I’d like to share a heart warming tithing story - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

tooblue · 03-08-2006, 11:03 PM

As you all know my union is currently on strike … despite my previously stated anger I am relatively at ease with the whole situation. The reality is the government will not permit the strike to go on for an extended period, yet that is only one part of the equation to be considered while attempting to understand my relative mental and physical comfort.

In recent months some very interesting things have happened that most certainly are more than coincidence. Back in early January, a couple of days before I learned there would be a strike vote, a former client/boss of mine contacted me. I had worked on contract for him many years ago while finishing my degree –it was my first real graphic design job, it provided good experience and I was paid and treated very fairly.

During my time with him I designed a corporate logo for his parent company that has since been adopted as a corporate identity. The parent company is in a copyright dispute over the logo –it has been stolen and used by a smaller rival. When I designed the logo I was on freelance contract and zero official documentation had been created to assign copyright to the parent company therefore their lawyers insisted that assignment of copyright be made official before proceeding with legal action.

My former boss who is a very generous person insisted that I receive compensation. I was prepared to simply sign over my rights –he had already been very good to me and I have always been very grateful, regardless he proposed an amount that was generous. I said thank you and signed the necessary papers.

Upon receipt of the money I paid tithing on it, a generous fast offering and then gave the rest to my wife for her birthday … shortly before she spent it on home repairs (she’s a Home Depot fanatic) etc. we learned of the strike vote and felt that we should squirrel it away just in case. We are living off of it now, and that’s only the first part of the story …

In late January a new potential deep-pocketed client with freelance graphic design work contacted me. My previous clients/contacts have all but dried up over the past couple of years and I had taken myself out of circulation in pursuit of a Masters degree. This client found me as a result of work I had done for one of their subsidiaries as recently as two years ago –to be honest I have no idea who or how I was referred to them?

They have been throwing work at me at a rate I can only describe as furious … it’s high quality design work too; they know how to spend money for quality marketing materials. I have completed two small jobs and if the other three jobs I quoted on today go through I will make nearly as much in freelance work as I would draw from my salary during a one-month period. It doesn’t end there …

In my bio I indicate that I enjoy refereeing basketball … I usually ref 3 – 5 adult men’s games a week for a reasonable sum, the money is irrelevant, I mostly do it for the exercise. Early this week the referee coordinator contacted me and has given me extra games this week –two tonight, two Friday night and an all day tournament on Saturday! He knows I am on strike and sacrifced some of his games to give to me.

My intent is not to preach but merely publicly record and acknowledged my blessings … I am very grateful and readily recognize the Lord’s hand in my life. Though we may ultimately need to dip into food storage and draw upon family for finacial help, I will continue to embrace these opportunities with a glad heart. There is a God, may each of you be blessed by him similarly in your own lives.

tooblue

MikeWaters · 03-08-2006, 11:49 PM

good to hear you are doing well. I suppose you wouldn't want to further test the waters by buying a lottery ticket?

Jeff Lebowski · 03-08-2006, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

good to hear you are doing well. I suppose you wouldn't want to further test the waters by buying a lottery ticket?

Mike: Funny you should mention that. I have a friend that used to live in the midwest (near Chicago). There was a poor family in the stake that won the lottery. They claimed that they were down to their last few bucks (isn't that always the case?), said their prayers and put the money in the lottery. Sure enough, God answered their prayers. It put the local LDS leadership in a real pickle since this couple was going around "bearing their testimony" about how God saved them via the lottery. "Should we tell them to pipe down?" "Should we accept the tithing money?" Pretty funny stuff.

BTW tooblue: thanks for sharing that story.

03-08-2006, 11:03 PM	#1
tooblue Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,016	I’d like to share a heart warming tithing story As you all know my union is currently on strike … despite my previously stated anger I am relatively at ease with the whole situation. The reality is the government will not permit the strike to go on for an extended period, yet that is only one part of the equation to be considered while attempting to understand my relative mental and physical comfort. In recent months some very interesting things have happened that most certainly are more than coincidence. Back in early January, a couple of days before I learned there would be a strike vote, a former client/boss of mine contacted me. I had worked on contract for him many years ago while finishing my degree –it was my first real graphic design job, it provided good experience and I was paid and treated very fairly. During my time with him I designed a corporate logo for his parent company that has since been adopted as a corporate identity. The parent company is in a copyright dispute over the logo –it has been stolen and used by a smaller rival. When I designed the logo I was on freelance contract and zero official documentation had been created to assign copyright to the parent company therefore their lawyers insisted that assignment of copyright be made official before proceeding with legal action. My former boss who is a very generous person insisted that I receive compensation. I was prepared to simply sign over my rights –he had already been very good to me and I have always been very grateful, regardless he proposed an amount that was generous. I said thank you and signed the necessary papers. Upon receipt of the money I paid tithing on it, a generous fast offering and then gave the rest to my wife for her birthday … shortly before she spent it on home repairs (she’s a Home Depot fanatic) etc. we learned of the strike vote and felt that we should squirrel it away just in case. We are living off of it now, and that’s only the first part of the story … In late January a new potential deep-pocketed client with freelance graphic design work contacted me. My previous clients/contacts have all but dried up over the past couple of years and I had taken myself out of circulation in pursuit of a Masters degree. This client found me as a result of work I had done for one of their subsidiaries as recently as two years ago –to be honest I have no idea who or how I was referred to them? They have been throwing work at me at a rate I can only describe as furious … it’s high quality design work too; they know how to spend money for quality marketing materials. I have completed two small jobs and if the other three jobs I quoted on today go through I will make nearly as much in freelance work as I would draw from my salary during a one-month period. It doesn’t end there … In my bio I indicate that I enjoy refereeing basketball … I usually ref 3 – 5 adult men’s games a week for a reasonable sum, the money is irrelevant, I mostly do it for the exercise. Early this week the referee coordinator contacted me and has given me extra games this week –two tonight, two Friday night and an all day tournament on Saturday! He knows I am on strike and sacrifced some of his games to give to me. My intent is not to preach but merely publicly record and acknowledged my blessings … I am very grateful and readily recognize the Lord’s hand in my life. Though we may ultimately need to dip into food storage and draw upon family for finacial help, I will continue to embrace these opportunities with a glad heart. There is a God, may each of you be blessed by him similarly in your own lives. tooblue

03-08-2006, 11:49 PM	#2
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	good to hear you are doing well. I suppose you wouldn't want to further test the waters by buying a lottery ticket?