The 10% Tithing Experience

2013-11-04T22:28:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since I have posted. Actually, several years. But I am back and have started a new charitable group called Make-A-Change. I thought of that name from the Michael Jackson song, Man in the Mirror. That song s lyrics rings true for me:

"If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place, Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change." - Michael Jackson, Man In The Mirror

So my charity groups name is based on the concept of starting with yourself and making a change in the world you want to see. Or as Gandhi stated:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Since it is November and Thanksgiving is around the corner I decided the first event I wanted to organize was a teenage dream of mine. When I was 16 years old I was studying Anthony Robbins Personal Power tapes and came across his Basket Brigades where they would feed the families in need. I always wanted to be part of a Basket Brigade. So when I moved to San Diego nine years ago in 2004 I always meant to volunteer for one or start my own. Each year I have procrastinated doing this and I have come close a few times. But this year I drew the line in the sand and stopped procrastinating. It helps that the Anthony Robbins Foundation sends me emails every year asking me if I am still ready to volunteer for a Basket Brigade :-)

So Friday I created my own Basket Brigade called The San Diego Make-A-Change Basket Brigade. I spent all weekend creating a personal website, email addresses, getting organized, etc. It is quite a bit of work setting the foundation of the electronic world - Facebook, Yahoo, websites, Flyer's, etc. But come Monday (today) all was ready to go.

I let the world know who we were and advertised our need for volunteers and donations on Facebook and Craigslist and emailed a few trusted friends and family. A couple people have joined the team, a couple donations have rolled in, and even a couple families have asked to join the list of families needing Thanksgiving dinners. The engines are warming up and the ball is rolling.

I truly believe you have to meet God half way and I am very certain I have done just that. I fully expect God to hold up his side now. lol. They say God works through people. I certainly can attest to that. I have learned to be open to opportunities as they present themselves - understanding that it could be God's intention. For example, my Craigslist ad for volunteers and donations first response was neither a donation or a volunteer but a family of 8 asking for a Thanksgiving basket. But that is not all. The family lives over an hour away in Corona, CA! That is far beyond my designated area. And before I could let them know that, I said yes I could help them and to spread the word to any other families in need (that was before I knew where they lived). Now I have two families - one in Corona and one in Anaheim. So - what to do. There of course is no way I am turning a family in need of a Thanksgiving dinner away just because they are an hours drive away. I am a man of faith I am going to assume God brought these two families to me for a reason. So I did put an end to spreading the word to more, but I told them I would make sure to help both of their families out. They will be taken cared of. God worked his magic.

My charity is non-denominational and non-religious in nature overall. My personal beliefs are my personal beliefs. Everyone must decide what moves them. Some of the kindest and warmest humans I know are atheists. I respects atheists very much and hope to have some as volunteers in my Basket Brigade. You do not need a religion under your feet to give from your heart. You just need to be a human who cares.

Without further ado...

The San Diego Make-A-Change Basket Brigade is revving up for Thanksgiving! We are looking for volunteers to help make this a raging success. The plan is simple - find families in need of a Thanksgiving dinner, purchase the makings of that dinner, wrap and organize the dinner into baskets on the Saturday/Sunday before Thanksgiving, and then deliver the baskets Sunday.

Click here to volunteer and/or get more information:

Personal SD Make A Change Website

San Diego Make A Change Basket Brigade

Anthony Robbins Foundation - Make-A-Change Basket Brigade Website

San Diego Make A Change Basket Brigade

You can also click the Donate button below to donate cash directly. Each family Thanksgiving basket costs around $50, but we gladly accept any dollar amount. It all adds up!

Haiti Relief Poker tournament

2010-01-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

I am hosting a NL Texas Hold'em charity poker tournament. Haiti was recently devastated with a major earthquake that destroyed most of the capital and likely resulted in 50,000+ casualties.

The world is uniting in offering help.

I am hosting a tournament where every player donates a minimum of $25. I expect to raise at least $250. Then my work will match all donations 100% up to $200K. So if we donate $250, they will donate $250 - bringing the total up to $500.

It is another small effort - but anything I can do to get people involved in the helping of others, I will do.

Operation Warm Winter - New Meetup

2010-01-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

I have created a new meetup for my San Diego Grass Roots Giving meetup. Operation Warm Winter is this meetup's second "Operation" and it involves collecting and distributing warm blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless in San Diego.

http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Grass-Roots-Giving/calendar/12330159/

I have also created an Operation Warm Winter website - still in its' early phases of development.

http://operationwarmwinter.webs.com/

The plan is to advertise on Craigslist for donations of blankets throughout February. The members of the meetup will drive to people's homes to collect the donations. Then in early March we will gather our group and hit the streets delivering warm blankets to the homeless.

It may end up just being a small group of 5-6 people collecting and delivering the blankets - but small things have a way of making a big difference!

Operation Santa Clause

2010-01-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

Galina Caraman, writer for the Ocean Beach Good Time's OB paper, wrote a story about Operation Santa Clause.

