The Yoke
I'll admit I don't know much about yoke wearing. I'm not a farm girl. Nor did I grow up around oxen that were yoked, but I did grow up hearing the Scripture in which Jesus assures us that His yoke is easy. I'm guessing you are familiar with this text.
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
I think I have made it clear that I am uneducated when it comes to yoke wearing; however, when "my yoke" recently had some issues, I could quickly tell. I mean the fit and feel were not right, certainly far from being described as "easy."
I was moaning one day to the Lord about "my yoke." I thought He would want to know how uncomfortable the load I was carrying felt. The yoke seemed to be rubbing me raw in spots. The weight seemed off keel. The days of toil, without rest, felt too long. And the load was heavy.
As I cried out to Jesus, I stumbled over something that I had written about a year previously. Occasionally, I will type out a prayer to Jesus and write whatever I think His response is. I know this is not "His Word" or anything that I would declare to His people as being a solid revelation. What I wrote was simply an imagined divine whisper that I heard. Yet those words I rediscovered moved me. They became a balm that ministered to a deep place in my heart.
"Ruth, I am sorry that the yoke feels heavy. Let me adjust the straps."
A year after I penned these words, as I allowed the words and imagery to minister to my yoked self, tears streamed down my face.
My response:
"Yes! Adjust the straps, Lord. Oh, and look, I am yoked in with You! You are pulling the weight, too! We are tied in together, and You have just adjusted things so that the raw place will heal, and You will carry the weight of the load. Thank you, Jesus!!!! It does not mean that I will not need to do some work, but rather I need to be more intentional to work together with you. Instead of me trying to pull more than my share (unevenly), I need to feel and focus on that togetherness part, and just rest in You caring enough to adjust the straps."
The tears came again when I shared this thought with a nurse friend of mine who was feeling so overwhelmed in a new job of hers. In addition, more tears came when I listened to a pastor's wife so burned out from pulling a weight, that felt unfair to her, for so long.
And so, I can't keep the impression selfishly to myself.
If your yoke feels heavy and uncomfortable, know that Jesus is willing and longing to adjust the straps. While He is adjusting the yoke, I encourage you to turn your head, and look directly into the face of the One you are yoked in with. There is much strength to be found. It might even move you to tears--tears that will minister to the deep places in your heart.
Courage, dear one!
Ruth Boyd
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"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
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From the Pen of Inspiration |
“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” The Savior left none to feel shut out from His care and love. He looked upon the distressed and heart-burdened, those whose hopes were blighted and who with earthly joys were seeking to quiet the longing of the soul, and He invited all to find rest in Him. Tenderly He told the toiling people, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." In these words, Christ is speaking to every human being. Whether they know it or not, all are weighed down with burdens that only Christ can remove. The heaviest burden is the burden of sin. If we were left to bear this, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. He has borne the burden of our guilt. The burden of care and sorrow also He will bear.
From Heaven With Love (a condensation of The Desire of Ages), p. 219:1-3.
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"Heaven is open to our petitions and we are to come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need."
E.G.White, Prayer, p. 15.4.
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Debbie Wint: prayers for healing past a recent surgery.
Sandra Fagre: praising God for the delivery of a healthy baby girl!
All those with COVID: prayers for complete health and healing.
Skye Fisher: prayers for healing after recent health challenges.
Daniella Little: prayers for a healthy pregnancy in her October delivery.
Carolina Perche: prayers for comfort and peace at the loss of her dear mother.
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Note: You may send your prayer praises or requests to ministerialspouses@kytn.net. |
I would like to introduce you to Kelli Sellers, who comes to us from Southern California, and now is serving alongside her husband William, who is pastoring the Lawrenceburg and Pulaski, Tennessee, churches.
Kelli was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin. She attended Wisconsin Academy and Kettering College, where she earned a nursing degree. Presently she works as a nurse in medical management with an insurance company.
