When one defaults on a loan or does not repay credit card debt…you are stealing….so, why do so many Christians say this along with bankruptcy, etc…is o.k…

Those who fall into bad financial state because of health or unforeseen circumnstances should be helped by the church to repay their debt…should they not?

Therefore, fundamentalist Christians should not default on loans…because stealing is wrong….yet, according to Newsweek, those who file bankruptcy are equally divided between those who label themselves as Christians and those who don’t.

Quite honestly, I am tired of paying for you people who cannot control your spending and live excessive lifestyles…but, yet you somehow justify it as you do all of the sins that affect yourself…while pointing out everyone elses…why is that?

help the patient with their living expenses? I have heard that Salvation Army or Red Cross may help with utilities while one is not able to work, but not sure about mortgage payments?

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor (non-cancerous) 4 years ago, and doc told me yesterday that it is time to remove the tumor as it keeps getting bigger and causing my brain to swell, and told me that he has my surgery scheduled for 2/24/10….that is coming up quick! I have health insurance and short term disability with my job, however at my job when out on short term disability you only get paid 60% of your regular salary, I know because I was out 2 weeks in August for female surgery.

The problem is, I am on the cusp of bankruptcy, I owe another 0 to my attorney and then he will file my case…..I have been chipping away at this 75 since this past summer. I drive an 11 year old car and I live in a mobile home, so there definately no extravgances here. I am paying my mortgage about 30 days behind and at one point at the end of the year got I 2 months behind and had to come up with 00 in 1 month time to cure the default. Needless to say, there was no Christmas, but there also was not much left even for food…..I was able to get a food handout from a local church but it wasn’t much. My thinking is that if I am already struggling while working full time, how will I ever be able to make it when I am off work for 1 whole month at only 60% of my wages?

I hate being in this position, but medical bills and being left by my fiancee early last year, put me in a financial downward spiral…..I have had to pay everything on my own and I would venture to say I probably have a credit score of -100. I have even started renting out rooms in my house, yet it still isn’t enough.

Is there ANYWHRE, where I could get help with my mortgage, electric and maybe some food? I do have bank statements/paystubs and etc to backup my case, but where would I go to get help without having to go through a lot of red tape, as I don’t have a lot of time? I am not on any public assistance programs and never have been as I have always made too much $, so I really do not know where to even begin?

If anyone out here has been through a sugery/illness for an extended period of time or if you know someone who has and they were able to get some kind of help, so they didn’t end up without electricity, hungry or homeless, I would be very interested in hearing about your experience and how you were able to get help.

One last thing, I do have a minor child in the home and yes, I do get child support for him, but it’s really not that much.

I live in Tampa, Florida (Hillsborough County)

Please advise and thank you for reading.

i’ve been helping out my boy-friend out for the past year.
with his crazy family. see i meet him at church. and i’ve been praying for a christian-solemate and i think i found him.
but his problem is that his stupid a** brother put him in a tight jam.
he his brother bought a run down house thats only worth a ,800
and his stupid a** brother took out 3 loans in his name.the only loan he signed for was the house loan.but the other 2 loans witch
are a 2nd mortgege too finance the house and a second loan for the plumbing he didn’t sign. him witch is my boyfriend and I think the other 2 loans that he didn;t sign were forged. he told me that the house won’t be paid off until 20012. that is when where suposeibly getting married. i’m trying too tell him too claim bankruptcy so the bankruptcy an pay for the house. my boyfriend told me that if he claims bankruptcy willthe sherif go after the and auction it off is that true please help me out.
he signed for is the loan too buy the house.

Trish is trying to decide which apartment would be cheapest to rent. An unfurnished apartment rents for 5 a month, with all utilities paid, except electricity (estimated to cost /month). A furnished apartment rents for 0 a month, no utilities paid (estimated to cost 5/month).

If Trish must finance the cost of furniture of per month, she will find the cheapest apartment to rent is which?

or is there anyone who an cosign for me to receive a little student loan because right now i am in school with no means of income

1. Give 10% of the money to Jesus.
2. Fix up my home church. (home church is the church that I started out at when I was a little girl)
3. I would first of all NOT quit my job. I would take vacation time to buy me a building for my business. I would open a nail/hair/ salon/clothing/shoe store for women and men. Then after that is up and running I would quit my job and dedicate my time to my business.
4. Finish college in the process of starting my own business.
5. Build my family a 5 bedroom , 3 1/2 bath home, with a gameroom, theater/media room, a pool/jacuzzi.
6. Buy 3 brand new vehicles (a SLAB for hubby, a Harley Davidson truck for both of us, and a Range Rover for me) ( if you don’t know what a slab is google slab car)
7. Pay off my parents’ mortgage and buy them a new house. (they can rent the other out or sell it)
8. Help my family members pay off debt.
9. Donate money to help children all over the world.
10. Invest the money and put up for my children’s education, and their lives.
11. Travel all around the world.
12. Try to be and live happy while serving and Thanking the Lord.
Don’t be rube or mean please….You should have better things to do then be rude.

