Tithing

The first area I will be writing about today is tithing. I am suppose to record in my journal how tithing has helped my faith grow and list the blessings in my life. I grew up paying tithing. I had incredible parents that made sure I understood the importance of paying tithing, even on a dime. If I found a dime on the floor I had to pay a penny. For every dollar my parents gave me because of chores, I had to pay a dime of tithing. I have always known the importance of tithing. Sometimes I pay tithing because I know I need to pay. Other times I pay because I know I will be blessed if I do, but I have never really thought of the blessings of tithing that i have received, until now. I worry, I worry about the economy. I worry if I am going to be able to pay all my bills this month. I worry if I will have enough money in case of an emergency. Recently, especially since getting married, my bills have increased, but my paycheck has not. In fact, this month my paycheck went down because of that stupid Obama "making work pay" tax credit. I am not going to go into that right now, but maybe a later time. Every month I try to figure out how much money I will have leftover for fun little things to do like going to a play, or a sporting event, or out to eat. The first thing I take into account is my tithing. There have been times when I thought about not paying tithing because I would not have the minimum amount of money in my checking account that I want in there. For example, November and December were very tight months financially because of the holidays and increased bill payments and other things going on. I was well below what I like to keep in my account for emergencies each month. I felt like I was never going to recover because I was so low. I decided that I was going to pay a full tithe and fast offering. Every month, I have been able to rebound and I am now back to where I should be. I am also hoping to be able to increase the minimum amount I keep in my account. It was also an amazing feeling to go into the Bishop for tithing settlement and declare that I am a full tithe payer. The Lord knows me and what I am capable of. He does not give me more than I can handle. He knows my financial threshold. With the economy not doing so great and not knowing if I will have a job next year due to education cuts more will have to be done on my part and tithing will still have to be the first thing I pay. I have always had a testimony of tithing, but the older I get the more I understand and really see the blessings that come from it.