Below is a copy of the word for word story and a link to the actual site.

http://goodtimesob.wordpress.com/ocean-beach-calendar-of-events/operation-santa-claus-at-your-service/
_________________________________

Operation Santa Claus at Your Service
By Galina Caraman

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life it’s highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.” – Francis Pharcellus Church

Christmas, 1991 – sad, sad day in my life; huge milestone in my existence. My Dad burst my bubble. My brother and I didn’t sleep the whole night waiting to see Santa just to discover our dad quietly placing the gifts under the tree. I threw a fit; I cried; I didn’t want to touch the presents. They got me some toys, what were they thinking anyway? I asked for a bicycle! Only if Santa existed… My Dad explained that Santa is a busy guy and that he was just helping him. I believed Dad; got over the drama and spent the next 18 years of my life on my quest for Santa Claus.

December, 2009 – my faith got restored! I found Santa on a craigslist add. Believe me or not San Diego Santa lives in Tierrasanta (cute neighborhood at the intersection of 15 and 52). His name is Jay Usher and he also has a Santa’s helper, Lynn Usher, which in real life is his wife. San Diego Santa is not quite the traditional old guy and white beard type of Santa Claus. Mr. Usher is modern; in his 30ies; computer programmer by day; but this Christmas he is being Santa to at least ten families with adopted and/or foster care kids in San Diego area.

It all started with a coffee. Every morning he feeds his addiction at a Starbucks downtown – a grande white mocha with an extra shot of espresso. “Very predictable” he says. But one Monday morning a couple of weeks ago was different. Starbucks had bunch of little ornaments with names of foster kids and what they want for Christmas. That inspired and got him thinking: “I should do the similar”. Went online and found hope4kids, a non profit foster care agency. They were looking for people to “adopt” a family in need for Christmas. Mr. Usher emailed them; ten minutes later Karleen Cox from hope4kids replied with a list of ten families he could choose from. He couldn’t pick just one and picked them all. After some more thinking, Mr. Usher figured that it might be a “little” hard to buy presents for ten families so he created

San Diego Grass Roots Giving

on meetup.com and invited everybody he knows to join. Within a couple of days they raised almost all the money and a bunch of games and toys; and then Santa and Santa’s helper went shopping. It was so cute to watch them going through every child’s “letter to Santa” and carefully deciding which one is getting what. I guess that’s how they do it on North Pole. The presents were modest; bought from Good Will, Ross, Wall Mart but they all were thought over, exactly what the kids were asking for plus a little piece of Mr. & Mrs. Usher’s heart. I’m sure they would put a smile on each of those little faces.

Christmas will be over soon but San Diego Grass Roots Giving will continue on helping others. They are working on the Operation Warm Winter which consists on collecting blankets and sleeping bags and donating them to the homeless.

“The goals for San Diego Grass Roots Giving are two fold. One is to help others in need. But just as importantly, I want people to get involved in the helping of others. These are difficult times and some of our problems are simply not possible to overcome by our selves. I believe if you cannot currently fix a problem you are facing, the best thing to do is help someone else with their problems. Put simply – Give What You Need.”

Reflections

2010-01-05T11:57:00.001-08:00

I am curious who will read this blog post just by seeing the word reflections.

To some of us, that word is what we are currently focused on. So if you are one of those focused individuals, this post is for you.

But this will be a short post.

More than anything this post serves as a synchronicity that you are on the correct path.

So in short what are reflections?

The most obvious is if you look into a mirror you will see your own reflection.

On a grander level if you walk around downtown you will see reflections of yourself in others. What does that mean? It means we're all the same person on a grander scheme - playing out some individual roles.

When you see someone - you are seeing a reflection of yourself. Contemplate that for a while.

Those people are you working on a different objective than yourself. Empathy towards others really is empathy towards yourself and its challenges.

Have you ever heard the saign "How We See Others Impacts How We See Ourselves". That is all about self-esteem.

The short of this post is about creating more empathy in the world. It is important to realize that you are helping yourself when you help others in this world.

To hate another person for any reason is to hate a part of yourself. While that person may be doing things you find offensive, empathy is required nonetheless in order to help that person overcome the thing they are struggling with.

Consider yourself an atom on a finger on an arm on a body. The other atoms are other people in this world. But you are all on the same finger on the same arm on the same body. Hating yourself accomplished nothing and manifests excuses to prevent the work of growth.

That is all.

The Fourth Starbucks Card

2009-12-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

So if you read the last post, I still had that fourth Starbucks card to give out. For some reason the same day I handed out the other three, I did not find a fourth person to give it to. I thought perhaps I was going to get pulled over by a cop on the way home and need to give the card to the cop.

LOL.

Hey, God indeed works like that sometimes.

The next work day I forgot the Starbucks card at home. Doh! I figured, Okay God, you know what you're doing. Left up to me I would have given it to someone of my own decision - but alas, God had plans.

Today I remembered to bring the card with me.

I remembered at the last minute.

Because it is the last day before my vacation I decided to drive and park downtown rather than park at old town and take the trolley into work. As I was walking towards my building I remembered the Starbucks card and figured maybe this was the moment. I remembered there are usually homeless inside the Starbucks in my building. So I was thinking maybe I would go in and see if there was someone homeless in there now.

Now let's take a brief moment to realize that my focus is on helping the homeless. Perhaps God has to work within my focus too - which is on the homeless. So while I let God tell me who to give the card to, generally speaking my eyes are scanning towards the homeless.(Though I would give the card to someone not homeless if it struck me to do that)

I guess I figure I need to change my attitude towards the homeless.

