“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 souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today’s invitation from God is to come to Him to find rest. Deborah and I are blessed to get some much-needed rest this week over our Spring Break. We’ve also been blessed to spend some time planning for our Water Walkers blog with Ray, our retired partner, and friend. How do you find rest in God? For me, it is my devotion and quiet time. This is one of my favorite promises when life is busy or complicated. Ray’s key photo is a rocky terrain along the water. God doesn’t promise us an easy life but He does offer us rest when life’s path is rocky.

What do you think Matthew means by God’s yoke being easy? Take a moment to read the Message Translation of these verses. God says “I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you”. The simplicity of these verses reminds me of making tea cakes. I’ve included the recipe below. Just like God’s word, there are key steps you don’t want to rush through. The simple process of baking by hand, feeling the light and easy yoke as it slips through your fingers is an unforced rhythm. Let’s pray.

Dear God, Show me the areas in my life that I need to recover. I desire to find rest in Your unforced rhythms of grace. Thank You for walking with me through the rocky terrains of life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Tea Cakes Recipe

• 2 sticks butter softened
• 3 cups self-rising flour sifted
• 1 cup powdered milk
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour and powdered milk together and mix in sugar. Crack one egg at a time on a plate. Remove the chalazae which is the strand of membranes that attach the yolk to the shell. In a separate bowl, hand-mix softened butter, eggs, and vanilla together. Then hand-mix this with flour mixture. Dust your fingers with flour so that you can easily pinch a small amount and drop on a sprayed pan or pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes on the top rack.