sierra21

Okay sorry to jump into this discussion so late. The thing that drew me was your heading "Unanswered prayer". The truth is, there is no unanswered prayers. Sometimes God says "Yes", and sometimes God says "No". He has answered you, but maybe not in the way that you'd hoped. Or maybe the answer is Yes, but not in the way that you think. This sort of question to God isn't a simple one, and requires a lot of prayer to find out what He is trying to tell you. Maybe you'll have another baby, but just not right now. Or maybe you'll never have another baby a couple years from now. Or maybe God desires that you take in a child that isn't yours....maybe fostering a child? Or maybe he wants you to adopt? I wouldn't ignore this longing to have another child, but just keep in mind that God doesn't always want us to have more children, he could just want you to take care of someone elses? Pray pray pray....God will reveal his plan to you. And be patient! God Bless you!

Okay, a couple years ago I felt a lot like you stichy. I dated a lot of men, and none of them were right. There were a few that I thought were, but ended up being REALLY wrong for me. I got so tired of it so one day I just said to God: "I'm tired of looking for the right guy, so until you decided to bring him to ME, I'm just going to be single and do whatever you want me to." In less than two weeks I had TWO guys who wanted me. They were both very great men and I eventually began to date one of them and 5 months later he was my husband. We've been married for almost 2 years and we are EXTREMELY happy. So my advice is this: Give it up to God. Let HIM bring the man to YOU. Because not only is looking for "MR. RIGHT" exhausting, but it can also just be a plain waste of time. Enjoy being who you are and live for God. Trust me, in no time you won't have a second to yourself (ie. wailing babies lol) and you'll long for the alone time you're enjoying right now! Think Positive, and Pray POSITIVE!

My doctor told me that there's no such thing as a true nasal decongestant. He said the best thing was to take a hot shower and put saline solution in your nostrils. Sleep with your head elevated and have a cool mist humidifier running in your bedroom. I did this throughout my pregnancy and it really works. For a bad cough put vicks on the soles of your feet, put warm socks on, and you won't cough all night. It sounds weird, but actually works. Also putting a little vicks under your nose can help you feel less congested. On your chest isn't a bad idea either.

Well the meeting didnt go as I'd hoped. The foster parents are good people, but do not put up with drugs in their home (who can blame them really). So I will place her in a new foster home on monday. It's not my first choice as it is esentially a group home, so I will likely move her again once I find a better place for her. *Sigh*.....this job can be really hard sometimes.

Very neat!

As most of you know I'm a social worker. I'm having a lot of trouble with one of my 16 year old girls (she is a temporary ward due to behaviour problems-drinking, smoking up and having sex). She was at a foster home that was working out but a younger girl moved in there which somehow stirred things up. Long story short, she ran away this afternoon and didn't come back to the foster parents place for 6 hours. The foster parent is convinced that she is doing drugs and wants her moved by monday. There has also been rumours that she has been bring drugs from her home community into the foster parents community and selling it. I have tried so many different methods of trying to get through to this girl- I've been nice, I've been tough, I've been understanding....and I'm really at my wits end. Some workers would probably just take her out of care because she's too much trouble but I just feel like there's something about this girl..... God is telling me to help her, but I am seriously out of ideas. I see something in this girl, I'm not sure what it is, but I don't see it in any of my other wards. She's different, and I believe she is so on the line of becoming a good person, but I don't know how to guide her into the right direction. I've spent so many hours praying on this...but nothing is coming to me. I know that I won't give up on her, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any ideas? The last thing I want to do is make a mistake and push this girl away which could result in terrible things. How do you show love toward someone, but also (for lack of a better term) "give them crap" for what they've done. Discipline is really hard to enforce with these kids because they don't understand what it is. They don't understand that we discipline because we LOVE. They just see it as "mean" and go the other way. Anyways, if anyone has any ideas I'm going to talk to her tomorrow in the afternoon. The foster parents are also upset and I wish that I could somehow patch up this placement (though I don't have high hopes). If you don't have any advice, could you at least just say a prayer that direction might be revealed to me? Thanks everyone.

Thanks everyone for the replies! Very helpful!