I am going into my first year of university this year. I am also going to a Univeristy of Alberta, which is a long way from home and in a completly different province. Now that I am on my own, I will be able to attend church every sunday- and I will even be able to be baptized! However my parents are paying for all of the down payments on my loans and dorm leases, and I need there money and co signs for my student loan. Well….they have informed me that if I join the church and get baptized, they will give me no money and will not co sign for my student loan. So in other words, I’m done for and my univeristy education is down the drain. So what should I do, go ahead and join the church and hope that they don’t mean what they say, or give up joining the church to save my education?

We are entering into a short sale on our 2nd home (a vacation home). We have assets, piece of commercial property, in good standing on our primary residence. Have deep savings accounts, etc. We will want to sell our primary home and move to another home in a year. Will this be possible with a short sale on our credit? Will lenders overlook if you have the assets to cover the transaction?

and therefore that is breaking the 10 commandments…

However, many posted Friday that this is the fault of the credit card companies and mortgage lenders for loaning to people with questionable credit….

So, is sinning justified, if other’s entice us to commit it?

I still remain…that if you use a credit card…you are obligated to pay back the amount…if you take a loan etc…you should pay it back…you should not file bankruptcy…or it is stealing…if you have financial problems because of unforeseen circumstances…shouldn’t the church help you with your debt…in order to keep you from sinning?

Why should it be up to the middle class consumer to have to pay more for goods and services because other’s make such poor choices?

I ask this in religion…because I believe Christians should be held to a higher standard…yet the bankruptcy rate is equal among those that call themselves evangelical Christians as all others…as reported in Newsweek.
Why do Christians try to justify this sin?

OK all you political freaks out there…

Conservatives on the right.

Liberals on the left.

How did we let this happen? Let’s look at some of our fearless leaders…

Let’s start with the Bush’s. Three generations of Bush’s have funded and helped bring to power America’s enemies, and then made more money and power beating them back down again.

Prescott Bush (GWB’s granddaddy) helped to fund Hitler both before and during WWII through the Union State Bank. He was even brought up on charges of trading with the enemy. He was given a slap on the wrist and a decade later he was elected senator. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep…

George Herbert Walker Bush authorized a series of programs that not only armed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but also provided him with technology that assisted in his development of chemical weapons like Sarin gas, and biological weapons.

Wall Street Journal has reported (Sept. 28, 2001) that, "George H.W. Bush, the father of President Bush, works for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, an international consulting firm." The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice in the last three years – 1998 and 2000 — as a representative of Carlyle, seeking to expand business dealings with one of the wealthiest Saudi families, which some experts argue, has never fully severed its ties with black sheep Osama in spite of current reports in a mainstream press that is afraid of offending the current administration.

Now let’s look at Obama.

Is Obama a Communist?

Let’s look at who he was raised by, who his friends are, and who he has in his cabinet….

Barack Obama Sr. (Dad)

*Communist who saw nothing wrong with government ‘taxing 100%’ so long as the people got benefits…
*Nairobi bureaucrat who advised government to ‘redistribute’ income through higher taxes
*Demonized corporations
*Abandoned Barack Obama Jr. when he was 2 years old to continue at Harvard (teaching son that ideology is more important than family)

Stanley Ann Dunham (Mom)

*Communist sympathizer
*Practiced ‘critical theory’ (aka Marxism)
*Influenced by Nietzsche and Freud
*Left Hawaii for Indonesia, Pakistan
*Attended a leftist church nicknamed the ‘little red church’ because of its Communist sympathies
*Left Barack Obama Jr.

Mentor

*Barack’s grandparents introduced Barack Obama Jr. to poet and communist Frank Marshall Davis
*Davis becomes a mentor as young Barack struggled with abandonment by parents

College & Church

*Admittedly sought out ‘Marxist’ professors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4EHmzslK…
*Admittedly attended ’socialist conferences’ http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TW…
*Began attending a Marxist church – led by pastor Jeremiah Wright (attended for 20 years)

Career

*Tragedy of the Warren Court: No redistributive change
*Voted for TARP
*7 billion stimulus redistribution bill
*Healthcare bill admittedly about ‘redistributing the wealth’
*President Obama now also President of GM & Chrysler
*President Obama seizes control of insurance giant AIG
*President Obama is leading America to single payer healthcare
*President Obama seized control of Student Loan industry in order to ‘cut out middle man’
*Repeatedly vilifies ‘the rich’
*Obama believes race problems can be solved through redistribution of wealth… he said "race is still an enormous factor in our society. But economics can overcome a lot of racial division."
*Trying to regulate the Internet via FCC
*Forces mortgage co’s to cover people who aren’t paying mortgage
*Extends unemployment benefits to 99 weeks
*Told Joe the plumber ‘it’s better when you spread things around’

Family, Friends, Advisors & Administration

*Wife Michelle Obama said “The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.”
*Jim Wallis, Obama’s spiritual advisor & forced redistribution of wealth advocate
*Van Jones, disgraced Green Jobs Czar & Communist
*Ron Bloom, Manufacturing Czar & anti-free market
*John Holdren, pro-redistribution of wealth
*Andy Stern, SEIU President & redistribution of wealth fan
*Anita Dunn, fan of Chairman Mao

Is this the best we have to offer? Do these people represent mainstream America??
Sorry.

