When you think of the Sabbath, what do you think of? Do you think of your local church service? Some worship songs, a message, and fellowship of other Christians? Do you think of your Sunday routine? Do you think of the last moments of family time before dreaded Monday morning?

Or do you think of rest? Do you think of a day where you don’t have to work or accomplish anything, and you just get to relax? Yes, our Sabbath in these times has come to mean church and Sunday morning, but in reality the Sabbath God is talking about in the ten commandments is a day of rest.

I am learning that with every major milestone in life, there is one common denominator: thank you cards. And after the birth of my daughter, Piper, we’ve gotten so many gifts from so many people that it’s hard to keep track anymore. So much so, that I decided to finally buckle down and take care of sending out thank you cards off of a very inconsistent list Sam and I started putting together once the packages started coming in from everywhere. As I was going through a list of people at least an arms length long, something extremely obvious occurred to me. Thank you notes are considered a nice touch, if not a common courtesy. If you get a gift big or small, you thank that person for it and a thank you note sends a specific message of deep gratitude.

I’ve always had a lot of respect for John the Baptist. Here’s a guy, who lived primarily in the wilderness, whose entire ministry was to make people ready for someone else to come. That takes a truly selfless and purpose-driven person. And to me, in many ways, John the Baptist’s ministry is the ministry we all share today: to make people ready for Jesus. And the way people try to reach the lost these days– social media, Youtube, and church platforms that look more like a concert venue than a place of worship– it’s easy to get caught up in self-promotion dressed as God-driven purpose. And it’s proven, social media has an addictive quality, so what might start out as an account totally dedicated to sharing the Gospel and God’s love can totally become a source of self gratification when you see the likes and follows start rolling in.

For as long as I could remember, I have always asked a million questions. I question everything and everyone. I want to know who, what, when, why, where and how at all times. It’s interesting, though; I find that with God all I ask is how and why. I never ask who he wants me to talk to. Where he wants me to go, or when he wants me to go there. When God puts me in a situation– especially one that I don’t want to be in– I pray, “Why Lord, and how are you going to get me out of this?”

Yes, I’m still on my Isaiah 43 kick. I just can’t help it. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve just been sitting in it and really searching it. The things that the Lord has been teaching me and showing me have been so precious and refreshing to my heart. Basically, the whole chapter is God proving Himself and reminding Israel who He is– reminding His people of their worth, reminding His people of how much He loves them, reminding them of His absolute and sovereign power, and reminding them of what He’s done in the past in the name of that love.