To praise isn’t a sacrifice at all. It should and does roll off the tongue quite easily. It flows from my fingertips if I will just stop and take the time.

But biblically speaking, to OFFER praise is my sacrifice, as the fatted calf or choice lamb was in Old Testament times.

I need to remember that, as our KC pastor focuses on generous giving this month. Part of my internal tithe to God is to offer my sacrifice of praise.

I am grateful for twinkling stars in the pre-dawn.

I am grateful for a leaf that provides skitter sounds across the street in the morning breeze.

I am grateful to hear my feet walking once again.

I am grateful for an absence of political yard signs and flags.

I am grateful for the smell of a neighbor’s dryer sheets making clothes smell great again.

I am grateful to be the only human being on the street in the early morning.

I am grateful for a return to brisk evenings under a cloudless sky.

I am grateful for Sam’s new firepit that he built this week out of the end of a propane tank and some free landscape wall stones he gathered around town.

I am grateful for simple joys.

I am grateful for clean windows, inside and out.

And I am grateful for a quiet weekend to prepare and enjoy.