Links on Obama…

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/is_obama_a_socialist.asp

Spank,

I could go on and on… not just with Bush and Obama, but probably most of Congress too.
The IHD,

I agree. Me too.

Check it out…

I Was Wrongfully Put Into Evictions By My New Apartment Manager…Me And My Wife Are Short 0 Dollars….We Have Exhausted All Options. Is There Anyway Anyone Knows How To Get Help…We Have Already Received A Payday Loan And We Are Still Short 0…..We Have Until 6:00 Tommorrow (9/28/2007) To Turn It In Or We WIll Be Homeless…Please Anybody With Some Advise Please Please Help! We Tried A Loan And Nothing Has Worked..What Can We Do…We Have Asked Our Church As Well As Others, Family Has Helped A Bit But We Are Still Are Still In The Hole……Please Help!

Well this is just out of curiousity, I’m only 16 so I can’t even get an apartment. Lol. People on here are pretty mean for no reason actually, so don’t grill me for nothing.

Well my mom doesn’t even use a credit card, I’m not sure if she even has one, but she has credit. She uses a visa debit card, but she said it wasn’t a credit card. I always thought it was a credit card. We live in a house, but I always thought you had to get credit through a CREDIT card, ya know? So if you were getting an apartment, you could use your debit card? Blah, she doesn’t really want to sit down and teach me about financing and everything, the kind of info. I’m going to need to know in about two years. Lol. I’m going to ask her to get me a check card because she said I could when I got a job, which I just did about a week ago.

I was on WIC but I lost the little booklet thing while I was moving close to a year ago. I was pregnant at the time and my parents were helping me out a lot. Now I was just laid off at work (which I believe has everything to do with being pregnant), found a very part time job at my church for 0 a month, have a son, and really need the help. I am receiving Medicaid, so I know I am automatically eligible. I am just wondering since the counselor was so uptight about me losing the book, should I go to another office and reapply for WIC? I am planning to keep on trying to find a job, but nobody wants to hire me for the short period of time (except my church daycare). Once my child is born, I know I will be able to find a job. I’m also applying for Food Stamp Benefits. (Please don’t tell me to go to my parents, I owe them over ,000 in lawyer fees, loans, etc. and they won’t help me anymore.)

I was thinking on how millions of followers of organized religions "tithe" there money to their church or ministry, but yet there are poor and struggling people in their owm community and the US
I was thinking on starting a fund for those that would like to make a true difference in their town and community and help the economy by eliminating mortgage debt of under ,000. The people that have these mortgages already live in a neighborhood of middle to low income and probably have additional debts and loans they have defaulted on over the years trying to keep their home. For ex: In my county we have 92,000 people. A little over 70% are in the middle to high pay range. If each person in that range gave a week every week – each week after we could pay off someones mortgage under the ,000 limit. So do you think that religion would matter, since I am Pagan, if I walked up to you and helped you in the true meaning of tithing? With no organized religion involved?
This would not be a hand out, they would have to meet a criteria such as full time employment and no government subsidies such as food stamps and welfare funds to pay electric and such. This would be for those that work with a steady work history or those on pensions such as the retired or elderly and meet an income limit with dependants or none at all. In my area, the population using Social Services assistance was one of the lowest in a 3 state area, but when the factories shut down and moved over seas thousands lost good paying jobs that they had worked for years. They took our loans and credit cards just to make ends meet. Paying off a mortgage under the ,000 limit would be nothing in a week if every person would not buy a 20oz soda or a latte once a week. And this fund would not be managed by any religion, just business people. Sort of like having a secret santa all year long for the hard working people not the leaches of Social Services.

Here in California more and more Russian immigrants arrive every day. Personally, I don’t care if they’re Africans, Mexicans or of any other national origin. But I discovered that these immigrants are receiving FREE MONEY from our social security. It’s not just for a little while either; it’s as long as they remain immigrants! And if that isn’t bad enough there are programs to help them, churches that support them and they receive 1% interest loans from anything ranging to opening up a business to buying a house. With the money they make they rarely have to work. This is unacceptable to people who have to work for a living, including other immigrants who come here and bust their butt to live here. And this is ONLY for Russians! Why is this going on and why don’t people do anything about it??

