April 14, 2007 8:27 AM
Isabella and her mommy need your prayers!
I received an unusual prayer request this morning from a mom who's involved in a legal battle over her daughter, instigated by the "second mommy" - a woman with whom Lisa Miller was joined under Vermont's civil union law.
1. Please pray for Isabella as she is having visitation with Janet for the first time in 2.5 years. I will be attending the visitation as well as a person who I choose to supervise the visit. We are all four (Janet, Elizabeth, Isabella, and I) meeting at the __________ April 14 at 1-3 p.m. Please pray that Isabella is protected in mind, body and spirit. She does not want to go. Please pray that I am a witness to Janet as I will be hanging back while Isabella and Janet have the visitation. My job is to make Isabella comfortable. Elizabeth's job is to supervise. The intent is to satisfy Vermont's current temporary order. If I do not grant visitation then I can go to jail or worse- lose complete custody of Isabella. Even with giving this visitation there is no guarantee that either will not happen in spite of giving visitation. However, we have seen already the power of God- He brought me back from Vermont just last week!2. Please pray for Rena as she is writing the U.S. Supreme Court brief tonight and tomorrow. She has asked for prayers. Writing this brief will not only help preserve my rights as Isabella's mom but also will help preserve our nation's parental rights as well as prayerfully will uphold Virginia state law. There is no guarantee that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear my case. However, we are not going to rest until we exhaust all avenues. God wants my legal case to be heard. I feel convicted that He is using this legal case for His good.
Rena is a wonderful Christian and she will not rest until the brief is finished tomorrow. Please pray for wisdom and clarity as she writes this most important and historical document.
As of today we still have three outstanding rulings- one in Vermont family court, one in the Virginia Appellate court, and one in the Virginia Supreme Court. As soon as Rena completes the brief and sends it out on Monday we will have four outstanding rulings. Please pray that God's will -will be done and that ALL rulings will glorify God.
Thank you again for your prayers.
Joyfully Serving Christ,
Lisa
Not recognizing the names or the story, via Google I found this Washington Post story:
About Isabella
Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller got hitched and had a baby together. Vermont says that's a simple truth. Virginia said it was all null and void. The future of a little girl hangs in the balance.
Click here to read the entire article.
Will you join me in rejoicing that Lisa - who says her sexual identity was confused because of early sexual abuse - has found her true identity in Christ? Her experience resonates in the lives of many women, including my own. Will you join me in praying specifically 1-4 today for this ordeal - as well as in the days ahead for all that Lisa is facing.
I will contact Lisa Miller for updates.
Posted in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
Hi Barbara. Thanks for posting this story, I will definitely pray for them. Please let me know if you've started with the Ginkgo, I would really like to know how it's working! So many parents have started trying it since my post, I'm very happy to have passed on something so many parents weren't familiar with yet! I look forward to hearing from you! Noelle
Posted by: Noelle | April 14, 2007 12:08 PM
I just sat down and read the whole Wash Post article. That poor child. Homosexual or not, to have to leave her mother and go to a virtual stranger and her new lover is just horrifying. I will be praying all afternoon.
Posted by: dcrmom | April 14, 2007 12:16 PM
Praying!
Posted by: Birdie | April 14, 2007 3:15 PM
Praise to God for Lisa's new life in Christ!! I will be praying for her relationship with God to grow stronger, and that she will be an awesome witness to all around her. I will be praying for Isabella, too...such a sweet child!!
Posted by: Millicent | April 14, 2007 9:14 PM
Oh my goodness. Of course I will be praying for her and for the entire situation. Please keep us updated.
Debbie
Posted by: Debbie | April 15, 2007 7:03 PM
Is there an update yet????????/
Posted by: dcrmom | April 15, 2007 9:14 PM
Disregarding the morality of homosexuality and same-sex parents, if Lisa did indeed make some sort agreement with her former partner about raising a child together, but then went back on the agreement and denied the ex access to the child, then she didn't behave very ethically. Hopefully the daughter will grow up to behave in a better way.
