Miscellany | Lisey's Birthday, Tithing, and Chocolate Play-Doh
A Few Birthday Pictures
The friend Lisey had over for her birthday is a snake fan (she owns Zelda, whom you may have seen on Joshua's 365 blog). So, Lisey thought we should have snake rolls.
I usually make uncoiled snakes (like the one on the right), but this time I made a few in a coiled shape, and it worked out pretty well (I used my basic roll recipe to make these)
We wrapped Lisey's presents in our cloth gift bags, which are made from old clothes. For some reason, unbeknownst to man, Joshua decided to use a Christmas bag for his gift.
She didn't mind the Christmas bag, though, because it contained the present she wanted most...a stuffed guinea pig from Joshua and Sonia (the pearls she's wearing are from Zoe, who bought them for $1.20 at Goodwill).
Tithing in Hard Times
The other day when I wrote about coming up with our bare-bones budget, I caused some confusion of the topic of tithing, and though I addressed it in the comments, I'm still getting confused comments about it. So, here are some words to clear it up. 😉
I do believe in tithing in the best of times and in the worst of times. No matter what our financial situation, we give 10% of our gross (i.e. pre-tax) income to our church. We did this when we lived on a teeny warehousing salary, and we do it now. And if Mr. FG hadn't found a job, we'd have continued to tithe off of whatever income I was bringing in.
We tithe off of income, great or small.
I was not saying that we should tithe only when things are good.
What I was saying is this:
Let's pretend that I have an income of $2000/month (just because $2000 is an easy number to work with). To keep things simple, I'm going to ignore taxes and other paycheck deductions.
I tithe $200 every month, and put $200 in savings every month. The other $1600 goes to bills.
This means that when I try to figure out how much I should save to cover my expenses each month (for a hypothetical unemployment scenario), I should save $1600, not $2000.
Because when you're living off of your savings, you obviously don't need to put money into savings (that wouldn't make any sense).
And when you're living off of savings and have no income, there's no income to tithe off of (the money in the savings account has already had tithe taken out).
I hope that explains my thoughts better. 🙂
Edible Chocolate Play-Doh
Well, actually it's cookie dough. But you do get to use it kind of like Play-Doh!
It's become something of an annual tradition for us to make these chocolate cookies when Lisey's birthday rolls around.
The recipe is not hard to make, and I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't enjoy playing with the dough, making the cookies into shapes, and eating the results.
I highly recommend giving it a try. (The recipe is in this post from two years ago. Please notice how little Sonia looks....totally gave me a case of the "aww..."s.)
Have a lovely Tuesday!
__________________
Today's 365 post: I didn't decorate this one
Joshua's 365 post: Look what we found!
Bless your heart! I totally got what you meant with the tithing explanation the other day. I give it up to you for enabling comments on your site! Some people just never cease to amaze me with their criticism.
Oh, I do love having comments enabled. I love being able to connect with my readers (albeit a small portion of them), and I would really miss that!
And it is good to know that people are confused about something I said, because then I can have the opportunity to clarify.
But I'm so glad to hear that my post from the other day was not unclear to you. yay!
Awww, Happy Birthday, Lisey! So happy to see you share your day with a good friend.
Hey Kristen,
It's nice that you did a clarification about tithing, but I think it wasn't really necessary. You were perfectly clear originally. As I read the follow-up comments, I got the impression that some people were criticizing you in order to show themselves in a more positive light. Tithing is good, whether in money or time, bragging about it or telling others what they "should" do is not.
Thanks for the gift you give all of us every single day by being "The Frugal Girl".
That's nice of you to share that personal information, but it really is no ones business to criticize. I love the snakes too. I'm just thinking I might try my hand at baking. My friend makes baked oatmeal. I'm certainly not ready for bread, but maybe someday!
I don't mind people disagreeing with me...this just felt like a case where they were misunderstanding me. It seemed like people read my post to say that I think we should give up tithing when things get tough, and I wanted to be clear that that is NOT my belief. 🙂
I didn't know if you were aware but tithing was for Israel under the law. And the tithe was not money but food, grain, animals etc. This was to be stored to give to the Levites only.