Kelli says: "I grew up Adventist and attended SDA schools from second grade up. After attending the Net '98 meeting, I chose to be baptized at the 1999 pathfinder camporee."
Kelli shares this about how she and William met: "We were matched on e-Harmony; then, after communicating for several weeks, we met up at the seminary. We dated long distance, as Will was spending a lot of time with my sister and brother-in-law." The couple were married August of 2010 and have been blessed with four children: Owen, 7, Nolan, 5, Alric, 3, and Genevieve, 1.
Some of Kelli's special interests are raising kids, crocheting, cooking, and music. She enjoys singing and learning to play ukulele.
As a family, she and William enjoy camping and adventuring.
Kelli, welcome to the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference! We are happy you are joining us and look forward to getting acquainted! May God bless you and William in your ministry together for Christ.
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Ashley Briggman, her husband Jared, and their sons come to us from West Virginia, and together they are serving in Kentucky at the Taylor Mill church.
Ashley was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. She attended Rock Bridge Senior High, then Union College, Pikes Peak Community College, Advent Heatlh University, and Liberty University. Presently she is principal and 5th-8th grade teacher for the Taylor Mill church school.
Ashley says: "I was raised an Adventist although my family wasn't consistently in church and never really studied the Bible. I always wanted to be the best Adventist young lady I could be. Fortunately, only nice guys ever liked me although I was never really interested in a boy-girl relationship at that age. My 6th grade friend and I made a pact we were going to do everything together. Her kids would be named some variation of my husband's and my name, and mine would be some variation of her and her husband's names. So since we had all that settled we decided to be baptized together in North Carolina around 1996. My heart had always been there, so it seemed natural. I did get re-baptized in Missouri by my most memorable pastor, Al Oetman, when I was around sixteen or seventeen years old, and that was a more serious commitment (about 2001 or 2002)."
Ashley shares how she met Jared. "During lunch, a friend at Union College introduced her to Sonja, now a mutual friend. After lunch, Sonja wanted to show off her future husband, so we went to meet him. Jared was doing an Irish accent with a friend the first two days I met them, so I thought he might be Irish, lol! Either way, much to Sonja's frustration, Jared wanted to date me and was clueless Sonja was expecting to marry him. I told him he'd need to clear it with Sonja and have her blessing before I'd date him, so he did! We ended up dating two years before we were married. Not terribly exciting, but I do remember out of the sea of hundreds of faces, I found his easily during church. I guess the rest is history!" They were married October 2, 2005, and now have two boys: Andrew who is fourteen and Jonathan who is eleven.
Ashley's hobbies include organizing and cleaning (I like a clean space!), taking care of others and helping with their needs, quilting and sewing (I love sewing cloth diapers!), puzzles, and Pinteresting. She also plays the recorder, ocarina (learning still), and flute (it's been a while though).
As a family "we enjoy snorkeling, float trips, puzzles, games, hanging in a hammock, coloring and drawing, going on hikes, canoeing, bike riding, rollerblading, traveling, relaxing (although we don't do that often enough), camping, enjoying time around the camp fire, and movies."
Several of Ashley's favorite Bible verses are:
- "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)
- "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14 (NIV)
(He takes care of our battles if we let Him.)
- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Ashley, welcome to the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference! May God bless you as you continue serving your new church and school. We are happy to have you as a part of our conference family!
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I would like you to meet Rhonda Crumley, who comes to us from Castle Rock, Colorado, with her husband, George, who is our new conference Treasurer!
Rhonda was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. She attended Andrews Academy and Andrews University. Presently she is an office administrator for the conference.
Rhonda says: "I was always an Adventist....but not in my heart. Then in my senior year at Andrews Academy, Elder C.D. Brooks came to do a week of prayer--spoke on the crucifixion and it broke my heart. All the old just started to drop off without my even knowing it. I remember one day thinking as I dumped a full load on the floor, I don't cuss anymore! I loved going to church and Bible study morning and evening. I couldn't get enough. God touched my life and turned it around!"