So, Low and Behold, there was an elderly man sitting on the bench in front of Starbucks - he sort of looked like Santa Clause truth be told. Starbucks puts benches out in front of the store and many times that is where the homeless hang out - usually drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Well I walked up to the man and said hello and handed him the Starbucks card. Now the card is in a little white envelope, so most people do not know what I have just given them.

Then here is the dialog that continues:

Man: Can you spare some money, I am really hungry and would like to buy a sandwich?

Jay: That is what this is for (the Starbucks card)

Man: What is it? (He did not know the card in his hand was a Starbucks card)

Jay: That is a Starbucks gift card. You can buy a sandwich with it.

Man: How much is it for?

Jay: $8

Man: Oh thank you! Thank you so much! How did you know I was hungry? I don't know how you could have known.

Jay: Because God Is Watching.

Man: Oh. I think I am crying. Thank you so much. Do you have a minute to talk, please I really want to talk to you for just a minute.

Jay: Yes. But I work in this building and I do have to get to work.

We actually did not end up talking because the man was speechless. There was tears evident in his eyes. The man was really hungry and he probably was asking God for food.

It was a wonderful moment. It was worth the 2 days wait.

I met Curly, but not Joe or Moe

2009-12-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Hello world.

Yesterday I re-discovered Buddhism. On Netflix I can stream movies instantly to my TV or computer. So I was watching The Four Noble Truths. The 14th Dalia Lama, in 1996, gave his first teachings to the West on the four noble truths in London. They recorded it and I was watching it. It is long. About 4 parts of an hour each.

I discovered that most everything I believed was metaphysical mumbo jumbo was actually Buddhism. Of course my training over the last 15 years goes into more advanced knowledge than the four noble truths and the eightfold path - but I imagine those advanced teachings are also part of more advanced Buddhism teachings.

While I do not match the makings of a Buddhist - they have some strict rules that I am not ready to adhere to - I certainly consider my belief system to be Buddhist. I understand there are a couple different followings of Buddhism and they vary on key belief points. With my quick internet search of the description of the 3 or 4 major sects of Buddhism, I find the beliefs that I accord to most is the Mahayana Buddhism.

So in accordance with my 10% Tithing Experience and my strong desire to help others in need, I decided I would celebrate my new Buddhist path. The basics of Buddhism is there are FOUR Noble Truths and an Eightfold path to travel to reach complete understanding and experience of those 4 Noble truths.

Thus - I decided I would lessen the suffering of FOUR people during my lunch hour with $8 dollar Starbucks gift cards.

The lady at the Starbucks counters was wondering how I came to the number 8 which she found odd. I told her simply eight is a great number.

I had passed a man, assuming to be homeless, who was singing Christmas Carols and holding out a can for donations. The man did not beg, he just sung the songs - terribly I might add. He was the first person of the four I gave a gift card too.

I had to listen to my inner self to know which street to walk down. I did not want to walk my normal path. This was divine work and I told God I would do the walking but he would have to bring the 4 people to me.

The second man was a black man. I wasn't even sure he was homeless. But I knew he was getting a gift card and I pulled one out. As I passed him he asked if I had any spare change. I gave him the gift card and shuck his hand.

I always tell people "God is Watching". I just want people to know that they are not alone.

The third person was the man in the title - Curly. I talked with Curly for a long time, longer than planned. I think I must have been standing talking to Curly for twenty minutes. Curly needed someone to talk to. I gave Curly a gift card. But Curly went on about great a day he was having and he was blessed because he was listening to his music on his wireless headphones. His only complaint was those double AA batteries are expensive!

I asked Curly how much the batteries are and he said about $2.99. He then asked me if I had $3 for AA batteries. I said absolutely and gave him the only $3 I had in my wallet.

I have not met a homeless person yet who did not believe in God. It will happen eventually, but so far my "God Is Watching" has been taken with good acceptance.

I still have one $8 Starbucks gift card to hand out. I tried walking around searching for whoever God was going to present to me. I was even late on my lunch ten minutes. Nothing.

Patience is an important asset when doing Gods work - so I imagine God is working on it and I will know when to give the last card when God tells me.

Helping A Mother 4 The Motherless

2009-12-18T23:27:00.000-08:00

God works in mysterious ways.

On my craig's list ad for Operation Santa Clause a writer for Ocean Beach newspaper called me and wanted to volunteer to help out and to write a story about what we were doing.

Galina was her name and she gave me a link to her online stories. The paper is a real paper - but her stories are also published online.

One of here stories was about a women who has 8 foster kids - i think 8 is the right number. She is a trooper. The title of the story is "Mother for the motherless".

Talking to Galina at our Operation Santa Clause meeting last Saturday, I told her I am always looking for opportunities to help others. She then mentioned LaShawn. Galina wanted me to know she is very deserving of any help we can offer her.

I decided then that if God could make a way for us to help her out this Christmas, we would.

There wasn't any money left over from Operation Santa Clause to help LaShawn.

But God can make things happen.

My work Christmas bonus this year was above what I expected and I decided I would tithe my 10% of it to LaShawn.

I got LaShawn's contact information from Galina and tonight I delivered her a little gift from God.

I had that 22lb turkey my work gives to staff everyone year for Thanksgiving. I had been asking God to help me donate that to someone in need this holiday season.