Okay so some of you know that I'm a social worker. You might also know that I live and work on a native reserve (and yes, it's a native-run agency, which means native culture and traditions is 'somewhat' expected of its workers). Of course I don't participate in those traditions (when I have to be present I take that time to pray for those around me). But at times it can be very trying to be one of the only christians in an agency of over 400 people. Anyways, a lot of times I am tearing out my hair with frustration and sadness for those I work with. I pray a lot, but having a couple of sheets of encouraging scripture right in front of me at all times would be really helpful. So I could spend a week searching through the bible, or I could ask my fellow worthyboardians for some assistance!!?? Any encouraging scripture that's helped you through tough times in the past? I appreciate all responses! Love you guys!!

Yes, from the stories I'm hearing I think the best we can do is pray. It's awful that some parents just dont "get it". My parents would never allow that behaviour and the consequences would have been TOUGH if I had disobeyed. I knew that and made a concious decision not to take part in any of that junk. I'm VERY glad I didn't.....

Okay I recently saw some picture of my sixteen year old cousin on facebook. She was with her friends and they were all drinking, in very age-innappropriate clothing, and obviously drunk! There were boys and girls together, and no adults to be seen anywhere. When I talked to her about it she couldn't understand why I was so upset. She said her mom knew and was okay with it as long as she doesn't drive. I couldn't believe that but when I talked to her mom (my aunt) she said the same thing! She feels that they're going to do it anyway, so you may as well be aware of it so that you can control it. I asked her how she could control it if there was no adult supervision and she just shrugged her shoulders and walked away! Is this seriously how parents are raising their kids today??! I would be EMBARRASSED if my child was doing what my cousin is doing, nevermind taking pictures and practically gloating about doing it! How do we approach this?? I know that she isn't my child, but she is my family, and somehow this just doesn't seem right. I am a social worker on a first nations reserve and if I got a referral of a similar situation, it is likely the teenager would be coming into care because the parent is failing to provide adequate care. I almost want to call CFS in that area and let them know because that is a child protection issue- the mother knows whats going on and either doesn't care enough to deal with it, or is truly allowing this VERY unsafe behaviour! What are your thoughts? Am I overreacting or???

TOday I had a good day. I learned that saying "NO" helps. I was helping other people with their work when I just don't have the time to do it. I also asked the receptionist to do some things for me (even though I really hate that because I know she has stuff to do too....but then part of her job is to help us out so oh well I guess). I had someone make an appointment and when they were 10 minutes late I just decided to go and get my other stuff done instead of waiting around. IF they can't be responsible enough to show up on time then they're just going to have to learn the hard way. Waiting around for people is a waste of my time....as mean as that sounds...but SERIOUSLY.

How do you cope when you're at work and it seems like you have a million things to do and not nearly enough time to do it?? And I work in social services...so if I forget to do something, or just don't have the time to do it, it may mean that someone doesn't get the services they need, or the fiancial support that they're entitled to....which may be crucial to their family's well-being!

I've found the old saying "less is more" to be quite insightful. It applies to conversation, makeup, and junkfood.

When my husband backed into a telephone pole (lol he still gets embarrassed when I bring it up) last year with our old car we took it to an autobody repair place and they told us we'd have to repaint the entire bumper. The scratch on our car looked very similar to the scratch on your vehicle. He quoted us $400. We asked how much it would be to do just the part of the bumper that was scratched and he said there was no point really because he had to take it all off and whatnot and it just made more sense to do the entire thing. We didn't end up doing it because we bought a new vehicle a month later and traded the old one in. But since its a lexus, I would for sure go to a lexus dealership and have them deal with it there. Then at least you know you'll get the right paint. I've been bumped into twice with my old car and both times the bumper was replaced it was never the right color because they had to try and match the paint. It drove me insane. lol since you have that nice tax return you might be able to afford the repair eh

Okay. When I was 18 I went to a college bar with my boyfriend at the time. I had a couple drinks, but nothing major. All of a sudden I started feeling really drunk and sick and I told my boyfriend I needed to go home. So he walked me home and I was just completely out of it. I kind of remember it, but it was hazy. When I got home I threw up and then passed out. I still don't know if I was slipped something in my drink, but my reaction to those 3 drinks was very uncharacteristic (at the time I drank A LOT). So I dunno, I think in bars they should cover your drinks with something like they have in fast food restaurants so that someone has to go to a lot more work to try and slip you something...but that's just me. Staying out of bars entirely is of course an even better solution to the problem...but try telling that to teens...