monday morning commentary.

it's actually wednesday. today i honestly wasn't sure what day it is because well, i've basically had an ongoing headache for a few days now.
it's getting old. but anyways...

i didn't want you to miss the sermon luke preached about on Sunday night. it was about money.

he started out by saying that it's a bit awkard to talk about it. but that our view of money is shaped by how much we have. but God's view on it is not about how much we have but what we do with what we have.

think matthew 6:21... where your treasure is your heart will be also.

1. everything is God's.
with that 10% of the first fruits should go to God and the local church you attend.
2. What we must do.
we should be tithing...
3. what we get to do.
he shared the story of the woman in poverty in Mark 12 and how she was in a spot where she needed all she had so by giving it she really had to trust God.
4. what i want to do.
the challenge laid before us is to dowhat you must do (tithe) +more. the amount isn't the thing. the thing is to give from sacrifice.

when your treasure is with God.... your heart follows.
the more I give, the more my life is going to represent that i love Christ realize the sacrifice he made for me.

personal story:
about two years ago, we were a few months in to the school year. Carter was about eight months old and we had decided that i was going to stay home with him. we had a bit of savings but money was tight and we were starting to see that if an emergency came to be... well, it would be even tighter. so we began thinking, what do we have that we can use to make some money so that I don't have to go in to work and spend money on daycare etc. About a week later we woke up one October weekend to our upstairs furnace not turning on. so, as i shared before, money got tighter. Now, it wasn't that I couldn't go find a job or that i couldn't be more frugal or use more coupons.... more than anything it was God saying to us....'are you going to trust me with your finances?' We looked at our options and one of the ways that God provided was the opportunity of watching my niece. That opportunity allowed me a better relationship with her, interaction for Carter, and limited inconvenience for me. win-win-win. It couldn't have been a week later and we were offered another opportunity to earn money that could be in our home. I look back on that time as one that stretched us but one that grew our faith all the more. our God is faithful and he never ceases to amaze me.

so, with that you should check out this video for the financial campaign for our church for the students to think of ways... outside the 'box' to give. it made me smile and laugh....i hope it does so for you too;)
thankful for the supreme provider,
kg:)