Football is a great sport.  Sure it has it’s share of of self-aggrandizing young men using their talent for short-lived gratification.  But even for those young men, the game itself teaches lessons that can raise them up to a higher level.  Football is an ultimate team sport.  Although the Bo Jacksons of the world can do a lot with a little, no running back or quarterback can consistently do well without the aid of their blockers.  No Defensive linemen will get many sacks if the defensive backs can’t cover their receivers long enough for the quarterback to be caught.  Foot ball is also a sport of intricate details which requires lots of practice and preparation.  You have to learn techniques and plays during the week in order to accomplish your goals on the weekends.

That’s why I almost always encourage those kids who come before me in Lee County Family Court to stay involved or get involved in sports.  Sports can teach great life lessons about accomplishments through selflessness, production through preparation, and accomplishing great goals one play at a time.  If those kids can learn those lessons on the field, I’ll see far less of them in the Court Room.

Football is also a great fan sport.  There are few better ways for a young child to spend a Saturday afternoon than playing wide receiver or cheerleader with their family next to a tailgate party on a university lawn.  For the fans like the players, the question at the end of the day is are you better off now than you were yesterday.  I am convinced that if we’ve invested an afternoon of mutual enjoyment with our family then we are.  And while your at it, bring someone else along that may not have a family to go to a ball game with.  You might help paint a picture for them of what family should be like.  Then maybe one day, when they are a momma or a daddy, they’ll have an idea of how great family can be if you put in some time, dedication, and preparation.

<Thank You Ad with list of some supporters.>

Dewey Teague, former candidate for Lee County Family Court Judge, is ready to let everyone else know who he is supporting in the July 13^th runoff election, and it’s Mike Fellows.

Fellows was the clear leader in the Republican Primary initial election.  He won 17 of 24 Lee County Boxes, but in a four way race he was not able to get the majority of all votes cast which was necessary to avoid a runoff.  Fellows faces challenger Margaret Mayfield in the runoff.

Soon after the primary, Teague said he was “99.9% sure” who he would be supporting and on Tuesday he made it official.  In his public announcement Teague said “I have been working in Family Court and working with children in Court for 30 years, and I know the personalities and the people in that Court.  I also know a lot about the needs of the children and families that come through that Court. For the last seven years I’ve often gone before Mike Fellows where he’s heard my client’s cases as a judicial referee.  He has always been fair and has always shown a genuine concern for the lives of the people that were before him.  There is no question in my mind that Mike’s judicial temperament and his genuine concern for Children and Families make him the clear choice on July 13^th.”

Fellows says he is grateful for Teague’s trust and support:  “I am very grateful to Dewey for his support in this runoff.  One thing I can say about Dewey Teague, is that in all the cases he’s brought before me in Court, I can’t remember one where I thought he wasn’t seeking the best interests of the children involved-even if it meant he took some personal heat.  Dewey knows both of the candidates in this runoff well, so when he stands up to support me, it means a lot.”

In regards to Teague’s supporters, Fellows says “I would love for all those who supported Dewey to vote for us next Tuesday so we can accomplish our joint vision of changing children’s lives to change our community’s future.  This campaign is not about me it’s about the people that come through that court.  Family Court affects everyone. Dewey ran his campaign the same way so I hope his supporters will follow his lead and turnout and vote for us at the polls on the 13th.”

Absentee Ballots are now available at the Lee County Justice Center in the Clerk’s office. If you won’t be around on July 13, please vote absentee. You can either go in, or you can do it through the mail. The absentee ballot request form can be found on our website at this link.. If you’re doing by mail, do it quickly so you can mail it back to the clerk so she receives it  before election day.  Of course don’t forget to mark Mike Fellows for Family Court (Circuit Judge 3).

We intend to keep this race about us and our vision for the service that Family Court can be to Lee County and to lives of those that come through it, and we ask for your support.  Tell your friends and neighbors to check out our web page.  Sign up to help on the How to Help page and ask your friends to do that as well.  Suggest that your Facebook friends join the I LIKE MIKE FELLOWS FOR LEE COUNTY FAMILY COURT GROUP.  Or suggest your own way of helping.  We’re open to new ideas.