So LaShawn got that 22lb turkey and a Christmas card with 10% of my holiday bonus.

Who knows what that means to LaShawn and her familiy - only God knows.

What I love is how God brought us all together. God brought in Galina and Galina brought in LaShawn.

Another great deed that should bear fruit in a world going through difficult times.

Holiday Food Drive @ my work

2009-12-18T23:21:00.001-08:00

I am constantly listening to God for opportunities to do his work.

My company is big on charity and this year, like the ones in the past, we had a holiday food drive for the San Diego Food Bank.

This year they decided to offer one raffle ticket for each food item donated or for each $1 donated online (up to $20).

So I went shopping and bought 45 items - Mac-N-Cheese, tuna, rice, etc. I got my 45 raffle tickets and fed a lot more families.

Then one hour before the work Christmas

party, I went online and donated another $20.

Total raffle tickets was 65.

At the holiday party they have all the gifts on display and bags in front of each of them. You can put your raffle tickets in any bag you want - increasing your chances of winning that particular gift.

I put the majority of my tickets in two bags - a digital camera and a digital frame.

I won both!

The camera was a Costco camera valued at $140 and the digital frame had a value of $80.

It was a wonderful feeling finally winning something at a work raffle - I never have won anything at any company party.

Of course in my mind the first thing I thought was should I re-gift one or both of these or perhaps give one of them to another coworker who did not win.

BUT - we must learn to receive as well as give. I decided God wanted to give to me and so I am going to receive these gifts with an open heart and no guilt.

I really wanted that digital frame and camera. WooHoo!

This is just another drop of abundance entering our lives from the law of money.

Operation Santa Clause - Huge Success!

2009-12-18T23:14:00.000-08:00

We received over $800 in cash donations, $260 in toy donations, and a $25 gift card donation - for a total donation of $1085! All in less than 8 days.

We spent about $980 cash on presents and Visa cards, plus we used the toy and gift card donations. We were able to provide Christmas for all Ten families for about $1265.

The social worker came to pickup the ten hefty bags of presents and I imagine the girl scout troupe who volunteered to wrap all the gifts are still wrapping them right now

This was the San Diego Grass Root Giving first major charity effort. I would have liked to have seen more volunteers helping out, but you cannot expect people to drop everything on a hats notice.

I really feel God was working through me to accomplish this wonderful thing. We really accomplished something great this holiday season. I cannot even imagine the good this will cause for those ten families and also all the people who donated money or came to our meeting organizing the efforts for this.

God works in mysterious ways and makes differences in people's lives in unique and unexpected ways.

Operation Santa Clause - Update

2009-12-14T08:05:00.001-08:00

Operation Santa Clause is going very well.

We received about $185 in donations on Saturday. That was just awesome.

Two people who promised checks came through on Saturday too - one for $300 and one for $150. Like they say, nothing in guaranteed until money is in the hand. So really all in all we received $635 on Saturday.

We've been successful in getting people to spread the word to friends and family via email and face-book. I think we have received about 7 donations via Pay Pal - some from people I have no idea who they are - which is wonderful.

We are over $1160 now (Including some toy donations!)

A Lot To Report

2009-12-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

I've been a busy little bee, as one friend put it.

I created a new effort on my San Diego Grass Roots Giving meetup site. It is called Operation Santa Clause.

Yesterday morning I was mentally brainstorming ideas for December. I wanted to do something for this Holiday season - better late than never.

There is a Starbucks in my work building and as I picked up my Grande White Mocha I saw these little ornaments with kids names on them and 3 gifts they wanted.

Well you almost always have a few minutes to wait before your toasty beverage is ready. So I read the piece of paper explaining these little ornaments. Starbucks is partnering up with a charity to adopt an orphanage in Russia. All the gifts will be flown to the orphanage in time for Christmas.

I grabbed an ornament and wanted to be part of that.

I got to thinking, we should do that!

When I got to my desk I did a quick Craig's List search and discovered a charity who needed people to adopt foster families for Christmas. Same thing - buy 3 gifts for each kid, but they also request gift cards for the parents and a gift the whole family can enjoy together.

Well I got to cracking. I know God will meet me half way on these things - but I am of the opinion I need to get it started first.

I emailed the charity and got a response about ten minutes later.

End of story - we are adopting TEN families! They were ecstatic.

Then I found out the deadline was 4 days away! Ooops!

I got an extension to 8 days. Still, that is not much time.

According to my calculations, we need a minimum of $1100.

I have been working non-stop since then.

Today we have a dedicated Operation Santa Clause website accepting paypal donations.

We have a Craig's List ad pointing to the website.

We have collected $400 within 24 hours.

That means we are 25% there!

Only 75% more to go!

I have engaged in an aggressive email and FaceBook campaign seeking to spread the word as far and fast as possible.

People in China are going to know about Operation Santa Clause by tomorrow. Kidding. But then again, maybe not.

If I had more time I would create a You Tube video. Shucks!

So I am looking to God for some miracles here. I certainly am doing all that I can think of.

There are really two major tasks involved in Operation Santa Clause.

1. Raise $1100-1600.
2. Buy all the presents and gift cards and organize them for pickup.

Both are daunting.

But I really think we're going to be making a huge impact in those ten families lives.

I know God will be there to fill the gaps.

Grass Roots Giving - We are up to 6 givers

2009-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Wow.