Leviticus 27:30-32 (King James Version)
30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.
31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Numbers 18:21-23 (King James Version)
21And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
22Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
23But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
We are to give today. Our money, our time, our love but we are not under a tithe today. The Apostle Paul tells us to be a cheerful giver. We give as we are able to give. We can give more, we can give less but we are not giving out of obligation but to give because we love and want to do it.
Yep, back then their income or increase came in the form of goods, not money.
And whether or not we're under a tithe is certainly an issue we could debate at length. But yes, I do agree that we need to give out of a cheerful heart, out of love for the One who loved us first. And our churches do need us to give, because they have to pay their pastors, pay for their electricity, and so on. 🙂
For us, 10% is a good start...that 10% goes to our local church, and then we give above and beyond that as we're able to other charities and needs (for instance we just sent some money to Mr. FG's friend's dad, whose home was washed away in Hawaii after the earthquake).
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you our beautiful Lisey!!! Happy, Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!
The snakes are welcome and the play-do looks terrific. The description previous was terrific but you were sweet to go to the trouble to clarify.
I think this post about tithing is so interesting. My husband and I are both from cheerfully giving, but not "tithing" families. We, however, have decided rather recently (in the past two years, or so) to tithe. I'm going to say something rather crazy here...I think the 10% (which honestly, feels like a lot, doesn't it!) was something God did for US...not for Himself. After all, God owns it all. He MADE it all. I think the 10% is so WE don't get caught up in ourselves and the love of money. When you give away 10%, it feels big. Let's face it...$20 is easy to forget about. $200, however, you FEEL that. It isn't lunch at McDonalds, it is two-weeks worth of groceries, or half a car payment, or a good amount going to savings. We have found that when we give our tithe, we are wiser stewards all the way around. We follow Dave Ramsey and have made it to Step 5 while tithing. Yay!
My husband and I have been amazed that this thing, tithing, which seems to be about God...and is...is also about his love for us. He authors such good, good things. Beautiful.
I once heard Dave Ramsey counselling a woman who planned to tithe on the insurance money paid to her when her husband unexpectedly passed away, leaving her raising her four children. His counsel surprised me, but made complete sense. She was not to tithe on this money(unless she felt compelled), because this was NOT income. Her husband tithed on the income that paid for insurance, which was "protection against catastrophe", not "income", per se. After mulling it over, I have to say I agreed. What do you think? Interesting debate, for sure.
I think your argument makes sense. It is very difficult to tithe on an income that doesn't exist. And you already tithed on the savings that you put away. 🙂
I am not very familiar with the passage(s) in the Bible that talk about tithe, but it seems some people say they tithe on "income" and some on their "increase". I would think "increase" would include the insurance money, but perhaps not "income".
I too, pay tithing. It is such a blessing to my husband's and my life. Things work out even when money is extremely tight and you don't have enough for that months rent, It ALWAYS works out for some reason. God watches out for us!
Thanks for all your posts. I want my future family to be like yours. You exhibit such great faith. You are a wonderful woman, mother, and person!
Thanks for the clarification, for those of us that don't "tithe" per se to a church I didn't really understand either but didn't mention it. It is pretty impressive that people are able to give 10% of their income but what happens if they are in debt? If anyone was in debt would they still tithe and rack up more if they are living below the poverty line etc?
I know for many families the church is their social life/community but where I live the Church has been in a decline over the past few decades and that community spirit has shifted to other activities.
Well, I'm in debt because I have a mortgage, but I do still tithe. And if I were in consumer debt, I'd tithe and also do everything I could do cut expenses/increase income to get myself out of the difficult situation.
To me, tithing is a matter of saying, "God, I trust you to provide for my needs.", and a way of acknowledging that all of our money and possessions are ultimately God's, and that we're just stewards.
I just don't know how we could possibly afford to give so much. The income taxes in Canada are so high and the goods and services taxes are up there too. Do you receive a tax credit like donation when filing your taxes on the money you tithed?
Most people looking at our budgets over the course of our marriage probably wouldn't have thought we could afford it either. But somehow, by the grace of God and with frugal living, we've never gone without anything necessary.
