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Being a widow for almost 21 yrs is not an easy task. Along the way  there were struggles, trials and temptations I met. However, I was able to overcome them because I found peace and deliverance in submission to God’s words daily, His wonderful and everlasting love, his amazing grace, guidance and his magnificent power.

To everyone, especially all widows, I advice you to read the BIBLE daily, meditate on them, so we will be properly guided to challenge our enemies as we encounter them everyday of our lives.

This is my reading today from the book of 1 Timothy 5:3-16 about Paul’s instruction to Timothy "advice to widows."

The church should care for any widow who has no one else to care for her. But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God very much. But a woman who is a true widow, one who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. Night and day she asks God for help and spends much time in prayer. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead, Church will not support this widow so that church will not be criticized. But those who won’t care for their own relatives especially those living in the same household have denied what we beleive. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least 60 yrs. old and was faithful to her husband. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?

The younger widow should not be on the list because their physical desires will overpower thier devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. Besides, they are likely to become lazy and spend their time gossiping from house to house, getting into other people’s business and saying things they shouldn’t. So, it was advice that these younger widows will marry again, have children and take care of their own homes.

If a christian woman has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.

I will never forget the time I had my picture taken with one of my sisters in Christ when I attended Church Family Camp in August of 2005, at Oaks Kent. As I review now and analize the picture,  we are out of proportion, with my head tucked under her arm, I was so uncomportable trying to elevate my heel to be able for me to level at least up to her shoulder. It was memorable yet so funny when I realized the scene in the picture which is out of proportion. My American friend, sister in Christ and my professional colleague was barefoot standing beside me and I stand beside her in an elevated pavement while I was raising my heel up to make me look like a bit taller. That was so amusing but mean a lot to me.

We could relate the meaning of this scenario to the devotional daily bread that I usually read and in the bible wherein the Psalmist wrote, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." ( Psalm 111:10). Fearing God requires that we get things in the proper proportion, like the fact that He is so much greater in every way than we are. "The works of the Lord are great". They are the outworking of His love. strength, wisdom, foresight, will and faithfulness. God means coming to grips with this truth.

But it’s easy to miss the point when we don’t stay close to God. The closer we get to Him, the more we realize how much we are lacking, and how desperately we need His far greater wisdom to direct our lives. Left to our little selves, we get everything out of our sync. If we’re honest, we have to admit that our limited perspective is often wrong and sometimes can be disrtuctive.

Wise people realize how little they know and how much they need the great wisdom of God.

" The wise will recognize their limitations and God’s unlimited power."___Psalter

Gift giving and sending cards have been a traditional activities in the Philippines as well as in other parts of the world like, UK. In special events like wedding, birthdays, christening and christmas, people tend to rush and a bit anxious in preparing what to buy and present to the celebrants in attending to such an important occassion of thier lives. Some people are having a hard time thinking of what to buy for a special friend on her birthday, since they thought that celebrants  might not like it or that she already have that kind of gift. But i guess, no matter what it is and whatever the gift is, the important thing is the attendance of the one invited…. material gifts could be lost and stolen but the spirit and thought of giving will remain.

Christmas is the time of the year wherein people in almost all parts of the world celebrates, because Jesus was born. He was born to save the sin of the world so Jesus is the most precious gift that God has given us. I do consider HIM as that and I do believe it because He is always the source of my strenght everyday, my guide, my shield, my stronghold, and my everlasting father. Likewise, I hope you feel the same.

I also have to shout to the world that Lord has been very good to me because He has given me the second most precious gift I ever had in my life…..and … they are my children …Jef and Kim.

Unexpectedly, you may have been faced with a lost of someone you dearly loved, like me. It may have been a spouse, a child of only few months, a loving father, a brother or sister or even a trusted friend. No matter what the relationship, the separation has been painfully agonizing.  Or perhaps you have just learned that the cancer is back and nothing more can be done. Or you may be facing the loss of a job, career, a home, or a business.

Each person’s loss and suffering has its own unique quality. No outsider can ever fully enter into it. I don’t claim to know or understand the full depht of the loss that you personally are struggling with. But I do know this: Everyone will supper with some form of loss. No one is excempted. And no matter what the loss, if it feels like a hole has been torn in your soul that cannot be mended. The difficult but necessary process of dealing with any  loss is called grief.

Personally, I’ve faced and experienced the so called grief when my father died 4 days before my eldest son was born on Nov. 20, 1980. Then I lost my brother when he died in the hospital Jan 1987. But the most painful experience I’ve got was, when my husband died in April 1986, 4 days after I gave birth to my daughter Kim. It took a very long time before I have recovered from those griefs and sorrows. Now, I can say that I am completely healed, yes…because it is our Lord Almighty who is always with me while I’m going thru with all the pains and griefs that is haunting me the past years.

"Gratitude should not be an occassional incident but a continuous attitude." Meaning to say that we should utter words of thanks and we should be counting our blessings everyday of our lives, contineously. Whatever we do, wherever we are and whatever happens we should always consider this and be grateful for what the Lord has done for us. As we all know that, He is the source of all the blessings that everyone enjoys, even sufferings.

