Kris Mitchell carefully pulled her Crystal Red Cadillac CTS Sedan into one of the open parking spaces in the farthest lot from the entrance at the Scottsdale New Life Church. She was late for the service, as usual, but she could not afford to park in a tighter space and take the chance that someone might carelessly scratch or dent the door of her car while opening or closing the door of theirs.
That car was one of the last reminders of Kris’ good days in real estate—before the market began crashing in 2008, before the recession, before the housing regulations. She took care of the car and kept its cream-colored leather interior polished and cleaned to perfection, but she no longer had the money for any body work, so that meant parking a long distance away and trotting briskly up to the doors of the mega church she attended several Sundays a month.
Grabbing her Bible from the glove compartment, Kris shut the door and hurried through the parking lot and up the three flights of concrete steps. As an usher helped her find a seat at the top of the stadium-style sanctuary, Kris saw that the praise and worship team was already finished and announcements were blaring from the speakers. That was too bad—the praise and worship team at New Life was one of the best in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area, and they had an outstanding combination of musicians and vocalists. Sometimes their renditions of Christian contemporary music sounded better than the original artists’.
As Kris took her seat, the announcements were ending, and the senior pastor of New Life took the microphone. “Alright everyone,” Marco Goolsby was rallying the congregation. “You know what time it is?”
“YES!” tens of thousands of voices shouted back in unison.
“What time is it?” Marco called back.
“Time to get Victory!”
“Do you want Victory in your life?”
“YES!”
“Do you believe Victory is possible in your life?”
“YES!”
“Then stand to your feet with me, and let’s claim the Victory. Hold your Bibles up high.” Marco demonstrated by lifting his Bible high above his head. “Say the Victory Chant with me.”
The Planner Description:
Once a top-producing real estate agent with a successful business and a beautiful home, Kris Mitchell is a victim of the economic downturn. She has lost her home to foreclosure, and her long-time boyfriend has married someone else. Then, just when she has almost given up hope for a better future, an opportunity presents itself for her to become a Level 1 Planner for a newly created federal agency that will implement the Retire America Act of 2013.
After persuading her own aging parents to sign over all of their assets, Kris learns that the government’s plan to confiscate the wealth and property of America’s retirees in exchange for lifelong care in the Smart Seniors community has some serious downsides. As she relinquishes more and more personal freedom to hold onto her job, she discovers what it means to trade liberty for a steady government paycheck.
