Serving God with my money

I love finances, I know most people dont they hate budgeting and stuff. I love making a good budget and sticking to it. 

However, here lately I have been having trouble with our budget getting it to cover everything. Getting some room in it for savings etc. Nothing like not being able to pay bills or anything just not having it flow as nicely as I would like. I have been reading an old Larry Burkett book for those that dont know he was a awesome financial expert of his day. He has since passed away. The thing I always loved about him was how he would back up anything he taught with biblical references so he taught how the Lord would want us to handle our money. Being a good steward. Giving etc.

So, since money was on my mind, I got to thinking about the early years of our marriage when we were making due with alot less than we have now. Yet, we were happy. We had no internet no cell phone , cable or satellite, one car that worked and one that was always having trouble, a house that needed some major work yet we were happy. When Matt would get paid which was monthly then we would pray that the Lord stretch the money that we had to provide for all our needs known and unknown. So, always every single month the Lord did provide. He was always faithful. It wasnt always in the same ways but somehow we always got by even though if you looked at our budget mathematically it didnt work it just didnt, however the Lord can do anything he wants!

So, after reading some of the same principals trusting God with your money and using all your resources to serve the Lord. God has really been dealing with me. I feel I have had blinders on and didnt realize. Dont get me wrong we were never rolling but compared to what we had early in our marriage it is. Well we no longer prayed our money would stretch we no longer asked that God be faithful I guess we just assumed that we had it covered...not meaning to be prideful but thats what I was prideful that I knew how to do things and didnt need God imput. 

I would never have admitted pride but by pure observation of what I was doing I was thinking I had it covered on my own.

I have realized that I need to get back to putting my money where my mouth is so to speak. Does them mean selling all I own and moving to another country to join a mission team no, but this does mean giving over control of what goes on in this house to the Lord, he has control anyway and he knows way more than I do and I think he can do a much better job. Than I need to think about where I could give more. What more above and beyond the tithe can we do to serve the Lord...how can we be a blessing to others? How can we show our kids how blessed we are to live in this nation where pretty much compared to the rest of the world we are ALL wealthy.

1John 3:17-18 "But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth"