Bits & Pieces: Janet’s Facts and Findings May 13, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Legalize.add a comment
The following are bits and pieces from the 22 page Facts and Findings that Janet filed with the Rutland Family Court in
Rutland, Vermont. It was filed April 20, 2007. There are 109 facts and findings and the ones that are in this post focus on their reasons as to why Isabella should be removed permanently from my care.
For those of you who do not know who I am and may be reading this for the first time I am the biological mom of the child mentioned in this post and Janet who is referred to as Ms. Jenkins is my former partner. She did not adopt Isabella. Furthermore, she has no genetic connection to my daughter. Rather, the Vermont Family Court in 2005 deemed Janet a parent by virtue of the civil union. I am a born-again Christian who no longer practices homosexuality and I do not agree that Janet is a parent.
Please be aware that if Janet is granted sole custody or even joint custody of Isabella, my daughter, then no Christian will be safe to raise his/her child as they see fit. If she is granted visitation then Isabella will be put in danger because Janet feels that she can offer Isabella a broad- world view, whereas I am only able to offer a narrow conservative, Christian view. I am being persecuted for raising my daughter to love Christ, to follow Him and teaching her to pray for others.
The numbers in front of the fact/finding is the number as it appears in the fact and finding document.
- ….”When one parent is unable to foster a positive relationship with the other parent because of religious differences, it is proper to award custody to the parent who will best serve the interests of the children…”
10. “…This finding is supported by extensive trail testimony and other evidence,
including but not limited to: c) Ms. Miller’s determination to raise Isabella according to God’s rules as Ms. Miller understands them, one which is that “homosexuality is a sin, yes. And, yes, I hate the sin.” D) Ms. Miller’s intention to raise Isabella “for Christ, and her identification of Isabella’s learning God’s rules, including hating sin, as the “most important part of Isabella’s development;…g)Ms. Miller’s identification of “walking with God as the most important thing in her life… Ms. Miller made it clear that she believes that there is no value to a child in having two parents unless those parents are a mother and a father, not two mothers”.
22…..”with the sole caveat of characterizing Ms. Miller’s estrangement of Isabella from
Ms. Jenkins and her family as emotionally abusive toward Isabella”
85. “…Ms. Miller identified the most important developmental task for Isabella as the
spiritual one, and contented that “She believes in a God, she believes in heaven, she believes in hell, she believes that we should try to please God, that we should do what the Bible says. She believes that the Bible is God’s word and that we learn though that”…. Ms. Miller faults Ms. Jenkins for being prepared to allow Isabella to choose her own religious beliefs—“I just don’t feel that that’s appropriate”.
102. “The court further finds that the stability value to Isabella of remaining in Ms. Miller’s home is outweighed by the negative environment that Ms. Miller has created for Isabella there. This negative environment includes Isabella’s estrangement from her mother, Janet Jenkins, and her grandparents (Defendant’s parents); Ms. Miller’s teaching of hatred to Isabella about Ms. Jenkin’s “lifestyle”…and Ms. Miller’s refusal to place Isabella’s best interests ahead of Ms. Miller’s own emotional need to live by God’s rules….”
103. …”This willingness evidences Ms. Miller’s placement of her own needs, including her need to please God, ahead of Isabella’s best interests”
107. “… It is not healthy “where the child is encouraged to take sides in a particular situation” which causes “Stress and distress” for a child.” This is precisely what Ms. Miller demands of Isabella at present and in the future in praying that Ms. Jenkins will be saved from her “sin”, which is “hateful”, and about which Isabella will receive further teaching in the future from Ms. Miller”
The facts and findings go on to say that Janet was Isabella’s primary caregiver, that “Isabella’s best interests are served with Ms. Jenkins as custodial parent”, and that I am not a credible witness because I am a Christian and – they claim I contradict myself in several instances but rather I was describing Christian thoughts and practices that I live by now and didn’t live by in the past.
Please continue to pray that Judge Cohen will see through the lies and the religious persecution that Janet laid out in her facts and findings. On May 7, 2007 Janet filed her proposed custody order asking for full custody of Isabella including all religious determinations. I will be posting that document soon.
Janet’s Conclusion from her Facts & Findings- Vt court May 12, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Legalize.add a comment
The following is the conclusion of Janet’s facts and findings as she submitted it to the Rutland Family Court in Vermont. Her facts and findings are 22 pages but for this post I am only including the conclusion (minus the foot notes because they won’t cut and paste). Her conclusion will give you a flavor of the religious persecution that I spoke about in one of my May prayer letters. I am also planning on posting bits and pieces of her 22 page facts and findings- specifically posting those comments which point to their religious persecution of me because I choose to “put God first” in my life.
As you read keep in mind and look for the subtle brainwashing that Janet does in trying to convince the reader that homosexuality is not harmful to children (there are numerous studies that state otherwise) and that Janet is a parent (even though she has not been a part of Isabella’s life nor was she an integral part of her life when we were together). Her conclusion is obvious in that she has a hidden agenda- and that agenda is to further the gay and lesbian rights agenda which is in direct violation of God’s word.
