I’m so proud of my best friend Kristi Griem. She has just released her first ebook, Sustainability!

Kristi and I were hired around the same time at WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union). We were good friends, but our friendship deepened after spending a week in Nashville with over 6000 teens girls at the National Acteens Convention in the summer of 2003.

Kristi and I roomed together that year. The hotel where we stayed had parking at a city parking deck. Long story short…I parked in the wrong parking space and the car was towed. After looking for the car for an hour, we realized it had been towed. Kristi and I borrowed a church van and took a trip into the ghetto of Nashville after midnight to retrieve the car. We had to get the car that night, because I was to be at a ministry location first thing in the morning to coordinate hundreds of teenage girls and their leaders. The after midnight adventure in the ghetto will never be forgotten.

At the conference, I can remember trying to get through the crowd of girls to get to where I needed to be. Kristi in her Panamaninan outfit and no fear attitude took my hand and pulled me through the crowd. Since that week, we have been taking turns pushing and pulling one another in a God given friendship of love, support, accountability, and even sustainability through life’s ups and downs and the birthing of four babies and lots of dreams. I thank my God for Kristi.

Kristi is the best of friends. I could go on and on about Kristi…

Kristi’s ebook was birthed from her experience growing up on the missions field in Panama and time coordinating production of fair trade products with both internationals and missionaries. In the book, Kristi shares her heart for reaching the nations and providing sustainable.

Kristi hopes that Sustainability will be a valuable resource to people or churches who are working with artisans, looking to work with artisans, and/or looking to have platforms/businesses for (hand-made) products globally. Having worked with personnel in the fair trade, hand-made product industry for over ten years, Kristi has seen the need for a resource that includes tangible ways to assist with the complexities that the industry brings. Some areas that are discussed in Sustainability are:

My friend Sarah from Samaritan’s Purse asked me if I would review a video. Of course, I said yes because I’m a big fan of the ministries of Samaritans Purse from disaster relief to Operation Christmas Child. I have seen Samaritan’s Purse at work first hand in Indonesia, Alabama, and Missouri.

The documentary movie, Three Hearts, is a visual and emotional journey of hope and healing about families from the US and Mongolia. The movie follows three kids who have been selected to come to the US for heart surgery with Samaritans Purse’s Children’s Heart Project.

It was hard to watch the movie without thinking about those in my life who have had heart surgery.

I have watched both of my parents go through triple-by pass surgery. My Mom’s surgery was over 15 years ago. My Dad’s surgery was just last year. Their hearts were stopped while their bodies were connected to a machine that kept them alive during the surgery. Words cannot describe what it feels like to sit and wait while a loved one is having heart surgery. Fear and worry consume yet for me the hope of Christ sustained me. Both my parents survived and are alive today.

It was hard not to think of Sean Henderson when a 19 year boy who needed heart surgery was introduced in the movie. Both were tall slender teenage boys entering into manhood. I first got to know Sean when he was 19. I was on staff as the children’s minister at Southside Baptist Church. Sean helped coach our annual Children’s Basketball Camp in June of 1997.

Sean had a way with the kids and they adored him. From the first day of the camp, I knew there was something special about him. Over the course of the week, I got to know Sean and came to highly respect him. He was a great man of God. During the week, he found out that he was going to need heart surgery. We prayed for him. A month later, Sean lost his life during surgery. A whole community mourned losing Sean and at the same time celebrated the life that he abundantly lived for Christ.

And again, the three year old girl in the movie reminded me of my friend Amy’s precious little miracle Ethan who was born in 2008. Within five days on earth he was diagnosed with heart problems. (Ethan’s Story) And, within a month, he had open heart surgery. Today Ethan is a happy rambunctious 3 year old. Sometime in his future, he will need to have valve replacement surgery.

There are striking similarities between the stories from the kids I know in the USA to the kids I met in the movie from Mongolia. However, the most dramatic difference between the two sets of kids is the access that Americans have to heart surgery. The kids in the US have hope. The kids in Mongolia only have hope of survival through coming to America for heart surgery through programs like Children’s Heart Project of Samaritan’s Purse.

Three Hearts walks you through that journey of hope. From parents receiving the good news that their children will be able to have the heart surgery in the US, to a host church in Texas surrounding the Mongolian families with the love of Jesus Christ.

The hardest part of the movie for this mom to watch was seeing the nurses take the three year old girl from her mom’s arms into surgery not knowing the outcome.