Thank you all,

Mike

Absentee Request Form Link

Once the ballots are printed up and available at the clerk’s office, you can also take this application up to the Lee County Justice Center and give it to the clerk and the clerk will give you a copy of the ballot, which you can fill out there and return to the clerk to have your vote counted.

\”I Believe\” Mike Fellows for Lee County Family Court

A: Really that’s the voter’s decision. Obviously, it helps that I’ve had almost 7 years of bench experience as a Referee where I’ve heard a lot of cases, with few if any being overruled. But the real reason I’m doing this is that I have a God-given passion to help the hurting, guide the misguided, and protect the innocent.   … Read the full response to this and other questions here.

F4F Fans

We had a full house at the Lee County Republican Club last night.  It was good to see so many new people there and so many who are interested in the Family Court race.  If you missed it, here is a video of my portion of the evening….  Video: Mike Fellows speaks to the Lee County Republican Club

OA News Article  Here.

I certainly understand the Russians’ frustration with the lady in Tennessee who tried to send her adoptive child back.  Nothing makes me more upset than when a parent comes before me in Court and asks me to allow her to basically abandon her child to the State.  It is very sad that one lady in Tennessee has not only deprived her child of love but hundreds or thousands are missing out on unconditional love as a result of this selfish woman’s act as well.

Never the less we are all elated that Rebekah has made it here!

A bonus for us was that Sherwood Baptist Church is the church that produced the movies “Facing the Giants” and “Fire Proof“.  (click to view video trailer).  Amazingly, many of the actors in the movie are church members.  So it was almost like going to church with movie stars- if movie stars went to church.

Two members of the church staff also wrote “The Love Dare” book, which goes along with the “Fireproof” story line and is a 40 day challenge to improve your marriage.   If you haven’t seen these movies or purchased the book, I highly recommend both.

The book especially gives very practical knowledge about improving your marriage.  For example, on page 133 it reads “Don’t you want married life to be a place where you can enjoy free expression of who you are, growing within a safe environment that encourages you even when you fail?  Your spouse does too-and love gives them that privilege.  If your wife or husband has told you on more than one occasion that you make them feel beat down and defeated, you need to take these words to heart.  Make a commitment to daily let go of unrealistic expectations and become your spouse’s greatest encourager.  And the person they’re created by God to be will begin to emerge with new confidence and love for you.”

Good advice isn’t it?

We stood in the Moscow Holiday Inn lobby and waited on our driver, Vitali, to pick us up and head to the airport. We were to catch our flight to Astrakhan, Russia to see our daughter for the first time in three months and finish the process of bringing her home. Like I usually do I looked through the big rack of tourist brochures while we waited. I noticed several pamphlets for “gentlemen’s clubs” and “escort services”. And I guess it was the daddy welling up in me, but I couldn’t help but ask myself “wonder how many of those girls were orphans?”

Had Rebekah remained instutionalized and never received a family, she would be turned out on the street at 16. A reality that could keep me awake at night. The little girl we have loved and cherished for the past three months, years from now, alone in this dimly lit place. Now, some will tell you that after the age of 16 there are opportunities for housing and further education and a variety of other benefits available to the children, but I doubt seriously that there are many successful transitions into the world outside the orphanage through those means. In all reality, prostitution or organized crime is a likely destination for the young men and women that institutions produce, not because the Russian government steers them there, but because a lack of parenting does. I am so thankful that God has brought us here to rescue her from things like that.

My heart is full and overflowing with emotion that our “gotcha day” for Rebekah will coincide very nicely with Easter. We were hoping we would get her on Good Friday, but in a way I find it fitting that her new life will follow the celebration of the resurrection, and not before. Adoption is in so many ways a resurrection. Our adoption and salvation in Christ is the crucifixion of our old self, and the being raised to new life in Him. An event not at all possible had Jesus Himself not been raised.

Tomorrow will likely break Rebekah’s little heart and she will be removed and separated from the only safe and stable thing she has ever known, Baby Home #2. She will be with us forever and she will never again see the wrinkly faces of the Russian caregivers, or the belligerent orphanage director, or the bubbly social worker, all of whom kept her emotional life support until God could bring us to her. Her old life will pass away and a new life will begin, and if she could only know what waits for her on the other side of the Atlantic. The family, the friends, the warmth of her quiet home on Crossley Avenue, and two parents that love her and will pursue her little heart as long as it takes. When that plane lands, an earthly resurrection will be complete.