“Conclusion:
Ms. Miller’s belief that homosexuality is sinful-one of her proffered justifications for estranging Isabella and Janet- can be traced back to the middle ages. Medieval canonical law viewed homosexuality as a sin. By the late 19th century, societal perceptual of homosexuality had evolved from a religious-condemned sin to a pathological condition, either physical or mental in both. (135)
The modern evolution of societal attitudes toward homosexuality is surprisingly recent. It was only in 1994, when the current edition of the DSM was published (DSM-IV) that homosexuality was omitted from the list of mental illnesses, through the American Psychiatric Association had ben protesting its use as a diagnosis for decades and urging its members not to use it. (136)
I seems safe to conclude, in retrospect, that the attribution of this sexual preference to abnormal psychological conditions reflected influential socio-political forces arrayed against any variations form the prevailing homosexual norm, as well as the continuing vitality of conservative religion institutions. (137)
Current research findings on homosexuality illustrate the harm in branding as pathological what is actually a social judgement based on dominant conservative political and religious attitudes. (138) The recent research findings on gay parenting constitute compelling evidence that gay parents are in no way inferior to heterosexual parents. (139) Indeed, in a move reminiscent of the American Psychiatric’s Resolution of 1987 pointing out that homosexuality should not be considered pathological, the American Academy of Pediatrics- the nation’s preeminent pediatric authority with some 57,000 members- in 2002 adopted a formal policy declaring that :
Children who grow up with 1 or 2 gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual. …No data have pointed to any risk to children as a result of growing up in a family with 1 or more gay parents. (140)
Nonetheless, the psychology profession in Virginia follows the Miller-Jenkins case, suggesting a continued perception of homosexuality as a professional issue. (141)
On the legal front, it was only four years ago that the U.S. supreme Court acknowledged the constitutional right of gay persons to the individual autonomy that others have long taken for granted:
“Our laws and traditions afford constitutional protection to personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing, and education” [Citation omitted] Persons in a homosexual relationship may seek autonomy for these purposes just as heterosexual persons do. (142)
This case forces us to examine what constitues a “family” in our society.
Research demonstrates that a biological link is not the key to a genuine and substantial parent-child relationship is not the key to a genuine and substantial parent-child relationship. Indeed, scientific studies demonstrate that when a biological and nonbiological mother raise a child together, the nature of the parent-child bonds are comparable and the child perceives both individuals as parents. (143)
Children of a lesbian couple, like children of other couples, can suffer “extreme distres” from estrangment from a co-parent. (144)
This is a risk to which Ms. Miller exposed Isabella.
Vermont’s pioneering stance on civil unions in 2001 spawned a passionate national debate that continues to the present, in which more than half the states in this country have modified their laws to defy the legal protections afforded by Vermont. In fact, within the last two years twenty-seven states have voted to modify their constitutions to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The latest were Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, all of which acted on November 7, 2006.
If Ms. Miller is awarded custody, in which of those states will she next seek to deprive Isabella of Janet’s parental devotion? There is no way to know. The only method this court can devise to assure Isabella a two-parent future, is to award sole custody to Ms. Jenkins, with supervised visitation liberally awarded to Ms. Miller.
Dated this 20th day of April 2007
Lisa Chalidze, Esq.
Prayer Letter May 12, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Prayer Letters.add a comment
Dear Friends, May 7, 2007 Our Lord has laid it upon my heart to ask you to pray for Judge Cohen and any and all who are helping him make the final decision regarding my legal case. This morning during my prayer and devotion time the Lord laid it upon my heart to earnestly pray for Judge Cohen (for he holds the earthly key to our nations future in regard to parental rights and to the future of Isabella) and to pray that he reads our entire “facts and findings” (61 pages) as well as that he sees through Janet’s “facts and findings” which are false and are based on transferring custody of Isabella to her because I “put God first in my life”. Of course, God is all powerful and can convict his heart to rule in our favor. However, God reminded me that it is up to me to “”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you,. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). He promises me that “those who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (II Chronicles 7:8). Once at work however I became involved in my teaching and stopped “praying without ceasing” (Oh if I could only be as Nehemiah was and pray even while he was talking with others!) However, I was keenly reminded during my noon time prayer (I am a teacher and I pray when the children are napping- eyes open of course
) that Paul was released from prison even while his friends, family and believers were praying for his release! Please friends share this email to all who will pray with us today and throughout the remainder of the week. Please get down on your knees and pray to God that Judge Cohen will make the “right decisions” according to God’s laws; will read and ingest all of our 61 pages of our facts and findings; for our nation of moral decline; and for a complete victory in my legal case- no transfer of custody and no visitation. Please also pray for Janet’s salvation and for a softening of her heart to hear God’s word. Thank you for your prayers. Joyfully serving Christ, Lisa MillerMatthew 7:11
Prayer Letter May 12, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Prayer Letters.add a comment
Dear Friends, April 26, 2007 Update-Urgent: Yesterday, I got word that Janet’s attorneys filed part of their brief. So far, it is a 22 page brief asking for full custody for Janet based on the fact that I am raising Isabella to be a Christian. Her attorneys write that I am not thinking of Isabella’s best interests based on the fact that I am raising her to follow God’s laws; that she attends church and that I am teaching her that homosexuality is a sin. They cite laws which state that since I don’t recognize Janet as a parent and do not wish any visitation to occur then I am in direct violation of their laws. As a result of being in violation of their laws Janet needs custody and I am the one who needs supervised visits. The brief goes on to state that Christianity is hindering Isabella’s overall growth and development and that Janet, who she takes a broad view on religion, is acting in the best interest of Isabella. As soon as I get a hard copy of the brief I plan on emailing excerpts to you. Friends, Janet has now embarked on religious persecution. Her accusations against our faith and the way we raise our children in the fear and abomination of the Lord is in direct violation of our Constitutional laws. Any one, any where disliking our faith and the way we raise our children for Christ could use Janet’s brief in their favor. Imagine the law suits that may arise if Janet wins based on her current facts and findings (brief). Her accusations are far reaching. Families everywhere will be persecuted if the courts transfer custody of Isabella to Janet. Several years ago a pro-family group raised a concern that parental rights are the next constitutional rights to be overturned. MY FRIENDS, the day IS here where this is happening. I ask for your continued prayers and for a complete victory in my legal case. God is a faithful God and he promised us “And my people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. 2 Chronicles 7:8 Thank you for your prayers. I plan on sending experts -later this weekend -from the brief that Janet has filed . I will also send you a list of pro family groups and other sources that need to hear about what is happening and how it will effect our nation. Joyfully Serving Christ, Lisa Miller
Prayer Letter May 12, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Prayer Letters.add a comment
Please send this prayer letter to all who you feel will pray and fight for the Sanctity of Marriage between one man and one woman. Please send this to all you feel will pray for God to be glorified through my legal case.