Rhonda shares this about how she and George met: "It wasn't until years later that I realized just how much God was directing in my life. Unknown to me, my parents received a letter from the boarding academy I had attended informing them that it was best that I not return the next year. When my new school at Andrews Academy started that fall, there was a new boy that caught my attention. He ran in a different circle of friends, so it took quite a while before he knew I even existed. I believe God put us together, because we weren't asking ourselves all the questions to make sure he or she was the "right" one;
'How do they treat their Mom?' etc. We couldn't have been better matched. I'm so thankful for the all-powerful God who placed us together!" They have two grown children, Toni (Tanya) and Joe."
Some of Rhonda's special interests are flower arranging and road trips. She also likes playing the piano for her own enjoyment.
As a family, she and George enjoy exploring the Rocky Mountains.
One of her favorite Bible verses is "Surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Mathew 28:20 (NIV)
Rhonda, welcome to the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference! It has been a real joy having you and George sharing in ministry with our team! May God richly bless you!
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A $50 discount is being offered to our association members!
Sign up soon!
When you reach the Cart choose “Add a gift certificate or promotional code” that is underneath the “Proceed to Payment” button (see attached picture).
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The code is PASTORWIFE
(see attached picture)
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Early bird special is $150 until August 9th. After that, it's $160.
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July
Carolina Perche
9
August
Sandy Powell
1
Rachel Davis
5
Jennifer Buttery
5
Debbie Wint
13
Wendy Dunn
16
Lucy Corro
27
Kristina Clinton
27
Daniella Little
31
September
Ami Kyser
9
Gail McKenzie
15
April Silva
17
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Take a moment to wish a friend happy birthday, congratulate her on a life event, or just let her know that you are thinking of her using the contact information linked below and the card shop links above.
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Send address updates to ministerialspouses@kytn.net |
July
Herberto and Nancy Barrera
4
George and Rhonda Crumley
10
August
John and LeAnne Baker
5
William and Kelli Sellers
14
Kevin and Wendy Dunn
14
Mike and Brittan Hewitt
17
Jerry and Judi Rimer
27
September
Steve and Malinda Haley
2
Daniel and Sarah Spencer
12
Kevin and Patty Shearer
17
Mykal and Melissa Ringstaff
19
Steve and Heather Severance
25
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In the Kitchen With Carly |
I have so many recipes that are family favorites! Hard to choose, but here are two that are super special. Both come from my growing-up years in Montana. We had another family we were really close to, and the mom of that family is an incredible cook. She makes up a lot of her own recipes, but then she does that so often, she forgets many of them. These are two that my mom wrote down and made often for our family. Now I make them for my own family and many of our guests as well.
Macaroni and Not-Cheese:
1 cup raw cashews
3 cups water
6 oz. can tomato paste
⅓ cup nutritional yeast flakes
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1-2 Tbsp. salt
⅓ cup lemon juice
Blend above ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour mixture over cooked and drained macaroni. Pour into casserole dish—sprinkle with imitation bacon bits. Cover with foil. Bake 30-40 minutes covered at 350-375 degrees. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until slightly browned.
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Oatmeal Cookies:
1 cup melted margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup hot water
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups whole wheat flour
3 cups quick oats
1 cup chopped walnuts, fine
Chocolate or carob chips
(Raisins work well also)
Melt margarine. Add brown sugar and mix well in bowl. Mix peanut butter and hot water separately and whip together; add to bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Place in fridge for 15 to 20 minutes so dough is easy to handle. Form into medium-sized cookies. Place on Pam-sprayed cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until just becoming golden around edges. These cookies freeze well!
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Welcome new baby girl:
Luciana Victoria Fagre
July 2, 2022, at 12:46 p.m.
Weight: 7 pounds 4 ounces
Height: 20 1/4 inches
Except for being a little tired, Mom and baby are doing well.
Sandra says that big sisters, Ivanna and Mariana, want to help with everything all the time and that is the hardest part of adjusting!
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