Welcome to the Fourth Day

Jun 17

Well, Baby,

Welcome to the Fourth Day!

That “Walk to Emmaus” was fun, wasn’t it?! I delight in walking it with My children around the world. You listened to your sponsor and went with no expectation and anticipating nothing. You didn’t even allow yourself to be curious. Get curious and let Me know what you find.

You are laughing right away! No wonder so many women on the last day announced that they came from local United Methodist Churches.

(From Wikipedia) “The Walk to Emmaus or Emmaus Walk is a spiritual retreat developed by the United Methodist Church and The Upper Room. It is part of the three-day movement and came out of the Roman Catholic Cursillo movement.”

Don’t do it! Don’t go down the rabbit trail looking into Cursillo movement because you’re about to hear about other denominations which were involved. We aren’t interested in denominations, remember? There were many recipes from the faith cookbook involved in creating this recipe. Wasn’t it delicious?! I quite enjoyed it! Keep reading.

“This started in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, the church trademarked Emmaus. In the Catholic Church, Emmaus began for women in 1978.”

The year your mom was pregnant with you.

“After much thought and prayer, it was established that the theme of the retreat would be based on Emmaus reading in Luke 24:13-35.”

Didn’t that volunteer’s monologue almost make you feel like you were on the road with us? He portrayed it emotionally as it was.

“It wasn’t until 1986 that the first men’s Emmaus walk would be held. Emmaus reaches out to all Christians who are members of church encouraging participants to find ways to live out their individual call to discipleship in their home, church, and community. Emmaus walks are held worldwide.”

As you know, My Church, meaning you kids, have not done a fantastic job of honoring Paul’s plea in 1 Corinthians 1:10 that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. These Emmaus retreats delight My heart because, within them, My kids are learning to live, LOVE, and serve as one.

Don’t you love how they started the whole retreat talking about priorities? Your heart burned within you. You’ve struggled in this area for YEARS and, although you’ve put many things in their rightful place, your time has not reflected that. When your husband shared his heart a couple months ago, that he feels like you’re cheating on him with Me, he’s not wrong. I told you in September that time with Me was not to rob from your family, that I don’t rob from one area to provide for another, but you have been disobedient in this area.

There’s that word again.

Disobedient = refusing to obey rules or someone in authority
Refusing = indicating or showing that one is not willing to do something
Willing = ready, eager, or prepared to do something
Authority = the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience
Enforce = to compel observance of or compliance with (a law, rule, or obligation)
Obedience = compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority

You have not been ready, eager, or prepared to obey My authority around your time. With a show of your fingers or hands, how much longer until your obedience begins?

Baby, you just made my heart so happy when you wished you had a little bell on your desk to ring. Now. You’re ready to move now.

You didn’t anticipate this but I’ve known it was coming as, all along the way, your retreat leaders knew what was coming next. I cleared your Mondays when your client moved to Nebraska, and you left if clear, taking advantage of your Mondays to study My Word and spend that time preparing for ministry…

You didn’t even let Me finish what I’m about to say before crying hard enough to blow that cute little nose of yours.

I know - you don’t find it cute; but I created it and I think it’s adorable!

You have been preparing so fervently and with such zeal for ministry while neglecting your most important ministry. Several months back, I talked to you about those headphones. What did I say?

(From Letter - Slow Down) “Another thing we need to talk about is your headphones. They are a gift, and they are good at drowning out the world to keep you engaged in worship or taking in the Word, but they convey disrespect when you wear them in the presence of your family. Become so detached from them when your family is home that they almost forget you own them. Your time with Me should not rob from any other arena of your life - especially from time with your family. The same is true of your phone. Put it down.

This summer, you set boundaries with your phone through automatic notifications telling others you were unavailable, and you became much less distracted. The building overwhelm you’re feeling is the direct consequence of unbalanced priorities. You have allowed your time with Me to happen at the expense of other God-given priorities causing imbalance. Your spirit is becoming fortified and your soul is being renewed at the expense of time with your husband and kids and taking good care of your home.”

Order a bell and place it on your desk as a reminder that we’re moving on to the next thing. When I brought up the headphones, you felt guilt about your disobedience. It’s the Fourth Day, Little One. Yesterday is gone.

On the Fourth Day, we don’t worry about what happened the day before. That would prevent us from moving forward in the calling to be an obedient disciple.

We’ve talked about this before, but it’s the Fourth Day and, in the spirit of moving forward, treat your home on Mondays as you would treat a paying client. During work hours, you can listen to your podcasts, sermons, and The Bible but you are not to stop what you’re doing to take notes. You are not to work distracted by Me or by your phone.

Work as though you are being paid. Start with the things you know matter most to your husband but do not draw his attention to what you have done. Treat what you do to care for your home as you would a top secret. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing and, in so doing, GREAT will be your reward -I promise!

Get back to bed. It’s Monday and you have a full day ahead of you!

You are NOT to read your unread letters, open your Bible, or work on your art journal during work hours. Set your alarm as though your daughter has school, and you’ll have two hours to do those things before you work, or set your alarm to get up just in time for work. The choice is yours.

I love that smile! You act like it’s ridiculous of Me to offer that you could sleep in and miss your time in the Word. I knew you’d feel that way but I sure do LOVE to see that smile! Dry your eyes and get back to bed.

Sweet dreams,