Dear Friends, April 25, 2007
Thank you for your prayers, phone calls, and emails. You are an encouragement to me. I know that each one of you is busy; yet, you seek God and pray to Him for our nation and for what is happening to it. You are a testimony to me and others around you as you continue to seek Him. Much has happened since I last wrote you. The following is an update:
Update:
April 14, 2007 Visitation: Janet, Elizabeth (the third party), Isabella, and I participated in a 2-hour visitation at the mall. Isabella was her usual self- sweet, bold, and energetic. Many of you had been praying for Isabella to be bold. Your prayers were answered. Isabella asked Janet if she was a “Christian” and if she “Believed Jesus died on the cross for your sins.” Janet ignored these questions at first. So, Isabella asked them again. Praise God for Isabella’s boldness. The visit went without immediate concern for Isabella. She thought that it was a play date. Isabella has not asked about Janet or asked to see her again since that visit other than to clarify Janet’s answers or lack thereof about being a Christian.
God has worked mightily through this visit pertaining to Isabella. Since Isabella asked for clarification about Janet’s lack of response to the question and at one point Janet’s response, I have been able to explain to Isabella about what we as adults call “walking the walk and talking the talk.” I feel God is leading me to tell Isabella about Janet’s lifestyle in terms of loving the sinner but hating the sin. God prepared me for that a little bit when I was able to share this concept with the
Vermont court during my two day of testimony. Please keep Isabella in your prayers as another 2-hour visitation is tentatively scheduled for May 5, 2007.
April 16, 2007: Isabella turned 5!!!!
April 18, 2007: The Virginia Appellate Court ruled in Janet’s favor. This ruling stems form the March 21, 2007 oral argument regarding their dismissal of the 2004
Virginia court order, which stated that I am the only biological mother as well as that
Virginia has jurisdiction.
Virginia ruled today that
Virginia is to accept the out of state
Vermont court as it is- both parentage and custody/visitation!
April 19, 2007: We filed our second appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This appeal is asking the court to view and rule on the Virginia Appellate decision/ruling and the Va Supreme Court lack of ruling.
April 20, 2007: An extension was granted for the deadline of turning in facts and facings to the
Vermont court.
April 24, 2007: Deadline for turning facts and findings in to the
Vermont court. We are now waiting on a decision from Judge Cohen regarding custody and visitation. Janet continues to ask for full custody – going as far as say in writing that Isabella recognized her during the April 14 visitation. Isabella has not seen Janet for 2.5 years and Isabella did not recognize Janet because on the way home from the visit I asked Isabella how she was feeling and what she thought of the visit. Isabella replied that she did not know who Janet was. I reminded her of the photo that I showed her- the one from the Washington Post with all of us together- and Isabella replied that Janet did not look like that.
April 27, 2007: The U.S Supreme court will conference on our first appeal that we are asking for that court to take. This appeal is on the
Vermont court order. Last Thursday we filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme court based on the April 18, 2007 ruling (see above for ruling outcome).
Prayer Requests:
ü Please pray for Isabella. After the visit, even though she did not talk about the visit she experienced fall out. Isabella was very clingy, did not want me to leave the classroom at school, I couldn’t go to another room in our home without her wanting to be with me, was rebellious and wouldn’t go to sleep without me being there with her. Essentially, she regressed for about a week after the April 14 visit. In anger, she brought up that I left her to go to
Vermont and asked me if we had to move. She has still not brought up the April 14, 2007 visit.
Please pray that she is protected spiritually (she was very confused about “walking the walk and talking the talk.” She thinks that if you say you believe that “Jesus died on the cross for our sins” then you are Christian- regardless of how you live, what you say and what you do- as in the case of Janet). Please continue to pray that she is protected from Janet- that Janet does not get full custody or visitation.
ü Please pray for Judge Cohen in
Vermont. Pray for God’s conviction. Pray that Judge Cohen sees Janet for her lies and deceit. Please pray for a favorable outcome and complete victory for Isabella and for children everywhere that will be affected by the outcome of my court case. It would be horrible for women who identify themselves as lesbians to stay in a relationship that they want to leave for Christ because they are afraid of losing their children!
ü Please pray for the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case. Please pray that the U.S. Supreme court gives us complete victory- that they will rule that
Virginia is right according to our state laws of marriage protection and artificial insemination. Please pray that our state laws prevail. If you are reading this and are from out of state-, please pray that
Virginia state law prevails because if it does not then our ruling will affect your state regardless of the fact that you may have strong marriage affirmation laws.
Virginia has the strongest laws and look what the court has ruled thus far.
Virginia has recognized the civil union as well as an out of state custody order that arose out of the civil union dissolution process! Outrage!
ü Please pray for the lawyers in my case. They must be tired. Please pray that they continue to be provided rest, wisdom, and health.
ü Please pray for Janet and her salvation. Please pray for Janet’s partner whom she will be civil unioned shortly. Her name is Kate. Please pray for her salvation. Janet has not changed. It was evident of her lies on the court stand and of the short time, I spent with her April 14, 2007 that Janet is lost spiritually. I also do not see a change in Janet in other areas. To me this is scary because Janet was abusive to me when I was in a relationship to her. Please pray for a revival in her soul, for her to turn to God.
ü Please pray that God will use me to spread His gospel as a direct result of this case. If I must give visitation then I will do so joyfully because I know that I can be a witness for Him. I praise Him for protecting me from having to give visitation for the last 2.5 years. God is allowing visitation to occur now. Please pray that I glorify God in these visitations.
