex-spouse refused to take care of us when my son was born. My ex-spouse meets my son once a week in my presence. To be clear, my ex-spouse took my money and abandoned us for 1.5 years, after which I asked for a divorce and am in the process of getting one. I have 2 questions: 1) I want my son to grow up as a Christian. I cannot tell my ex-spouse this because he will either forbid me or try to take my child away. (We were married in India where if a spouse converts, the custody goes to the other spouse). 2) My spouse has always insisted I be a vegetarian. My son has health problems, (mainly poor growth and malnutrition) that can be helped if he eats meat. I know my spouse has no authority over me any longer, but does he have authority over my son? I am the sole provider, my spouse does nothing outside of meeting my son and paying for lunch once a week. Can I take these 2 decisions (bringing up my son as a Christian and giving him meat) on my own? Do I need to inform his father? What does God want me to do? Thanks, GerdaHannah

Hi, I currently live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and am looking to move to Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Is anybody living there? I need some guidance on the best location to rent/ buy. I will be grateful if you can guide me. Blessings, GerdaHannah

Hi, I recently read a book called ‘Among the sons of Seth’ by Jennifer L Armstrong. It deals with the lives of people from Adam to Noah. I found it to be interesting, I was wondering if any of you could read it and let me know what you think. It is extremely easy to read and has around 150 pages. It has a Creative Commons license, so I do not think I will violate copyrights by sharing the link. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/7991403/among-the-sons-of-seth-free-online-novels Incase the the link is not displayed above, you can google the book name + author name and easily find it. Blessings, GH

Hi, I was looking for a verse that says God answers our prayers, and I found the below verses Matthew 7, 7-11 Luke 11 9-13 Both of them talk about good gifts from the Father and praying. I noticed that Matthew 7 says 'ask', whereas Luke narrows it down to 'ask for the Holy Spirit' (verse 13). My prayer is not asking for the Holy Spirit, it is a prayer for my son. Can I follow Matthew and ask for a specific prayer request for my son, or should I ask for only the Holy Spirit? Is Matthew missing the part 'ask for the Holy Spirit' because of loss in translation? PART 2 OF THE QUESTION: Also, I was looking for a verse that says God hears and answers our prayers. But all the verses I found were directed to specific groups -either Jesus disciples, or righteous followers. I am neither a disciple nor am I righteous. My only 2 redeeming qualities are I believe in Christ, and I believe in God's mercy. Therefore I pray not because I am righteous, but because I trust in God's mercy. Do you have a verse that says God answers the prayers of all believers?

Hi, I would like to pray continuously ( every moment I am awake) for my son, and I was looking for verses that spoke about persistent prayer. I found the parable about the widow and the friend in Luke - Luke 11 and 18. But the widow was asking for justice, and Luke 11:13 says If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? My prayer for my son is not about justice or the Holy Spirit. It is about his health and general well being. My question is: Is persistent prayer allowed only to ask for justice, or to ask for the Holy spirit? Or is it to ask for anything as long as it conforms to God's will? I will really appreciate it if you can base your answer on a Bible verse. Blessings on you.

Hi Debp, thankyou for your support. Do not worry about suicide, I will absolutely not do it. I do not want to throw away the exceedingly happy eternity God has for me for my current problems. Suicide is a no-no. I think my husband and his mother might be trying to drive me out. When we bought the house we live in, I contributed a small part of the downpayment. So it could be that they do want me get out, but are unable to say it point blank. I really have no way of being sure unless they tell me. I tried talking to them about this, did not work. I wish for once they would tell me what is in their heart and what they really want. I sense that God will end all this suffering soon if I just hold out, and everything will fall into place beautifully when that happens. It is just so hard to hold out. I just wish there was someone from Toronto on worthyboards who would be able to help me. Its really hard being so lonely in this terrible situation.

Thankyou everyone. I am almost spent right now. I am stressed out enough to feel physically sick. I have a severe headache and feel nauseous all the time. All that is keeping me sane right now is repeating "Lord, Thy will be done". I just wish all this could end somehow, even if it means God must take my life for this horrible situation to end.

Thankyou everyone for your suggestions. Please pray for me.

I will look at all the options you told me. My mother wants to live with me if I am going to leave my husband, and its hard finding a roommate who will take in a senior citizen. I was desperate enough to seek out a pastor for help, but that did not improve things in anyway. I will wait patiently for God to lead me out of this.