When Allison and I came here on our first trip in December we went through hell. I have never known fear, trial, and fatigue like I knew it then. We faced many challenges and were subject to many attacks by the enemy. And we came frighteningly close to saying “this is too much” and walking away. And it was only through wise counsel and support of family and the light of God’s grace that we had the clarity to do what God had called us here to do, begin the process of bringing this child home. Now it is my shame that we almost failed to stay the course, but praise be to God that He did not allow us to fall. The Grace of God came with every lost hour of sleep, every frightening diagnosis, every meal missed, every blister on our feet, every tear shed, and every night we lay awake in our own personal Gethsemane asking God “If you are willing, remove this cup from me…”. And that same Grace sits here with me now. Praise be to God Almighty who ushers us through when we are too afraid to go any further.

When we left from that first trip, we left a small picture album, with pictures of Allison and I, and Family, and even Gracie the hound with Rebekah. We wanted her new home to at least be familiar to her in picture. We were told when we came back this trip that it had become her favorite thing. That she would sit in the corner and look at it again and again and again. Allison and I fought back the tears on the playground that day, I have never been filled with more love and heartbreak than I was that day. Oh how I wanted to pick her up and tell her “precious girl, if you only knew…” Little does she know that with those pictures she is merely looking at a mirror dimly, but soon she shall see it all face to face. It will be real, the past will be gone, and she will receive a new life. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

And now Allison and I stand together, holding onto each other and a Resurrected Savior. I am fearless about tomorrow, it will be hard, but in the end we will see the Glory of God unfold in the life of this beautiful little girl.

So, this Easter is special, we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection today, and in a practical way we will celebrate it tomorrow as well. Rebekah will leave everything behind, and we will dress her in new clothes and finally we will step, as a family, beyond those rusty iron gates forever.

Rebekah Grace Boman will walk out of an orphanage tomorrow, because Jesus Christ walked out of a tomb today

VIDEO:   Adoption- God’s love in action.

-Mike Fellows, Candidate for

Lee County Alabama Family Court Judge

Read this young high school senior’s blog and it will give you hope for our future as Americans.  Young people like this might just pull America back from the brink.

Sometimes in Family Court, even in Lee County, Alabama, we see so many young people who are making poor choices because they’ve been deceived, that we can forget that there are young women and men out there who see through the deceptions of momentary satisfaction and reach -even fight- for things higher than themselves.  We also forget that often the only difference between those that make healthy choices and those that do not is belief.  One believes the truth and one believes a lie.  That’s why it is so important that at every point possible we reveal truth and expose the lies.  One place where that is especially important is in Family Court and that’s why I want to be Family Court Judge.

Here’s a quick frank video discussion that begins to address this reality.  I am convinced that the largest part of marriage difficulty is dealing with the differences.  Those differences may take many forms but dealing with them is always a necessity if we are to preserve our marriage.  Lee County’s Family Court wouldn’t be so overloaded with cases if more of us could figure this one out.  A web video isn’t going to fix this for any of us for sure, but it might be a start, and not addressing the problem certainly won’t result in a solution.

Thankfully we don’t see as much of the side effects as Macon County, but Lee County Family Court certainly sees it’s share of desperately poor families who are that way in part because they have donated their checks to the bingo machines down Highway 85.  It’s an addiction that destroys families.  How depressing it must be to be addicted to giving away your own family’s food money.

I just don’t understand how people do these things, but thankfully it doesn’t happen very often in Lee County.  One situation that does often come before me in Family Court is a situation where a parent has basically abandoned their child socially, emotionally, academically, or even physically.  I don’t know if there are any cases that come before me that test my patience more than one where it is clear a parent is desiring to give up on their child.  Usually, I send the children out, read the parents the riot act, and hit them with a hefty fine.  But there should, in my opinion, be more consequences for parents whose neglect leads to  their own child having legal issues.  One of the things I intend to do if I’m elected Family Court Judge is to work more closely with the new District Attorney to hold parents accountable for the irresponsibility that leads to their children’s delinquency or other demise.

-Mike Fellows

This kind of behavior is part of what scares Americans about the Liberal Elites.  When the same group of people that wants us to trust them with more government power, is more than willing to trash anyone- especially the defenseless- that stand in their way to get that power, it doesn’t take a prophet to see that’s a recipe for disaster.   Any group whose goal is to achieve power and whose means are always justified by obtaining that end, is a dangerous one.

