The Christmas Beacon

By Lanny Smith

DO MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN?

When a desperate Scott Weldon bargains with God to heal his mother from terminal cancer, he gets far more than he ever could have imagined—both good and bad. Faced with growing opposition from his community, will God still heal Scott's mother, even if he's forced to break his part of the bargain?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9780578148939

Book preview

Florida

PROLOGUE

JUNE—TWO YEARS AGO

JANICE WELDON HURRIED TO HER BOSS’S OFFICE THIS MORNING. She was well-prepared for his court appearance today. Having worked as a paralegal for the past fifteen years, she knew her business. She had researched, checked, and double-checked every document he needed for his case. She had even anticipated what documentation her boss might be asked to present to the presiding judge. Attorney Jonathan Powell probably wouldn’t say so publicly, but in his one-attorney law firm, he’d be lost without Janice Weldon.

Janice had just celebrated her fiftieth birthday. At a time when many professionals might be slowing down, this green-eyed beauty was at the top of her game. She was energetic, highly efficient, and thought of by many to be like a fine wine—she got better with age.

Today, Mr. Powell would be arguing a case against a prominent manufacturing company in Jacksonville, Florida. His client, Jeannie Munro, was an intelligent, experienced and capable production manager who had been pressured to resign by the human resources director. After spending a year investigating the case, Mr. Powell and Janice have come to believe without reservations that the company was not only in the wrong but had acted maliciously. Today, Jonathan Powell was going to prove it.

Ms. Munro had demonstrated her value to the organization many times and had the awards to prove it. However, things rapidly changed within the company when the previous president retired and his replacement was brought on board. The human resources director played up to the new president to vastly improve her own position within the firm. The director was a stickler for the law, which wasn’t such a bad thing, but she used her legal knowledge to bully most of the employees.

Creativity and initiative were now qualities no longer rewarded under the new regime.

Jeannie Munro fell within the creative and takes initiative category. Her independence irked the new president and HR director. They wanted her to quit so they could avoid having to pay her any unemployment benefits. Since she chose not to voluntarily leave, a bogus charge of incompetence was fabricated against her, and she resigned under pressure.

Jonathan Powell and Janice Weldon had no doubts of their client’s motives, performance, and integrity, so they were taking the firm to court.

Janice armed herself with the relevant specifics of the case and supporting documentation available. Jonathan had prepped his client for questions from the opposing counsel. All three were ready and eager to have their day in court.

Today, the three briefly met in Mr. Powell’s office for a last-minute strategy review before their court appearance.

Jeannie, remember to respond politely but firmly when their lawyer questions you, said Jonathan. Keep your answers brief and on point.

Jeannie was a little nervous, not having spent a lot of time in courtrooms.

Janice, why don’t you go on ahead of us and set up our table? asked Jonathan.

Janice smiled and gathered her materials. On her way out of the office, she stopped next to their client. Don’t worry, Jeannie—we’re ready. They’re not gonna know what hit them!

Jeannie was reassured by Janice’s comment and smiled. Janice continued on and left the office.

#

When Janice arrived at the courthouse, she found it difficult to climb the stairs to the entrance. She stopped to catch her breath and regain her composure. She chalked up her breathing difficulty to the impending excitement of presenting their case.

When she arrived at their assigned courtroom, she had to stop again. She sat down on one of the benches in the hallway. When she noticed that Mr. Powell and Jeannie had just entered the building, she stood up to meet them. Suddenly Janice felt as if the walls were closing in on her. She quickly sat back down but soon afterward passed out.

#

When she came to, Janice was slightly disoriented but not completely surprised to find herself in the hospital. An emergency room physician and his staff had already measured her vital signs, taken blood, and scheduled a number of tests. Janice’s adult children, Scott and Shari, were there and informed the hospital staff that Dr. Luke Laymon was Janice’s personal doctor.

For the next three days, Janice underwent a battery of medical tests supervised by Dr. Laymon and various medical specialists. On the fourth day, her doctor had enough information to make his diagnosis, which was confirmed by the specialists. It was one conversation Dr. Laymon did not want to have with Janice or her children, but it had to be done.

