Give Me Your Money............

Ok, I don't want your money, but I figured the title would pull you in...........

Tithing- 10% of your total income given to the church you call home.

That is MY definition of tithing.

Malachi 3:10 ESV /    

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

I decided to write this blog when Brian Hughes said "just ask any person who has done this".

Well, go ahead, ask me.

In the past, I spent money on anything I wanted, when I wanted it. Don't get me wrong here, I've always paid my bills first, so I figured it was fine. I didn't have bad credit or a huge credit card bills, so I figured it was fine- play money.

But after I gave my life to Christ and learned what God said about money; I stopped to look at what and why I spent. And for ME, it was to fill a void- an emptiness that once God filled, I didn't feel the urge to go shopping and buy anything.

Now....I still shop and I do like to buy things....but it's not to make me happy. You see, I bought things to make me happy. I thought a car or jewelry or nice clothes would make me happy- and it would, sometimes for a long time or sometimes just a few days. And then I would be back in the slump again.

And if I'm gonna be honest, which I usually am, it went way back..........to before we lost Robbie. I see it most when it came to homes. Robbie and I bought and built 3 homes total in 6 years. We were lucky that it was the hot time in the market and we sold fast and bought at a steal! Robbie didn't care where we lived, as long as I was happy. I would get bored with our homes (or neighbor issue once but Robbie agreed with me on that one) and would want a change.........same with cars. Something new and exciting to do, it would add something different to my life and I would be happy.

But then once the newness wore off, I'd be searching for something again. I never knew what I was searching for and I didn't even know I was searching.

Martin and I tithe to our church. 10% to PCC. WHY??

(and take this to head and heart- these are MY reasons. I am a practical person when it comes to everyday life. There are things that have to be done everyday - a check list so to speak. And these are the reasons why I tithe to PCC)

Well the Bible says so, but my honest answer is cause I love my church. I believe in my church.
I do not want to ever come to church and the doors are locked cause my church can't pay their bills. Our church is big. We have a mortgage, bills that go with having a building, salaries to help pay, mission trips to help fund, and tithing to do ourselves. Yes, our church tithes to other needy organizations..............and the church's bills are our bills too.

So, Martin and I do our bills in the beginning of the month and the check to the church is one of the first. And yes, it use to hurt to write that check and I would think of what I could be doing with that money or what extra expenses may come up that month (like December)???
But we got use to it. We don't even miss it. I wish I could give more sometimes and sometimes we do, but to other areas like sponsoring a child on a missions trip or sponsoring a child at Christmas.

Dealing with money is a constant "issue" in today's world, especially in this economy......and we deal with it too..........but we don't let it rule our lives. Like Brian said, it is freeing to not be a slave to our money.

Try it. It changed our minds about money and how to handle it. You may not be able to do 10% right away, and that is fine. But try to give more. There is so much going on at our church that it will amaze you and our money funds it.