Ronald Reagan helped fashion the Republican Party into one that recognized such threats to Freedom and made it their goal to undermine them.  Lately however, Republicans have  let more and more of these types slither into their own midst  in order to “expand the base”.  If Republicans do not return their party to the days of Reagan where candidates were Republicans because they believed in the foundations of Freedom not because they believed in political expediency, will the Republican party crumble?  Will this nation crumble?  Does our hope of a Free future now relate to whether or not the true conservatives defeat the masqueraders in Republican primaries?

I don’t know, but I hope and believe that just as at every juncture in this nation’s history there have been a small loyal few who would stand strong, together or alone, to protect the innocent and the laws that protect the innocent- we shall do it again, in some way shape or form.  I do not know whether those people will be called Republicans, or Constitutionalists, or none of the above, but throughout history, the best place to find many of those people was in a strong Church and in a strong Family structure that developed in a person the kind of self-sacrifice that Freedom requires.

As for the left’s contempt of the weak, it should be a clanging bell to all minorities of every race, sex, religion, or creed that our day is coming, and if we if we do not stop the governmental power grab going on around us, one day the bell will toll for thee.

-Mike Fellows 2/16/10

Where is the controversy in that?  What is it about Tebow’s mother’s choice that is so controversial to these people?  Are we to be upset that a woman chose to have a baby and he grew up to be a great football player and role model?

I for one can’t wait to see what all the anxiety is about.             See Focus on the Family’s Response

Focus on the Family’s look at 5 different types of stepfamilies can highlight the unique challenges each stepfamily may encounter.  Read more.

LIVE VIDEO: Alabama 2010 Republican Gubernatorial Forum | Opelika-Auburn News.

This Sunday many Lee County churches will observe national Sanctity of Human Life day. Those of us who made it this far in life should be thankful- thankful for the lives we love, and thankful that so far we are not a “not”.

Well, one of the things Dr. Keyes points out in his book is how so many African Americans who were living under such opressive circumstances, prospered emotionally, spiritually, and even economically despite it all.  He points out that the fortifying characteristics that enabled them to do this were strong families and strong faith.  It’s amazing to observe those who, despite external anguish, maintain internal peace through Faith and Family.

I believe those are two of the things that help to disintegrate our culture today.   If you take away God and Family, there’s not much to rest in when the external image isn’t so pretty.  My hope, is that as Judge, I can do my small part to give children and families the stability to weather the storms.

I have had the pleasure of serving the children and families of Lee County for nearly 30 years a Juvenile Probation Officer. The last 9 of those years I served the Lee County Family Court as its’ Chief Probation Officer until my retirement in February of 2009.  In May of 2003, Judge Richard D. Lane, the current Family Court Judge, appointed Mike Fellows to serve as a Referee in the Family Court. Since that time Mike has heard more cases in the Family Court than any other Referee. The position of referee is an important one in that it requires the attorney appointed to that position to be so knowledgeable in the law that he or she may serve as a substitute for the judge. In other words, the referee must preside over cases as a judge would and rule on cases using the correct application of the law. This is vital because it allows Courts with heavy caseloads, such as Lee County’s, to handle that volume of cases without developing a serious backlog, and thus slow down the normal operations of the Court.

In the years I have worked in the Lee County Family Court, and had the opportunity to work with Mike Fellows, I have observed him to be knowledgeable of the law, firm when cases call for firmness, yet also understanding when that is called for as well.   Mike never leans toward the prosecution, nor toward the defense side of a case before it starts. He is fair-minded, experienced in juvenile and family law, and uses good judgment in listening to all sides before making decisions which may have long-lasting effects on those who come before him.

I know Mike Fellows to be a man with a strong Christian background, and a man who knows the joys and responsibilities of being a good husband and outstanding father to four children. He is a man who uses these relationships, responsibilities and experiences to help form an outstanding judicial temperament that I have witnessed many times on the bench in the Lee County Family Court.

It is with great pleasure that I recommend to you the name of the Honorable Mike Fellows, for the position of Judge of the Lee County Family Court.

Perry Hinds, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, Lee County Family Court, ret.