Counting our blessings promotes physical health, according to a study by some US doctors. And volunteers who kept weekly gratitude journals reported lesser aches and pains than those who recorded daily hassles or neutral events.

A "gratitude visit" was developed by Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman to promote strong emotional health. He tells people to think of someone who has made an important difference in thier lives. He asked them to write a story of how that person has helped them, and then to visit that person and read the story aloud. Tests show that a year later the people who had done so were happier and reported fewer episodes of depression. Even more important, think of what it must have been done for those who were thanked.

Personally, I have got important incidents recorded with people in my life that I should always be grateful:

• My  family …and relatives in Lagundi and Montalban have been always supportive to me all the way in good and bad times.
• Montalban Church of Christ … who has always been the source of my spiritual strenght in time of my life’s success and failures and while I was struggling to apply here in UK due to financial crisis.
• My former colleagues at East Avenue Medical Center … whom I considered my second family since I worked at the Med. Social Service  for almost 26 yrs.
• My best friend Linda Masilungan … who accepted Jesus Christ as her own personal saviour and redeemer with my persistent encouragement and God’s will.
• UBU Northern Lifecare LTD (Vesper Road) … my place of work since I came here in UK on Oct. 8, 2003.
• Church of Christ in London as well as my cousin (June’s family) and sister in-law (Mana Elsie) who have been accomodative to me and Kim whenever we decided to go for a holiday or a weekend trip.
• Last but not the least I am truly grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ because here in England my daughter Kim and I have found a couple friend in the name of Gerard and Hermie … who has been basically nice and  considerate to us, since this couple encouraged us to share the house with them where we comportably lived now. (Including our friend Jennelyn Carbonell).                                                                                                             

As for me, it is indeed essential to take up Health and Social Care course the reason why I insisted taking it, although my manager and 2 of my senior colleagues were reluctant to give me encouragement, support and assurance. However, my manager was convinced by my persistent demand and she is fully aware that it is the company’s legal requirement. She did ask an instant request to the company’s area manager and it was approved on June 2006.

My NVQ course started on the 28th of June ‘06 and the meeting is being held in the office. I met my Assessor ( instructor) on that very day and right away she gave me important points to be undertaken during the 6 months period. She said, I have to finish my 8 units course on Health and Social care until March 2007. I said to her that it is a great opportunity on my part. To assure her, I claimed I’m doing the best that I can.

The following statements are my reasons why I am persistent to take the course: First, professionally, I want to keep my qualification as a registered Social Worker here in UK. Secondly, to meet company’s goals standards. Thirdly, to adhere to care standard guidelines of the organization.

My personal purpose is that, I want to be more competent in dealing with difficult situations in my place of work. Dealing with those clients with challenging behaviour and mental health issues. Those clients with violent and aggressive behaviour. As a keyworker of one of the clients there, I’ve got no problem with her regarding those behaviour. My client was the most behave, very sweet, so cooperative and very active. Sometimes she also became aggitated but I could easily managed to handle it. The problem lies with some behaviour of her co-tenants in the house. There are 5 tenants in the house and 2 of them more often than not got involved in a violent and aggresive incidents.

Apparently, the purpose of the course does not intirely focus on that, but it covers wider range of spectrum in health and social care. It covers everything about client’s person centered planning, target ambitions, 3 monthly reviews and 6 monthly reviews and evaluation, supervision of staff team, management of the house and medication administration.

Forgiveness is a powerful thing, bringing a comforting calmness. With it, we can enjoy harmony with God’s people; without it, the storm continues. There is also a popular saying in Pilipino language " Kung ang Dios ay laging nagpapatawad, tayo pa kaya na tao lamang."

"If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you." Matthew 6:14

There is a story I read in Our Daily Bread and it goes like this: The small church was struggling and everyone knew why. Two elderly church members had a conflict, and the people had divided thier loyalty between them, which made any kind of progress impossible. They blatantly disregard Jesus’ instructions on forgiving others (Matthew 6:14).

A new pastor came to the church and spent several weeks teaching about forgiveness and trust. For a while the people stuck to thier divided loyalties and continued to slog along in thier stagnant poll of distrust.

After much prayer, the pastor felt directed to the Lord to take action. So during a morning service, he called on the two men to stand and then asked them to forgive each other. He knew that if the church were ever to have peace again, a storm of confrontation had to occur. The men faced off, paused, and then embraced. Tears ran down thier faces as each begged the other for forgiveness. Forty five minutes later, the crying and hugging and forgiving throughout the congragation finally stopped. The church was revitalized to serve together as a loving community for the glory of God.

Suzie and Sonje, they are those vulnerable but amazing clients of Vesper Road. I was so impressed with both of them since they have their own unique talents displayed when I went with them on an 8 days holiday in Bridlington last 15th - 22nd July 2006.

They have their own God given capabilities. Capacities to prove that inspite of their learning difficulties, they can do something different and useful. Actually, I was the one who escorted Suzie to implement the daily plan of activities that I did prior to the event. And the other 2 staff escorted Sonje of her daily planned activities for the holiday.

