He. Is. Faithful.

Before I say anything else, I want to wish my husband a Happy Two Year Anniversary! Wahoo!!! It has definitely been a great two years, but it has also been difficult with school and our otherwise crazy schedules. But Hallelujah we're graduated from college now so no more of that stuff going on anymore. I am so thankful that God created such a great man for me to marry and I'm so excited we get to spend our lives together. I love you "punkin' butt"! ;)

I was supposed to start posting pictures from our vacation last week, but I'm still working on choosing which ones I want to post so hopefully tomorrow I'll have all of that worked out. We had such a great time though. It was so nice to just be lazy bums and stare at the ocean. We are totally hooked and are already talking about how we are going to save up enough money to take another cruise next year!  :)

Now to the heart of what this post is about. Before I begin, please understand that this is meant to be a testimony on the faithfulness of God. I am not writing this to put anybody down or to boast about Roman and I, so please don't take it that way. But when God does something really cool, I feel like I just have to tell somebody about it! Okay, now I'll get started.

Two Sundays ago, our Pastor spoke on tithing. Tithing is something that I have always done. My parents taught me to tithe at a young age. I even sent my tithe to the church when I wasn't actually going to church. I have just always had some very strong convictions about the need to tithe. God gives us so much everyday, so surely I can give him 10% back of what He gives me.

Roman and I right from the start of marriage continued to tithe. But I'm not going to lie, there were some Sundays where I wrote that check in tears. Being a newlywed while both husband and wife are also full-time in college was NOT an easy financial situation to be in. There were times where I dropped the check in the offering plate with a prayer that goes something like this, "You promised You would take care of us. I'm still being faithful to You with our money. So I'm claiming that promise. I have only half a tank of gas and the light bill still hasn't been paid....."

And you know what?? God came through every single time.

There were several times that our parents would buy us groceries or help us with some of our bills. (Thank God for both of our parents-they have been such blessings to us while we've finished out our school.)

I dare you to tell me He isn't faithful.

There was one week where we started off with only 3/4 of a tank of gas in Roman's truck. Normally, if we drive the truck into town every day it will drink a full tank of gas plus some. But that week, we finished out with 1/4 of a tank. No refills. Same amount of driving. God just made the gas last the week.

I dare you to tell me He isn't faithful.

I remember one week in August, right after we got married. I had just emptied out our checking and savings account to buy our college books, and we still had gas and groceries that we needed. I opened up the mailbox to find a check for $100. A friend of my parent's had sent it to us with a note that said something like this: "Sorry, I was not able to make your wedding-and then I lost the card! I found it the other day, so please accept my belated wedding gift." I cried in the yard as I read it. Our needs were met that week.

I dare you to tell me He isn't faithful.

I could carry on with several stories, but I'll get to my point. Roman and I have been faithful in our tithing, and God has been faithful in providing for our needs. And several times, He's been more than faithful. Several times, He's just plopped a really big blessing in our laps that we didn't even deserve, just because He loves us. And sometimes, God just likes to prove Himself because we need little reminders every now and then.

I have two favorite numbers: five and fifteen. Don't ask me why, I've just always loved those two numbers. God decided yesterday to take one of those favorite numbers and twist it into a testimony for me to pass onto you.

Lately, I have been "whining" to God. Roman and I are graduated from college, but he still has not found a job yet. So even though we aren't spending the money for school, things are still pretty tight. Gas prices with his giant truck are not kind to us. So I've been asking God to improve our situation somehow. We've got some debt from school that we need to pay off and we will have to buy tires for both vehicles by the end of this summer. So I've been affectionately 'reminding' God about the promise He made to us if we are faithful in our tithing. Yesterday, God affectionately 'reminded' me to hush and let Him handle it.

I got a phone call yesterday morning from Roman. His part-time job changed his schedule. He will now be bringing home five times more than what he made last semester. (Remember my favorite number? It gets better.) And he also won't be working on Saturdays anymore. Oh happy day. I was so excited thinking about all of the bills we were going to pay off. When I took his paycheck from this past Friday to the bank yesterday afternoon, God told me to give him 5 more dollars than what I normally would when I wrote the tithe check. I happily agreed. What's 5 bucks when God just did something so huge? I went on through my day and bought groceries and a new comforter for our new bed (another blessing that we didn't actually need-God just gave us something we've been wanting for a while.)

I got home and I was so happy because my budget had worked out perfectly. We had exactly enough money to get us through the rest of the week AND I had finally been able to put something into our savings account...something that hasn't happened in months.

I opened the pantry door, only to have my good mood crushed. I had forgotten to add $20 into the budget so we could buy more cat food. I sighed one of those big dramatic sighs and thought "Well, I guess I'll just have to take a little bit out of savings. Lord, why did You have me give you 5 extra dollars when You knew I had to buy cat food??" Cue God's faithfulness.

I then walked over to the table to look at what my Mom had brought to us earlier that day. On top of the coupons was a card. Inside was a check for $25.

God asked for $5. I willingly gave it to Him. I got home that day to find the $5 multiplied. Five times over. The cat food will cost us $20. I'll have $5 bucks left. I could just hear God giggling as the Holy Spirit spelled everything out in my mind. And then I laughed too and apologized for ever doubting Him.

I dare you to tell me He isn't faithful.

I believe in the need for tithing. I believe that no one has any excuse to not tithe. When we serve the God of the Universe who owns all of the world and all of the money in it, then who are we to withhold a measly 10 percent? Who are we to say that He is not capable of taking care of us? So take that leap of faith and give like He has called us to give. He won't let you down.

I dare you to tell me He isn't faithful. Because I have a $25 check in my purse that says otherwise.

"'Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob Me. But you ask, 'How are we robbing You?' 'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-your whole nation-because you are robbing Me. Bring the tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,' says the Lord Almighty. 'Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,' says the Lord Almighty."   ~Malachi 3:8-12