The best part of the movie was watching families open their hearts to Jesus as their children’s hearts are being restored.

Three Hearts is a beautiful story of physical and spiritual hope and healing through Jesus.

I want to encourage you to watch the movie and share it with others.

Also, I want to encourage you to learn more about how you can help:

1. Connect surgeons, medical professionals, and hospitals who can help with the Children’s Heart Project.

2. Raise funds. Here is the Firstgiving site that I have set up for my family. We have set a goal to fund the cost of one child’s expenses of $2200 within the year and hopefully reach our goal before my oldest boy’s 6 birthday on May 5.

3. Donate.

4. Pray. Visit the Children’s Heart Project website to pray for the children and to pray over the ways that you can help. You can also receive updates at Children’s Heart Project on Facebook.

5. Get your church to watch the movie and make Children’s Heart Project a ministry project. This is a great project for children or students.

Giveaway

I have 5 copies of the movie Three Hearts that Sarah has given me to giveaway. For a chance to receive one of these video leave a comment. Feel free to share your heart stories or tell us why this type of ministry matters.

For extra chances to win:

• Follow @SamaritansPurse on Twitter (http://twitter.com/samaritanspurse).
• Sign up to receive occasional email updates from Children’s Heart Project at http://ar.gy/chphome

I took a break in telling “My Story” last week to take the kids to Disney. We had a fantastic time. We actually went to Disney two days and spent the rest of our time at the pool with a quick trip to the beach. It was great to get away and to just focus completely on the boys and Shane.

I also got the chance to read all three books in The Hunger Game series. Loved them! Here is my thoughts on Why Parents Should See and Read The Hunger Games.

It has been hard for me to get back into writing my story. Vacations always throw me off for at least a week following. I’m almost back on schedule. Please forgive me if I have not responded to your email.

This week marks the two year anniversary of telling the police about the abuse. It was a liberating time, but at the moment all is weighing heavy on my heart.

The day before I left for vacation someone special in my life and closely associated to the abuse called out of the blue to ask me if I would help her write her abuse story. God swung that door wide open. She had yet to even read my blog. It was a total God thing.

I’m seeing God open up so many doors to healing. At the same time, it is heavy and messy stuff to journey through.

Please, pray for me. Pray for the people that are asking me to journey with them through the healing process. And pray for the people that are struggling to find freedom and healing from their past.

You are loved. By Him and me.

Mitzi

The question weighing on many parents minds is, “Should my kids see The Hunger Games Movie or read the books?”

This was a question I was asked yesterday by a mom of a 9 year old boy at a baseball game after I told her I had read the books and seen the movie. My response was that she should read it first and decide for her child.

The movie is violent and deals with heavy issues. In the movie, kids (12-18 years old) are forced to kill other teens for survival when they are selected to participate in The Hunger Games. With that being said, I think the movie and books are very good.

Without a doubt, I do think that if you are going to let your kids (whatever the age) watch the movie or read the books you need to do the same and use the content as an opportunity to connect with your kids.

Here are 10 reasons why parents need to see the movie and read the book if their kids are doing it. And perhaps watch the movie with their teens.

1. The Hungers Games are not going away anytime soon. In fact, I predict it will be on the horizon for the next 4-5 years with the success of the first movie. The opening weekend superseded everyone’s expectations as movie production on the next book begins to take shape.

The YA adaptation opened to an incredible $155 million weekend, passing up “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “Spider-Man 3″ to have the third-highest opening weekend behind “The Dark Knight” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.   (MTV online)

2. This movie is emotionally charging a generation of children and teens. This became apparent when I witnessed a group of preteens in the movie theater raise their three fingers in salute when the teens in the movie saluted Katniss after she volunteers to take her sisters place in The Hunger Games.

Even as I, someone who doesn’t read fiction except on vacation, became obsessed with completing all three books after starting the first. The story draws you in on a deep emotional level and doesn’t let go until you are get to the end. Suzanne Collins is a brilliant writer.

3. The Hunger Games at it’s core is a story about young people growing up in a world of oppression and war. The books are published by Scholastic to be educational and to get teens to think about issues. It is a great foundation for parents to talk to their children about these deep and hard issues of life. See discussion guide below.

4. The love story in the book is very innocent. It shows a girl struggling through the emotions of having feelings of love for two boys who genuinely respect and care for her deeply. Yet, having sex isn’t even an issue. The love story is sweet and believable. Perfect time to talk to your kids about “real” love and sex.