In childhood, she was concerned about my health and education but not really about social life. It was OK! for her that I was getting along with social outcasts who also had boring life. As long as I was "saint" and religious, going always to church this was making her happy. Any who is agnostic "considers" evil. My sister was social outcast too and my parents neither had rich social life. Even when I was 10, she put me down with words (accused) regarding me having crooked back now being overweight (but I go to gym and try to loss weight and get in shape) . I went to very good but private school and the classes are small and teachers wonderfull and statistically almost every graduate get job from school I attend. She of course prefered me to go to community college because of money and already I got a lot of financial support for first year. For next year I am gonna take priv loan, but for the first I took very small amount PLUS on her name as we agreed. Now she is mad at me
that she has to repay per moth with interest. Fine so I” subsidize her loan through my private and she won’t have to pay anything. Thanks for help! And thought that couple months ago she was worried about me not goint to much into debt when I considered on-campus housing. Mixed motions?
I got on parents onl 3800 loan and big deal. It can be paid off fast sooner or later. I did not even took on campus housing to save more money for next year and not go against their wishes as it would be hard. I love my mother but sitting with her and listening to her complaints is depressing. I really try hard but sometimes I feel she sometimes she undermine me, does not value good things I do. Help!
She also always looks at my closet and backpack though I do not like it. Later she accuse that I do not put clothes properly although because I can’t as she still does it by herself, even sometimes she does not let me do myself it instead of her. I also cannot lock my door to my room because it is inappriopriate for her. I feel little bit violated with privacy.

My house now has a red door, I have always heard there is a lot of meaning behind it including welcoming. I did some more research and this is what I found:

First it is a big feng shui thing, although I don’t know much about feng shui.

In early America a red door was a sign of "welcome." When people had to travel by horse and buggy they had to stop often. If they came upon a house with a red door that usually meant they would be able to spend the night. There is even rumor that a red front door was used in the under ground railroad as a sign for the slaves traveling north that that house was a safe house.

In old Catholicism the doors of a church was painted red to represent the blood of Christ and other Martyrs and once you passed thru the doors the ground (church floor) was holly ground.

I read that in Scotland when you paid off your mortgage you pained your door red.

I heard Albert Eienstein started this tradition because he could not recognize his home without making this change and then his home stood out.

Feel the funk blast
Feel the funk blast
Feel the funk blast
Feel the funk blast
Feel the funk blast
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, check it out, yo, yo, yo

I be walkin’ god like a dog
My narrative fearless
My word war returns to burn
Like Baldwin home from Paris
Like Steel from a furnace
I was born landless
This is tha native son
Born of Zapata’s guns
Stroll through tha shanties
And tha cities remains
Same bodies buried hungry
But with different last names
These vultures rob everything
Leave nothing but chains
Pick a point on tha globe
Yes tha pictures tha same
There’s a bank There’s a church a myth and a hearse
A mall and a loan a child dead at birth
There’s a widow pig parrot
A rebel to tame
A whitehooded judge
A syringe and a vein

And tha riot be tha rhyme of tha unheard
what ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?

Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite

This ain’t subliminal
Feel tha critical mass approach horizon
Tha pulse of tha condemned
Sound off America’s demise
Tha anti-myth rhythm rock shocker
Yes I spit fire
Hope lies in tha smoldering rubble of empires
Yes back through tha shanties and tha cities remains
Tha same bodies buried hungry
But with different last names
These vultures rob everyone
Leave nothing but chains
Pick a point here at home
Yes tha picture’s tha same
There’s a field full of slaves
Some corn and some debt
There’s a ditch full of bodies
Tha check for tha rent
There’s a tap, tha phone, tha silence of stone
Tha numb black screen
That be feelin’ like home

And tha riot be tha rhyme of tha unheard
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?
What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what?

Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite

Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm like a bomb
Ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite, ignite
Calm Like a bomb

There’s a mass without roofs
There’s a prison to fill
There’s a country’s soul that reads post no bills
There’s a strike and a line of cops outside of tha mill
There’s a right to obey
And there’s a right to kill
There’s a mass without roofs
There’s a prison to fill
There’s a country’s soul that reads post no bills
There’s a strike and a line of cops outside of tha mill
There’s a right to obey
And there’s a right to kill

a. the cost-plus system
b. deficit spending
c. the gross national product
d. wartime conversion

i’ve been able to do most of my work by memory..but i’m homeschooled and i left my textbook at my friend’s apartment and he’s in south carolina right now. please help?

Like Rev. Wright, whose parishioners are building him a 1.6 million dollar house on two lots the Rev. purchased, then sold back to the church, and on which they took out a loan worth many millions more(purpose undisclosed)? Should all of this be tax-exempt given wright’s history of political rants from the pulpit? What is this humble and holy man supposed to do with a mansion like the one being built for him?
Baaa,baaa.
Abab-stop with the ranting, please.
Right on, DCPete.

