Laura-Lee Was Here: Stop SUBMISSION Sermons. EMPOWER Women❗️

Now, before all the Christian men out there have a total meltdown, hear me out.

In 1980, when I was a young teenager, I lived in a suburb of the city of Vancouver in British Columbia (Canada 🇨🇦). The summer of that year, for those of us who lived in the “Lower Mainland” (a term for Vancouver and it's suburbs) it is known as “The Summer of Terror” because of a heinous human being named Clifford Robert Olson Jr. (aka. The Beast of British Columbia). He earned that name because he was a serial killer of children. He was ultimately convicted of killing eleven children but in the early 1980s the police couldn't catch him, even though they knew who had commited the crimes. We watched the body count climb and it changed the city (and me) forever.

I'll spare the gruesome details of Clifford's actions except to tell you that his “modus operandi” (MO) was to lure teenagers in need of a job into his car, spike their drink, sexually assault them and kill them in brutal ways. To a nine year old boy he drove a nail into his head to see how long it would take him to die.

And those are just the children he killed. Dozens more he would drug and rape and then set them loose with the threat that he could revisit them and their family members any time he wished and thus locked them into lives of fear and silence.

You get the idea.

When police officers went to schools they didn't send “Officer Friendly”. The children got instructions on how to survive an attack by “Good ol’ Clifford” (as I refer to him🤨).

I remember those talks vividly.

Not only am I an average, “polite Canadian” but as a child I was extremely timid and shy. When I walked down the street and I saw someone coming along the sidewalk towards me, I would drop my head and my eyes as they passed.

WRONG!!!

Exactly the type of behavior a Predator is looking for. You need to walk with confidence and look each person you pass directly in the eyes.

Also, if there are bushes that run right up to a sidewalk you need to cross the street because someone can hide behind them and grab you as you walk by.

But the hardest thing I had to learn was what to do when someone physically grabbed me.

It is our first gut response to plead with them.

“Please don't hurt me.”

“Please let me go.”

WRONG!!!

Predators feed off of your fear. You need to yell right in their face, “LET ME GO NOW”❗️😡

Then you need to start yelling, “HELP! HELP! HELP!"

and then SCREAM as LOUD as you can and do everything in your power to wrench yourselves away from them.

“But what if they have a knife or a gun, LauraLee?” 🥺

If they brought a knife or a gun it is not just as a THREAT. They have every intention of using it. But hopefully, if you make a loud fuss and throw a loud fit it will stun them for a few seconds and that will give you a chance to run away.

“This is all fascinating but what has it got to do with your topic?”

Let's head to the Bible for the answer.

In Matthew, chapter 24 and Luke, chapter 17 Jesus equates the End Times (in which we are now living) with life in Sodom and Gomorrah and during the “days of Noah”.

Now, let's go look at what it says about the “days of Noah” in Genesis 6:5.

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”

“But surely that is outside of The Church not inside of it”

HEAR ME! 😠

Not only is it IN The Christian Church, it is PARTICULARLY IN The Christian Church!

Predators, aware that we preach “turning the other cheek,” behaving “meek and mild”, that we need to submit to church Ministers and Elders, that we must submit to Governing Authorities, that children must “obey their parents” that wives must submit to their husbands and (in many cases) are not even allowed to speak in a church service, come amongst us pretending to be good Christian people in order to HUNT because we are easy pickings.

And as we continue to push these ideas on our children and women we have left them vulnerable and wide open to attack.

(Am I starting to get through to you yet?!)

Enough about the Problem. Here are the Solutions.

You need to bring in people knowledgeable on how to spot a Predator’s behavior to teach your congregants what to look for so they can be identified.

You need to teach Self Defense courses.

You need to teach Hand to Hand combat designed specifically for weaker people.

I am only a 5’3” woman but I am quite capable of subduing a person a foot taller and 100 lbs heavier than myself because I know the “tricks” of what to do.

You need to do some Role-Playing.

All that yelling into people's faces and screaming does not come naturally to us. You have to train people to get past the awkwardness of it so they become accustomed to it.

Equip everyone with a simple Whistle that can hang around their neck. You must be VERY careful what kind of weaponry you carry on you. In many cases they are taken by the attacker and used against the victim. Some women have been subdued by their own Pepper Spray.

But a whistle CAN'T be used against you and can be around your neck out of sight under your clothing. You start blowing on it and it can shock your attacker and also call attention to yourself. Often when people are extremely afraid they lose their voice so a simple whistle could save your life.

You need to DAILY pray for protection for your family.

I NEVER left the house without my mother praying for me. And twice I miraculously escaped an assault only to discover later that the Holy Spirit came over Mom at the EXACT MOMENT I was in jeopardy and she IMMEDIATELY stopped what she was doing to pray for me.

The results of these actions will be …

They will be equipped to survive an attack and it will build confidence in your women and children, which will not only save their lives but will benefit them all through life.

AND, when the Predators in your midst see you doing all this, they are going to leave in a big hurry, aware that your sheep have now been taught to take down a wolf.

You simply cannot watch and protect all the members of your family 24/7 so you must EMPOWER them to protect themselves.

I'm truly sorry that life has become this way and I wish I could spare you from knowing these horrible things, but I have grown weary of hearing the phrase,

“We had no idea! He seemed like such a nice, family man. Who would have guessed he was capable of such evil”

So where does the Biblical Principle of “Submission” fit in?

I deeply believe it still CAN and SHOULD be part of a Christian’s life because it is definitely IN the Bible. It is the best way to structure our lives, and ignoring these Submission requirements, instituted by GOD, has led to the current breakdown of our Families and society in general.

But, if you have a home where your children don't listen to you and your wife argues with everything you do, I suggest that you have deeper problems than yet another sermon on submission or quoting those same Bible verses will solve.

You need to LOVE YOUR FAMILY back into their proper places.

When they see that you will do whatever it takes to keep them protected and safe AND you demonstrate that what you do is in their Best Interest, your children will willingly follow your instructions and your wives will willingly yield to your wishes.

And here is one last thing to consider. 🤨

Laura makes a lovely name for a girl and Laurence is a great name for a boy. 😊

(wink. wink.)