Giving

So, God has been working on my heart about going on a foreign mission trip for awhile now.  I've loved mission trips ever since my first one in 7th grade, but I've never had the opportunity to go out of the country, to another culture.  It always seems like the money just doesn't work out.
I feel really blessed, because I've been taught from an early age that my money belongs to God.  When I got my first babysitting job in 7th grade, 10% went to the church.  My parents told me that's just what you do with your money, and surprisingly, I never had a problem with it.  They told me that God blesses faithfulness in giving, and I believed them.  Ten percent wasn't much anyway...
Then, when I was about 16, I got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 then, and I worked maybe 8 hours a week.  I was going to play basketball at CHA, but since I was a homeschooler, it was going to cost me around $300.  Plus, I was going to get my license soon, which meant paying for insurance as well.  My parents wanted me to save about half of everything I earned (for college, a car, etc.), so I didn't have a lot of "extra" money.  Then, my junior year, I took economics with Coach Kufahl at CHA.  At the very beginning of the semester, we read a little book called The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.  The book talked a lot about investing long-term--as in, eternally.  God will always provide enough for our needs today; we just need to trust Him  with our finances, and focus on the Kingdom of God rather than getting a pile of "stuff" for ourselves.
As I read, I felt God speaking to me.  I had really been stressing about how much basketball and my insurance was going to cost, and I had no idea where that was going to come from.  I knew God was telling me to trust Him with my hard-earned money.  I also knew that this trust couldn't just be words--I had to back it up with actions.  I felt like I needed to start giving an extra 5% along with my regular tithe.  Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but to me it was a huge deal.  I prayed about it and asked God to confirm this if it was what He wanted.  (Funny how I have no problem rushing into something I want, but if it's something I think God wants--I'd better take my time and make sure!)  The next morning, my quiet time was about the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30).  So, that was settled.
I gave 15% of my next paycheck.  That week, I found out that someone (I still don't know who) had completely paid for my basketball.  I also found out that my car insurance was going to be half of the original estimate.  I relearned an old lesson--If we are faithful, God meets our needs.
At the beginning of this year I read Crazy Love (Francis Chan) and Radical (David Platt) within two weeks of each other.  Now, both of these books are pretty challenging on their own, but together... whew!  My budget, and my life, got rearranged again.  Reading these, I decided that when I die, I want to be remembered for how I gave.  Not as far as big numbers go--God doesn't need my "millions" or my "thousands" or even my "dollars."  He wants my heart, my time, and my love.  Sure, that includes my money.  But it also includes my car, my phone, my computer, my education, my clothes--all my stuff.  He has given me each of these things in order that I may bring Him glory with them.  I want to be someone who gives out of everything I have been given.  And part of that means giving of myself and going out to love His people.  So, I'm probably going to be rearranging my budget again very soon, so that I can start saving for a mission trip.  God will provide--He always has and always will.  Could y'all pray that I will be completely obedient to everything He wants me to do?  Thanks :)

"No one can settle how much we ought to give.  I'm afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."--C.S. Lewis