Skip to main content

31 Days: Ask


My church is conducting its annual stewardship drive. Every Sunday someone gives a testimony about his/her decision to give to the church and why tithing is important. Then the pastor encourages us to think about the ways we can help the church and the Church with our monetary and volunteer support.

When I worked at a university, I learned that this is called "the ask." It is the moment that after telling someone how great your organization is, you ask for a person's help to continue the greatness.

God asking us for 10% is nothing compared to what he gives us. I can't tell you the number of times I have wondered how I was going to make ends meet. Eleven years ago when X told me he wasn't sure he would ever move back in, one of my first thoughts was how will I support myself. I didn't have to worry about that for too long because God sent me a job that paid twice as much as I was making and let me keep my old job part-time for additional income.

My church asking me to give to continue its greatness is such a small thing compared to what it has given me in the way of spiritual healing and community. My tithe also goes to missions outside of the church in my neighborhood and across the country and the world. I feel blessed to be able to help near and far with my offering each Sunday.

I have been so blessed by the practice of tithing that no one even needs to ask me. I am glad to give back to God what He has given me. It has been such a positive influence on me.


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through...
10 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Expect

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at  http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Expect.   I'm going to admit something. When I pray, I expect God to do what I ask. I'd like to think that is a sign of faith but in some ways, it is a sign of arrogance, like I know what is best for me. I picture him up in heaven like the above photo, signalling to the angels and saying like a benevolent Captain Picard, "Make it so." I never stop to think about what's right or worse, what's God's will, I just ask away and expect to be granted my wish. I guess that means I see God as more of a fairy godmother than my heavenly father. It doesn't matter if it is little things like, "Please make the bathtub faucet quit leaking" or "Please make my aunt well." I expect my prayer to be answered. And for things like "Please send...
2 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of...
6 comments
Read more