What can you do?:
Many of you have asked what you can do to help. We as Christians need to get my legal story out in public. We need to let the people of
Virginia know what is happening in their state. We need to let the people of other states with marriage affirmation laws know what is happening in
Virginia and how it affect their state laws. If
Virginia continues to rule and if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in
Vermont’s favor then we have opened our doors wide (they are already opened now because of the latest
Virginia ruling) to homosexual unions!
We as Christians need to flood the media, our state representatives, and church leaders with information about what is happening. I am asking you to pray about the following and if God leads you to please choose at least two activities to do within the following week:
- Write a letter to the editor explaining what is going on and your feelings about it. I believe most letters must be fewer than 300 words. Send your letter to all the area papers both here and surrounding our valley.
- Email, call, and fax Congressman Wolf about what is happening. http://www.wolf.house.gov/contact.html
- Email, call and fax Bob Marshall, the representative who was most helpful in getting the marriage affirmation laws passed: delegatebobmarshall@trincomm.org
- Email, call, and fax your local representatives. You can find who your local representative is at the following website. www.oag.state.va.us
- Email, call and fax our Attorney General at www.oag.state.va.us
- Send a letter or one of the prayer letters I have sent you in the past- which details the case- (if you need another letter please let me know and I will forward it to you) to PRO-FAMILY groups such as Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Family Federation, Home school Legal Defense Fund (they wrote a brief for my case at one time) and others. Focus on the Family has a media contact also on their website. If you go to this link, they have many pro family groups listed. Otherwise, just Google pro family on the web. Remember, it does not matter if they are not based out of
Virginia. Pro family groups must be alerted because their efforts in both
Virginia and other states to keep and uphold the Sanctity of Marriage are in jeopardy! - Email, fax, and call the media. We have Fox 5 news (www.foxnews.com), Brit Humes, Bill O’Reilly (www.billoreilly and 1-877-9-No-SPIN for his radio program call in from 12-2 daily), NPR, Hannity and Colmes (www.foxnews.com/hannityandcolmes) and other programs. Try calling one of the programs you listen to on a regular basis.
What are you asking for? You are asking them to inform the public about what is happening in our Virginia Court systems. You are informing them that the hard work that they have done in trying to protect the Sanctity of Marriage is not safe. You are sharing with Christians everywhere our responsibility to upholding God’s laws.
Thank you for prayerfully considering getting involved with spreading the word of Christ. God wants to use my legal case to draw others closer to Him. God wants to use my legal case to tell others about Christ. God wants to use my legal case as a warning of what will happen if Christians do not unite as the homosexuals groups have. We as Christians seem to be losing the fight for us to glorify God . I may lose my biological daughter to Janet, a practicing lesbian, because I have glorified God through obeying His commandment to bring up my child for the Lord. We need to allow God to work through us so that He can continue to fight the fight.
Please feel free to email me and ask questions. I will be most happy to talk with you.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
Joyfully Serving Christ,
Lisa Miller
James 1:2-8
Prayer Letter May 11, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Prayer Letters.add a comment
Dear Friends, March 30, 2007
Thank you all for praying for Isabella and me and for the plight of our nation as directly related to my legal case. Your prayers, emails, and phone calls are an encouragement to me. God is with each and every one of you and I am praying for you.
Many of you have asked me for an update. The following is the latest update:
March 21, 2007: The Virginia Appellate hearing was not in our favor- from the outlook. They have not ruled however in writing. In a nut- shell, the judges asked us what we were doing there. They sought to immediately dismiss my case (which they can do!). Rena however argued that the prior ruling did not rule on biological rights of parents or on
Virginia law regarding children and artificial insemination. I am attaching a letter that I sent to the Virginia Senate and Delegates. Please take time to read this letter. It gives all the details of what has happened and what did happen and what may happen.
March 19, 2007: Janet did not show for her deposition that was scheduled to be taken in
Vermont
March 26, 2007: I was deposed as well as a friend of mine in
Virginia.
March 28, 2007: Judge Cohen, the
Vermont judge, called a status conference and in this conference, he ruled that my deposition from March 26th would not be allowed in court. He ordered me to attend a deposition in
Vermont and that must take place prior to Monday April 2, the first day of our trail. His order forces me to go to
Vermont. If I do not attend on Sunday April 2, 2007 then a warrant for my arrest will be issued. Furthermore, if I do not attend the
Vermont deposition an automatic transfer of custody will occur. In addition, I may possibly loose my parental rights here in
Virginia.
March 30, 2007: My last witness will be deposed today from 1-3p.m.
March 31, 2007: I will travel to
Vermont. I am unsure how long I will have to stay. My deposition is scheduled for Sunday April 1, 2007 in
Vermont. I must attend. The trail begins Monday April 2, 2007. I will attend.
The bottom line prayer is – prayer for God to be glorified through whatever happens.. Praise God – He has protected me from any enforcement of any sanctions, including jail time, thus far. I know He can continue. He is sovereign. Walking in Vermont is like Daniel walking in the Lions Den. We are not sure if I will be arrested. There is a possibility I will be. I know that God wants me to go to
Vermont. I also know that He will take care of me whatever the outcome of me being in
Vermont. Please pray as I am that God will shut the mouths of the lions and send an angel to protect me- just as He did for Daniel. Daniel was obeying God. I am obeying God. I am doing what God wants me to do as a Christian mom, as His child and as a servant of Christ. Isabella is learning a verse for her Master’s club, which has been a comfort to me this week: Psalms 56:11 “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
Please keep me in your prayers. I want to glorify God in all my answers, in all my character and at all times in my heart. Please keep Isabella in your prayers. She and I will be apart for the first time since 2004 when I had to travel to
Vermont for a hearing. She understands a little of what is going on. She knows where I am going and she knows why I am going. She knows about Janet and knows that God does not approve of what Janet is attempting to do. Isabella does not want me to go. She is being very brave- after many tears and death grips on me- she is allowing God to comfort her. I have told her that God will be with me in
Vermont and with her where she is staying. As she puts it, “God is the only one with eyes in the back of his head”! She does not know that I may be jailed. She does know that I may be gone for a while. Please keep her safety in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for victory for the following:
Ø God to be glorified in the upcoming legal proceedings
Ø Strength, wisdom and clarity for Steve Crampton (American Family Association) and Dave Correy (Liberty Counsel), my attorneys for this weekend and next week’s trail.
