The Lighthouse News

By Dawn Hill, The Lovesick Scribe

Words seem futile in times like this, at least words originating from my own thoughts and emotions while sitting in the comfort of my own home far away from unimaginable horror and persecution. Right now, there are thousands of people thousands of miles away in Afghanistan facing incomprehensible tribulation, torture, and even death. A recent article spoke of a pastor in Afghanistan receiving a letter from the Taliban saying, “We know who you are, what you do, and where to find you.” Thankfully, he had gone into hiding before they reached his home. Others are suffering the loss of their children, particularly their daughters. The Christians are and will be hunted for the sake of Christ. Many acknowledge they will likely see Jesus’s face to face in a matter of weeks. These words are futile. Their suffering is not.

My prayers turn daily to my brothers and sisters in Christ in Afghanistan with Romans 12:15 coming to mind, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” A faint orange highlighter illuminates those last five words, and in praying for them to be strengthened in their faith in Christ, protected amid peril, comforted in the face of evil, and emboldened to proclaim the gospel, my heart breaks for them in the uncertainty they face and for the hopelessness unbelievers in that country face in these dark times. I weep for them and with them, for the loss of innocence taking place in the lives of young girls who are forcefully taken from their homes and placed into sex slavery. I think of the desperation seen in the eyes of young women begging to leave and the images of young men clinging to the side of a C-17 plane in flight only for a few moments. There is so much suffering in the world, and there is no end in reasons to pray and to petition the Lord in these times. There is certainly an assurance of such atrocity, and I cannot fathom or comprehend what these people are facing and the evil staring them in the face. Weep with those who weep.

And while the second half of this verse jumps off the page, the words preceding put their suffering in perspective. For those in Christ Jesus, their suffering will not be in vain. Though there is weeping, there is rejoicing with fellow believers even in death. The promise of eternal life cannot be taken from them. Those who kill the body can do no more. It is reported that when a group of Christians found out the Taliban had taken over, those gathered sang,

Let goods and kindred go,

this mortal life also;

the body they may kill:

God’s truth abideth still;

his kingdom is forever!

Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” The verse prior to this reminds us that to be a co-heir with Christ comes with the provision of suffering with him in order that we may be glorified with him. 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” It is convicting that the first response from these believers was not one of despair or contempt, but one of praise unto the Lord. The suffering is real. Eternity supersedes it all. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

So many are weeping right now for various reasons. We weep and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Though we are separated by distance, there is no distance in prayer. We pray for their protection and for God’s mercy. We pray that the gospel goes forth amid this tribulation and those souls are saved out of darkness. We pray for those who face uncertain death as believers in Christ. Though there is sorrow and pain, death has no sting because of the victory found in Jesus Christ. There is great joy in His salvation. They will see Him in all His glory as He welcomes them into His glory. It is in this that I rejoice with them while still weeping for their momentary affliction. An eternal weight of glory awaits them.

Dawn Hill is a disciple of Jesus Christ, a sinner saved by grace, a wife and a mother. Her writing challenges individuals to be true disciples of Jesus Christ while searching the Scriptures. After coming out of a hyper charismatic/ NAR church, she is passionate about sharing the truth and pointing people back to Jesus Christ and back to His written Word as the standard of authority for Christian living and instruction. Dawn is the writer and blogger known as The Lovesick Scribe. She resides in Virginia with her husband and her two children.

By Esther Milne

Have you thought that God could have included this as the eleventh commandment? There’s so much written in the Bible about fear and anxiety. I’ve heard that ‘Do Not Fear!’ appears 365 times, that’s once for every day of the year. However it’s not a command so that we feel condemned for a lack of faith. Rather, it’s a reminder that our Heavenly Father has got our situation in His hands so we don’t need to add the extra stress to our lives.

The Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing. If it’s in there it must be possible, but how well are we all doing at achieving this right now, at a time when people’s anxiety levels are running high?

I’ve never really considered myself to be an anxious person but I’ve realized that while others may be expressing outward signs of anxiety, mine tends to get stuffed inside. This past month has been one where I’ve experienced anxiety like never before. My husband, Jonathan & I both came down with Covid, but as I was recovering, he developed pneumonia. I knew so many others who were struggling at the same time. Then there were severe weather threats, Afghanistan … and although I was praying, I still felt the burden of the world on my shoulders.
For this reason Paul gives us instructions in Philippians 4, to be anxious for nothing, to pray with thanksgiving and then to exchange our burdens for God’s peace that will guard our hearts and minds.