Suzie and me stayed in together, with our own separate rooms in the second floor of a luxurious Carlton Hotel in Bridlington. The place is so wonderful that made me feel very relaxed and peaceful after the days activities which my client performed with my supervision. At 9:00pm Suzie usually goes to bed after having her personal hygiene routine. After that was done, my routine was to get her files and started to concentrate doing my daily reports and her finances up to 10:00pm. Then @ 11:00pm, I have got time for myself reflecting things. As I look thru my window, I felt the relief from the hard days work I have been, since the overlooking sea  from my window made me think and wonder how great our Lord Almighty is to every creation. The seaside, the water, the blue sky, the different birds flying from the sky that we saw when the group went boat sailing during the day, the people and everything. God is so good, He is so great and absolutely wonderful.

On Monday 16th of July 2006 Suzie was woken up @ 8:00am. She was so excited asking me "Will I go for swimming today, Norma?" And I answered, "Yes, you are my luv." Then she hurriedly had her breakfast which she made on her own then she went to her room, prepared her clothes and swimsuit and did her personal hygiene, before going out of the hotel for swimming. Suzie and me waited for Sonje and her companies ( 2 staff )in our meeting place at Forum Complex. They came and we proceeded to go swimming. Suzie ang Sonje did well in SWIMMING which was so surprisingly done from my point of view because both of them performed very well. Suzie is brillant in back stroke and floating while Sonje is so excellent in swimming under water and is so fast. Alam nyo ba na siguro mga half kilometer lang sa paglangoy pagod na pagod na ako, wala akong sinabi, I got easily tired. I admired them for what they are, they have thier own unique ways of visible talents which should be properly guided and be utilized. God is so good to both of them. Suzie and Sonje are blessed people like us. The only difference is that, they have learning disabilities.

I would like to share with you my personal reading today in "Our Daily Bread" based from the book of Philippians 2:1-4; 4:1-3. With my own views added on the later part of this article.

"Make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose." - Philippians 2:2

As believers in Jesus, we often face the challenge of learning how to pull together. But sometimes, self interest, personal agendas, and power hunger struggles get in the way of genuine ministry and hinder the work of Christ.

Such was the case in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he had to plead with Euodia and Syntyche to "be of the same mind." (v. 4:2). Thier personal friction created a raodblock to thier spiritual service, and thier "tug of war" was harming the life of the church.

Paul’s appeal was for them to pull together and work for the honor of the Master. It is an appeal that serves us well today. When we feel distanced with our fellow believers, we must look for the common ground we have in the Saviour.

Church is not a place for tug of war. It is imperative that we work together for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. He can use us in wonderful ways when we lay aside our personal differences, grudges, and what we should do is to pull together on the same rope.

My Personal Views…

Division in the church is the work of our enemy. Leaders, ministers, elders and every members of the church must set aside personal interest, differences and agendas. We must work together with the same faith in Jesus Christ. We’ve got to be vigilant every step of the way to tear down our enemy. I personally believe, it is the duty of every believers of Christ to be united with the same faith and mind, having the same love and intentions which is to glorify HIM.

The most popular and perhaps most easily understood description of a social worker’s role is one that focuses on individual people who are vulnerable and in need. Social Workers spend time listening, perhaps councelling, always trying to understand what makes people tick. Then they explore ways to help people make changes in their lives to tackle their problems more effectively. To help someone in this sense involves taking a therapeutic approach.

Others describe the role of a social worker differently, however. They will say that social workers can best help people if they make them aware of a range of resources and information that can help people improve their lifestyle. If someone can be helped to claim all the benefits to which they are entitled, and to make use of a wider range of community resources, that will be significant improvement for them.

Still others argue that the sort of society we live in is fundamentally unjust and unfair and discriminates against people, particularly minority groups. Social workers therefore, must be aware of these issues and be willing to ‘challenge system’ and encourage people to take positive action to change society. Until society becomes more ‘user friendly’ for disabled people, for example and recognizes thier rightful and equal place in the community, the system will be ’stacked against them’ and no amount of sympathetic social work listening and councelling will change that.

There are some of the debates you will enter into if you wish to become a social worker. You will need to be intellectually, emotionally and physically robust to deal with the pressures of being ‘at the sharp end’ of all the demands made on you. These demands seem endless as social workers deal with people right accross the spectrum of society, as the following list demonstrates:

• adoption and fostering work;
• child protection;
• working with ‘looked after’ children and young people;
• people in hospital;
• people with mental health problems;
• homeless people;
• drug and alcohol misusers
• people with learning disabilities;
• physically disabled people;
• hospice work;
• people in trouble with the law
• people with senile dementia;
• families in difficulty.

Much of what a social worker has to do can be summed up in the word "assessment". People’s needs have to be assessed together with risks they may pose to others or themselves. People’s strengths and capacities need to be assessed. All these has to be done sensitively and in a way that respects people’s choices and cultural backgrounds. You will find that social workers no longer talk about thier ‘clients’ - today they refer to people as ’service users’. There is much more emphasis on consumer choice and citizen’s rights, and social workers must respect these values. At the same time, however, resources are very limited, and social workers often have to make difficult decisions about what services can be afforded.