Ø Wisdom and clarity for Matt Staver and Rena L., my attorneys who are working on appeals and such here in
Virginia. They will not be going to
Vermont but are still working on my legal case.
Ø Protection and safety for Isabella as she is staying behind in
Virginia. If I am jailed then her safety and protection is not guaranteed because of the first Virginia Appellate court ruling. She could be extradited to
Vermont to live with Janet while I am in jail.
Ø Protection and travel mercies for me as I travel to and from
Vermont.
Ø Safe passage without jail time while I am in
Vermont.
Ø Wisdom and clarity to speak as I need to while I am on the stand for two straight days for about 7 hours each day. I am scheduled for Monday and of course, my deposition, which is like a trail hearing with cross-examination, is scheduled for all day Sunday.
I apologize for this prayer letter being long. I thank you for reading it. I thank you for keeping us in your prayers. I will attach the letter that I sent to the Virginia Senators. Please prayerfully consider contacting our state senators and representatives in the entire state of
Virginia. Please feel free to use this letter or rewrite a shorter version and send them to each senator and delegate. You can do this via email. Go to http://legis.state.va.us/ Also, please feel free to flood our newspapers and radio stations with letters to the editors.
I know God wants this case to go public. Please continue my work that I am not able to attend to this weekend for I will be in
Vermont. I was planning on asking and encouraging people EVERYWHERE to send letters to the editors of newspapers, send the letter that I sent to our state Senators and delegates via email, send it to senators in each state, send it to the Attorney General’s office (www.oag.state.va.us) , send it to pro-family groups, and send it especially to those states that have a DOMA law. Please feel free to use the letter I wrote as a template to either rewrite your own or to change the greeting and addresses on the actual letter to reflect other state senators, governors (our Va state governor can be contacted via the attorney generals website listed above – just click on commonwealth of Va located at the top of your screen), attorney generals, and delegates names.
For 3.5 years, I have heard that I will win “hands down” in
Virginia. I have not. Thus far, the Virginia Appellate Court ruled for Janet. I feel that by sending these letters everywhere we will be honoring God and glorifying Him. Why? Because Christians everywhere think that “it won’t happen in their state” so why should I get involved. Well, it is happening in our state and it will happen in other states. We, as Christians, need to stand up for God’s laws against homosexuality and we need to get the word out regarding what is going on here in Virginia, the state with the strongest marriage affirmation laws in the entire USA.
I appreciate any help you can give me. I will also attach a friend’s letter to the editor that you can use as an example. She has called several radio stations and several newspapers. She has also sent it out of state to her sister. Her sister will try to get the letter published in her newspaper for she lives in a state with a DOMA law also. However, that is not enough. I was told to flood the media. I need your help in doing just that.
It is my plan to send several lines of email each night I am away to everyone on my prayer list. Thank you for taking the time to read my prayer letter. Thank you in advance for your help in flooding the media all over the
USA.
God will prevail. He is my protector and my strength. “Be exalted above the heavens, O’ God; Let Your glory be above all the earth” Psalm 57:11
Joyfully Serving Christ,
Lisa Miller
Prayer Letter May 11, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in Prayer Letters.add a comment
Dear Friends, March 20, 2007
Praise God!! Since my last letter to you, God has provided legal counsel and I am now fully represented on all levels. Please keep these dedicated Christian attorneys in your prayers. They are working around the clock to fight for justice, not only mine but the entire country’s as well.
Thank you for your continuing prayers. I have received encouraging e-mails from many of you. Thank you! Please continue to pray as we approach tomorrows Virginia Appellate Court oral argument against accepting the
Vermont court order as valid. In a nut- shell, our argument will be that Judge Prosser in the Frederick County Circuit Court was correct in 2004 when ruling that
Virginia and not
Vermont has jurisdiction in my legal case. Furthermore,
Virginia based on their strong marriage between one woman and one-man law cannot accept a custody order between two women who were engaged in a civil union. Today,
Virginia has one more law on her books- the state constitution, which states that marriage, or ANYTHING that purports a marriage (including my civil union) can be only between one man and one woman.
The Lord has forgiven me of my past sin of homosexuality. He has graciously protected my daughter and me as I continue to fight my legal battle to raise my daughter without visitation or transfer of custody to my former civil union partner, Janet. However, the battle continues to wage in two states.
Update:
1. At the last minute, Janet has refused to appear for her deposition on March 19, 2007.
2. Janet is trying to block my deposition from appearing in court on April 2-6, 2007. I am scheduled for a video -taped deposition in
Winchester for March 26, 2007.
3. I am unable to travel to
Vermont to the hearing on April 2-6 due to many reasons, which are stated in an affidavit to the Rutland Family Court in
Rutland Vermont.
4. If my deposition is blocked by the courts then my testimony will not appear that week anywhere, at all, in the course of the trail. My rights as a biological mother will be trampled on and they will try to sway the judge that I am not a fit mother. They also seek a non-compliance arrest warrant for me, which they will not hesitate to use if the Virginia Appellate Court does not rule in my favor.
What is happening now?
