Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Celebration Story From Anonymous.


God has been so good and faithful to us throughout the years. We have always been taught to tithe. Early in our marriage we went to a class on finances and we were taught to set up a separate checking account that is used only for contributions to kingdom work. Each paycheck we automatically deposited our tithe to that checking account so it was out of sight and not "available" for us to spend on daily living expenses. This was such a help. Never did we "miss" that money because it wasn't in with our other monies to spend. It was always a blessing at the end of the month to write out checks to church and to other ministries and end up with a $1.00 balance (enough to keep the account open until the next deposit).

As years went on we would add more than just the tithe. At the end of each year, we were always surprised at how much we were able to give; and it always blessed our hearts. Granted, there were years that it was much easier to give than others depending on our income, but nonetheless, we never have less than 15%.

With the way the economy has been hit in these recent years, our income has decreased drastically. Working or not working, we have always committed to giving at least a tithe to the Lord...no questions asked. We have been so blessed by His faithfulness, that we dared not be faithful to Him in return.

We sat down to get ready to submit our information to our accountant for the years income tax and started to tally our giving this past year. With our income cut over 60% we were still able to give more than 20% to kingdom work. On paper our budget shows that we should not be making it. We have made cuts, of course, in our lifestyle, but we still live a good life compared to the rest of the world. Our budget shows that we should definitely be in a deficit, bet we are not. Our expenses are greater than our income, but each month our bills are paid and we are debt free. How? We don't know, but we are!

Honestly, when work was cut and income drastically reduced it was tempting to ask God, "Why?" when we have been faithful givers all this time. But, we reminded ourselves it is not for us to ask God, "Why?". He owes us nothing, in fact, it is all His in the first place. He has allowed us to live on 80% of the income He has provided. It's not us giving Him 20% of what we have earned. It's all His! Do we wish we had a greater income? Of course! It makes us cry sometimes thinking what we would like to be giving and how we wish we could give more if only we had more to give. We would love to go on mission trips, to support those who are going on mission trips, etc. but right now that is not what God is allowing us to do. A few weeks ago Pastor Larry talked about the two prodigal sons. It's so easy to think we have done everything right and that we are "owed" a good and a comfortable lifestyle because we have done everything that has been asked of us and sometimes even more. Wow are we wrong in that thinking! Have we given over and above our tithe to earn "favor" from Him? Sometimes, sorry to say. But, in spite of our wrong motives at times, God has proven His faithfulness over and over again. So, for now, we will continue to give and be surprised at His faithfulness, not ours!