Through our married years, we have gone through several bounced checks, many delinquent notices and several threats with utility cut-off notices. We are what's considered an average American family. When we ran short between paydays, we'd borrow from the credit card to pay our bills till payday. We were constantly behind! While I consider myself "thrifty", always on the look out for a bargain, I've not always been a wise spender.
   While my friend Lani had been ministering to me and preparing me for the Gospel and Salvation, she told me she was afraid NOT to tithe! I thought that was a funny thing to say, being as she had just confided to me that she had been "away" from church for many years. I dared to ask her "Well, who did you tithe to while you were not in church then?," thinking that she'd tell me that during those years, she just did not tithe. Much to my surprise, she said she was faithful to send in her tithe, every last TEN PERCENT earned!
   That impressed me. We got saved about a year later, and began serving the Lord. I would throw in a $50.00 check each payday, for a few months. I really thought I was making God happy. The preacher kept pounding the pulpit, saying "God wants your 10% ~ and HE wants you to give it to Him with a glad heart!" Over and over again, he'd preach this 10%, 10%, 10% ... well, I knew that fifty dollars was nowhere near 10% of my husbands income, but I had not been willing to put FAITH in the LORD to meet our needs if I would only obey Him. I still had it on my mind that if I tithed 10%, I wouldn't have enough left over to pay the bills completely.
   Just three months later, I began to take 10% of my husbands paycheck, and write a check to the church to put in the offering plate. God showed us results immediately! Our paydays met, with no delinquent notices inbetween. There was money for unexpected emergencies. This tithing thing was great!
   That was not the end of the lesson. It was a hard lesson. Sometimes I'd forget to pay tithes right away. I thought I was protected by God, and that He would meet my every need. Well, when things went wrong, and a financial storm would hit, I'd ask Him, "well, what did I do to deserve this?" He was gentle in reminding me, as I wracked my brain, that I had NOT given my 10% this pay-period. GASP! Shortly after the tithes were paid, repentence done, the financial storm will come to a calm.