Giving

Yesterday I left work at 12:30 and met Matthew at the county tag place to get a copy of his truck registration, the last thing we needed to get before we could get our Catoosa County plates.
We met my Mom, Sister, and Nephew at the mall and ate a nice lunch. We took my Mom to the airport and then came home.
We went to Mass last night, picked up dinner, and came home to watch a few hours of mindless TV. I did some chores and then fell asleep.
A nice and simple day.

The topic of the day is giving and I have decided that, in light of Matthew losing his job and our finances being extra tight, to finally follow some advice I have resisted throughout our 6 years of marriage. Last Sunday I gave a "more than I was comfortable with" 10% to the church. I've been very stubborn on this point and have defended my "comfortable" tithing habits.
We were taught that the combination TTT (Time, Talent, or Treasure) can be adequate toward your tithing obligations. Throughout fall and up until Easter we were also sponsoring Christopher in the RCIA program, so that counted as some time, and unfortunately I have absolutely NO talent.. hahaha, but Matthew has offered to help out on the building maintenance so that will be part of his special gift.
The church doesn't keep a record of what all you've been giving or being involved with, or volunteering for or any crazy score-keeping like that. It is just up to ourselves to be accountable for us.
I stopped worrying and gave Sunday the 10%, and this week has been tight. The great surprise is that out of the blue Matthew's last check and vacation payout also had the quarterly bonus attached to it! So now the bills can be paid, and a credit card payment (or two) and we can still "afford" the tithe.
Call me stupid, or just stubborn.
:-)