I love summers.

Summers are tough.

It's interesting how so often in life there is this tension that exists between two realities that at first glance seem to be the exact opposites.

I'm talking about summers at church. Summers at church, I LOVE! There is so much that is going on!

• I absolutely love Vacation Bible School. Think about it! When else do we at the church get a 10-hour block of time (or more) to teach the bible to children? When else do we have around 50 adults/youth working with our children for a week? It is great to see what happens in VBS! Think about how many people come to faith in Christ as a result of that week!
• I love church camp! Now I love to surprise our campers by showing up one day of camp! (I'm not really sure how much of a surprise it is as I have done it year-after-year for a while, now!) But I love camp for what it does in the hearts of young people. It was at camp when I first started praying, "Lord, what would you have me do with my life?" It was at camp when I first experienced God's call on my life. It was at camp where I first served as a "shepherd" to a group of younger guys.
• I love mission trips! Can I tell you the truth? I look back at years and years of ministry when I didn't understand the importance of mission trips. I didn't go. I didn't promote. It was fine if someone else wanted to go, but it just wasn't my "thing". Thank goodness the Lord allows us to grow! Mission trips are life-transformational. Mission trips help us remember that too much of the "stuff" we worry, fret, and complain about, are just that - stuff! (And we have too much stuff while much of the world doesn't have enough). Mission trips help me to see that generosity really is a God-thing. Mission trips help me remember that much of the world suffers in spiritual oppression. Mission trips help me see how much grace I take for granted.
• I love the summer increase of activity and fellowships for children and youth! Those trips to DQ or Taco Bell, those extra weekday bible studies, those fellowship trips to water parks, science museums, and malls----all of those events are formative in faith development. Those events are key to helping young people "feel a part" and "be a part" of the community of faith!
• I love the summer events that our church partners in! I'm loving the motorcycle safety training. I have on-going relationships with two folks from that first class I went through who are unchurched. Pray for that friendship to grow so I can introduce them to NWF. I love the Western Kentucky Sportsmen fishing tournaments. Guys bond when guys do stuff. I am praying for those relationships to flourish.
• I love hearing about the summer trips and vacations of New Work Fellowship families. I love how facebook "takes us along" on all those trips! Good family down time and family trips can build stronger families.

But summers are tough. Summers are historically the time of year when giving slumps. At the very time when expenses increase, giving goes down! In the summer we pay far more for cooling. In the summer, we have far more activities going on. In the summer utilities spike! In the summer, ministry increases.

It makes it tough! And of course with this summer and the continuing economic realities that make it hard on everyone (churches especially - more on this Friday); it makes it really tough.

But you know what? I'm so glad to be part of God's kingdom and I'm so grateful for all that God does in summers, that I count it a personal joy to be able to continue to faithfully tithe and give to all that God is up to at New Work Fellowship!

I hope you are too! In fact, let me just give you a challenge. I know a lot of folks think that tithing is "not possible" or even "not practical". God thinks otherwise!

Malachi 3:9-12 says the following:

9 You are under a curse -your whole nation-because you are robbing me.10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, " says the Lord Almighty.12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.

Re-read verse 10.

God challenges us to provide so that his storehouse (the church) is able to thrive. He promises to bless us. And it is interesting to me, that there is some factor in this passage that tells us that the condition of our nation is affected by our faithfulness.

Makes you think, huh?

Let me ask that this July, this one month, that you test the Lord (as He tells us to), and that for one month you tithe, and see if God keeps his word.