#

Across the country at the Los Angeles city hall, an awards ceremony was about to begin. The large conference room that housed the event was filled to capacity. The visitors were to be treated to a lavish luncheon, within the acceptable boundaries of a taxpayer-funded activity. The honored guests consisted of the president of a large international corporation with headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, two television broadcasting professionals from the Malibu area, and even the commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The reason for this gathering was to recognize the honorees for the vital roles they played in thwarting a terrorist’s plot to attack the city of Los Angeles. This ceremony was not only a celebration but a political statement that was sorely needed at a time when evil seemed to triumph over good. This event had been well publicized and was surely a bright moment for the city.

Mayor Michael Lee acted as the emcee of this event. He provided the specifics of the thwarted attack and then moved to the awards segment of the ceremony. He recognized the corporation president first and then the commissioner. He deliberately saved the broadcasting professionals for last. He was eager to share his remarks about these two women and was unconcerned about scoring political points in the process.

It’s been said that wars are usually best fought by men, while women are often relegated to play a supporting role. Many would agree with that—many would accept that notion. I, for one, do not! Mayor Lee said.

Television news anchor Andi Stokes and television producer Annie Rivers took the initiative to track down this destructive force on their own. What may have started as a high-priority news story evolved into a vendetta for them to bring this criminal element to justice. I’m sure they were fearful for their lives, but that did not deter them. For their part in preventing an act of terror upon our city, it is my supreme honor to award the Los Angeles keys to the city to Ms. Andi Stokes and to Ms. Annie Rivers.

Mayor Lee looked in their direction and waved them up to the podium. The two women stood up from their seats amidst a thunderous round of applause. Both were grinning and exhibiting gorgeous smiles. They hugged each other and joined Mayor Lee at the podium. The mayor presented each of them with a ceremonial key to the city. They had been asked in advance to share a few words. The two knew exactly what they would say.

When they had the full attention of the audience, they nervously giggled. Like two high-school cheerleaders preparing to belt out a cheer, they leaned toward the microphone and in unison said, To God be the glory—thank you!

Mayor Lee was surprised at the brevity of their statement. Surely they had more to say. Their faces indicated otherwise, and they started back toward their seats.

Mayor Lee encouraged the visitors and other guests to extend another round of applause for these two young, courageous professionals. The women stopped and hugged the mayor, the commissioner, the president, and then each other again. As they headed to their seats with their keys in hand, they grinned and waved to the large crowd. This was a good day for them and for the city of Los Angeles.

CHAPTER 1

DECEMBER—PRESENT DAY

ANNIE RIVERS ENTERED THE OFFICES OF THE WFGS-TV NEWS station and noted the abundance of activity. Employees were on their telephones, production people were dashing about, and the studio techs were viewing, listening to, and revising a multitude of videos from various recordings. The newscasters were rehearsing reading the news from the teleprompter, and department managers were scurrying all over the office, trying to maintain order.

This station in the Malibu area of California, especially in early December, was the ratings leader. Although the entire team contributed to the station’s success, two particular and highly visible personnel best represented the brand of WFGS-TV News: general manager Annie Rivers and news anchor Andi Stokes.

Both women were beautiful, confident, and capable professionals in their late twenties. They were outgoing, articulate and shared similar physical qualities—except that Annie had dark, wavy hair and brown eyes and Andi had blonde, straight hair and blue eyes. Despite their contrasting glamorous features, both women had far more than their share of men hoping to win their hearts.

Almost two years ago, Annie and Andi not only assisted in preventing a terrorist attack on the city of Los Angeles but were credited with breaking the story, beating out the local and national media. The terrorist was killed before he could detonate a large amount of explosives in the penthouse of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Los Angeles. Andi garnered more than her share of accolades and job offers but chose to remain in her present position as lead anchor at WFGS-TV News.

Her best friend and producer, Annie Rivers, overcame this same horrific ordeal and was rewarded with a nice promotion. She was promoted to the general manager position of WFGS-TV. After a very brief honeymoon period, Annie demonstrated her professionalism and managerial prowess to improve her station’s operation. This improvement was noticed by the upper management as well as the viewing audience. As a result of Annie’s job performance, the station had increased its presence not only in Malibu but also within the surrounding areas of Southern California. This