Janet continues to ask for transfer of custody. Tomorrow, Wednesday March 21, 2007, she will ask the Virginia Court of Appeals to reverse Judge Prosser’s 2004 decision that Virginia can not accept the out of state court order due to Virginia’s strong marriage between one man and one woman law. Friends, this same court ruled earlier this year that
Vermont and not
Virginia has jurisdiction. This vote tomorrow is not only the pivotal point of my case, but the determining factor for
Virginia opening her borders to homosexual relationships. If these judges rule that Virginia can accept Vermont’s out of state court order then my daughter and other children will not safe! My daughter, who on her own accepted Jesus last year, will be forced to reside in a home where homosexuality and other such sins run rampant. She will not continue to grow up in a home guided by God’s principles and by God as headship. Janet has been quoted that my Christian principles are not in alignment with her principles for living.
Please pray without ceasing and if possible with fasting, (Matthew 17: 21; Ester 4:14-17, 31; Joel 1:14; II Chronicles 20:1-4), for God to do the following:
1. Hand- pick three different judges from our previous appearance at this court:
These judges must be God-fearing and justice seeking according to our Virginia State Laws which states that Virginia will not recognize any out of state civil union, partnership which purports a relationship between same-sex couples or an marriage between same-sex couples. The previous Appellate judges ignored our Virginia state laws and ruled in Vermont’s favor, this creating the possibility of allowing same-sex unions and benefits to these couples to occur in Virginia.
2. Wisdom, strength, health, and safety for all the lawyers involved in this case.
Rena, will be the attorney who will complete the oral argument tomorrow morning.
3. God to be glorified through this entire court case. He has the power to change
Everything!
4. My daughter’s continued protection and safety so that she can continue to be
raised by me, her biological mom, in a Christian home and by me, the mom that God gave her.
Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. I strongly believe that now is the time for all Christians to stand and fight for God’s rights. He can use my legal case and be glorified through its outcome.
Joyfully Serving Christ,
Lisa Miller
Matthew 7:7-11
Letters to Pastors (second letter April 2007) May 10, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in General Letters.add a comment
I emailed this letter to several pastors in the Virginia area. If you read the last paragraph it offers suggestions on how you can help inform the public about Virginia not upholding the laws of the people (Remember we voted for the Marriage Affirmation Amendment):
Dear Pastors,
I need your help. Vermont is trying to export their civil union and parentage laws into our state! It is my understanding that the Virginia legislative branch of the government passes the laws that are the responsibility of the judicial branch to enforce. Our state has the strongest marriage affirmation laws; yet, I am involved in a legal action where the Virginia ruling at the Appellate Court level is in direct violation of our state DOMA, HB751, state constitutional laws and artificial insemination laws. At this very moment, a pivotal vote hangs in the balance in both the Virginia Appellate Court and the Virginia Supreme Court which will not only set a nation wide legal precedence for determining parentage rights but will also force our state to accept another state’s law which is in direct violation of our laws.
The following is a brief summary of the facts in my case. Please keep in mind that I am now a Christian and I follow God’s laws. During 2000, while domiciled in Virginia I visited Vermont and entered into a civil union. I lived in Hamilton, Virginia for two more years. During this time, I conceived via artificial insemination and birthed my biological daughter, Isabella in April 2002 in Leesburg, Virginia. In August 2002, I moved to Vermont for a period of 13 months before obeying God’s call to leave the homosexual lifestyle. In September 2003, I moved back to my native home, Virginia.. I accepted the Lord as my Savior and committed to Him that I would raise my daughter for Christ. In November 2003, while still living in the state of Virginia I filed for a civil union dissolution and mailed the paperwork to Vermont. Thus began my legal battle for custody and parental rights for my birth daughter, Isabella.
The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia recently passed in January 2007, a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Prior to this legislative action, the Commonwealth of Virginia had passed the Defense of Marriage Act as well as HB 751 which states that “Any such civil union, partnership, contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.” In July 2004, I filed for legal protection under Virginia law. Based primarily on both Virginia marriage law and existing parental rights law including our Virginia artificial insemination law, in September 2004, Virginia’s Fredrick County Circuit Court judge ruled in my favor as follows:
1) that Virginia can not and shall not accept any out of state custody or visitation orders or
recognize any relationship between same sex couples because the statute law of the Commonwealth of Virginia read as such ( I stopped practicing homosexuality in 2003);
2) that since the defendant, my former “partner” and a practicing homosexual, did not adopt the child
to whom I gave birth, then she can have no rights other than the rights of a friend,
3) that, I, the biological mother am the only parent of the child; and,
4) that since the child was born in Virginia and was domiciled in Virginia at the time of the 2004
court hearing, that only Virginia can have jurisdiction. The court then confirmed my custody of the child to whom I had given birth.
My former partner then appealed to the Virginia Appellate Court for reversal of the Virginia Circuit Court ruling. The appellate court ruled in her favor. I appealed this ruling to the higher court. However, it seems as if the Virginia Supreme Court is doing everything in its power not to hear my case, twice citing filing technicalities. Last week they issued a letter to us stating that they will take my case under advisement on April 20, 2007.
On Wednesday March 21, 2007, the Virginia Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on my appeal of parental rights and the Marriage Affirmation Act Two of the three appellate judges who heard the case sought to dismiss the case by stating that the prior ruling made by the same court earlier negated the 2004 court ruling made by the Frederick County Virginia Circuit Court judge as detailed above. One of the Appellate judges who wanted to dismiss the case also stated that Virginia marriage laws do not apply in this case.
I do not understand. I was born and raised in Virginia. I gave birth to my daughter in Virginia. I am a Virginia resident. It does not appear to me that there is any confusion as to what the legislature of Virginia intended: “Same-sex relationships are not recognized by Virginia.”
