Beacon People Blog
The first line in the email said, "Hope 2020 has been good to you..."
Today I received an email and it opened with “Hi Anna, Hope 2020 has been good to you.” It took me back for a second as my mind raced fast track like a time lapse of a movie. My mind quickly wandered through the months, seasons, holidays, highs and lows of 2020 in a matter of seconds! Just this quick thought process made me tired, really. Has 2020 been good for anyone? Most would give an emphatic, “No!” How about you?
Why Traditions Seem to Matter More than Ever
Traditions will probably mean more to us this year than ever because of how they may be interrupted. Going without brings us to a place of greater appreciation for something. God made our hearts to desire tradition.
Hoping HOPE is on the way.
While the gatherings and events of this holiday season will not look like Christmases past, the most important reason for our celebration cannot be changed. Nothing can separate us from the love of God and His Son Jesus, the Savior. No pandemic, no hurricane, no forest fire, no election result, no economic decline, no uprising or conflict can separate us from the love God has for us. This is hope and this is truth.
Our Beacon Still Shines!
Read a note from Anna about the status of Beacon People in this confusing and unpredictable time.
Essential People - caring for those who are caring for others
2 WEEKS OR 2 MONTHS MORE? REGARDLESS, THEY NEED US NOW!
The organization of Beacon People has a mission of connecting and that is what we have opportunity to do during the season of Covid-19. Whether we are in this for two more weeks or two more months, the time to use your gifts may not have ever been more important that now! But our giving isn’t finished because their work isn’t over just yet.
WE ASKED A FRONTLINE WORKER, “WHAT DO THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS NEED MOST?”
A Warm Embrace
As I type the word “Covid” more and more in emails and documents, Google still does not recognize it. It underlines it in red as if to say, “There’s no such word.” How we wish there was no such word! And when Google finally recognizes it we will probably be deeper into this nightmare than we ever imagined. I realized again yesterday as I felt flat and dull with a heart that felt void that the reason might be that I have no context for what is going on around me.
Never Knew I Could Feel Like This
I feel dull. I feel weird. I feel numb and void. Add anxiety, fear, and doubt and I have an overall feeling that I’ve never experienced before. I can’t help but think you must be feeling the same. The heinous and malicious COVID-19 virus has literally shocked us, ripping our lives from under us and leaving us exposed, vulnerable, lost, and helpless. What can we do? How can we help ourselves and those around us? The emotions are coming much too fast to process. The information coming in is like a debris ball hovering above me. I never knew I could feel like this.
When You Least Expect It!
In Alabama, where I live, the wintertime weather temperatures can be quite unpredictable. One year we can have a bundled up Christmas, with temperatures dropping in the teens. The very next year the mercury in the thermometer can swing near 60 degrees pushing up into the 70’s. It makes life interesting having to check the weather forecast to decide whether to wear wool socks or flip-flops.
For all who wait, for all who hunger, for all who've prayed, for all who wonder . . .
These lyrics are my favorite this season in a song called, “The Light of the World” by Lauren Daigle. When I blast the song in my car I want to raise my hand and say, “Me, me, me, me!”
Anticipate means “to expect; look forward to; be sure of”. One of the best scenes in my favorite Christmas movie, Family Man, is when a young married couple wakes on the morning of their wedding anniversary and while the husband is getting ready for work the wife jumps out of the bed, grabs the anniversary gift she had tenderly picked out for him and waits for him to return.
The Offer of Refreshment
The people on this list are doing amazing things that we think you would like to know about!
Are you living for what really matters? Fall 2019 Opportunities!
“I want to live for more.” Isn’t this a desire we all share? I can’t imagine anyone who would say they don’t want his or her life to count. God doesn’t create a single life that isn’t intentionally designed with His specific purposes in mind. Notice the word purpose there is plural. I’ve come to understand that God’s purposes for us are more like a complex matrix than a simple, single, calling or endeavor.