I created the meetup an hour ago.
Already 3 people have joined our efforts as givers.

Woo Hoo!

Including the three newly recruited givers, me, my wife, and our friend Wayne - we are now at 6. And it is only day 1.

Introducing San Diego Grass Roots Giving

2009-12-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

I had a conversation with my wife and our friend Wayne last night about collecting donated blankets/sleeping bags and hand delivering them to the homeless downtown.

As it turns out Wayne has a strong desire to give back to those in need. Wayne really like the idea, as did my wife Lynn.

So today I created a new meetup on meetup.com called "San Diego Grass Roots Giving".

It is not about religion, it is about answering cries for help. This is a completely non-denominational, non-religious effort. Member of the meetup will be called "givers". Givers can be deeply religious or atheists.

Need knows no religion.

The first meetup is scheduled for January 3rd at noon at our apartment clubhouse.

I have titled it "Operation Warm Winter".

In the meantime, I am hoping to recruit some more "givers" to the meetup group so we can grow our little charity efforts.

The meetup page is:

http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Grass-Roots-Giving

Within 1 hour of posting the Craig's list ad we got a response. A lady has two blankets to donate.

I am working with her a time and place to pick up the blankets.

This is just the beginning.

We Donated Some Cans Of Food

2009-12-06T19:17:00.001-08:00

This time of the year everyone is participating in the annual food drive for the San Diego Food Bank.

Our apartment office has a barrel for donations. We decided to look in our cupboards and donate some stuff.

About six months ago I was concerned over the H1N1 flu and stocked up on some can goods - so we had abundance to spare.

We donated about 4 hearty cans of soup, a big can of Bush's beans, a couple cans of corn, and a couple cans of pineapple chunks.

Every little bit helps.

At work we are also participating in the food drive. For every item you donate you get a raffle ticket. At the Christmas party on December 18th they will raffle some prizes.

I plan on donating more at work in the coming weeks.

Gift Cards For The Homeless?

2009-12-06T19:07:00.001-08:00

I just had to include this idea.

Personally, when I give money to the homeless I leave it up to God to worry how the money is spent.

However, I also don't want to support unhealthy habits, such as drugs.

I read a great idea! Instead of giving cash in hopes to provide food for the homeless, you can purchase gift cards for a restaurant nearby.

Then you give those gift cards away.

If you want to give a homeless person coffee to warm them - give a Starbucks card.

If you want to give a homeless person a meal - give them a McDonald's gift card.

I just thought that was a good alternative.

The Bookstore For A Little Research

2009-12-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today I spent some time at the bookstore researching tithing/giving. I know the road is going to be challenging and I need to keep my spirits up. I looked for books about people who give. I ended up in the Christian section. I think I also found a book in the business section.

What I normally do is find 3-4 books and then sit down at the cafe and skim them. One of the books was about spiritual abundance through giving; a lot of it validating my tithing quest. The author was telling a story and then at the end of that story explain what she discovered from the story.

What I liked about it was the stories. The stories were about average people who discovered that giving to others enriched their lives.

One story was a lady whose hands hands were very cold and she was five minutes from home. She was dreaming of them becoming warm against her fireplace. Then she passed a homeless man with a sign asking for food. But what she noticed was his hands - they had no gloves on them and it was freezing cold.

This made her think of her 23 year old son that succumbed to drugs and ran away a few years ago. Her son would not talk to her no matter how hard she tried. She imagined that he, too, is probably homeless and may be in the same straights as the homeless man in front of her.

So this lady goes into the store and buys some food items. She gets to the cashier and decides to go back for a few items.

Finally she checks out at the register and goes back to her car. She drives up to the car and rolls down the window. As the homeless man reaches his hands in the window for her offering, he is surprised when she gives him not food but warm gloves.

That is all she gave him. But it was a special thing for her. The homeless man accepted the gloves in thanks.

Now some of you are probably wondering why she did not give him food too. I thought the same thing. But who knows.

In her heart she felt she was giving one of Gods sons warm gloves to keep him warm. She silently prayed that God would take care of her own son as she has just taken care of His son.

I like that story.

I have been reading these types of stories to keep my spirits up.

God has turned on the abundance faucet

2009-12-06T18:37:00.001-08:00

I know there will be critics of this part of the tithing experience, but abundance is part of the game.

As we start giving more we will inevitably start receiving more.

Today we gave a homeless person a warm jacket and some cash for food. We also donated 2 bags of clothes and a bag of shoes to the Goodwill.

As we were getting out of our car at the Barnes & Noble bookstore, there was a $5 bill on the ground and no one in sight to whom it belonged to.

So we picked it up and assumed it was a drip of abundance from God.

These little drips of abundance are starting to show up in the most unexpected places.

The Jacket Found A HomeToday

2009-12-06T18:23:00.001-08:00

Today was a cold day. Tomorrow will be even worse as a storm hits San Diego, followed by another storm coming after it in in four days.

I thought today was a good day to find my old heavy jacket a new home.

This tithing idea was started with the original thought of giving that jacket to a homeless person downtown.

Me and my wife went to Coco's for breakfast and then afterward we drove downtown looking for someone to give the jacket to.

Now keep in mind this is a very heavy leather jacket full of thick lambs wool. The kind of jacket that will keep you warm in the deepest snow. It was water proof and had a detachable hood.

