Tithing and the Church

(Ok...bear with me. Sometimes my blog go south, so you never know what topic I'll have.)
I found the following blog quite interesting. http://bit.ly/5zfKRq Why? It all started with a conversation I had with my Mother a few months ago. My Mother was vocalizing some disappointment in the behavior of the "saints" in the church. We got on the topic of giving. Do churches coerce or guilt people into giving or are were people never meant to give as often as they're asked to? This was a question I asked my Mother. Her response led me to some further information gathering. She said, "When I grew up, we didn't go to church every Sunday? What I mean is, church wasn't held every single week." "It wasn't?" I said. She continued, "No. We went once a month. The churches all had service once a month." Now in my Mother's small Mississippi town, there were 4-5 churches and 3 different denominations. She went on to say, she grew up going to all different churches because whatever church was having service on that particular Sunday, you would just go. So my mother grew up half Baptist and half Catholic. lol
Side note:
The Catholic church my Mother attended was built by my great-great-great Irish grandfather. My Mother never knew she was attending a church her great-great grandfather built. I went to that church (in Natchez, MS) and the architecture was SO ornate it was hard to believe it was made with human hands. When the church staff found out who I was, I was treated like royalty...or an oddity. Not sure which one. Ha!
Back to the topic. My Mother began to explain how church was more people oriented, not program oriented. There were no mega churches, no Pastors in Mercedes Benz's and mansions, no church staff to be paid. Service (no matter the denomination) was about an hour and the rest of the day was spent visiting friends and relatives. Mind you, my parents grew up in the 30's and 40's and Black people congregating in one place was frowned upon, however, on Sundays it was tolerated.
There was no appeal for offering because as my Mother said, "Back then, we ALL were poor." The community usually built the church, the pews and the pulpit voluntarily, from scraps and donations, so there was no mortgage or rent to speak of. The Pastor had a day job or lived off of the offering from the 4 different churches he may Pastor in 2-3 different towns.
So with all that said, are some churches existing beyond what the congregation can afford to give? If so, shame on the church. How can a person comfortably receive spiritual food when they are being shamed into giving. That does NOT make a cheerful giver.
Oh well...just a little side rant.

All I Want For Christmas...Is A Miracle

I'll have to admit, I haven't created a Christmas list since I was one digit. It's not like God doesn't know what I want, but when I really began to think about it, it went something like this:
God, please heal:

1. All of the discs in my neck
2. The pain from the muscles in my upper back flaring up
3. The aching of my joints in my hands and fingers that was diagnosed as arthritis
   
4. The aching in my hips that was diagnosed as arthritis
   
5. The cyst on my left hand
6. The herniated discs in my lower spine
7. The torn tendon in my left knee
8. The cyst in my right knee
9. The constant swelling in my left ankle, which I believe to be a lymph issue
   
10. The wheat allergy
11. The migraine headaches
12. The metabolism issue
13. The hormone issue

All these things are within God's power to heal, so I'll just claim it and wait until it manifest! Please God, put my body back in the balance and harmony that you created it to have.

Finally...breathing again.

Have you ever felt like you had been holding your breath waiting for relief and suddenly you think, "I'm gonna die." but then suddenly you get to take a big, long, deep breath? Okay...maybe you haven't, but that's what my summer felt like. It was so long, so painful but after that last horrible ordeal with the injections in my head, I got to take a deep breath.
Am I 100%? No. My spine is crooked, so my body is very temperamental. I went to church a few weeks back for the first time since about April and I couldn't sit in the seat. Slowly, my left leg and foot went to sleep. I knew it was from a lack of circulation, so I had to get up and leave. The very same thing happened when I attempted to sit in the livingroom with my hubby and watch TV. My leg feel asleep and my back popped and I had to go back to the bedroom and lie down.
When I go to the grocery store (or anywhere for that matter) I know I have about a 1 hour window before my body starts giving me weird, pain signals. I know I need to do something to help my body get back to a more functioning state. Trying to decide what that is, is a bit of a conundrum.
On two occasions I've tried water aerobics. On BOTH occasions, I (somehow) ended up with an injury that made me quit. How do you injure yourself in water, you say? I can only deduce, when you're in the water, your spine expands and that's a good thing. Is it a good thing when the water expands a crooked spine? Not so much. Things then have the space to pivot in the wrong direction.
For now, I take it one day at a time. If I'm able to get out of the house, it's a blessing. If I'm not? Well...I'm just glad I have a home that I'm comfortable in, a husband that adores me and 2 dogs that are my comedy relief.