Episode 4 - Recent News: The Discovery Rampage Hostages, Missing Oregon Boy Kyle Horman's Parents, & the Family of the SC Woman Accused of Murdering Her Two Toddler Sons

Today's episode is about the hostages from the gunman who rampaged the Discovery building, the mom who killed her toddler two sons recently in South Carolina, and the latest from the parents of missing Oregon boy, Kyron Horman. We'll see what comes out of this one, but an interesting place to start is that I have never, ever seen a Joyce Meyer commercial on network television. However, my TiVo caught the last 10 seconds or so of her promoting her book, Battlefield of the Mind. I think this says a LOT about Oprah's audience, and it's why I'm doing this blog. I think many who are or at least call themselves Christians confuse Oprah's version of god (little g on purpose) with the God of the Bible.

Some of what Joyce Meyer teaches is solid; she seems to have a clear grasp on the truth that Jesus died for our sin and only a personal relationship with Him brings salvation. However, I think she has an unhealthy leaning toward us basically manipulating ourselves into a position for a "good" life that loses sight of Jesus. This is exactly why her buying ad-space just before the Oprah Show is, to me, not a coincidence, because Oprah teaches the exact same thing, only her version is completely devoid of Jesus.

Ok, onto the show. The gunman, James Lee, had issues with Discovery. Oprah doesn't go into this, but mentions that Discovery is behind many TLC shows. Lee was angry with Discovery because he felt they were promoting over-population of the planet. Oprah isn't promoting this, but right away, we have a REJECT. In Genesis 1:28 God tells His beloved and newly created Adam and Eve to go and populate the earth. I won't spend forever here, but I believe that the problem with the earth is not overpopulation--it's distribution of wealth and lack of education and resources available to most nations in the world. My husband and I (at this point! We'll see once they start coming!) plan to biologically parent 3-4 children and adopt 2-3, depending on how things pan out. Some would say that having any children biologically at all is selfish; I would tell them that the Bible clearly contradicts this. We are also to steward the earth well, and my husband and I are conscientious about living as sustainably as possible. However, God wants Christians to have and raise godly children.

I will say this: Discovery is the force behind the show "19 Kids and Counting". I, personally, think having that many children is insane! For one, it would be so difficult to truly pour yourself into each child and point them to Jesus with any real consistency when you have 18 other children needing you, too. Secondly, my husband and I take seriously not just our spiritual legacy (point one), but also to financially provide well for our family is a huge piece of how many children we have. It would be nigh impossible to rightly prioritize God, then family, then church, then work when you have the burden of financially providing for 19 children, and that includes what is left for them each to share when we die. I'm not saying the Duggar's are in sin; only God knows their hearts. I can't even say for sure that He hasn't told them to have all of the children they have. However, I am certain that this is not a calling for the Hagglund family and few, if any, families could do this well!

Ok, to the show itself. Jim McNulty and Chris Wood were the two men that were taken hostage by Lee. Lee was obsessed with his hostages and wanted to know if they had children. He accused Jim, father of two, of having children because he had no one to love him. He then told Jim that he should have his children sterilized, and then railed on religion and hating the Catholic church. Kudos to Jim for refusing to deny his family and for his statement that if Lee had asked about his faith (he is Catholic), he wouldn't have denied it.

The standoff lasted for four hours; after about three, the two men decided to make a run for it, despite Lee having a gun and bombs strapped to his body. Chris was able to reply to an e-mail to his boss on his phone and also called and let his phone stay on for about two minutes so his boss could hear what was going on. Chris didn't know that the SWAT team was outside but decided he didn't want to die and it was time to run. Jim knew there was a SWAT team member but also chose to run; both men made it out safely. The security guard made it out safely, as well, and Lee was shot and killed by a SWAT team member.

I would likely cry even if I weren't pregnant, but being 16 weeks pregnant with our first child made Jim's story of getting home and holding onto his children and refusing to let go just wreck me. I am not afraid of death--I look forward to being with Jesus, free from sin forever. That said, I have a lot to live for and pray that my death comes many, many years from now. I am so in love with my husband and baby, and so this next segment, about a mother killing her babies... we'll see how I can get through this. Lord Jesus, give me strength.

Shaquan Duley was a mother of three young children, including two sons aged two years and 18 months. She lived in a small home with her mother, sister, and two nephews. Her sister says that Shaquan was having a hard time just keeping up with the regular tasks of life, and became extremely angry when she found out that her two sons had been given a bath without her permission. Her sister said, essentially, that since Shaquan wasn't taking proper care of her babies then she and their mother would have to. Shaquan, according to her mother, was "raging like a crazy person." She took the boys, one under each arm, and sped off.