We found a homeless man named Mark. We gave Mark the jacket and whatever cash was in my wallet at the time. Mark was very thankful. We talked to Mark for about 2 minutes as Mark told us a little about himself. We both shook Marks hand.

People have reservations about touching a homeless persons hands, but the way we saw it this was Gods work and it needed to be personal. Mark turned out to be very friendly.

I hope that jacket brings a little bit of God in Marks life and keeps him warm in the colder days to come.

For me this fulfills my promise to donate the jacket to a homeless person downtown. It was important to donate the jacket in person and not through a charity. I wanted to see the difference in person it makes.

Me and my wife thought it was a coincidence that his name was Mark, after one of the writers of the four gospels.

Anyways, the journey continues.

The World Is Full Of Charity Opportunities

2009-12-02T14:59:00.001-08:00

Now that my mind is open to charity I have noticed there are so many opportunities to give.

- I have a friend who is running in a jingle bell run/walk for arthritis.
- At work we are participating in the holiday food drive.
- At church they are taking donations and food items to provide food baskets for needing families this Christmas.

I am realizing I will need to start budgeting our donation money so we can cover several charities.

I did get a personal email, not a form letter, from a coordinator at the San Diego Food Bank thanking us for our generous donation. I did not realize this but for cash donations from their website, every $1 you donate provides for 5 meals!

The reason $1 goes so far is the cash donations allow them to buy food in bulk from whole-sellers.

I looked at their website and there are volunteer opportunities. Their main warehouse is in Miramar, which is 15 minutes from my house. You can volunteer to pack food sacks for delivery, sort out the food bins, back office help, etc. They have an easy volunteer process and opportunities literally every day of the week - night and days, weekends too.

So I think I will volunteer soon.

We also organize a married couples group in San Diego and I am working with the San Diego Food Bank to see what opportunities we can coordinate with our group. I know there are many generous people in our group and it seems like a great idea to provide some giving back opportunities.

Synchronicity

2009-12-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

Have you ever heard of synchronicity? Basically that is what people call coincidences. Me and my wife live by the idea that There Are No Coincidences.

An couple examples of synchronicities.

One day you and your friend are sitting on the couch watching TV. In your conversation with this friend you say, "I wish it would stop raining outside." One second after you say that a commercial on the TV says, "Is it still raining outside?" That is synchronicity. Your head does a double take and you look at your friend and ask them, "Didn't I just say that a second ago?"

You and your friend are at the mall. You look at your friend and say, "I wonder what happened to Jill? We haven't seen her in ages." Then 5 seconds later Jill passes you by. You wave her down and you and your friend say, "Wow! We were just talking about how long it has been since we saw you Jill! What a coincidence!"

That too is synchronicity.

Tithing is a spiritual law that God created. Harmony is the result of not breaking the law. We all know what happens when you break the law - disharmony. In reality the only laws you can break are man-made laws. You cannot really break Gods laws - you can only break yourself against Gods laws. Let me offer you an example to illustrate this.

Imagine one of Gods laws is a huge redwood tree. This redwood tree is a thousand years old and has withstood the test of time. It is fifteen feet thick. All you have is your hands. Now. Break the tree.

You won't be doing any damage to that tree with just your bare hands. What you will be doing is breaking yourself against that tree. Your hands will get scratched. If you hit that tree hard enough you will break your bones.

That is how Gods laws are. Perhaps there is a way to break Gods laws - but it is not within our power to do so. Perhaps there are beings beyond our understanding that can break those laws - but there really is no point pondering how to break them. The laws were designed by God to shape our growth and thus they are designed for us.

Synchronicity, I feel, is a sign that you are on the right path. It means you are not breaking yourself against Gods laws; you are working in harmony with them. The results of working in harmony with Gods laws is abundance on every level - spiritually, mentally, physically, in your relationships, and financially.

Tithing works not because you are tricking God. It is not sucking up to the big guy thinking you will get more than you give. It works because you are working with the law and not against it. The law requires constantly giving back from where you received. It requires constant circulation of money.

Abundance is your right. Abundance allows you to be more productive. God wants you to live abundantly.

The reason abundance enters your life when you consistently tithe is because you are reconnected with the law. Abundance is the natural order of things - lack of abundance is the same as disease - it is disharmony manifest.

Our purpose with tithing is to reconnect with Gods law and remove the disease of lack of abundance from our lives. We want to live more productive lives. Rather than idly praying for more abundance, we know that we must put our efforts forth and apply the law.

The First Sign Of Abundance Came Yesterday

2009-12-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

The magic has already started.

After work I checked the mail and low and behold there was a check in there from the US Treasury.

Now we were not expecting anything from the US Treasury so it was a nice little bonus check. The amount is not as important as the significance - which is that God can provide abundance for you that would be impossible for you to figure out.

The check amount was about $8. We owed taxes in 2008 and I guess we overpaid.

Now I know some of you skeptics out there aren't buying any of this. You would probably say God had nothing to do with it and that check would have arrived no matter what.

Well I am not out to prove you wrong. That is right, the goal here is not to convert people. It takes a lot of hard work and years of experience to develop a set of beliefs that you have faith in and I am no match to changing your beliefs. I also have no interest in trying either.

