The two things I remember about going to church when I was kid, which wasn’t often, was getting the best sleep of my life 😀 and deciding if I would actually put the money I was given into the offering bucket. 😀 😀 Torture, I tell ya. Torture! I mean come on, give the money to some people I didn’t know or go to the candy store. Well, believe it or not, I always chose to put the money in the bucket even though I did not understand why. LOL There was this one time, the adult that took me to church gave me like $3 that morning. So, when it was time to give, I gave the $3. After the service was over, we went to the store. The other kid had money to buy stuff, but I didn’t. So the adult said, “Where’s your money, Tan?” I said, “I gave it to church.” She said, “All of it? You should’ve kept some.” womp womp 😦 Needless to say, I was confused about the whole concept. If she had explained tithing and giving an offering, I would’ve kept $2.00 for myself. (.30 tithe and .70 offering.) LOL 😀

Of course now I totally get it. It would’ve been so easy to give that dollar because I had $2.00 left over. Back in the day, penny candy actually cost a penny and candy bars were only 25¢, 35¢, 50¢ at the most. (100 pieces of candy and 4 candy bars. Now that’s a Sunday after church snack. LOL) But what if you don’t have extra money? Does God really expect us to tithe and give an offering if we’re barely making ends meet? Yes, but read on anyway. Money is ALWAYS a touchy subject. <In my Yoda voice> Gentle I will be, but truth I must tell.

For years, my husband and I have been praying for God to bless us so that we can be a blessing to others. I find that the more we give, the more God gives us. During my time with the Lord this morning, I ran across this scripture, 2 Corinthians 9:11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Giving to others is showing gratitude for what we’ve received from God. It’s not always moola, you can give your time, skills, a listening ear, etc. It’s easy to give when you have extra, it’s a real sacrifice when your reality tells you you have nothing to give.

Luke 6:38 says, Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Considering everything we have is a gift from God, it doesn’t make any sense to me to place limits on what I give anymore. I’ve never had a problem with giving money, but I have been stingy with other things. Now that I know better, I have to do better. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Just blogging it out . . . Oh and HAPPY THURSDAY! 😀

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