Posted by: usedsaves | April 16, 2007 1:54 AM
Usedsaves: actually, you can't disregard the morality question because it was Lisa's becoming a Christian that changed her views. If she now believes that Janet's lifestyle is immoral, then she would - quite logically - not want her daughter (and remember, she is the biological parent) spending time with her. If they had been substance abusers togather and Lisa had turned her back on that lifestyle, she would feel the same way. Whether or not you think that homosexuality is immoral, you can see that logically human beings don't honor some agreements when circumstances change.
dcrmom - I am in touch with Lisa Miller and will be sharing as soon as I can.
Posted by: barbara | April 16, 2007 6:03 AM
So sad. Children are the fallout of the "sexual revolution". Whether it be from divorce, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, abortion, same-sex unions, whatever.... children are the #1 casualty.
Will be praying.
Posted by: Lavender Blue | April 16, 2007 8:43 AM
Lisa Miller resorted to the law to get out of an agreement that she herself had entered freely. That does not exactly make her a martyr. I do not find her behavior to be admirable, any more so than if her ex had been a drug addict or a man. Sometimes one regrets a promise -- too bad. Her new religious beliefs are not relevant. Eventually, the daughter will come to understand the whole story and will be the judge of Lisa Miller's actions. What is more detrimental for a child - being visited by a lesbian or the disruption and hysteria of lengthy litigation?
In my opinion, an American state should not permit itself to be used as a refuge from the laws of another.
Posted by: usedsaves | April 16, 2007 11:45 AM
Usedsaves, did I call Lisa a martyr? She is a mother in need of prayer - not scorn.
Moreover, you do not have your facts straight. Lisa Miller was a resident of the state of Virginia at the time the civil union took place in 12/00, at the time of the artificial insemination and at the birth of Isabella in April 2002, at which time Janet declined to adopt Isabella.
Janet, Lisa and Isabella moved to Vermont in 8/02. Lisa and Isabella rerned to Virginia thirteen months later.
Janet is not seeking just visitation but custody of Lisa's biological daughter.
Virginia is not a phony refuge for Lisa, but her home state.
That said, I have noticed that of the seven comments you have left at this blog, every one of them has been argumentative and a couple have had a New York elitist tone. You have never had anything positive or encouraging to say about anything here. There is a real lack of balance and good faith in your comments.
I don't mind sincere discussion, but I do mind people who just enjoy sniping - or who consider themselves superior to others by virtue of where they live or their academic achievements.
Would you care to explain yourself?
Posted by: barbara | April 16, 2007 11:59 AM
I did not mean to imply that you think that Lisa Miller is a martyr. What I meant is that Ms. Miller has assumed an air of martyrdom or victimhood.
When Ms. Miller "married" Janet in Vermont, presumably she claimed residency there.
Would it have been legal for Janet to adopt the baby after her birth in Virginia in 2002? My guess would be no. In Vermont, perhaps she didn't think that the formality was necessary. Apparently, neither did Lisa at the time. If Lisa never considered Janet a co-parent, why then did she accept child support from her after they separated and she moved from Vermont to Virginia with the baby?
One cannot erase one's past.
If Lisa had not tried to prevent visitation at the beginning of the dispute, the ensuing years of custody litigation could have been avoided. This would probably have been the best thing for the child. I understand that now there is no going back for either side. The case has been going on for years.
Maybe I am argumentative or insufficiently 'encouraging.' Perhaps I am even a bit of a snob (although not a 'New York elitist.') The only mentions of New York that I recall have been about coffee and shoes. In the first instance, I said something to the effect that there are a lot of Starbucks here (the stores made a big impression on you during your visit) but that I don't like Starbucks (because their coffee is burnt and expensive, not because I am too fancy for it) and get coffee elsewhere. Like any good elitist, I believe that I stated my preference for coffee from Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's. In the latter instance, I said that the shoes were a fashion trend of sorts a few years ago and are now available very cheaply compared to your catalogue advertisement. Others made similar comments. This is why I don't buy things from catalogues. I am sorry if these comments offended you, but if they did you have a very thin skin. For the record, I do not consider myself better than anyone. Also, I am not a college graduate.
Posted by: usedsaves | April 16, 2007 1:34 PM