It is these same qualities that are also necessary among the citizenry for Freedom to long stand.  For in order to have Self-Government we must learn to govern ourselves.  And what institution is best suited to teach self-governance?  The Family.

As this nation’s families go, her Freedom will follow.  It will take all of us doing small parts to help preserve our families, the families of those around us, and future families if we intend to preserve Freedom for our children.

It is partially for these reasons that I am running for Lee County Family Court Judge; to help children who haven’t had the benefit of family turn in a new direction, and help those whose family is under attack to minimize the damage.  Two of my passions in life are helping people and protecting Freedom’s foundations.  As a Family Court Judge I can do both.

The breakdown of the family unit is the source of all kinds of trouble in our classrooms, our neighborhoods and our community. And that’s why I believe it’s vital that Lee County’s Family Court remain Pro-Family. All children and families are created with a special purpose. The Family Court is uniquely situated to meet them at what seems like the bottom and direct their attention to their God-given potential. If we take advantage of that opportunity, we can affect families, children, classrooms, and all of Lee County.

I am running for Lee County’s Family Court Judge because God has given me a passion for people, a desire to defend the innocent and a heart to help guide the misguided. I pray that all those who come before me may see a man struggling to make the best of bad situations and may know that the decisions and discipline I render are a loving attempt to do justly and love mercy.

Our family would appreciate your prayers and support as I seek to continue serving Lee County, albeit on a full time basis, as Judge Lane retires. This race will be expensive and time consuming, but it is very important. Other than our churches and schools, perhaps no institution is more vital to our community. So we certainly thank you for your help.

Also, I am trying to regularly pray for the two ladies who are also running in this race for Lee County Family Court, Margaret Mayfield and Melissa Thomas.  You pray for them and their families as well and pray that I might be a blessing to them and that God would protect them and their families and bless them through this process as well.

For Immediate Release, Saturday, July 18, 2009

Well over a hundred supporters converged on an Opelika Restaurant Friday night as Lee County Family Court Referee Mike Fellows announced that he will be a candidate for Lee County Family Court Judge. The position is currently held by Judge Richard Lane who is expected to retire at the end of this term.  The event was dubbed a kick off for the “Fellows for Family” campaign.

Fellows is a graduate of Auburn High School, Auburn University and The University of Alabama School of Law.  He has been a practicing attorney in Lee County for 12 years.  He is a partner at the law firm of Gullage, Tickal & Fellows in Opelika.

In 2003 Judge Lane appointed Mike Fellows to serve as a Family and Juvenile Court Referee- a part time judicial post.  For the last two years he has served as the primary Referee.  For over six years, Fellows has heard and made findings of fact as a Referee on cases affecting children and families throughout Lee County. With this move he is taking his part time passion and seeking to make it a full time service.

“As a Family and Juvenile Court Referee, I preside over cases involving boys and girls and moms and dads that haven’t reached their potential because they’ve been distracted from the right path or because they’ve just never been shown the right path,” said Fellows.  “I am seeking the position of Family Court Judge to continue in what I’ve come to see as a ministry of service to those who find themselves in the worst of circumstances, which I believe affects the whole of Lee County.”

Fellows plans to build on the strong foundation laid by Judge Lane in the Lee County Family Court.  “As Lee County’s next Family Court Judge, I pledge to:

• Utilize my experience hearing, deciding, and making findings of fact in thousands of cases in the Lee County Family Court over the past 6 years.
• Rule in a way that seeks to strengthen families and assure that children are protected.

• Keep families together whenever possible and helping them to protect and provide for their children when it is not.
• Apply the law as it written to the facts in each case and avoid legislating from the bench.
• Maintain my commitment to fairness and finding a just resolution to the cases before me.
• Continue the Character In Action program begun by Judge Lane.

In addition to his six years of experience as a Family and Juvenile Court Referee, Mike Fellows has served as a prosecutor for the cities of Opelika and Camp hill.  He served on the staff of then Congressman Bob Riley in Washington and later volunteered to serve as an Attorney for the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution.  He has been a member of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee for 7 years and a member of the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee for 3 years.  In addition, Fellows serves as a Board Member for East Alabama Youth for Christ and The Way Ministries.

Mike Fellows is married to the former Carrie Hinds and they have four children.  They are active members of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn.  Click here for News Article