I’m considering to refinance my condo I bought 5 years ago, but I dont know the process and looking for advice/information. Below is some pertinent information:

Bought in August 2005 for 0,000
location, Falls church, va
Downpayment: 0,000
interest rate: 5.75% for 30 years fixed
Borrowed: 0,000
balance remaining: 2,000
lender: country wide, now Bank of America

Current payments are 1360/month which includes taxes.
I saw the new 30 yr fixed is 4.5%.

Estimated value now of property – 0,000 – 170,000 (took a hit in housing crisis).

Please let me know if I’m able to re-finance, the process I need to take, "costs for refinancing" and anything else I should know/look into. I’m a first time property owner and looking to lower my monthly payments.

Section 125 (42 U.S.C. 12575)

SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:

(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.
__________________________________________

I ask this because my parents are up in arms about how this bill would require volunteer time for student loans, and prevent church attendance. I’m not strong in Legaleze, but i only see this as restricting the volunteers from using the time to force their views onto others or further the causes of a particular denomination. Surely this can’t be the first time this language has been put on a bill that has passed through, i think. Any ideas?

I usually wouldnt mind stupid anti-comments, but I really would rather have LDS answer my qeustion this time. Thank You.

I am going on my mission in 13 days. Because I have student loan which I used for my college studies, I applied for an interest-free student loan while I will be on my mission, and to be able to qualify for that, Inland Revenue needed 1) an official confirmation from the organization (church) that I am going to do voluntary work overseas, particularly a third world country, and 2) That the organization I will be working for is under the IRD list of approved charitable organization, for which the church has just recently been approved. The interest-free student loan lasts for 24 months, so it works well with my length of service.

I have sent them a cover letter explaining the things that I will be doing whilst on my mission, a photocopy of my mission call (which says that I’ll serve in the Philippines, a developing country), and the letter from IRD confirming that the Church is an approved charitable organisation.

I have received a response from them but they haven’t approved of my application yet, rather they wanted me to send additional information about what the work I will be undertaking overseas entails i.e. information about the duties I will be performing whilst volunteering.

Now I sought help from my Mission Office re this and they advised me to search in church literature about things missionaries do other than Preach the Gospel, just to support my application. I have searched PMG, but I haven’t found anything.

I am not sure as to whether I would be approved of this exemption despite the church having acquired the status of a "Charitable Organisation." It mentions that to be approved, I need to mainly be involved in working for the relief of poverty, hunger, sickness, the ravages of war or natural disaster, or improving the economy of a country that the United Nations recognises as a developing country. It would be helpful if I don’t need to pay interest for my student loan when I get back from my mission, but nevertheless I will still be very happy to go on a mission even if I won’t be granted one. But I might as well apply and possibly be granted an exemption.

Can you suggest possible church literature wherthat will help me in my situation? Thanks
Old Timer Too: Thanks for the suggestion, but I’d rather go and be charged interest on my SL, than stay here, because if I delay my mission, I won’t go. It has been quite a difficult circumstance for me waiting, so I’d really rather go. The Mission President in my area is aware of it so they contacted the Mission Office in my country, and that’s what they suggested, for me to make a letter and find literature which mentions services that missionaries do. I originally wanted to ask the Missionary Dept in SLC, butthat’s what my leaders advised me.

I attend a large church, and our pastor really doesn’t talk about tithing much, but yesterday he gave a pretty hard-hitting message. I’m sure that, like me, it caused a lot of people great anxiety, considering what the economy is like. When I first started attending this church, I happily and gratefully wrote my checks for ten percent. But then I couldn’t pay my rent, my hospital bills went into collections, and I had to stop my psycho-therapy because I couldn’t make the co-pays.

I’m a single mom of two, currently on disability. One of my children is also on disability. My ex is pretty good about paying child support, but he goes through a lot of ‘temporary’ layoffs at his company, and the amount he pays has never been that much in the first place. I’m five months behind on my rent, but thank God we’re now in a house owned by family members who have no mortgage, and just want me to pay the a monthly maintenance of 0. So we’re stuck with this fixed income, and just above the income limit for food stamp eligibility. At month’s end, even NOT paying tithes, my bank account is typically at zero.

Three months ago, when the church had to lay off and reduce the pay of some of their own staff (was 106 including employees of the church school), I saw a great opportunity to fill in the gap, and let the pastors know I’d be happy to do any administrative tasks as I was able. They’ve found me and my son (who can do simple tasks) to be a reliable volunteer, and call on us to do about eight hours per week to help out. So my question is this: Does my office work constitute an offering that is the same as a tithe, considering that, at minimum wage at a paid job, it would be equivalent to the amount of my tithes? Is my work currency? I’m doing the same thing that a laid off staffer would be doing, and they would be paying their tithes from their salary, which I don’t collect.