Shaquan didn't return home that night; the next morning she was found walking down a rural road in hysterics. She claimed that her car went into a river by accident, that her two sons were in the car, but she couldn't save them and they died. After her story kept changing and didn't add up, Shaquan confessed that she suffocated her babies at a hotel and then strapped them into their carseats and drove her car into the river. If you watched this episode and were able to listen to the grandmother describing finding out that her grandbabies were dead and didn't cry, you need to check your "Do I have a heart?" card. This is the sort of thing that makes my heart cry out, "Lord Jesus, come quickly! Come quickly!" The results of sin and death on this world are just soul crushing, especially stories like this. Even Oprah was crying, and that woman can keep it together under some extreme duress.

The family says that Shaquan was normally not an angry person, and that her behavior the night before she murdered the boys was abnormal. They also said that she adored and loved her children. They simply don't know or understand what led her to the breaking point.

Side note: After the break, Oprah recaps what's happening and images of Shaquan being shuffled around a courtroom in her orange jail clothes fill the screen. I mean this respectfully, but notice something: Shaquan clearly isn't wearing a bra. Are bras not allowed for female inmates? Perhaps due to the suicide risk, at least only for those considered to be a suicide risk, which I'm sure she is? Interesting. And all the more sad--if you are a woman with any sort of size to your breasts, or are of an age past 25 or  have had children, then having to go in public without a bra is probably one of the scariest things someone could ask you to do that isn't inherently dangerous. I know it is for me; you know the naked in front of the whole school nightmare? I've never had that, but I have dreamed that I'm in public in front of people I know without a bra and I'm just humiliated.  Being well endowed by genetics and then losing 135 pounds has not been friendly to my chest and bras make me look normal.  So, seeing Shaquan, who is quite busty, shuffling around in that horrid uniform and clearly bra-less just makes me sad for her. For whatever reason, this helps humanize Shaquan for me and reminds me that she is not a monster. She's God's image bearer, and she did a horrible, horrible thing, but she can be forgiven and know that what she did will not be held against her for eternity by God. Right now I am praying for her, that in prison she would draw near to Jesus and experience His forgiveness for her sin, particularly against her two baby boys.

Man. This episode is almost too heavy to bear. I can't handle seeing those sweet boys in pictures, and those two tiny white caskets just... ugh. I can hardly even type. Too many tears, and shaking with grief. I'm glad the family lovingly remembers their boys, but I just can't handle it. I wish I could go back and save them; I can't imagine how the family must feel. I'm certain those two boys are in the arms of Jesus; if not for that, I would be in such despair that I would want to just skip this entire part of the show.

I don't think I could do this episode justice without commenting on the lawyer's plan to plea, hoping for leniency because Shaquan was thought to be trying to commit suicide when she drove her car into the river. Interestingly enough, she hasn't expressed any remorse or regret but did say she was so glad her mother is loving and forgiving. The family feels that they have forgiven Shaquan because the Bible says you have to forgive, and they're right. That doesn't mean that they can't be grieved and angry and anguished. Forgiveness means entrusting judgment to God; however, it doesn't mean that we can't still remember what someone did and work through the various emotions and consequences of the pain the perpetrator brought against us. It's hard to tell how the family is dealing with that. Similarly, on the legal side, the Bible makes clear that you do answer to God, and even if you seek His forgiveness, you are still to own up to the legal ramifications of your actions. Shaquan is accountable for what she did, and even if she enters a plea, even if she was legally insane at the time of her actions, she must accept and own up to the legal system's judgment on her actions.

Now, the last segment. Oprah spends a few moments with the parents of missing Oregon boy Kyron Horman. Though she is not even charged with a crime (yet), it is believed that the stepmother, Terry Horman, at very least knows what happened to Kyron. Kyron's mother and father admit to Oprah that they both now believe that Terry doesn't just know what happened, but that she is behind it. Kaine, Kyron's father, says that at first Terry wasn't suspicious but things just kept changing with her story and, added to the failed polygraph tests and increasing refusal to work with the police. It's sad that Terry appeared to have a great relationship with Kyron but his mother, Desiree, says that since he disappeared things have come out that suggest that maybe his stepmother Terry wasn't good to him.

Both parents feel in their heart that Kyron is alive and that he is being held captive somewhere. Upon being asked what we, the millions watching, can do, Kyron's mother said that we can get his picture out there and keep our eyes open for him. I agree that can be done; I also say that we can pray, pray, pray for this young boy's safety and that Jesus will move and that something will break in this case. I pray that Kyron will be found, safe and alive, and delivered back to his parents. I pray for his protection from physical harm during this time, and that Jesus will bring healing and peace when he is safely home.

Overall, today's show was pretty straightforward but so, so heavy. I'm exhausted. There's something about not just watching the show but also blogging and internalizing and chewing on it that makes it so much harder to handle when the topics are this sad. Thank goodness that tomorrow's looking to be a happier episode.

Speaking of that, up tomorrow: Oprah surprises two moms with what are looking to be insanely great prizes, Vera Wang reveals her latest wedding dress designs, and Oprah announces her latest book club pick. After these heavy episodes, I'm looking forward to a lighthearted one!