Caring. 'cause God says so.

Howdy,

Not much news on small group front. I've been working/sick. (And perhaps sick of working?) ;)

However, that just means I pay that much more attention in church!

We, like everybody else, have been talking about money. In both churches, actually. My "home" church takes a more truthful/pessimistic view at it. Talk of things getting worse, prophecies of harder times, what have you. "New" church (gotta figure out how to label these two with better names...) takes a friendlier view.

First off, we're blessed. Ridiculously. Go to www.globalrichlist.com. Type in how much money you make a year. Myself, I'm in the top 5% of wage earners. I have a relative who was in the top .001%. (No, you don't need to know who.) The point is, we are quite well off. Shoot, I work a part time job and a non-profit! And I'm apparently sitting on top of the world. Even if my rent is a greater percentage of my income than I'd like... ;)

I was told to have no problem making money, but to give away that money. Okay. Fine by me. I care enough about money to pay my bills. At the same time, I'm trying to have something resembling a savings account. (A task which my car likes to laugh at. Often.) Still, I like to think that I tend to do what I'm told to do. I give when my gut gets me. I figured I was pretty much covered.

Then he had to go and make it personal.

That's right, he brought family into it! People! Sigh. People are my weakness. I'm an introvert. If I know you and you're cute and like to play Scrabble, I may think you're delightful. But more often than not, I'm quite ready to just sit around and shut out the world. Scratch the cat's ears, watch tv, enjoy a good comic book. But calling up my siblings? Seeing how they're doing? Having conversations about their children while they cry in the background. (I should clarify: It's the kids who tend to cry in the background. Well, usually.)

However, Facebook has been a boon in that regard. Easier to check in. That darn website also makes my family harder to ignore. They're right there! Activities and everything! Which just makes it that much more tempting to never call them... even though I know I should. What can I say, it's a work in progress.

My family of friends? There I like to think I'm covered. There are my speed dial people. They know who they are. I call them and leave long messages. I'm e-mail them, get tired of waiting for a response, and e-mail them again. My "chosen" friends.... really, they have no escape from me. I do care about my family. It's just a nuclear/radioactive/what-the? kinda of family.

Still, if there's room for improvement in how I give? Especially time/compassion-wise? It's with people.

But... but... comic books have big pretty pictures! They call to me! ... I know, I know. Like I said, work in progress.