God often compares us to sheep. Recently I did a study on Psalm 23 and learned that sheep are the most anxious of animals. They are easily panicked and worked into a frenzy, does that sound familiar? It’s only when they see the shepherd that they are restored to a place of calm.
What a lesson we can learn from the sheep. Instead of concentrating on the problems we are facing, let’s keep our eyes on our Good Shepherd, knowing that we can trust Him to take care of our every need just like He has promised to do.

By Linda Ray Center

“So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating Hebrews 4:9-10(NLT)

At times do you feel emotionally exhausted or disconnected from working at home or from your job? I hope you find encouragement to continue toward your goals and not give up. It is important to rest when struggles abound. Sometimes, stress and problems lead to mental and physical exhaustion. When fatigue creeps in, rest helps to recharge our batteries. After proper rest, our minds and bodies are ready to continue toward our goals. Rest also helps us achieve our God-given potential.

Recently, I traveled to Florida to put my small investment property up for sale after my renter’s contract ended. I found my couch and dining room set missing, along with the renter. After a good cry, I placed a sale-by-owner sign in the window. Soon afterward, a lady stopped to view my home and decided to purchase the house. Writing my first purchase agreement caused me much distress. A home inspector pointed out a few issues. The buyer chose to back out of the deal even though I agreed to repair the inspector’s findings.

I learned everything I could in order to get the house in quality shape, but I never felt adequate to fix the repairs, so I needed wisdom about whom to hire. My attempts to find replacement furniture, remodel, and make decisions about the repairs wrecked my body and mind causing me to shut down. I didn’t know how to proceed. That’s when I remembered Exodus 14:14, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

I wanted to let go of the struggles but questioned whether I could let God fight my battles. Pride stopped me from releasing them. As an overachiever, it’s hard to admit you struggle.

I kept hearing in my spirit, “BE STILL, REST.” That’s not what I wanted to do. It’s far easier to be “doing” before God than it is to be still. Finally, out of sheer exhaustion, I decided to take the rest God offers.

After a few days of stillness, I called a realtor to sell my house. I packed my belongings then, trusting God, I headed home in peace. Once again, I found that He began to work on my behalf when I laid my burdens down.

Seven hours after the listing went live on the internet, the realtor showed the property three times. By the end of the day, a contract came in for the asking price.

Listen to your body. If you’re overly stressed or have no energy to push through the challenges life sends your way, do your best to enter God’s special rest. He wants us to rest in order to continue on our way to success.

By Jeff Sutherland

Buying into current thinking pushes you to believe that to be happy you must be free from all restraints. Wasn’t that what they were celebrating July 4th, 1776? Our newly formed country no longer had to live under England’s rules. They could create a whole new way of living, and they did. Unique among every country that ever was, the newly formed United States created a government with checks and balances so that there would be no tyranny. Our constitution and bill of rights formed the basis for this new idea.

In the Declaration of Independence, it says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” According to Wallbuilders.com at least 29 of the 56 signers of the Declaration were trained in ministry and at least 50 were believers in God (Deists). In 1782 Congress approved the Aiken Bible for use to teach students to read in schools, to allow Bibles to be available in all churches and be read during Congressional meetings. This Bible was printed from the Geneva Bible, believing that the King James version which was printed 32 years later in 1611 so that King James could reinterpret the Word.

While our new country was celebrating its independence, it was also celebrating its dependence on God. Our founders, mostly the puritans, believed that God’s laws were the correct basis for living a godly life.

There were two main areas of growth in our country separated by 16 months and 600 miles. Jamestown, VA (August 1619 and Plymouth, MA (December 1620). The contrast between the two colonies could not have been starker. If you buy the history posed by the 1619 project, our country was formed on slavery. Yet in Massachusetts, whites, Indians, and blacks joined together to give thanks to the Lord for all He had done. Our first thanksgiving came from there. Indians and Blacks were given work as teachers, lawyers even governors. When a slave ship came into the area, the captain was sent back out to sea and the blacks were accepted into the colony.

Our freedom was not free. In the Revolutionary War about 25,000 people died in the fight. But our real freedom, the one given us by our Creator, was paid by the death of God’s perfect Son Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection is what provides for us real freedom. Freedom in a new sense of the word. Not freedom to do what we want, live as we want, indulge in all our desires but real freedom, from sin.