But I do think perhaps someone out there in this world may read this and a little light bulb will go off in there head. In fact that is what synchronicity is all about. Seek and ye shall find. If the right person reads this blog, even if it is only one person out of thousands, then this blog will have served its purpose.

However, the purpose of this blog is two fold. One purpose is for me and my wife. This is an experiment for us. I know we have received some criticism about this blog and our little experiment, but the blog helps us track our progress, express our fears, hopes, desires, and happiness. As our experiment continues through 2010 we can look back and see what the results were from our Tithing.

The other purpose of this blog is to enlighten others to the laws of money. Sometimes people need to see it to believe it. If anyone has ever wondered if Tithing indeed does work miracles in their finances, and they come across this blog and see our results - it may make a difference in their lives.

I know some of you out there find this whole idea controversial. There really is not much I can do about that. Just understand that perhaps this blog may not be for you.

In my heart I know what we are doing here is a good thing. I have to go with my heart.

In this world when you decide to make your mark, people will always be coming around with erasers! It is very true. There is no such thing as easy. Your ideas need to be strong enough to withstand the criticism of others.

I believe in this blog. I respect every one's opinions - but that is all they are, opinions. Just like this blog is nothing more than my opinion.

So we continue on our little quest. I absolutely know where this roads leads. But it is not an easy road and there will be challenges. Keep checking back to this blog to see how the days and months ahead transform our lives.

Preparing To Receive

2009-11-30T13:26:00.001-08:00

The next step in our path to Spiritual and Physical Abundance is goal setting. Tithing is the first step. Step two is goal setting.

A very important law in the universe is the law of cause and effect.

We are purposefully creating a cause in the world through tithing. I can only imagine what our tithe of 10% of our last paycheck to the San Diego Food Bank will cause in the world. Equally so, I can only imagine what the effects will be.

But one thing is for certain, we will reap from that harvest of seeds.

I know we need to prepare to receive. That is where goal setting comes in.

When you place an order online at a department store - you need to specify what you want. You simply cannot expect the department store to pick the item out for you and expect them to get it right.

You have to be specific and place your order.

Then after you place the order you need to have faith that it will be arriving soon. You do not call the department store every 15 minutes asking them if they have sent it yet!

Such is the law of manifestation. We have tithed and that will result in receiving back.

Now is the time to get specific about what we desire in return.

Perhaps you did not realize you could be specific in the returns of your harvest? Well not only can you be specific, God prefers you to be specific.

So I have decided to pick something I really want. I admit I do not have the abundance yet to acquire this, but I am putting my faith in God that He will make that abundance available.

What I want is a town home. A 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 2 car garage luxury town home. I would like this town home some where's in greater San Diego. I want this town home to be no more than 5 years old and be moved in ready - meaning no work is needed at all. This town home will have all the luxury trimmings:

Interior Laundry - Both Full Size and energy efficient
Wood stained cabinets
Dual Pane windows
Marble Counter tops in the bathrooms
Granite counter tops in the kitchen
Beautiful Gas range stove w/ extra large oven
1000+ Watt Microwave oven
High end dishwasher
Large Dual refrigerator/Freezer with ice maker
Large Oval tub in master bath - jacuzzi tub even better
Very Large walk-in Closets
Built-in cat 6 cables for Internet
Beautiful Clubhouse w/ resort style pool/jacuzzi

I want to manifest this town home as soon as possible, but no later than Christmas 2010.

I want to be able to afford this town home - meaning it doesn't cost more than 33% of my gross income including all Taxes, Insurance, Principal, and Interest, HOA fees, etc.

Below are some pictures of the Town Home I envision:

The Kitchen

The Living Room - Two Pictures

The Dining Room

The Bedroom

A Few Questions Answered

2009-11-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

I asked God these questions and here are the answers I received.

Question

Should I wait for the recession to end before beginning Tithing?

Answer

To end your personal recession you should begin tithing immediately. Do not delay.

Question

How Much Should I Tithe?

Answer

10%. That number is the same for everyone and thus is fair. Whether rich or poor, it is still 10%. Give generously and boldly with an attitude of gratitude and your receiving will be the same.

Question

Should My Tithe Go Only To The Church?

Answer

No. God is everywhere. Tithing is a spiritual habit that reaches outside the church. Listen to your heart and give your tithe to wherever you think God is needed. It is perfectly fine to give your tithe to the Church and equally fine to give it to a bum on the street.

Question

Is it okay to skip tithing if money is tight and it would mean bills going unpaid?

Answer

“Seek Ye First the Kingdom of Heaven and its Righteousness and all else will be given unto you.”
Matthew 6:33

The source of everything you have is God. If you truly believe that, then pay God first. Put your financial fears to rest and trust in God.

Question

Can I Tithe more than 10%?

Answer

Absolutely. The law is simple. Whatsoever ye have want of in this world - add unto it. The more you give, the more you shall receive.

Some people tithe based on what income they want to have, not what income they currently have. Those persons have mighty faith in God's law.

There are other laws in the universe besides tithing. In simple terms of manifestation - if you want a thing, give a thing. If you need money, give money. If you need love, give love.

God works through us as channels. You cannot give from emptiness and thus if you are doing Gods work, you will be given what is needed for that work.

This is important. Though you may not have enough money to tithe 10% right now - understand that God will refill your financial cup. Have faith!

