Each Day Already is a Challenge

Some storms in life are okay

I remember when TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3 arrived on the scene here at WDC. As I sometimes do, I found her port and some of her writings before others. I mentioned that while she might identify with storm clouds, my nickname had been Ms. Merry Sunshine. Friendship developed from there.

On Friday, TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3 was in a car accident. She's okay. Bruised. So is Apryl, (her son's fiance) who was also in the car. She's more worried about having damaged two parked cars. And that fact that her car was totaled. I talked with her on the phone last night for quite a while.

If you've never visited her port, now's the time. Here's a link to her blog. You'll note that her entry about the accident was rather....well, out there. http://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/1156288

Yesterday, I got my first issue of Discipleship Journal. I don't remember why, but for some reason, I have a few free issues coming. In this one, there was an idea mentioned that might help those who swear they don't have enough time for praying or studying God's word.

The magazine suggested taking a calendar and writing prayer notes or requests on each day, then laminating and hanging in the shower. Everyone bathes, so having prayer requests right in front of you might just work. I figured while you're making the monthly calendar, you might just copy some Bible verses on each day while you're at it. You could hang the calendar anywhere in the bathroom and be reminded prayer petitions and God's word each day.

The frugal - and practical (since most folks don't have laminaters in their homes) part of me says, rather than laminating, why not pick up a big roll of clear contact paper. It will keep the calendar dry, and there should be enough left over to do a few more months while you're at it.

I guess I don't understand not having time to pray or study God's word. I cannot imagine not starting one's day in prayer and reading the Bible. (I guess that's because I've been doing that since I was a kid.) Oh, I know a few folks who think that setting the alarm for 15 minutes less sleep would be a disaster. They think that losing that small amount of time would make them more sleepy throughout the day. I say, "Try it! You might discover that starting the day with God will be refreshing and you'll never miss that 15 minutes."

I guess it's much like tithing. We look at the money we have available and think it would be impossible to give God 10%. I guess we forget God's promise. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:10 NIV

Everything we have was given to us by God. It's on loan to us. In my small group on Sunday, one of the women said, "If you borrow something from a neighbor, you usually take better care of it than if it were your own." How right she was, and that's exactly the way we should take care of the earthly treasures God has bestowed upon us. We should take better care of them than if they were truly our own.

I wrote about this topic at ezinearticles.com, and this article is the most downloaded of all the articles I have there. http://ezinearticles.com/?Who-Is-Really-Tested?&id=367412

I have also shared my grandmother's simple way of thinking about what we OWE to God. "Time, Talent, Treasure" 

Oddly enough, while searching the Internet for snippets about tithing to put in our church bulletins, I found very few. I also found very few sermons on the Internet about this. Perhaps that is because in the US, the average giving is now down to about 2.5%. We don't have many church members who can give testimony to the wonderful blessings they have received by just doing what God asked. Well, I can. The woman mentioned in the story at ezinearticles was me.

When I have tithed, I have been blessed. When I have not, I have struggled financially.

There were times when I was a single mom, receiving only Worker's Compensation, that I was tempted to keep that 10% tithe for myself and my son. Surely, God would not miss that small amount, but I could have used it to buy groceries or gas for my car to get to the doctor or physical therapy sessions.

Reluctantly, I would put my money in the offering plate. Then I would watch - always astonished - as God provided. I should not have been so surprised.

One week a retired pastor, who lived in the same apartment building, knocked at my door with a huge bag of fresh fruits and veggies. One of the members from his church showed up with the food and told him to give it where it was needed. The pastor gave some to each of the three single moms in our building and had enough left over for himself and his wife.

Another week, I received a check in the mail that was quite a surprise. Someone who had owed me money for years found my address on the Internet. (That didn't exactly make me happy.) This old friend had owed me $100 for over 20 years, and because of that he added another $100 for interest.

Still another week, I discovered that one of my writings had been accepted. The envelope contained a letter and a check for $100.

A neighbor found that he had been transferred, and he and his wife had just filled their refrigerator and freezer. They didn't want to try to transport those foods and risk that some would spoil in their quick move.

Books that I listed on Amazon.com sold within ten minitues of listing them.

Am I convinced that these blessings came from God? You bet I am!

And I am just as convinced that when I do not tithe, the blessings are not as quick to flow.