Barack and Michelle Obama Make Some Big Bucks!!

Yep, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama live like the big boys they so much despise publicly.

From the Associated Press today:

WASHINGTON — Barack and Michelle Obama's annual income jumped to nearly $1.7 million the year he joined the U.S. Senate, fueled by earnings from a best-selling book and her promotion at a Chicago hospital, according to tax returns the Obama campaign released Tuesday.
The Illinois Democrat, who previously released his 2006 tax forms, made public his returns for the tax years 2000 through 2006. His campaign said in a statement that the disclosure was designed to put pressure on his opponent, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has yet to release her recent returns but has promised to do so before April 15.
Arizona Sen. John McCain will release his tax returns next month, campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said.
The Obamas earned $1.67 million in 2005 and $991,296 in 2006, the returns show. Their income spiked thanks mainly to the sales of his two books, "Dreams from My Father," first published in 1995, and "The Audacity of Hope," a best seller in 2006.
In 2005, Michelle Obama, an administrator at the nonprofit University of Chicago Hospitals, was promoted to vice president of community affairs, and her income rose to $316,962 from $121,910. She also earned $96,000 on two boards of directors in 2005 and 2006, including $63,000 from TreeHouse Foods. She quit that post last year because TreeHouse supplies Wal-Mart, whose policies her husband has criticized.
From 2000 to 2004, the couple's income ranged from $207,647 to 275,000.
In 2006, the Obamas reported giving $60,307 to charity, or about 6 percent of their income. From 2000 to 2004, they gave a total of $10,770, or less than 1 percent of the $1.2 million they earned during that period.
"As new parents who were paying off their large student loans, giving $10,000 to charity was as generous as they could be at the time," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said. The Obamas have two daughters, Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6.

Note their "generous" giving over the years. Sounds like most professing Christians doesn't it?

Anyway, so much for his "Pastor" and the whole "poor black man" thing.

How Much Money are You Whizzing Away?

I have been re-reading Randy Alcorn's "Money, Possesions and Eternity".

Once again, the Holy Spirit is speaking clearly through Randy. I had to ask myself, "how much more money can I waste?"

There is a line in his book that says: "what a great feeling it would be to place my head each night on my pillow, knowing that I have done all and given all I can to further Jesus Christ's Kingdom today!"

Did I have another latte? A movie? Another piece of unnessecarry furniture? Trip? Dinner out? On and on.

Yes all those thing are just fine, but just start doing the adding, how much of that would have made a LASTING difference in God's Kingdom rather than the PASSING pleasure that it was at the moment?

I am not preaching, I am being convicted. I waste so much money every day and if you believe in what Randy Alcorn is writing about, none of "my" money is MINE. It is all God's money. What would He have done with it today?

Ya ya, I tithe, ya I give offerings, but really, do I give all that I could? Do you?

Here is another thought from the book:

Let's say you are making $40,000 a year and you faithfully tithe 10%. So forgetting taxes to make easier math, you are now living on $36,000 a year right?

Now, you get a raise to $60,000 a year. Why, rather than tithing 10% on the $60,000, don't we instead continue to live on the $36,000 we were living on just fine before the raise? That means now we are tithing $24,000 instead of $6,000. See what I mean? Instead of adjusting our lifestyle upwards, why not continue living with what we HAD? Think how much more could be affected by $24,000 then $6,000 or the original $4,000.

End of sermon. LOL