Tithing and budgeting

Today at church we had our annual sermon on tithing. I'll be the first to admit that I don't tithe on a regular basis and that part of my reasoning behind it in my mind is that I'm never sure I can afford to actually give ten percent. I know that as christians were called to give with a cheerful heart but when you live on a student budget, that's hard to do. However, I am no longer a student but I pretty much live off of a little more than minimum wage so I'm hesitant in wanting to give ten percent back to my church.

I could feel God tugging at my heart today, just as He has every year for the last five years during this particular sermon. While I was in Athens it was easy to say that since I wasn't at home, I considered myself a "guest" in the church I attended there, even when I was attending on a regular basis. Now that I'm at home, I know I need to give back to my church family, especially since they have given so much to me in the six years I've been attending there.

Six years-wow. I can't believe it's even been that long. My sixth birthday in Christ was last weekend and I'm still amazed at the constant changes God works in my heart every day. To see how much I've grown leaves me in awe and I love the work God has done in me and through me. That's why I know I need to learn to put myself on a budget and give cheerfully to the church family that has helped me to grow so much in these six years.

I'll be the first to admit that I have a huge impulse spending problem. Yesterday, for instance, I went to Old Navy with Carrie and Katie because Carrie and I were planning on going to Best Buy to get the Twilight soundtrack after. I love Old Navy but knew I didn't really have the money to buy anything. However, I ended up walking out with a shirt and a pair of socks on an impulse. The same went with today. I was in Kroger picking up something my mom needed to make dinner and I ended up buying candy sitting by the register because it was on sale. I didn't need it but I did it on an impulse. I know from working in retail that this is done strategically but the point is is that I should have asked myself if I needed it and the answer would have been no.

Since I took a big pay cut in leaving my former job, now more than ever I need to learn to put myself on a budget and stick to it. When I'm done with this, I plan to balance out my checkbook, pay the two bills that are currently waiting to be paid, and then make out a monthly budget of how much everything is going to cost and how much I make so I know what to budget.

I'm the worst person when it comes to math and sticking to a budget and all of that fun stuff. I can only hope that someday I have a husband who is good at managing this stuff because I don't think I could handle it. However, since I am currently single and independent, I need to learn to do so. I won't be happy about doing it, but it's what I need to do.