5. The stark contrast to the poor in the Seam and the wealthy in the Capitol are vividly in the movie. Yet, it isn’t this feeling that the wealthy are evil for having money and the poor are mindless. The books show the contrast between the haves and haves not, but also show the ignorance and innocence among both groups about the other. This vivid contrast makes for an excellent conversation starter with your kids.

It was a radical reminder that we live in the Capitol.

6. The movie and books show the ugliness of what “reality TV” and voyeristic society can evolve to. (Which was very convicting to the reality TV lover.) Here is an excellent post from Dr. Holly Ordway that articulates this much better than I can.

7. Katniss is a mixed up girl forced into these situation beyond her years when she would rather be out in the woods escaped from the realities of her world. Teenagers, especially girls, can personally relate to the struggles that Katniss encounters. Sure in North America teens don’t have to worry about “fighting to the death”, but teens do have to make chooses when it isn’t so clear what choice is right or wrong, good or bad but yet the best choice that could be made under the circumstances. What an excellent opportunities for parents to share with their children their own struggles with choices and engage their teen is a conversation.

8. Katniss has a strained relationship with her mother after her father is killed. Her mom has a breakdown and Katniss takes on the role of mom at a young age. Yet, her father’s legacy has the greatest impact on her throughout her life. This is a great opening to talk to your kids about how Katniss relationship could be made better with her mom and ask your kids how you can better connect with them.

9. The movie and book has several different themes. The battle to survive by beating the odd is one of the main themes. The teens are put into circumstances where there is no hope of surviving. Yet, as Christ followers we have a hope in all circumstances. We don’t have to fight to win the battle between good and evil, because Christ has already won that battle. No matter how bad thing gets on this earth, we have a eternal hope in a victor that has conquered death and is creating a new earth.

10. Watching the movie and reading the books together is a chance for parents to take a journey with their kids to see what they are hungry for. What in the movie do they connect with?

• Respect from their peers or want to just fit in
• Desire for someone to love them
• Despair over oppression or poverty in the world
• Need for a mother that is present in their lives or for a father figure to guide them

What do you think about the books and the movie? How are you talking to your teens about the movie?

When you have been abused or when people you love and trust live different in private than in public, it creates a heart of doubt and mistrust.

Growing up I didn’t really trust anyone. I loved people. Cared for people. Confided in people. And had many close friends. But in the back of my mind, there was alway this feeling that they would hurt me if I trusted them.

I have always been fiercely independent. Even as a child. My mom would say that was the strong willed nature that I was born with. Perhaps it is a little of both nature and nurture that shaped me.

The combination of mistrust and independent don’t settle well for a southern conforming Christian wife. So it would take a Colorado boy to win this woman.

Shane was a pretty boy from Colorado. He was the cutest boy that I had ever dated. I really didn’t see the cuteness. I just saw a Godly man I adored. However, I did notice other women noticing him and how he enjoyed their attention.

I was very insecure while we were dating and it took us both 2 years together and one year on different continents for us to come to the decision to marry. After we married, our relationship was so much easier and later my jealously subsided.

Soon after we married, someone close to me said “Shane seems too good to be true.” Of course, with my negative thought patterns and lack of trust I took that to mean “Shane cannot be trusted”.

In the back of my head was the thought, “I cannot be trusted”. I loved him, but I wasn’t ready to be dependent on him.

I think that is one reason that I clung so closely to my job and made it priority in my life. It was something that I had somewhat control over and it gave me financial security and independence.

With my counselor, I talked about my irrational fears, the trust issues, the abandonment issues, and unreal expectations. The counselor helped me to focus on the love that God desires for me to have toward my husband based on the Bible.

On my journey, as I began trusting God it became easier to trust Shane.

You see, God is in control. And whether Shane stays or leaves the marriage, God is still in control not me. I personally cannot save our marriage by my force and determination that only leads to control that hurt our relationship and damages our marriage. What I can focus on is respecting and loving Shane as found I Corinthians 13.

Our marriage is by far perfect.

We are on a journey together of forgiveness and trust and love and reliance on God.

Today, Shane and I celebrate 9 years of being married!

I could not imagine life without Shane. He is my best friend, lover, MBA brain, partner in raising our children, special project donor, encourager, editor, team leader, helpmate, and my song of songs.

(I love you, Shane! You have my heart.)

For more about our love story here.

Trusting my husband gave me the courage to leave my job…

Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it his not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

Love never ends.

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:4-13