Dangerous Passage (Southern Crimes Book #1): A Novel (25 page)

I
’d like to give a huge thank-you to Ane Mulligan and Kristi Ann Hunter for their insight into life in Atlanta, and to retired police officer Linda Crum for reading through my manuscript early on to ensure that the police aspects worked. And Ellen Tarver, your insights into bringing it all together are always spot-on. Any mistakes are my own!

To Andrea Doering and the team at Revell for giving me the opportunity to write this story that has been on my heart for a long time. I’m very grateful!

And to my sweet, sweet family who constantly supports me as a wife, mom, and writer. You guys are the best.

1. Through the story, Avery struggles with balancing life so she wouldn’t neglect her daughter and family. How did she try to handle this struggle?
   
2. On a more personal note, how do you handle your struggle to balance things in your own life?
   
3. What practical things have you discovered in your own life to help find a better balance?
   
4. The issue of human trafficking is a major theme of this story. What do you know about this tragedy?
   
5. Are you surprised to discover that it is an issue in the United States as well as in other parts of the world, and if so, why?
   
6. Malaya was willing to do almost anything for the hope of a better life. Do you take your freedom for granted? Why?
   
7. What would you do if those freedoms were taken away?
   
8. What would be the hardest thing for you to give up?
   

Dear Reader,

If I were to be perfectly honest with you, I’d have to confess that Avery and I share some of the same fears. It’s that reality of feeling overextended, neglecting one relationship to feed another, and being pulled in too many directions.

I think most of us can relate. Because between kids, spouses, work, and ministry, it’s easy to feel like all we do is run. I could give you lots of advice on what you should do. Say no more often, get organized, or start exercising so you have more energy. The Bible, though, has some advice you might find surprising.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

We can run from one appointment to the next, accomplishing all the urgent tasks on our extensive to-do list, but if we don’t stop to find out who God is, to really start to know him and build that relationship, what have we gained? How can we know God when we don’t spend time with him?

We will never be like God—or perfect—but we were created in his image. Paul says in Philippians 3 that we haven’t obtained being everything God created us to be. But then he encourages
us to forget what happened yesterday, or last month, or last year and instead look ahead toward spending eternity in heaven.

Man, in turn, has taken something good and broken it to use for his own gain. That’s one of the reasons why the plight of human trafficking rips at my heart. No woman deserves to be forced to sell her body. No child deserves to be forced to work with little or no pay, along with inadequate food, water, and sanitation.

Here are some of the facts:

FACT: Human trafficking takes place around the world, including the United States.

FACT: Human trafficking includes prostitution, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and serving in armed conflicts.

FACT: About 27 million people are enslaved around the world. Human trafficking is the second largest illegal and profitable enterprise in the world!

FACT: About half of these victims are under eighteen.

FACT: There are more slaves today than ever before in history.

FACT: The FBI estimates that there are currently over 100,000 children and young women being trafficked in the US.

What can we do? One, we can pray for those involved in this horrible crime. Two, we can inform ourselves about what is happening both around the world and where we live. Three, we can go where God sends us to reach out to those around us. It might mean getting involved with a group that is specifically fighting human trafficking. Or it might be reaching out to a hurting neighbor down the street, a lonely teen in your church’s youth group, or a forgotten elderly person in your apartment building.

May we each find the courage to step out of our comfortable world and make a difference in the lives of those around us. To
see the hurting, the lonely, and the helpless, and learn to stop and make a difference in their lives. The amazing thing is that, in turn, our own lives will be made richer because of it.

Be blessed!
Lisa Harris

Lisa Harris
is a Christy Award finalist and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from
Romantic Times
. She has over twenty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent the past ten years living as missionaries in Africa where she has homeschooled, led women’s groups, and runs a non-profit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry. The ECHO Project works in southern Africa promoting Education, Compassion, Health, and Opportunity and is a way for her to “
speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves . . . the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice
” (Prov. 31:8).

When she’s not working, she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa visit her website at
www.lisaharriswrites.com
or her blog at
http://myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com
. For more information about The ECHO Project, please visit
www.theECHOproject.org
.

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