Question

Is tithing any different than paying the IRS taxes?

Answer

Tithing is not a debt you owe, but a seed you sow. Tithing is working in harmony with the laws of circulation. A body of water needs to be constantly refreshed with new water - otherwise it becomes stagnant and diseased. The blood in your body is constantly being replenished. Tithing is keeping the flow of money constantly replenished.

In a way, yes it is much the same as paying the IRS taxes. But in many ways it is very different.

Question

What do I tithe if all of my money is being applied to bills?

Answer

If you gross $1000 a month - you tithe 10% of that. Remember, you pay God first. The IRS doesn't get paid before God, not even the rent.

You live off the remaining 90%.

After you have established the habit of tithing, you will find that 90% goes much farther than the 100% ever did.

Question

Do I need to be a Christian to tithe?

Answer

Not at all. The only true requirement is your belief in the laws of money. Tithing is a part of the laws of money. The belief that God created the laws of money, while helpful, is not necessary to reap the rewards that you sow.

Question

Should I attach expectations when I Tithe?

Answer

Yes!

Bet you did not expect that one!

When you give through Tithing, you should have the expectation that you are helping others in a multiple of ways. Expect that your tithing will make a difference in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

New 21 Day Goal - No Complaining or Gossiping

2009-11-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

Hello World.

My tithing idea came to me yesterday during a meeting at my Church. Me and my wife are attending a class called Fresh Start. It basically introduces you to Christianity and helps you meet other people in the Church. We've been attending this Church off and on for the last couple years and really didn't know anyone - so we decided to take this class to change that.

Anyways - sometime in that class I decided we needed to give more. I have always believed that in order to solve life's most difficult problems - we must help others with their problems.

After that Fresh Start class, we went to the main church gathering. Our Church has 5 Sunday gatherings - so you have plenty of opportunity to go to Church on Sunday.

At the main gathering the pastor that normally leads was on vacation and a youth pastor led the session. Ironically it was all about giving. Specifically it was about giving to the undeserving. The synopsis was God wants you to give and to give to everyone - both those that are deserving and those that are not deserving.

My mind was racing because this was just a continuation of the idea I had already started - we needed to give more to others.

I started thinking about what we could give. I had this really heavy jacket I bought to go to Colorado for Christmas 4 years ago. The jacket was expensive but I would never wear it in San Diego. I figured there was a homeless person in downtown that could use the jacket more. So I put it in my mind to find that homeless person and donate the jacket to them to keep them warm this winter. I haven't done that yet - but it is high on the list of things to do.

So back at home that day I was looking for something to read to help me define my giving goals. I found a book on the shelf titled: The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity" - a simple guide to unlimited abundance.

I skimmed the title pages to see what the book was about and low and behold Chapter 1 was all about tithing. Ironic again.

I read that chapter and figured this was just another coincidence to help me on my new path.

So....back to the title of this post. There are four spiritual laws and the second one covered in the book, after tithing, is goal setting. The idea is once you start giving your 10%, you need to prepare to start receiving. Giving and receiving go hand in hand. Just like yin and yang.

So in order to better receive from God you must set good quality goals. I am working on this part next. I have an idea of some things I would like to set as goals - such as a new town home and being debt free. But an important recommendation in the book is to change the way you think in order to better attract abundance in your life.

Specifically it asks you to do a 21 day quest of No Complaining and No Gossiping. Those two things distract the mind from the state of abundance and attract the wrong things in your life.

So I figure I am going all the way with this Tithing goal and I want to meet God half way. I think this 21 day quest is part of that half way. After all - I don't even know how big my half is yet! My half could be growing bigger and bigger as God sees fit. So for our half of the contribution we will err on the side of caution : -)

So for the next 21 days I will not complain about anything and I will refrain from Gossiping. If I misstep, I will forgive myself of the misstep and start the 21 days over.

I think a good way to go about this is to use affirmations. My mind is conditioned to complaining and gossiping. I can admit that. Some affirmations I like are:

"Have an attitude of gratitude."

" Look for the God opportunity."

Let me explain the second one a little. The God opportunity is simple. Many times in life we see only the negative in a situation. The God opportunity is assuming that God is creating opportunities for you and you simply trust these supposed negative occurrences in your life are those opportunities in disguise. For instance, today my trolley kept stopping on the second to last stop. I realized I might be late for work because of this. Then I stopped and changed my perspective to "perhaps there is a God opportunity here that I will be missing if I don't pay attention".

When you start getting negative because things are not going your way - you miss out on those God opportunities. So I instead started paying attention. I looked at all the people around me, I looked outside the trolley window and all the things occurring.

To be honest, I did not find a God opportunity. But I could think of several that could have happened. I know this is grim, but it helps to illustrate why you should trust the reality of life - even when things seemingly don't go your way - such as being late for work. It could be that an earthquake is about to strike and my floor will suffer casualties and me being late is to ensure I am not on the floor.

Like I said - grim. But it does help you trust God more. I always try to assume that if my plans are off a little bit, that perhaps there is a good reason for it - whether I ever know for sure or not.

That is the positive thinking bug that I want to catch. Perhaps being late due to the trolley created the God opportunity for me - which was to start thinking positive even in inconvenient situations. After all, I am going to need a lot of positive thinking to continue this 10% tithing quest.