How Could This Happen: Finding your way when tragedy strikes (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780984030422)

Kristi was born in Bellingham, Washington, and grew up in Lynden, WA, a small farming community located near the Canadian border. An outstanding student and athlete in high school, Kristi pursued her education at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho, where she was a nationally-ranked setter for the women's volleyball team before graduating magna cum laude in 1993. With a BA in Compassionate Ministries, Kristi followed it up with a Master's degree in Marital and Family Therapy and a Master's degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Kristi has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2000 and has worked in the private sector and church contexts to provide affordable therapy and counseling for individuals and couples throughout her career. She served as the Pastor of Enrichment Ministries at 7,000 member Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California from and also as the Pastor of Community Compassion at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene. Since moving to Twin Falls, Idaho, Kristi has worked in private practice, specializing in the areas of marital therapy, parenting, women's issues and trauma. In addition, she gives community resource support to kids and families at the local Boys & Girls Club and serves on the Board of the Idaho Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. Kristi's latest project has been developing educational and therapeutic strategies for parents and families of children with trauma - specifically as it relates to the other children in the home. Kristi knows firsthand about this issue from her own experience, having grown up in a family in which a tragic fire severely burned her older sister. She continues to work with individuals who have life issues from similar experiences and seeks to create safe places for them to find redemptive healing. A dynamic speaker and presenter, Kristi brings out in people and groups the ability to see things in a new perspective through her honesty, humor and passionate stories . An avid athlete, Kristi enjoys working out each day and finding time to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. She also enjoys baking, spending time with her husband and family, and a couple of really good TV shows. She and her husband, Sam, have two children, Cody (12) and Kendra (10).