I love God mightily, and love my pastors and church. I don’t want to be disobedient, but neither do I want to feel this anxiety when I already KNOW that I can’t pay my other obligations tithing with cash currency. I know the bible says we should be anxious for nothing, but I really, really am.
BTW, if you’re a non-believer, and want to post something random here about your views, don’t even bother. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but I was spontaneously healed of a spinal cord problem of long and excruciatingly painful duration during a service in which my pastor stopped mid message and said he’d gotten a word from God for me. He didn’t know me at all at that time, nor did anyone else; I was new. He told me the location of my pain, told me I was healed, and to believe it. I felt weirded out, but chose to take that leap of faith. I was healed COMPLETELY.

No pain killers, physical therapy or anything else had even touched my pain, and I was about to have invasive surgery followed by a recuperation period of MONTHS.

I didn’t fully believe myself what had happened at first, thinking maybe it was perhaps the power of suggestion. That was seven months ago, and I’ve not had the tiniest twinge of pain since. NOTHING. So, NO ONE can convince me that God’s not real!

The damage caused to the church by the bombing was 8,000. Insurance covered only 0,000. To raise the remaining funds, the church held a baked goods sale that earned ,000, and a rummage sale that earned ,000. Private donations to repair the church reached ,000. What was the amount of the loan that the congregation had to get repair the church?

I live in a trailer park so I own my trailer but the lot is a rental. I have recently had a string of bad luck and horrible finacial decisions. I am employeed and I cant make enough money to fix the problem. I am litterally hours away from the landlord submitting the papers to the court to have me and my wife plus four kids evicted. I tried loans cant get a loan anywhere. Payday loans have been banned in my state. Dont own my vehicle so I cant get a title loan. Tried the church but every thing they do takes days to process. All I have is 42 dollars to my name and I dont get paid for two weeks. My wife has no money because she had to pay other bills that have been pilling up. Friends and family cant help because they dont have the money to loan? I think the only thing that can help is a miracle. Is there anything thing I can do besides take it and roll over?

Abundance – A baker’s exercise (A-bun-dance)
Arbitrator – A cook that leaves Arby’s to work at McDonald’s.
Arcade – A lemonade type drink served on Noah’s Ark.
Avoidable – What a bullfighter tries to do.
Babysitter – A small child that has not learned to crawl or walk.
Baloney – Where some hemlines fall.
Band-Aid – A fund to help a band.
Bernadette – The act of torching a mortgage.
Burglarize – What a crook sees with.
Cadillac – Lack of cattle.
Contents – Where con men sleep while on a camping trip.
Control – A short, ugly inmate.
Cookout – The cook’s day off.
Counterfeiters – Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
Cowlick – Bashing a cow.
Cowhide – Game of Hide and Seek played by cows.
Detail – Removing a tail.
Dieting – The penalty for exceeding the feed limit.
Dog Paddle – A rolled-up newspaper with which to punish a dog without hurting it.
Doughnut – Holey food.
Eclipse – What a Cockney barber does for a living.
Eyedropper – A clumsy ophthalmologist.
Fan Club – A weapon used by a celebrity so he won’t be crushed by fans.
Feather Brained – Fuzzy headed.
Feather Head – An American Indian Chief.
Fire Escape – A way for a fire to go out.
First Lady – Eve.
Flying Saucers – The wife is on a rampage.
Funny Paper – (1) A paper that laughs. (2) The paper you read instead of going to church.
Ghost Town – A town full of Haunted Houses.
Girl Scout – A boy that "scouts" for girls.
Good-bye – A bargain.
Gossip – 24-hour teller.
Handicap – A head cover that is easy to locate and wear.
Hardship – A ship protected by thick cover.
Hatchet – What a hen does to an egg.
Hay – Grass a-la-mowed.
Headlight – A dizzy spell.
Heavy Duty – Loading an elephant.
Hence – An enclosure around a hen yard.
Heroes – What a guy in a boat does.
High school – A school atop the Sears Building.
High water – The main reason Noah built the ark.
Himalaya – A rooster that lays an egg.
Holy Smoke – A church on fire.
House Keeper – A lady that kicks her husband out and keeps the house.
Ideal Person – A card player that wants to deal everytime.
Illegal – A sick bird.
Installment – Putting a horse in a stall.
Lad – A short ladder.
Laughing Stock – Cattle, horses, sheep and hogs responding to a good joke.
Layaway Plan – A pre-arranged burial plan.
Laying Down The Law – Putting the law aside and making your own rules.
Left Bank – What the robber did when his bag was full of loot.
Life Jacket – A special coat that lasts a lifetime.
Lip Service – Applying lipstick.
Little Dipper – A small boy diving.
Long Jump – When the cow jumped over the moon.
Matchbook – A book about matches.
Megaphone – A very large telephone.
Mistletoe – Any animal with a toe missing.
Misty – How golfers create divots.
Mohair – What bald headed men need.
Monkey Business – A petstore employing monkeys only.
Moron – Someone that spent all night studying for a blood test.
Moth Ball – A special social event for moths.
Negative Feedback – One result of seasickness.
Network – The process of making nets.
Outfit – Pitching a fit outdoors.
Over Leap – When the cow jumped over the moon.
Overloaded – An elephant riding a bicycle.
Oyster Bed – A place for an oyster to sleep.
Pacifist – One that can’t advocate peace without clinching his fist.
Paradox – Two physicians.
Parasites – What you see from the top of the EiffelTower.
Pedestrian – An endagered species.
Period – A comma that curled up and went to sleep.
Pharmacist – A helper on the farm.
Piggyback – A lost pig is back home.
Pigment – A mint plant grown to feed hogs.
Pineapple – An apple that grew on a pine tree.
Polarize – What penguins see with.
Pole Vault – A vault where poles hid from Hitler.
Polite – A light on a pole.
Polygon – A parrot that got away.
Priesthood – A special headpiece for a priest.
Primate – Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.
Protest – Testing a professional person.
Put-down – To hot to handle.
Quarterback – Change when you pay for a 75¢ item with a dollar bill.
Reform – To gain or lose weight.
Refuse – Replacing a burned out fuse.
Relief – What trees do in the spring.
Remind – A brain transplant.
Rest Stop – The traffic light is stuck on red.
Retire – Replacement of tires.
Ringworm – Worm with a bell.
Rock Music – A lullaby sung in a rocking chair.
Roman – A person that never settles very long in one place.
Sausage – "Groundog".
Scorekeeper – Someone that knows the score but keeps it to himself.
Showoff – The show has been cancelled.
Selfish – What the owner of a seafood store does.
Single Entry – Single people only.
Standing Order – Freeze!
Subdued – Like, a guy who, like, works on one of those, like, submarines, man.
Sudafed – Brought litigation against a government official.
Sunny – A bright boy.
Sunbeam – A heat proof beam supporting the sun.
Sunburn – What you basked for.
Sundial – An old-timer.
Sweater – A person that freely perspires.
Syntax – All the money collected at the church from sinners.
Teenagers – People who are doing the things you wish we had thought of when we were younger.
Time Keeper – A guy that didn’t return your watch.
Tireless – Have a car but have no tires.
Tooth Picks – The choices many dentists give patients to select their artificial teeth.
Touch-Me-Not – A person with a severe sunburn.
Travelers Aid – A soft drink for tourists.
Vitamin – What you do when someone comes to the house.
Waffle Iron – A special additive to put more iron in waffles.
Waterfall – A "watered-down" place in a stream.
Well Done – A water, gas or oil well is completed.
Weekend – A book with a blah ending.
Whether – Unpredictable weather.
Wildlife – Living it up!
Witchcraft – Handmade crafts made for Halloween.
Woodchuck – Throwing a heavy pole, post or other item made of wood.
Workout – An outside job.
Writer – One who corrects a wrong.
Year Book – A book that takes a year to read.
Zero Hour – Time kept by a "cuckoo" clock.