His death and resurrection break our chains to sin but also reveals our dependence on Him. If we buy into what media, social media, government, and society is now claiming, freedom comes from doing whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want. We must buy into the lie that we are masters of our own fate, living independent of all restraints, especially from God.

That is NOT the independence our forefathers were celebrating July 4th, 1776. They wanted independence to worship God as they saw fit, by the reading and teaching of the Word. In writing the Declaration of Independence they were acknowledging their dependence on the God who created us all.

By Nancy Kilpatrick

We just celebrated a great Mother’s Day this week and I hope all our moms got a great word of encouragement from their local Pastor along with all their families and friends. I know my Mother’s Day was exceptional, and I was able to encourage all our praying moms and grandmothers to remember just how much our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to be involved in every detail of our lives; so much so that He numbers the hair on our heads and those that remain in the comb or brush, and He captures every tear we shed and stores them in a bottle. That is the little stuff, and without a doubt, we have confidence that He also retains and remembers every prayer we have ever prayed over our children.

Father’s Day is just around the corner and I would like to also encourage our men because I feel like our culture has tried to devastate the image and importance of our men. The very idea of trying to convince this generation that men are dispensable, and manhood is toxic is not only very unbiblical, but totally ridiculous. What is toxic is a culture that would attempt to destroy the importance of men and the family unit and Covenant Marriage.

Scripture says that men are the head of the household, and the very reason we have all the dysfunctional young men in our legal system today is because an exceptionally large percentage of them grew up without a father in the home. I would like to applaud every manly man who holds the standard high in your household and provides for your family and displays a model for your sons to follow. I say, “God Bless You.” And I know He will because that is His heart also. He is proud of every man who will fulfill his God-given position in the home, and He is equally proud of every woman who will stand by and support her husband as he takes his place in the home.

For whatever reason, there are multitudes of single mom family units, and I would encourage our men also to invest in the life of a young man with no father. Your input into his life may be the difference between a successful family man or a statistic at the local jail or rehab facility. Every child or teen needs a father figure to become his model for life. And you could be that model for some child. God Bless all of you this year as Father’s Day arrives in June.

By Jeff Southerland

What would you do if you were convinced God had told you to do something, but nothing was happening? As a writer I can relate to a story I heard this week. “I wrote what God wanted me to write. Spent five years typing it out on my old typewriter. Got rejected by 18 publishers and when one finally agreed to publish my book, it was 18 months before it sold.” In the meantime, I had gotten burned out of preaching at my father’s church and ran back to my old boring, low paying job, hand painting skis. Convinced I would retire there at a ripe old age. My effort, my energy, my enthusiasm disappeared. I was broken before God. Hurt. Depressed. Anxious. Even angry. But that brokenness before God led to repentance. Lord what do you want me to do? I’ll do it.

A month later, the call to the publisher revealed, sales. Real sales. Thousands. The next month tens of thousands. Soon a hundred thousand book sales in a month were not uncommon. What happened? That brokenness that led to repentance is reiterated in Scripture over and over. Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Peter, all men of God who thought they were going where God wanted them to go but God revealed a new path.

God sends us what the Puritans called divine appointments all the time. While at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference last week, they came at me in dozens. I got a chance to help a couple who were floundering, wondering where they would go. I talked to a blogger who is reaching thousands. I talked to a retired landscaper who volunteers his time at Ridgecrest. But the most amazing appointment I had was with the broken writer mentioned above. Out of over 400 attendees he only met with about 6.

The work he did 35 years ago couldn’t even find a place on the Christian bookshelf. No one even knew where to put it. Christian Fiction. 1985. It wasn’t even a category. Now it is the fastest growing section for new Christian writers. People who use mystery, suspense, and the supernatural to weave into their stories a Christian worldview, one that might not get published if it were written plainly. The truth is in the work, but you must dig it out.

This writer who took time to talk to me, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Selling over 15 million adult and children’s books. His first book, the one no would publish and wouldn’t sell? This Present Darkness. The author, Frank Peretti. In my interview with him he is convinced that if he hadn’t gone back to painting skis, become broken and repentant, the world would never have heard of him.
His encouragement to writers and to Christians everywhere? Don’t give up. Turn back to God. Depend solely on His providence in all things. This present darkness can lead to real light.

