tithe offering.

in my small group on monday, we talked about finances. mostly, we talked about tithing. whether its biblical (which it is), how much to give, the difference between tithe and offering (if there was one), and we just shared pretty openly about tithing. and honestly, tithing and giving has been on my mind constantly.

with the economy the way it is right now, i am extremely blessed to have 2 part time jobs. it allows me to give back to God what is rightfully His and also pay my responsibilities. one thing that i have noticed though is God has blessed me through this obedience to Him. like i said before, i am extremely blessed to have a job, but other people who are very near and dear to my heart are not fortunate enough to have a job that pays the bills.

enter change.

my family is in financial stresses. which, i believe every family is in. being the oldest child, it is very hard to know this fact and sit back. i feel my parents have paid for all my junk almost my entire life, so the least i could do is try to help out here and there...financially. like picking up some things at the store. i did that earlier this week. when they told me they would pay me back i told them not to worry. i mean, honestly God gave me that money for a reason...so i'm going to use it when i feel called.

another story is a dear friend. she doesn't have a job and is not from this state. and seeing the stress/fear in her eyes wednesday night broke my heart. in all actuality, i had been thinking of giving her some cash for awhile (since i knew her financial need), but of course, ignored the prompting of the Holy Spirit. well, wednesday i called another friend. and the other friend and i felt God leading us to give her some money...so we did. it was an entire night worth of babysitting money for me, but that didn't even matter. as i handed her the money, both of us had tears in our eyes, and at that moment, i knew it was truly God who led my friend and i to give it to her.

there has never been a time where i was in serious financial difficulty...thank the Lord for that! but even in financial difficulty (because i know it will come at some point), i will remain obedient. only because the Lord blessed me, the Lord is so mighty, the Lord protects and provides, and above all He is alone worthy to be praised. if you want to hold onto your money, don't. giving it away is one of the most rewarding experiences in your life.