Kathy,

That was a good article.  I agree that it's the heart attitude in giving 
that counts, not the percentage.  Probably church members were offended 
because it hit a little close to home.  I pray God will continue to speak to 
them and help them to grow.



JulieMelton
visit me at
www.heart-and-music.com
or subscribe to my podcast at
http://feed.feedburner.com/hmradio
Keep smiling!





>From: Kathy Du Bois <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Electronic Church <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Attention Phil, (I've read it)
>Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 11:28:30 -0500
>
>Hi Phil,
>         Okay, being afraid that I would not get around to it, after 
>writing my last post, I went right to your site and read what you have 
>written on the subject of tithing.  Truthfully, I believe that you and I 
>are on the same page even though we have come to that place from different 
>directions.
>         I've never experience the fear base preaching on tithing that you 
>speak about.  As I was reading, I just couldn't help but think how sad it 
>must be to feel like God is demanding ten percent out of your wallet or 
>else lightning will strike.  I have always been taught that it needed to be 
>done in love and thankfulness, otherwise, don't bother because God doesn't 
>want what you want to give with a stingy attitude.  In other words, if it 
>couldn't be given in love, then, it wasn't really given.    I wonder if 
>this may be part of the reason that you experienced so much blessing when 
>you quit tithing because Christ was celebrating with you that you 
>understood fully that you are truly free in Him.
>         Now I understand why you say what you do about tithing.  It must 
>be freeing to be rid of that fear and sence that what God truly is after is 
>attitude.  That's another whole line of thinking that is taught in the old 
>Testament, that isn't preached on very well.  Samuel told Saul that to obey 
>is better than sacrifice and David says that a contrite heart is what God 
>truly desires.  Giving to God must b a heart matter and not a rule of 
>thumb.
>         Who as a parent wants to receive a gift from their child because 
>the child "has too."  That isn't love and true love casts out fear.  Giving 
>out of fear is not love.
>         I do want to share with you an article that, interestingly enough, 
>I wrote last month for our church newsletter that is on the same subject.  
>Our church had a pledge campaign, for the first time this year.  Now, in 
>asking for pledges, we did not ask for any certain amount of anyones 
>income.  If people pledged 2 percent or ten, we have no way of knowing and 
>that is really between the individual and God.  We have been making 
>unrealistic budgets, however, lately, and the hope was that if people gave 
>some thought to their giving so that we could do a better job of planning 
>financially, as a church, that would make the church a better steward of 
>its resources as well.
>         The idea of actually thinking about what you will give, is a new 
>idea to some of our people.  Some individuals were offended, but they are 
>also the ones who dig through their purse, during the sermon to find what 
>loose change they can to stick in an envelope and put in the offering plate 
>as it goes bye.  I know this because I can't help but hear it going on 
>behind me.  That's what I was meaning about spiritually immature, in my 
>other post.
>         My article was an attempt to get at the point that it is an 
>attitude of the heart to want to give to God.  Yes, I mention that Greg and 
>I tithe.  WE love to do so.  For us, this is a base.  If we can give more, 
>we love too.  Last year, when Greg was doing extra work at the post office, 
>we had an absolute blast giving a lot away to bless others.  To be 
>truthful, I kind of miss that ability right now, but I know that the Lord 
>knows our heart and that's what He truly cares about.  Anyway, I thought 
>that I'd just share it.  It will be interesting to see your response.
>God bless,
>Kathy
>
>  My Story of Giving
>By Kathy Du Bois
>
>
>         We have always at least tithed.  I was taught about the importance 
>of giving to the Lord as a child.  When Greg and I began our married life 
>together twenty-five years ago, we decided, from the start, that we would 
>tithe.  I never had a sense of obligation about tithing.  I always saw it 
>as a privilege, an amazing fact that I could actually live on only 90% of 
>our income and give 10% away.  When you think about it, that is just an 
>incredible concept that I don't have to live on all I make: rather, I have 
>been blessed and I can enjoy sharing that blessing with others.  When you 
>consider that, truthfully, it all comes from Him in the first place, giving 
>back 10% or more, really isn't doing much.  The trick is, never depending 
>upon that 10% to begin with, but rather, making it a matter of the heart 
>that you can do with less.
>I can remember, about twenty years ago, seeing a TV evangelist use the 
>illustration of a big shovel and a little shovel.  In fact, if you sent 
>money to his ministry to support his work for God, you could receive a 
>replica of a big shovel and a little shovel, on a key chain to remind you 
>that what you are giving financially, is nothing compared to what God will 
>give back to you.  I think that the idea was that if you give to God, he 
>will bless you with tons of money, so don't hold back.
>That, however, has not been our experience.  We started giving because we 
