June 4, 2008 8:54 AM
Lisa Miller Update - urgent - prayer needed!
Remember Lisa Miller - mom of Isabella and former lesbian who is now defending her claim as
her daughter's only mother? She still needs our prayers.
Her case was her before the Virginia Supreme Court and she and Isabella are awaiting that ruling. In the meantime, the Vermont Family Court has not only ordered visitation rights by the nonbiological/nonadoptive woman claiming to also be Isabella's mother by virtue of Vermont's gay marriage laws - but also threatened to give that woman full custody because of Lisa's Christian beliefs.
You can read the implications of the case - on parental rights and state rights - here. But in the meantime, please pray. This is from Lisa:
June 3, 2008Dear Family and Friends in Christ,
David prayed “Arise O’Lord, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You. Put them in fear, O Lord; Let the nations know that they are but menâ€. Psalm 9:19-20
I ask that you join me in this prayer as we wait for the Virginia Supreme Court ruling. The Virginia Supreme Court can rule as early as this Friday, June 6, 2008. If they do not rule this Friday, then we will not hear from them until September 2008, at the earliest. Please pray for a positive ruling - that they will rule for Virginia to obey our state constitution, house bill, and Defense of Marriage Act that states that Virginia will not recognize a civil union or any relationship or contractual agreement between same-sex couples purporting marriage because Virginia believes that marital relationships should be between only One Man and One Woman.
Last week I obeyed God and did not send Isabella to Vermont. Please keep us in your prayers as we await for the “enemy to close in†(Psalm 31:14-15). I pray that the Lord will prevail and that He will show His hand in this situation. As of today, we have not heard from Janet- she did not call to ask where Isabella was and as far as we know she has not filed with the court in either Vermont or Virginia (when God stopped the March visit she waited until Tuesday of that week to file).
I will keep you up to date as soon as I know what is happening.
Friends, I ask that you join me in prayer that God would prevail in this legal case so that others may see God’s glory and so that other’s may come to Christ in salvation (Psalm 9:13-14).
God is greater than my enemies. God is in control.
Thank you for your prayers for the salvation of our nation and for continued protection and provision for Isabella and me.
Joyfully Serving Christ,
LisaPsalm 31:5 “Into Your hand, I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truthâ€
~~~~~~~~
Note: Because I write about issues dealing with traditional marriage and the family, I deal with a lot of hatred and charges that I "hate gays." That is absolute nonsense, and really says more about the puerile level of thinking of my accusers.
I am not approaching these issues from a holier-than-thou point of view, but from a wealth of experience and the kind of knowledge only gained by life in the trenches. I was a fatherless girl from a pretty bleak background including foster homes and sexual abuse. I've been through drug addiction and confusion about my own sexual identity. I lived in the Castro District of San Francisco with gay male roommates. I've seen the lifestyle up close and personal.
I truly believe that children need a mother and a father to have the best possible launch into the world. I also believe they need a spiritual foundation - and that's speaking as someone who grew up and began raising children without one.
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity - including those who don't subscribe to civil unions/gay marriage. While I don't condone the gay lifestyle, I love and respect many individuals I know who are gay. For gays who think this is not possible, consider: I don't condone divorce or sex outside of marriage or substance abuse or cutting, but that doesn't mean I hate people who engage in those behaviors.
I have the right to believe these things without being subjected to the very hatred and scorn that gays are all too quick to accuse others of.
Please consider these things before posting any spiteful comments. And don't waste a lot of time on them, because over the years of political writing and enduring these assaults, I've developed a pretty thick skin and a pretty quick finger on the delete key.
Posted in Current Affairs, Parental Rights, Prayer needs | Permalink
Comments
May everything that Lisa does to honor God
be blessed; that the Lord and His truth would be
glorified!
Posted by: Leslie Hanks | June 4, 2008 10:03 AM
Sadly, there will be more and more cases like this one. I am praying that God will keep Isabella and Lisa together. And that He will protect Isabella from the media.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
Posted by: Elizabeth M. Thompson | June 4, 2008 10:35 AM
Lisa,
I am praying for you and this situation. May God be glorified!!!!
Libby in New Orleans
Posted by: Libby | June 4, 2008 11:07 AM
I didn't know you could lose custody of your child because you're a Christian !? That's scary ! On another note, why do homosexuals insist we be tolerant of their "beliefs" but they refuse to be tolerant of ours ?
Will be praying for Lisa and Isabella.
Posted by: d | June 4, 2008 12:45 PM
Barbara, I heard a lecture given by Sheri Dew the other day (she's a prominent Mormon author, speaker, and businesswoman) that absolutely stopped me in my tracks.
She was discussing attributes of women, the importance of faith, knowledge, integrity, etc. and she relayed an anecdote from her time spent as a US Envoy to a UN Conference dealing with women's issues. She struggled knowing she couldn't determine who the righteous women were, because there seemed to be good women fighting on both sides of every issue.
As she was speaking in defense of President Bush's HIV-prevention policy (essentially, abstinence, followed by faithfulness to your spouse) and was coming under malicious attack, she came to realize that it's the vicious people who work against God.
Her experience is that God has the power to back up those who are working for him and speaking truth, whereas Satan will abandon those he influences to work for evil purposes.
I found it a comforting story, and inspiration to stand firm in my knowledge of truth.
Posted by: Emily C | June 4, 2008 3:35 PM
Barbara,
Thank you for keeping your readers appraised of this situation. This is an issue that needs to be raised to God in prayer.
I want to bring to your attention, however, something you wrote. You said that you:
"don't agree with.... cutting."
Self injury, like mood disorders, and eating disorders, is an organic disease.
Saying that you "don't agree with 'cutting'" makes about as much sense as saying you "don't agree with cancer." They are both organic diseases of the body.
You blog reaches hundreds (thousands?) of women a day, and I think it is important to bring this issue to light: self injury, and it's all too often co-morbid condition of eating disorders, are diseases.
Thank you for again allowing me to use your blog as an educational opportunity for mental health issues.
Blessings,
Anna
Posted by: Anna Keiter | June 4, 2008 5:34 PM
Out of respect for Barbara I will keep the majority of thoughts to myself on her blog and leave them for my own blog.
From reading the article I can see how people would feel for Lisa. No mother wants to lose their child. And no I do not think that a person's parenting ability should be be judged on their religion. No I do not think that you should force a child to call you 'Momma' if they don't know you.
But do we all know the WHOLE story? Was there an agreement between the 2 women? Or is it now because they believe different things you no longer have to keep promises and agreements? The only ones that know that are the two women.
Posted by: Jessi | June 4, 2008 9:46 PM
It saddens me that more and more one cannot disagree without being targeted as a pro-hate individual. I admire you for tackling this story and know how hard it is to go against the mainstream. What happened to being able to hate the act but love the person? The two are not intertwined...they are separate. I have gay friends who know exactly what my religion is and we choose to respect each other despite the disagreement. They have made a life choice and so have I and yet we are able to be friends. Stay strong on this, not all people are so narrow minded about these types of subjects. (Though we get accused of it..LOL)
Posted by: Angela | June 6, 2008 8:14 PM