By Mansoor Pirzada

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a digital marketing strategy that helps to rank your website’s page position and visibility for relevant searches throughout the web in search results on search engines like Google, Bing and Yandex. The most popular search engines like Google, Bing and Yandex fetch web pages from site to site, collect the information about page content and index them in their system and bring in search results when a person searches for relevant information.

On-page SEO
It is the process of implementing all your SEO skills on the page while it is designed, and content is written so search engines find it worth indexing. If On-page SEO is done properly it can boost website ranking in search engines.

Off-page SEO
Off-Page SEO does not depend on the design structure of the website or specific webpage; it requires additional efforts of making inbound and outbound links. You will need to build a connection from your website to other websites by making backlinks. This will increase your web traffic if you link your website with the right keyword on websites of your niche.

Technical SEO
In simple words, Technical SEO is the back end set of operations that help search engines to crawl the webpages in their database and index. If your Technical SEO is efficient, it can improve Website Speed and Mobile Friendliness.
SEO tips

When you create your website, you must create a strategy about how to promote it with creating efficient SEO. Here are a few tips that you should bear in mind to keep your website ranking at the top of the search results.

• Create unique titles
• Add meta descriptions (concise summary of webpage content)
• Set meta keywords (main key points/topics of in page)
• Create headings
• Compress images
• Optimize ALT image tags
• Add search engine friendly URLs
• Proper linking and link names

Blogger/Writer of a webpage must ensure that the page content is SEO friendly. When any web page is optimized, one can target single or several keywords to bring traffic to that page from different traffic sources. You can grab the traffic from different sources, the main source is direct, organic, referral or social on search engines using keywords.

Traffic sources

Direct: It is the process when an end user directly types your website into a browser.
Organic: When an end user searches any keyword, and your website is accessed from that search link.
Referral traffic: Visitors are redirected to your website from another website by clicking a Link / URL.
Social: If you have shared posts on social media platforms i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. and the user is redirected to your website from that shared link on social media.

By Fran Gardner Mora/Pearls & Presence

But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Genesis 33:4
This scripture calls to me from the depths of my need to understand forgiveness. I’ve spent many years working side-by-side with the Holy Spirit to find the hidden areas where unforgiveness festers in my heart. He has shone the light of truth into countless shadows and has broken down walls that allow me to reach into darkness I was not even aware I had. It has been hard work, but my hunger for more outpouring necessitated a thorough clearing out of anything that wasted real estate in my soul – I simply want room to develop the spiritual strength I need to answer the call of my Father.

So, out goes the residue of past hurt and rejection. Out goes shame and regret. And out goes anything negative that pulls at my mental energy. I am so much lighter and unencumbered by the clutter of unforgiveness – and yet, I’ve been steadily becoming more and more mindful that there is more work to be done.

Forgiveness is really just the first step in the process of setting relationships back to what they should be. If you believe that forgiveness is the final destination, then why don’t you feel full and content with that action? Consider this as a hint to the answer: How many times have you said, or thought, “I forgive him/her for what they did and it no longer hurts me – but I can’t forget it.”

This indicates that we are forgiving like humans forgive, not like Jesus forgave. We are forgiving for what we get out of it rather than for it’s potential to glorify God. Scripture tells us that God not only wipes the record of sin away, He forgets about it! (Isaiah 43:25, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17) How incredible is our God – who knows all – to willingly and lovingly cast out the record of our sin, even from His mind! Christ-like forgiveness always embraces this heavenly amnesia. Every day is fresh and there are no transgressions dragged into the present that the enemy can use to separate you from the people in your life.

And I thought I was doing so well! Ha!

To further complicate the issue, I realized that forgiveness and forgetting transgressions were not the end game for Jesus, they were merely the vehicle for reconciling us to God. So, the target was restoration of relationship. Clearing a path back to the Father and giving us access to His heart again. This explained why forgiveness in my own strength and removing the remnants of broken relationships still left me feeling incomplete and empty. I had created spaces that were supposed to be filled with restored relationships; instead, I had filled them with a vague kind of apathy and acceptance that those connections were lost – and it was okay. As a result, I was free from carrying the weight of resentment and hurt, but there was no actual healing in the situation. It was more like anesthesia. A clever parlor trick my mind played on my heart to focus my attention on what I was accomplishing rather than what obstacles were yet to be conquered. What work still needs to be done.

