Budgeting Means Getting to Give

Doing FPU and sticking with our budget, has been hard work.  Besides seeing our debt getting paid off, budgeting, at its core, at its root, at the very base of everything positive that flows out of it, is that I budget part of my money to give away. Common Question: But Treana. We read your monthly debt updates-- you are in debt. Why are you giving money away?

Answer: It's not about me or "my money."  I posted about 6 months ago about my realizations surrounding giving money away to churches or charities.

Those realizations still stick with me and have guided me to find some INCREDIBLE opportunities for giving. This is not a sales pitch for any of these organizations or people or acts, but I have found that when I put this song on, and scour around the internet, I find some INCREDIBLE (lots of incredible happening in this post already... might be a record breaker) opportunities for giving.  I share this list to get you excited about giving, and also to see if you blogger loves have some favorite giving spots as well.

Here's my small giving tree thus far (and giving is not like kids, I definitely have favorites):

• A crisis intervention program for Denver youth
• A humane society benefit
• A law school classmate that traveled to South America to do some seriously cool environmental law work
• A check to a momma friend of mine who is budgeting her face off so that she could have a little treat yo'self day.
• A family that a blogger wrote about who was trying to adopt 7 kids to keep them all together (Yeah. People are awesome).
• Church World Service: read more about them here or over at Momastery.
• A momma who was having lunch with her daughter and had the most beautiful conversation with her about gay marriage and love and how everyone deserves the right to marry who they want. I was tearing up (and eavesdropping) and could not help but to buy them lunch and leave her a note to tell her that she was a warrior momma and she should keep up the good work. She has no idea who I am. (This is probably my favorite one)

And finally, just to prove that opportunities to give come from EVERY possible scenario, just as I was finalizing this post a representative from a rape awareness coalition stopped by. They are now the list for next month's giving:

So. What about you? Do you budget for giving or just give when the mood/the right cause strikes?

The Joy of Giving

When I say that I grew up in the church, I mean that I grew up going to church literally every. single. day. Yes, every freaking day. I had chapel everyday in high school and grade school. Catechism on Thursdays for three years. Sunday school and church on Sundays. AND Wednesday night lent services for about 9 weeks a year. And about twice a year we would have an entire SERMON dedicated to how poor the church was and how we needed to give to the church cause God says so. I can remember being about 9 and thinking, "Seriously. I am here ALL THE TIME and you want me to also give to the church??? I show up. The church has other people that will give money. I don't have any money. I am 9. Also, you people hate women and gay people so if I give you my money I am saying that I hate those things too." (ok, maybe that last sentence didn't come in at 9, but it certainly was implanted by about 15).

Thus far in FPU I have been giving about 2% of my income to various things that make my heart happy: a crisis intervention program for Denver youth, a humane society benefit, a classmate that is traveling to South America to do some seriously cool environmental law work... and I have never given before. I have never budgeted for giving (because I never budgeted, but still).

So when I realized that our last FPU class last night was going to be about giving, I thought HERE WE FREAKING GO. This is where the church people tell us that we have to give the church cause the church needs it and God says so. Instead what happened was that I was pushed to tears realizing that I was WRONG. MAJORLY WRONG.

I completely thought that God/the universe wanted me to give out of some moral obligation to take care of the church. Because I was supposed to and it was just an annoying church rule that 95% of Christians ignore.

INSTEAD.

Instead God wants me to give to become more like Him. Made in his image. MORE LIKE WHO HE WANTS ME TO BE: kind, giving, selfless, loving, in the world, but not a part of it/a slave to it, realizing that what I have is a gift that is not mine and I am meant to be a manager of it in a way that brings joy into the world.

HOLY SHIT. And I mean Holy Shit.

Even if you aren't a "Christian" (whatever that label means/is/used to be) I think that the central purpose of our time here is to become more kind, more loving, more giving. And hell, if you can become more like that, be in control of your families' future, not live in crisis mode, AND have some SERIOUS FUN at the same time, then why not give giving a try. I bet at worst you find joy and at best, you become the "you" you were meant to be.