Leftovers
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 7:00AM MAD21 By Michelle (Graceful, Faith in the Everyday)
Launching the Shop-Not Project felt good. When I embarked on my year-long hiatus from shopping last September, I felt noble…until a few months into it, that is, when I realized the flaw in my plan:
I was giving God the leftovers.
The Shop-Not Project works like this: My husband and I agree on a monthly personal cash allotment for each of us. I don’t spend any of that cash on clothes, jewelry, shoes, makeup or accessories – I don’t shop for any personal items for twelve months. At the end of each month, I take what’s left from my personal cash and tuck it into the envelope marked “Shop-Not Money.” At the end of the year, I donate what’s been saved to Compassion.
Sounds like the perfect plan, right? Like I said, noble and good. But read that second to last sentence again: At the end of each month, I take what’s left from my personal cash…
I take what’s leftover and give it to God.
What I give to God depends on my spending habits for the month – how many times I eat dinner out with friends, how many “necessary” items I purchase for home décor, how many low-fat grande mochas I sip. Some months I give most of my personal allotment to God; some months only $10 or $20. One month I gave nothing at all.
Faith, Family, Family Life, Money, Tithe in Family Life