CAP

From 12 to 18 June this year, it’s Carers Week – a week celebrating those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.

To mark the occasion, events are happening all over the UK, bringing together a wide range of charities and organisations to build much-needed carer friendly communities. Carers Week celebrates carers of all ages who are putting in hard work to care for the people they love, often for little or no pay. These are the people that are there at all hours, dealing with a wide range of situations, from long term illness to old age to mental ill-health and addiction. Often they’re there because there’s no one else.

Carers do lots of different jobs depending on the situation of the person they’re looking after. They may be there to offer practical support with day-to-day activities, emotional support or advice in financial matters. They may be measuring and administering medicine or helping the person to get around. The question is: who’s caring for the carers?

Without the right support, both emotionally and financially, being a carer can become very difficult. While these people are so focused on someone else’s wellbeing, their own physical and mental health can be affected, they may struggle to sleep, maintain relationships with friends and family or hold down a job.

Sadly, this was a true story for Richard* and his wife Jodie*. Jodie was suffering with bipolar disorder and, as a result, had to leave her job. As her health deteriorated further, Richard decided to give up his job too in order to be at home to care for her. In a position where neither of them could work nor bring in a stable income, and with Richard finding he couldn’t claim Carer’s Allowance, the couple struggled to cope and sadly fell into serious debt.

‘We had no income,’ says Richard. ‘People lent us money, we used credit cards, and it all got out of control. We went without food for a week once – we just didn’t eat.’

For Jodie, the combination of her condition and the stressful situation they were in caused her to lose all hope.  ‘All I could see was blackness,’ she explains.

Thankfully, Jodie and Richard weren’t as alone as they may have felt. Jodie was volunteering at her local church hall one day when she happened to meet a CAP Centre Manager and built up the courage to explain her situation. The couple were then visited at home and an affordable plan was put in place to allow them to start paying off their debts. With the help of CAP and their church, things started to feel a lot more hopeful. ‘We owe CAP a debt of gratitude,’ says Richard. ‘They’ve saved us. There’s light at the end of tunnel.’

If you need help with debt, whatever the reason may be, call CAP free of charge on 0800 328 0006 between 8:30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. To find out more about Carers Week and how to pledge your support, visit the official website and join the conversation on social media using #CarersWeek.

*Names have been changed in the interest of confidentiality

You have a call on your life and a destiny to fulfill. But to find your purpose for living you first need to be sure you are plugged into the Source of all life. That’s the most important thing. If you don’t already have a relationship with Jesus, I(the writer) encourage you to open your heart. God is knowable and He is real. God will be faithful to reveal Himself to all who sincerely seek Him.

There is not a life that  cannot be transformed. A heart that cannot be mended. A wound that cannot be healed.

When we give ourselves to the Lord he is faithful in all things. And if you do already know the Lord, then do what he is calling you to do with all of your heart.

Melody Green (No Compromise)

I saw a picture of a person in a prison cell.

The cell represented sin.

Jesus came to the cell and opened the door with the key.

He opened the door and told the person they were now free

He invited them to leave the cell.

The person was very grateful and thanked Jesus profusely

They even knelt down and worshipped and promised to read his book.

Jesus invited the person to leave the cell.

But the person remained seated with a look of resignation.

“I’m a bad person really. I’m not good enough to be let free from this cell.

When I feel a better person perhaps then I will leave this cell.

But I’m really grateful for you opening the door”.

Jesus said “ the door is open not because of who you are or what you have done but because

I have taken the key off the jailer. The price was my death on the cross.

Please , just walk out of the door.” The person sadly bowed their head.

Another person approached the cell bars. It was the Father.

Father says “my Son has set you free. He came to earth to pay the price for sin. The door is open.

Please take your right of freedom. The person sat in silence.

Another person sat alongside the person in the gaol. He was the Holy Spirit.

He said “I have come to help you live life outside this prison of sin. I have great plans for your life, things that you have never imagined while you sat in this cell but we are limited in what can be accomplished here.

Jesus Christ has opened the door, the Father calls you and I will go with you every step of the way. Come, leave your cell and enter into life with us.”

The person looked up and as I watched I just longed for that person to grab the opportunity of free life.

The question is from which side of the bars are you reading this story.

Suggested reading John 8

• 247,000 resources have already been ordered, from family-friendly Kingdom Kits, Thy Kingdom Come gospels, prayer journals and Novenas, model service plans and liturgies. There’s still time to order or download here: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/search/resources?tags=1&theme_id=1
• Pledge to Pray on the website and you’ll receive specially crafted prayers by international leaders, and youth-friendly meditations, emailed each day. For a list of the daily prayer themes, visit: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/posts/45/your-daily-thy-kingdom-come-prayer-email
• Participants will also be encouraged to post their own prayers and images which will be captured from social media and displayed on a prayer wall on the Thy Kingdom Come website.

Your words can…

Affirm and encourage

Divide a family

Build someone’s self-esteem

Tear down a person’s self-esteem

Work people into a frenzy

Disrupt unity

Bring comfort

Create panic

Express love

Incite violence

Inspire confidence

Spread mistrust

Communicate value

Destroy reputations

Resolve conflict

Wound deeply

Bring healing

“The tongue has the power of life and death…”  Proverbs 18:21a (NIV)

Use words to bless and speak life into others.

“Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”  Proverbs 16:24 (NLT)

Our culture is convinced that all truth claims are personal and subjective, elevating tolerance as the apex value of our day. Anything you do that doesn’t hurt me is now acceptable morality. Obviously, we cannot find truth in a society that doesn’t believe truth exists. (Denison)

I always encourage couples who are getting married to make a commitment to take a regular, in-depth look at their relationship. This doesn’t replace the ordinary, everyday talks – or even rows! They are times – perhaps three or four a year – to set aside an evening or weekend simply to talk about us. It’s an opportunity to discuss, listen, and give each other the right to raise any issue. When couples manage to have these ‘pit stops’ regularly, they usually find it’s easier to raise issues without either party feeling threatened.

Those pit stops may hold some surprises. They may show that a fantastic father or mother needs to be a good husband or wife as well. They may reveal that one of the partners is beginning to feel ’part of the furniture’. And a couple may realize that unless they put an end to those sarcastic comments, the hurt caused will result in them drifting further and further apart.

Rob Parsons(Excerpt)  Care for family

https://capuk.org/connect/keep-up-to-date/blog/how-can-i-help-a-friend-or-family-member-who-has-an-addiction?utm_content=buffer2c346&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Devon based charity Restore are working with trafficked women to give them long term support. Survivors of trafficking currently receive 45 days of government-funded support. Restore says ” survivors are still coming to terms with what has happened to them and in many cases have not even begun to heal”

When the women are referred to Restore, they are given a safe place to recover for an extra year. With the mission statement “rebuilding the life intended for survivors of human trafficking”

http://www.to-restore.org/

(Stewardship)

A Somali lady in Kenya became a believer after speaking to Christian friends. Although fearful of being rejected by her community, she received a dream from the Lord in which He told her that the truth was more important than the respect of her community.

After her conversion she had to leave home for her own safety.