You guys do have higher taxes than we do, from what I gather. Although, I do pay self-employment taxes on all of my income, and those are pretty brutal.
Donations to non-profits are tax deductible, so yep, when we give to a church or charitable organization, we can deduct that from our taxes.
Thank goodness. I just find money so tight. With trying to save the 2500 a year RESP per child, maxing out RRSP's (which I can't max out right now) and the price of food...
We sponsor a child at 40$a month but that is nowhere near the 10% towards a charity...so instead, more to ease my conscience I volunteer since I am not bringing in an income.
I was surprised to see that you tithe 10% of your GROSS income. That makes your commitment have even more impact. I value your sharing of the way you are raising your children and living your life. I appreciate reading your posts, you always give me so much to think about! Although my beliefs differ from yours I feel that the example you set is good for anyone, with any belief.
I have to say... it was definitely an "awe" moment, to look at the pictures of Sonia! I think I'll try that recipe today! Thanks!
Alice.
We do that because throughout the Bible, the idea was to give to God first (the whole "firstfruits" idea). It does seem a little crazy to give away 10% off the top (and I will admit that every now and then, I get a little twinge as I write the check!), but God has been faithful and has blessed us and we have never gone without something essential. 🙂
Thanks for clarifing some things on your behalf (blush). I didn't mean to upset anyone if I did. I ment to say an *encouraging statement* when I said that you should tithe in good times and bad. Trying to encourage not act *high and mighty* encouraging from my stand point through my experience because God has been so faithful for our family. I must apologize because my confusion may have caused a stir in here. And I was misunderstanding your blog on tithing. I was speed reading it, truth be told so I might have missed the detail. Sorries.
Oh, no worries, Stef! I didn't think you were being high and mighty. 🙂 I just wanted to make sure people were clear on what I was trying to say.
Sigh of relief... (wipes brow of sweat). Love your family to pieces, you have been a great inspiration for me! God bless you continually!
It is great she had so much fun. What cute clothes she has too. Take care.
Just had to say thanks for the great gift wrapping idea. I'm cleaning out clothing to give to our church clothing drive, but there are some items that have just been worn too often to expect someone to continue to use them. Voila! Another recycling tip. Thanks.
I just LOVE the photo of Lisey with her guinea pig. That may be the happiest I've ever seen her. Incidentally, I know you're not big on pets (other than the reptilian variety), but we had tons of little critters growing up (hamsters, rats, gerbils, and guinea pigs) and they are very sweet creatures who are affectionate. They're not as smart and fun as rats (I'm not joking, rats are the best) but they are pretty easy to keep.
I also want to say it warms my heart that you are raising children who appreciate such simple gifts and enjoy choosing their own dinner as a treat. In Los Angeles, we are exposed to many (not all) children who will accept nothing less than expensive electronics and it's not a nice quality parents are instilling in them.
Mr. FG and I actually owned a guinea pig before we had kids. His name was Owen, and he died when Joshua and Lisey were fairly little (he was a good old age for a guinea pig by then). Mr. FG's sister is allergic to most small critters, unfortunately, so we've held off on getting any more.
I am so very grateful that my kids enjoy simple things. I think it's partly because of the culture of our home, and partly because they don't end up spending much time with people who are heavy consumers. Children are so malleable and easily influenced, especially when they're young, so if they spend a bunch of time with people who are very consumer-driven, it's no wonder they end up being little consumers themselves.
I couldn't agree with you better! It's so hard to withhold things from children when they are bombarded with temptaions from family, friends, comercials, etc!
I love the idea of using the cloth bags for gifts...I am definitly going to do that in the future.
Judy
Firstly and most importantly - Happy Belated Birthday Lisey! 🙂
Kristen I just wanted to let you know that this post has totally answered a question for me. I have been pondering (worrying!) about how much info I put on my blog. This post made me realise that the blog is a wonderful way of recording my families life for me and them - it was when you commented that you had looked back at a post you wrote two years ago, how lovely. Thank you
It IS kind of like an online scrapbook...especially the 365 stuff, since that's not all specifically about frugality.
And considering my real life scrapbooks are kinda behind, it's good the pictures are being organized somewhere! lol