So, now, I must ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. Which relationships need to be healed and which ones are past the point where that is useful, or even possible? Which ones do I go after and which ones do I lay at the foot of the cross? I’m not equipped to make those decisions on my own. I must be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and the agape love of Jesus if I am going to have victory in this quest. And what does this effort even look like in a practical sense?

Jacob and Esau’s first encounter after twenty years of fear, anxiety, guilt and vengeful anger, was a simple embrace. They held each other and they wept over the lost years and the shattered relationship. Their broken hearts reconnected in their love for each other.

For me, in this season of coming to terms with fruitful forgiveness and resetting unity in my life, the most compelling component of this passage is not what happened – but what didn’t happen. Neither brother brought up the past transgressions … they just let it all go. Neither one of them apologized or expressed forgiveness … the honesty and emotion in their actions covered everything in God’s grace. They were good.

We often fall prey to the need to lay everything out in the open so it can be addressed, categorized, and rectified. But in practicing this strategy, we’re failing to forget the grievances. Is it really necessary to bring it all up again? And when we magnanimously tell someone that we forgive them, are we not actually accusing them of something they need to be forgiven for? We shouldn’t be surprised when our efforts are met with a defensive posture or, yet, another argument or rejection.

I’m going to ask the Holy Spirit to help me grow my self-control. I’m going to rely on Him to help me be aware of how I’m approaching people for whom I have not invested righteous forgiveness. I want to engage them in the present and look forward to a restored future with them. I want to love them like Jesus loves them – with no expectation of perfection and no pressure to fulfill my needs. In reconciliation, I want my actions to speak volumes and my words to be graciously few. Let it be.

By Jay Snyder

What is a Financial Coach? Financial Coaches work with clients to get to the root of financial behaviors and patterns so they can make wise money decisions. A coach can help you unearth what drives your financial decisions, so you can create a healthier attitude that leads to better money habits as well as help you develop strategies to assist you in taking charge of your finances and achieve your financial goals.
I love helping people eliminate their stress and anxiety over finances. Listen to what the Bible says:

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds, Proverbs 27:23

Most of us don’t have flocks or herds today, but good stewardship is accomplished through knowing the condition of your finances and provisions. I want to provoke your thoughts with the basic foundation of money management – a budget! That word scares so many people! A budget is not a waste of time. It is not a way to control your spouse’s spending. It is not a tool to provide additional arguments and strife within your family. Change your perspective. Let’s call it a “Resource Allocation Forecast.” A budget is simply a plan that you create to allocate your resources (income) where you choose it to go to meet your financial goals. Household tension is reduced when you have necessary provision when needed. A budget will expand your freedom to enjoy life, not restrict it. It helps you live within your means and avoid going into the trap of debt.

When you take a long road trip, you open up your maps app, punch in your current location and your destination and the app shows you the route to your destination. That is exactly what a budget accomplishes. You set your goals, determine where you are currently, and the budget is your roadmap to achieve those goals. You take charge, you make your choices! Financial freedom can be yours!

By Esther Milne

The story of Agapé Juices is one of heath, healing, friendship and faith. After losing relatives to cancer and other sickness, longtime friends Stephanie Rhodes and Glenna Grant decided it was time to learn about the power of properly fueling the body, not just for their own families but to help those in Baldwin County who were looking for a nutritious alternative to fast food.

With the dream firmly planted in their hearts, Stephanie & Glenna opened their juice bar in 2017 as part of a wellness center in Gulf Shores, where they gained a loyal client base who was ready to add the nutrition component to their exercise and wellness programs.
Any new business will inevitably face some challenges along the road and Agapé Juices realized that they needed to change location in order to experience new growth and to tap into the tourist market that we value so much on the Gulf Coast. It took a few more steps of faith and some divine connections that has led Agapé Juices to their own store front on Highway 59, just north of CR12. It’s the perfect stopping place for a healthy snack on the way to the beach!

As well as cold pressed juices, smoothies, lunch items and snacks, the girls can advise you if you’re looking to kick start your health or weight loss goals with a 3-5 day juice cleanse or a 5 day reset diet. Other clients give glowing reviews of the way they look and feel after trying one of these programs.

Be sure to pay them a visit, it’s only the first time that you’ll feel like a customer, the next time you’ll be a friend!