>love the Lord and we wanted to have lives centered in his will. We weren't 
>concerned that God would, Pay us back, so to speak.  Why should He, if we 
>truly believed that it was His to give in the first place.
>   We have not been blessed with worldly wealth, as many of you know.  I 
>can remember Christmas's when we shopped at GoodWill to have presents for 
>our children.  I can remember many Christmas's when there was nothing under 
>the tree for Greg and myself.  There were times when we were almost 
>penniless.  Once, when Greg and I were both out of work and Matt was around 
>six months old, we used our collection of pennies, about $25, to buy food. 
>There were times when I'll admit, I worried, and complained.  I read Psalm 
>37 on a daily basis and I clung to the promises in those words, "I have 
>never seen the righteous forsaken," but we still tithed to the Lord out of 
>what we had.
>   I suppose that to many of you, this doesn't make sense and, to be 
>truthful, if you are  someone who only views money from a worldly 
>perspective, I can't really explain it.  There were times when I, 
>especially, was tempted to hold back, but we gave, and trusted God, and we 
>always got through the tough places.
>You see, while it is true that God has not blessed us with great financial 
>gain, what He has given us is Himself.  I wish that I could help you see 
>how much more valuable that is than any vast number in a bank account.  
>We've learned about God's faithfulness through trying times.  We've learned 
>the importance of depending upon Him for everything.  We've learned the 
>value of going on our knees to seek His will before making any decision.  
>What should we do with the car?  Should we junk it or repair it?  Where 
>should our children be educated?  How should we deal with a difficult teen? 
>  We have learned that nothing is too small and no need is too great, to be 
>placed before our heavenly Father in prayer.  In poverty we have learned 
>how to walk with God and in earthly struggles, we have learned how to 
>depend upon Him.  How can you use a shovel to illustrate the presence of 
>God Himself in your daily life?  No shovel is big enough to demonstrate 
>what we have truly been given in return.
>My God shall supply all your needs, becomes three-dimensional when you live 
>this way.  I do have to admit that God and I have different views on the 
>idea of, "NEED" from time to time, but He remains patient as He conforms my 
>way of seeing to His, and, He's always right, and, He always gets us 
>through.
>There have been the times when giving has felt as though it required 
>sacrificing.  When we still lived in Michigan, we cancelled our membership 
>at the Y. M. C. A. so that we would have the money to continue sponsoring a 
>child through the ministry known as Compassion International.  We found a 
>double stroller at a garage sale and took up walking instead.  The blessing 
>there was that we were able to continue to support a child, I believe that 
>the one that we were sponsoring at the time was from Haiti.  Later, 
>Compassion began a program in which it helped some of its sponsors to write 
>wills or living trusts, for free, something that we had neglected up to 
>that point.  We took advantage of the offer, and took a step toward better 
>securing our family's future.   God guided us all the way and while I 
>missed swimming, and still do, we gained some things too; an hour of family 
>time a day, fresh air and exercise on our walks, and financial guidance and 
>wisdom.  It doesn't always work like that, but it does demonstrate how His 
>ways are higher than our ways, if we will just submit our ways to Him.
>I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous about this upcoming year.  We've 
>learned that our mortgage will be going up considerably.  Liz may need 
>braces for medical reasons, on her teeth and insurance may not help much.  
>Our car is a constant concern because it is older and gets a lot of wear 
>and tear.  Greg will be working much less at the post office this year, 
>which is good because he will have more time to devote to ministering to 
>you, but it will mean a cut in our income.  Yet, we will continue to at 
>least tithe.  Not because we have to, but because we love too.  It's so 
>little compared with all that Christ has given us.
>As I live, I have two main prayers for my personal life.  The first is that 
>I will always do my best to be generous to others.  This is the heart of 
>God at work in my life. I pray that we can be able to give more than a 
>tithe to continue to help God's church and those in need.  The second is 
>that, if I am given a choice between my life and my Lord, that I will 
>choose Him over myself.  Then I will know that I have truly lived well and 
>that He will say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Now enter 
>into my rest."
>I would just like to ask this, why do people hang on to all of their 
>earthly things so dearly? When they are gone, those things will go to 
>others if they are not broken or used up before that.
>Life is the only investment that we can truly take with us. Even if our 
>earthly possessions were thrown into the coffin with us, they would do us 
>no good in the after life. Let's give of our time, our talent, our effort, 
>and our finances to what really matters: eternity, and the salvation of 
>others. That is the one blessing that we will never regret forever.
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