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About Elea Lee

Foster parent, adopting parent, family advocate, educator, homeschool parent

Daniel and the Ghost

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Church at our house is a makeshift, dramatic affair aimed towards the active under 6 set. Today my young son asked to do the story of Daniel and the Ghost.

At first this seemed extra-biblical until
I remembered that there is a decidedly ghostly hand in the story of the hand writing on the wall.

We told it and then re-enacted it with maximum drama, but it was also a quiet reminder–

God, and God alone will weigh our lives. Don’t be found wanting by the one person in the universe whose scales are always just.

Church for the Broken

He was a personal friend and mentor. He encouraged me to pursue God. For years I used him as an example of what a sold-out shepherd did.

A shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. A shepherd puts God first.

In my wilderness faith I have listened to Internet sermons. Recently I found my former pastor’s sermon archive. Good stuff. He is a smart guy–soaring passages of scripture combined with warm and honest anecdotes. Good stuff.

I probably should have left it there–my memories of him 20 years ago were foundational.

But I didn’t.

I emailed and told him I was encouraged by his sermons. Eventually I told him why I was in the wilderness.

Have not heard from him since. As soon as I said “sexual abuse” he was dead quiet. Not the first foundational Christian leader to quietly retreat as soon as I tell my story.

There is no room for sexual abuse survivors in the church. There is plenty of room for pedophiles.

Jesus is unequivocal about these things. Our “churches” should mirror heaven–the kingdom of children, entirely free of evil.

Instead we whitewash the citizens of hell, make them deacons, and banish the broken children they have left behind.

Now, I just stick to the gospels. Jesus never leaves me or my brokenhearted children.

Who Killed Antonio Santiago?

I remember being shocked and outraged by the original story–an unsuspecting mama is accosted by a couple of African American teens and her baby is murdered .

Appalling, right?

When the story re-surfaced meme-style as a defense for racism and murder I left it alone. I thought–tragic, but the assailants were charged.

Then my fellow child advocate, Miranda Yonts posted very quiet updates on the story.

It seems that there are other suspects in the case–the baby’s parents. Both tested positive for gunshot residue.

When you go back to the original story something stands out–the original suspects were tagged based on truancy records. Mama says–two black teens and the system finds two black teens. They might be guilty of nothing more serious than skipping school.

Four suspects. A terrible story. Who do you believe?

May 14th Attack in Port Lavaca

It is a quiet little neighborhood– close to the bay, an elementary school, a fire station. People felt safe there until the events of May 14th, 2013.

A local resident was brutally attacked sustaining significant injuries. Her assailant was wearing the mask pictured below.

When I first saw the mask I was afraid it was a dark and inappropriate joke. We are so accustomed to seeing the pixilated composite drawings of suspects–not the garish color of a menacing demon mask.

Do not be deceived. The mask is no joke. It is a powerful clue. Whoever attacked our friend and neighbor had been watching her, had planned his attack carefully, put a great deal of evil thinking into what he did.

I assume he is a man based on the strength and severity of the attack. I also assume that:

This mask is traceable.

He bought it somewhere.

Someone in our community can help solve this crime by providing
assistance into the origin of the mask.

Find the mask, find the man, stop the evil…before he can strike again.

Please.

Alanna Gallagher: two doors down from deadly

I have been praying for justice for Alanna Gallagher. No child should be tortured and murdered.

I am grateful for news of progress in her case. If allegations that her 17 year old neighbor is the prime suspect are true, all parents should take note. Predators watch their prey. Alanna was a victim of proximity to evil. How well do you know your neighbors?

And how well do they know you?

The Conjuring and Haunted People

I do not like horror movies for one simple reason: violence and pain is not entertaining.

There is too much real horror in the world for us to get our jollies from “fake” horror.

So I was intrigued when I read about The Conjuring, no real violence? Only a modicum of bloodshed? Has a man known for his scarifying horror porn turned a corner in making a scary movie with old-school methods instead of new-school exploitation?

Perhaps. But I don’t usually stray into movie review just for kicks.

The reviewer I read pointed out that most of us just say–why doesn’t the family move? That is the second time this week someone has posed that question in connection with horror. The first time the question was in response to the 7 deadliest neighborhoods in the US. A friend asked–why don’t they just move?

There is no reason why a fictional family beset by camera-funded haunts could not up and move except the placement of the crafts services table.

In real life however, the answer is right up front–poverty. People stay because they are too poor to move. The neighborhoods stay dangerous because poverty does not fund decent law enforcement.

Poverty begets crime, neglect, and the exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens.

When the money is gone so is the safety. We live in a dangerously impoverish country–little girls left in trash bins and garbage bags. Grown women murdered by a sex offender who stalked their neighborhood…then left them curled in trash bags. Kidnapping and harm.

The value of human life is plummeting in our country. Law enforcement does not keep us all safe–especially in the poorest places.

Ironic. We all know this movie will gross millions, hundreds of millions, all the while the gleaming cities of America go bankrupt, and more children die in our haunted streets.

Where could we move to be safe?