Our Emmaus Moment

“Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”  Luke 24:32

This scripture passage is where it all began for us.  Stephanie and I were sitting in a garden at a church in Sedona and praying for direction.  (Picture  of  the flower garden and of us in the garden) 
A man walked past and asked, "what are you praying about".  From this point forward he changed our lives.  We sat and talked to him for hours, and he truly opened the scriptures for us, this was our "Emmaus moment".  He said things in a way that made sense and showed us what God was telling us in the scriptures and how that played into our lives.  Our hearts before this were not open to what God was trying to tell us, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!". (Luke 24:25)  What does that mean?  What are you telling us?  It took a while to comprehend but eventually it made sense and this is where we accepted our path.  It is written right there in the scripture, it will just take time for you to completely understand, the prophets foretold everything of what was to come.  Once we came to believe this was an awe inspiring moment,  "Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32)  When we finally left and went back to our room we talked for hours about what this truly meant.  

Yes, Jesus must suffer, yes you will suffer; Jesus carried a cross, you too shall carry a cross and Jesus will rise and you to shall rise.  As William Penn said, "No Cross, No Crown", anything that means something to you is not the easiest to attain, which is a hard lesson to learn.  We expect things to just be handed to us because we deserve them, this is not the case.  At this point in her life Stephanie chose to pick up her Cross and carry it so that you may believe, in turn, I became her Joseph of Arimethia to assist her on this journey and carry her Cross with her.  This was no easy Cross to carry, showing our children that a life with Christ means more than any material thing in this world.  She taught me that God will never give you what you want, but he always gives you what you need.  Have you asked God for what you need?  " Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? (Mathew 7:9-10)   Maybe you are asking God for a fish and he is giving you a minnow, you need to slow down and take life in smaller bites and not try to tackle life in one huge bite.  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."  Mathew 7:7

I have now chosen by her example to pick up my own Cross to show you that faith in God is stronger than any trial in life.  God will never give you more than you can handle.  "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13


"Lord Jesus, in your word I find life, truth, and freedom. May I never doubt your word nor forget your commandments. Increase my love for your truth that I may embrace it fully and live according to it."

Don't look past your Emmaus moment.




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