This is our mission at Beacon People - to walk with you in and through the matrix of God’s plans and purposes for you . . .
to live curiously
to live expectantly
to live intentionally
to live creatively
to live freely
to live more than anything knowing God, as He longs for you to see Him.
How to Find the Most Powerful Purpose in Your Life
Did you know the most powerful purpose in your life lives inside you? Still searching? Interestingly enough, you won’t have to look far to find the most powerful purpose in your life. God’s not trying to hide it from you. Truly, there’s no secret method. You don’t have to earn it. For sure, you can not buy it. Why? Because it’s already living inside of you.
Just Follow and...
Imagine these hardworking fisherman doing their everyday when Jesus showed up at the water’s edge, peering at them across the boat’s bow. Certainly they would have heard about him and the things he had been doing, would have heard about John and his preaching about this Man. There was great anticipation of Messiah at that time, and likely they would have felt it. But still, they’re working stiffs, just making a living on the sea.
Purpose in the Waiting (aka, That Time God Told Me to be Quiet)
From day one of my writing career, I’ve called myself an accidental author. By circumstance, my family’s life was thrust into the public eye via “Immigration Adoption Crisis of 2014.” A blog that began for a handful became a story for thousands. It led to one book, then another, and then another. It led to me writing on a weekly basis—vulnerable things, hilarious things, parenting things, faith crisis things, all for the world to see. And I felt alive doing it. I felt I had truly stepped into my calling.
Writing gave me life. Sure, it was tough at times. It was hard work, and an increase in readership meant an increase in the risk of rejection. But it was okay, because for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had found my lane. My purpose. I was experiencing my own Chariots of Fire, Writing Edition. “When I write, I feel God’s pleasure.” Call me dramatic, but it was true.
And then, our family went through a huge transition.
I'm Here for You
It was early one Sunday morning when I was having coffee in the carporch when I heard that voice yell from the street yell “Clear!” I turned around only to see the backside of a couple of cyclers speeding past our house. I wonder why he yelled? A few minutes later, the very same thing happened again! I heard a loud voice scream, “clear!” What in the world? Trying to settle back into my thoughts it happened yet again, causing me to arise from my comfortable place and walk out front. Right before me, I saw biker after biker ride by. Then they came in packs and droves, always yelling at each other, “clear!” It dawned on me that the biker up front was notifying the cyclers behind that the road was clear as they approached the sharp curve we live on.
Glance Back 2018 - Gaze Forward 2019
I want to welcome you into 2019!
With another 365 days behind you there is an opportunity to stop and process with God what He has done and anticipate the next 365 as you look towards experiencing Him in new ways. It's an opportunity to intentionally take control of your life instead of allowing your life to take control of you. With God's provision and direction, life in 2019, can be different.
Beacon People TOP TEN 2018
While we have so many things to cheer about that happened in 2018, we narrowed it down to 10 to keep it simple. Be joyful with us at Beacon People that the world is brighter because you are out there shining your light!
The Time I Envied Helen Keller
Earlier today, I sat working on my laptop in a local coffee shop. The morning sunlight streamed in, providing crystal clear vision, but still my perception of life blurred. I pondered my current and future struggles, and I wondered if others also wrestled with day-to-day life issues. As I continued my contemplations, my thoughts were interrupted by a conversation at a table nearby.
How to Create a Significant Summer!
Summer brings a welcomed way of relaxing, but it also can cause me to feel lazy and unproductive. Living intentionality seems to come a little easier with the routine of a more predictable schedule. Like most, you probably haven’t given summer much thought other than counting down the days until your beach trip or considering what in the world you are going to do with the kids all day.
Who Is Tending the Royal Garden?
Last Saturday at six o’clock in the morning, my girls and I sat in our home eating scones and swooning over every detail of the Royal Wedding. So much of this lovely affair allowed romantic memories from my teen years in the 1980s to flow back into my heart. I thought of the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles that I had also risen so early to watch as their own fairytale played out.