This same Virginia Appellate judge also negated my biological parental rights. She stated that although the other party has no biological relationship with my birth daughter, my parental rights do not supersede her rights to visit with or share custody of my birth daughter, because previously the other party and I had entered into a civil union (which is not recognized in Virginia). Further, this took place with no discussion of the rights and the best interest of the child.
I am informed that this ruling, currently pending in the Virginia Appellate court, will be setting a legal precedent. I am told that if the judges rule that the Virginia marriage affirmation laws are not applicable to this court case then Virginia has not upheld its own state laws and constitution. Furthermore, this ruling will be used as a precedent to force Virginia to open her doors to the legalization of parental rights for non-biological or non-adoptive parents and the best interest of the child is to be disregarded.
On April 2-6, 2007, the other party to this lawsuit (Janet) asked for full custody of my birth child and for my incarceration in prison for following the rulings of the Virginia Circuit Court in 2004 and for fighting for my parental rights to raise my birth child as I see fit. The Vermont Judge, Judge Cohen, has given both sides until April 20, 2007 to get in our facts. Judge Cohen will then rule with his final judgement on my case the last week of April. In the meantime, I am forced to give visitation to Janet this Saturday, April 14, 2007 or I could face jail time or worse lose custody of my daughter forever.
As stated before, I am a Christian. I have faithfully attended church since accepting Christ in 2003. I have attended Emmanuel Baptist Church since August 2006. Please feel free to contact my Pastor, Pastor Rebert, at 540-667-8924 if you have any questions. My daughter accepted Christ in September 2006. Please pray for my daughter’s protection and for mine so that she can continue to grow-up 100% of the time with me in a Christ filled home without any type of visitation or transfer of custody.
Please help me preserve my (and other Virginia residents) biological parental rights and be granted a full and accurate implementation of Virginia’s marriage affirmation laws. More details about my case are available at www.lc.org. This case will set legal precedence in our country. Please contact Bob McDonnell, our Attorney General, at www.oag.state.va.us; Mr. Kaine, our Governor, at www.governor.virginia.gov/; Bob Marshall, the delegate who pushed the agenda for the passage of the Marriage Affirmation Laws for Virignia, at delegatebobmarshall@trincomm.org; Mrs. Sherwood, our delegate for Winchester, at dlshrwod@shentel.net and Congressman Frank Wolfe at http://www.wolf.house.gov/contact.html. Tell them about my case. Voice your opinion about the outrage of Virginia not standing by our Marriage Affirmation laws. You can also write editorials for your local papers. Let your voice be heard. I am also available if you have any questions or concerns. My contact information is at the top of this letter. I appreciate your help.
Joyfully Serving Him,
Lisa Miller
Defendant of the (Janet) Miller-Jenkins vs. (Lisa) Miller-Jenkins case
Matthew 18:19
Letters to Pastors (First letter) May 10, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in General Letters.add a comment
I mailed this prayer letter to 500 pastors in the state of Virginia:
September 26, 2006
Dear Pastor,
As you may know, the debate on same-sex marriage and marriage between one man and one woman is waging a war in our own backyard. Virginia is the seventh state to allow the voters this November 2006, to decide the fate of our state in respect to our core values of our original Constitution of marriage. A “yes” vote for marriage between one man and one woman would allow Virginia to add a marriage amendment to Virginia’s Bill of Rights, which would override any civil union or gay marriage law from any other state.
At this point, you may be asking yourself why I, an unknown person, am writing to you or why you should be concerned about voting “yes” for the Virginia marriage amendment. Please do not put this letter down. If you continue reading, you will discover that this amendment affects not only you but also your congregation including children.
I feel convicted to share with you my personal testimony of how gay unions create chaos and hurt our children. My name is Lisa Miller and I left the homosexual lifestyle three years ago and became a Christian. I am the biological mom of the four-year-old child whose custody is in question in the highly publicized Miller-Jenkins vs. Miller-Jenkins court case between our state of Virginia and the state of Vermont. In 2003, God called me out of the homosexual lifestyle and into a life centered on Him. He also called me to raise my then 17 month old daughter according to His principles.
I left the homosexual lifestyle in September 2003, and moved from the state of Vermont back home to Virginia. I had been living in Vermont a brief 13 months. Back in Virginia, my daughter and I started attending a local Bible believing church and it was there, sitting in a service that I realized I was not saved. I immediately asked Jesus to cleanse me from my past sin of homosexually and committed my life to Him. I also committed to Him that I would raise my daughter for Him. As the months passed, I continued to grow in the Lord: II Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and for ever”.
In December 2003, while still living in Virginia, I felt God’s calling to file court papers to completely dissolve my past, which involved a civil union to the woman whom I left in Vermont. I knew He wanted me to have a clean slate before Him and the only way to accomplish that calling was to completely turn away from my past. I had no idea, however, what was going to occur once I filed the court papers and mailed them to the court in Vermont. December 2003, brought on the battle where God can have victory if He so chooses. As you are presently reading this letter, the court battle continues in our state of Virginia in the court of Appeals. Yes, the battle between gay unions and marriage between one man and one woman is happening in our own backyard of Virginia!
Briefly, the gay activists’ organizations have been trying in court to take away my daughter and place her in the legal custody of the homosexual woman whom I left behind when I decided to follow God. Recently, on Friday August 4, 2006, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that Vermont has jurisdiction in the custody case of my child:
a) even though my daughter was conceived and born in the state of Virginia
b) even though I was living in the state of Virginia when I participated in the civil union.
The other woman did not adopt my biological daughter nor is she related to her in any way. Vermont is trying to export their law into our state! Attached to this letter is a news release from Liberty Counsel, my legal counsel, detailing the current status of my court battle that has spanned over the last three years. My legal case is the prime example of what will happen all over the country and continue to occur if a marriage amendment is not added to our Bill of Rights and our Constitution.