I want to start my own religion. I think it can be done. Let me share with you my objective and my 10 step plan as how I shall do it:

Objective
I’ll be honest with you, I want to make a lot of money! The tax breaks alone granted church organizations have made religion a multi-trillion dollar business worldwide. Make no mistakes about it, religion is BIG business. Most church organizations (particularly the Roman Catholic Church) have financial advisors, real estate holdings, stocks & bonds, issue loans with interest, along with a host of other money making methods. I want a piece of that pie.
I love power and control. There are three subjects that instill the most conversation and passion in people: religion, politics and sex. With my new religion I can have all three! I will have political power as my new religion and church financial holdings grow, and I can have all the sex (safe) I want as indicated by the past history of the papacy, and contemporary religious scandals show.

I will focus on peoples fears, superstitions and ignorance regarding God and the afterlife. I have seen how many of the other religions have profited tremendously from this tried and true method. You know what they say: "If it aint broke don’t fix it". I shall convince the people that a God who has the capability of creating this vast and limitless universe cares about every single individual. Even though God created all things here and beyond with an infinitesimal amount of his power they will believe he cares about them personally. It’s worked before, I know it can again.

Plan
1) I need to find someone in history who may or may not have existed to be the messiah of my new religion. I know there are other religions that have no physical person as their focal point, but I think having one does help.
2) I will follow the success formula of the other major religions and copy/incorporate into my new religion all that I like from the religions before mine.

3) This is the most important part of my plan. I shall write a "holy book" to substantiate all the claims of my new religion. I will say it’s inspired, to give it credibility. Even though it’s my religion giving its own book the stamp of inspiration/credibility, I’m sure no one will notice. It’s worked before.

4) I shall keep my new holy book in the hands of my priest for as long as I can. I will not allow it to be transalated into the common language of the ignorant people I want to control. Since there is no way with today’s technology to mass produce my holy book, my priest and I will control its content.

5) I will edit, delete and add to my holy book freely. Since I alone posses the only originals no one can stop me. If a religious, moral or political issue comes up and my created messiah did not address it, I can re-edit my holy book and put the words in his mouth. Remember…no one will know, I control my holy book.

