Here's $100 bill......

.....all I need back is a ten, you keep the change.

Wouldn't we all love to hear that? Well, we have. Please read on....

I love to coupon shop and save money. But, that is not where I start or even stop. I try to save money in everything I do. I have an inner voice that will not let me spend $1 without doing a self check. Like I have said before, I grew up always watching my money. As I got older, I did go through different times in my life where I got off course. Many times, actually. But, then I would always try to jump back in line. I believe that we have all spent way too much for years on things that ended up not meaning much after they were bought. Just think of what we could have saved, if only we had stopped spending on the needless things. Years went by and I did not attend church, much less tithe. I thought when someone mentioned tithing that they were just wanting to take my money. Boy, was I wrong. Now, I understand that they were just trying to help me. Let me just say, I had to learn the hard way. First off, it is not "my" money. It belongs to God, everything is His. Let me ask you this. If I were to give you a dollar with the only stipulation being that you were to give me a dime out of it, would you? Okay, now on an even bigger scale. If I were to give you a hundred dollar bill and all you had to do was give me a ten back out of it, would you?. Of course you would. Well, that is what God has done. We give Him the 10% and the rest is ours. The remainder is blessed. It comes with a promise from God. Much more than any bank lender could ever give you. God's word is real and lives today. I actually would be afraid to not tithe at this point in my life. The way this world is going, I want that extra assurance. That protection that He promises to give my family and I. Being a good steward with our money is something that He desires for us to do. It makes Him happy. Look at it like this. Let's say I give my son $20. Maybe even money he earned for doing a chore, outside of the norm. Well, a couple of days go by and he comes to me. He is needing more money for something, guess what happens? Yep, you're right. I question him as to where the money went. Probably scold him for a bad decision or two. I am sure most parents I know would do the same. I believe it is kinda that way with God. He likes for us to make good decisions on what we do with the 90% we have left after tithing. Even though it is blessed, we should not just spend it unwisely. Making bad spending choices can lead us to having money issues. Having money issues or troubles always turns me into a whinner. I don't believe God wants me to come to Him whinning over something like this. And, if I go to Him like that, do I really have a right? Would it be wrong for Him to scold me? I don't think it is wrong to scold my child over a bad choice. Hopefully by doing that I am able to save him trouble later on a bigger decision.

I went through a spiritual awakeing over 6 yrs ago. I awoke one day and looked around my home. I live in a modest home, filled with stuff..lol...Sometimes, too much stuff. I wasn't in need of anything at the moment. Not material wise, anyway. I looked around and thought to myself. "what is all this meaningless stuff, why have I spent years collecting, buying and disrespecting God's blessings?" It's all just stuff. We work 40-60 hrs pr week or more to buy it. In the end it means nothing! During that time was when I started to develope a different way of looking at those things. Do we need them. Well, that is left up to you to decide. I guess most of it served a purpose at one time or another. Maybe it was that item that I had seen on TV and wanted. Buying it must have given me some degree of joy. But, where is it now? In a box, closet, the floor, or packed away somewhere. I spent years paying on credit cards for things that were long gone. I am sure you can join me in saying this. We are spoiled. We have so much stuff that it can become our gods. When our time on this earth ends, and it will, will any of it really matter? Well, maybe to the ones we leave behind to some point.


I have a list of articles that I am going to be writing soon. I hope that you will be refreshed and encouraged with them. I have so much that I want to share with everyone. I pray that God gives me direction and uses me to help you.

Blessed with His grace & mercy,
Rhonda