I urge you to prayerfully consider how God can use you and your congregation to help support marriage between one man and one woman. I urge you to prayerfully consider how you can be used mightily by God to encourage your congregation and all church groups from Sunday school to Bible study groups to vote “Yes” November 7, 2006 in order to preserve God’s original plan for marriage. God makes it abundantly clear in both Genesis 2:20-24 and then reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:4-5 His plan for marriage. Jesus said “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” God’s plan for marriage never changes throughout the Bible. As Christians, we are commanded to follow His plan. It should, also, be our desire as Christians to follow His plan.
Please encourage your congregation to vote “Yes” for the Virginia state marriage amendment, which states, “That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions…” on November 7, 2006, to put an end to the chaos that gay unions create.
Virginia’s borders will not be protected against the exportations of gay unions from other states if Virginia does not have a marriage amendment. Our children will not be safe from the legal chaos that ensues if we as voters do not exercise our rights on November 7, 2006, to say “Yes” to a marriage amendment for Virginia.
Joyfully Serving Christ,
Lisa Miller
Letter to Virginia Representatives May 10, 2007
Posted by speakkindness in General Letters.add a comment
Delegate Beverly Sherwood March 26, 2007
3223 Valley Pike
Winchester, Virginia 22602
Dear Ms. Sherwood,
I need your help. Vermont is trying to export their civil union and parentage laws into our state! It is my understanding that the Virginia legislative branch of the government passes the laws that are the responsibility of the judicial branch to enforce. Our state has the strongest marriage affirmation laws; yet, I am involved in a legal action where the Virginia ruling at the Appellate Court level is in direct violation of our state DOMA, HB751, state constitutional laws and artificial insemination laws. At this very moment, a pivotal vote hangs in the balance in both the Virginia Appellate Court and the Virginia Supreme Court which will not only set a legal precedence for determining parentage rights but will also force our state to accept another state’s law which is in direct violation of our laws.
The following is a brief summary of the facts in my case. During 2000, while domiciled in Virginia I visited Vermont and entered into a civil union. I lived in Hamilton, Virginia for two more years. During this time, I conceived via artificial insemination and birthed my biological daughter, Isabella in April 2002 in Leesburg, Virginia. In 2002, I moved to Vermont for a period of 13 months before moving back to my native home, Virginia. The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia recently passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Prior to this legislative action, the Commonwealth of Virginia had passed the Defense of Marriage Act as well as HB 751 which states that “Any such civil union, partnership, contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.” Based primarily on Virginia marriage law, existing parental rights law and our state’s artificial insemination law, in 2004, Virginia’s Fredrick County Circuit Court judge ruled in my favor as follows:
1) that Virginia can not and shall not accept any out of state custody or visitation orders or
recognize any relationship between same sex couples because the statute law of the Commonwealth of Virginia read as such (I stopped practicing homosexuality in 2003);
2) that since the defendant, my former “partner” and a practicing homosexual, did not adopt the child
to which I gave birth, then she can have no rights other than the rights of a friend,
3) that the biological mother is the only parent of the child; and,
4) that since the child was born in Virginia and was domiciled in Virginia at the time of the 2004
court hearing, that only Virginia can have jurisdiction. The court then confirmed my custody of the child to whom I had given birth.
My former partner then appealed to the Virginia Appellate Court for reversal of the Virginia Circuit ruling. The appellate court ruled in her favor. I appealed and on Wednesday March 21, 2007, the Virginia Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the Miller-Jenkins vs. Miller-Jenkins case, (Janet and Lisa) a civil union (same-sex) custody case. Two of the three appellate judges who heard the case sought to dismiss the case by stating that the prior ruling made by the same court earlier negated the
2004 court ruling made by the Frederick County Virginia Circuit Court judge as detailed above.
One of the Appellate judges who wanted to dismiss the case also stated that Virginia marriage laws do not apply in this case.
I do not understand. I was born and raised in Virginia. I gave birth to my daughter in Virginia. I am a Virginia resident. It does not appear to me that there is any confusion as to what the legislature of Virginia intended: “Same-sex relationships are not recognized by Virginia.”
This same judge also negated my biological parental rights. She stated that although the other party has no biological relationship with my birth daughter, my parental rights do not supersede her rights to visit with or share custody of my birth daughter, because previously the other party and I had entered into a civil union (which is not recognized in Virginia). Further, this took place with no discussion of the rights and the best interest of the child.
It seems the Virginia Supreme Court is doing everything in its power not to hear my case, twice citing filing technicalities. We are currently appealing their ruling.
I am informed that this ruling, currently pending in the Virginia Appellate court, will be setting a legal precedent. I am told that if the judges rule that the Virginia marriage affirmation laws are not applicable to this court case then Virginia has not upheld its own state laws and constitution. Furthermore, this ruling will be used as a precedent to force Virginia to open the door to the legalization of parental rights for non-biological or non-adoptive parents and the best interest of the child is to be disregarded. The other party to this lawsuit (Janet) will be asking, on April 2-6, 2007, for full custody of my birth child and for my incarceration in prison for following the rulings of the Virginia Circuit Court in 2004 and for fighting for my parental rights to raise my birth child as I see fit.
I have tried to be brief, yet as complete as possible. I am still stunned by what has happened to me in court and what else appears quite possible in the future: The loss of physical and legal custody of my birth child, the loss of my freedom through incarceration, and the opening of a Pandora’s Box of parental rights in our nation.
Please help me preserve my (and other Virginia residents) biological parental rights and be granted a full and accurate implementation of Virginia’s marriage affirmation laws. More details are available at www.lc.org.
Sincerely,
Lisa Miller
Defendant of the (Janet) Miller-Jenkins vs. (Lisa) Miller-Jenkins case