6) In case I forget to cover a subject in my holy book, I have a great idea how to cover my ass in the future. I shall never, never, never have my created messiah answer a question directly. My created messiah will talk in parables, like most parables they will be subject to interpretation. This will give my priest room to work with when confronted with tough questions.

7) I predict that it will be almost 1,000 years before man develops the technology to mass reproduce my holy book. This will give my priest 1,000 years to edit, delete and add to my holy book freely. I’m confident in that amount of time my holy book will be able to refute questions from any dirty little atheist/heretic/pagan/heathen.

I will convert the leader of my country to my new religion. I will even allow him to have a say into what my holy book’s content should be. With the leader of my country in my hip pocket, I will convince him to use his imperial power to shove my new religion down the throats of the ignorant people if they complain too strongly, they will be killed.

9) With the government behind me and its military might to support me, I will have them burn libraries, destroy pagan temples, kill heretics, have blasphemers imprisoned, exile my outspoken brethren, torture the innocent, have holy wars and disrespect other religions. This wholesale destruction unparalleled in the history of mankind hopefully will accomplish two things. It will eliminate any other religious choices for the ignorant people and it should destroy all the other pagan religions history. At worst pagan history will be fragmented enough so not to reveal the deceptive truth about my new religion.

10) And finally…I will have my devout followers tamper/interpolate with the ancient documents that are left so there will be mention of my created messiah in history.

This is my 10 step plan to start my new religion, it’s worked before…I know it can again.

I welcome all calm and rational responses pro and con to this message and anything else concerning the origins of Christianity and Comparative Religion. My intent is not to offend or to tell anyone what to believe. I just want people to start asking questions.

Long story short,….

Was given a budget, planned entire wedding around that budget. Nickel and dimed things and was able to splurge on 2 things we really wanted…a videographer and a string quartet at the church.

Parents decide that they want to invite more of THEIR friends, so they demand my budget list and overhaul it to include what THEY want. They ultimately cross the string quartet off the list because it’s just plain "stupid" and money could be spent better.

Okay okay….like I said, we (my fiance and I) skimped in places to afford classical music at our ceremony, which is 0 for four adults to play.

I am making my own invitations, getting my veil off eBay, ordering favors off eBay, getting inexpensive flowers for my bouquet….to name the few areas I am saving money to afford music that we want at the church.

We are about ready to take a loan out and tell my parents to save their own $$…..we should have done VEGAS!

Opinions?
I REALLY appreciate everyone’s opinions! I agree with each and every one of you!

*I also want to say I am not giving any thumbs-down…I’m not at Level 2 yet!*

i got baptized in 08 and was singing in the praise team. I voluntered to file music and prepare the teams music books because i wanted to do something for the church since I dont have a job and cant tyth. I enjoyed the time i was spending 1-2 times a month because it was quiet and peaceful in the lords house. My preacher and his wife know that i have been with my boyfriend for 10 years and we have a three year old and we do live together unmarried. the preachers wife is really pushy and basicly detered my bf from comming back to my church because of her pushiness. Since then she has been using the time i file music to shut the door to the room and make me sit and talk to her about my life. basicly giving me christian counseling i didnt ask for. she has basicaly tried her best to talk me into leaving my bf and becomming an unemployed single mother because she thinks my bf isnt a true believer. she went as far to ask if i would be able to move back in with my parents. I am 27 and we are paying a mortgage. When i told her i didnt want to uproot my family she told me i didnt have a family because im not married. I tried telling her that we planned to get married later and that still wasnt good enough to get her off my back because he wasnt a believer and it wouldnt work. I had to stop praise team because of child care, but let her know i could come back because i found child care for wed. night rehearsals. she sat me down and basically asked what i was going to do about my living situation, and i finally nicely said that i might be wrong and didnt expect her to agree but at this point in time i wasnt leaving my bf and i really didnt see the wrong in it. she in turn said i couldnt be in praise team, i was making it public i was living with a man i wasnt married to and had a child with him as well (which i have never told a sole at that church) people in praise team are considered leaders blah blah but she didnt want me to stop comming to church. I told her i couldnt file music last week because i had something come up and i didnt check my email for a while and i dont have house phone only cell. she sends me 2 prepaid phone cards in the mail asking me to come do the free work of filing music for a praise team that i cant be in because im such a sinner on my kids b day and i didnt respond. well today i get a knock on the door and its the preachers wife just stoping by unannounced, and i know she had to mapquest it cause she only had my address. i feel like she is stalking me, if she cant get ahold of me on the phone she calls my family members and today was the last straw. To just come to my house without calling to basically come in tell me she hadnt seen me in church past few weeks, ask me if she offended me, and then ask me to come in the next day to file that freakn music makes me feel like she is harassing me. do most preachers wives just show up at your door cause you missed a few sundays?? am i wrong for being mad about this?