But God does not need our sacrifices; he wants our thankfulness

Psalm 50:7-10, 14 I am God, your God! I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. . . Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God and keep the vows you made to the Most High.

I feel better today! Not great yet, but clearly better! I have hope that I’ll be well and freed from my self-imposed quarantine (do NOT want to give this to anyone else!) by the time Rachel goes into labor (she’s due next week). That one tops my list this windy, rainy day. I won’t bore you with all my thankfulnesses this morning, but here are a few:

**My husband is home! And as far as we know, he successfully protected himself from dengue fever-bearing mosquitoes while in Paraguay. I’m thankful for what God is doing in that country.

**Talita Lucy is doing well. I’m thankful for this even though I can’t see or hold her right now.

**My niece gave birth safely to Bronwyn Faye, after a somewhat worrisome pregnancy. (Bronwyn is the third of five little girls being added to our family between Dec. 28 and May 10! Rachel and Brian’s baby is next.)

**I have food, clean water, electricity, a warm house, medical care available if I need it, and gas in our car (not things many people in Venezuela have today). I’m thankful for the faithfulness of our Venezuelan friends and the Lord sustaining them through so many basic, daily hardships, with no end yet in sight.

**I’m reading a great book, The Bible and the Ballot, Using Scripture in Political Decisions, by Tremper Longman III, Eerdmans, 2020—I highly recommend this book (thank you, Susan, for this gift). I’ve read almost the whole thing in two days.

**I had the privilege of watching the memorial service of a precious missionary friend in Brazil, who loved her Lord and cared for others to the end of her four-year battle with brain cancer. I am humbled and moved by Cindy’s and her family’s choice of thankfulness instead of bitterness.

**I’ve had time to research Ignace Jan Paderewski and Olga Wisinger-Florian for the historical novel I’m writing (Horse Thief 1898), and now starting on John Woolman. I’m learning so much from them!

**A friend gave me enthusiastic feedback on my “Gladness Book” manuscript—she read through it three times! SO encouraging.

**I’m discovering an approach to book marketing that actually feels accessible to me, not based in hours and hours on social media. For me, this feels like a miracle!

Like I said, just a few from my thankfulness list this morning.

Thou that has given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart (George Herbert).