One of the things I don't like about a new year coming on, is that I have to start thinking about gathering up everything for my tax returns.  Ken always did that.  I never even thought about taxes in my entire life until the last three years.  Horrible stuff to deal with.

And my taxes went up on this house over the one in Pryor by $1,300  for the year.  Just because I live in Edmond.  Same size house as the one in Pryor, and this one is thirty years older than the one in Pryor.  And I didn't even get a homestead exemption last year.  They gave me some reason that I had to pay for the previous owner's taxes for the entire year, even though she only lived in this house for a couple of months.  I gave up on it and paid it after arguing with them forever.  Politely of course.

But I know that if Ken were here, he would do a much better job than I am doing.  He used to do my parent's taxes, and his parents, and an elderly aunt of mine, and our housekeeper.  And almost everyone else who called him to ask how to do their taxes.  

You would think with my background in mathematics that it would be easy for me.  But, no.  It isn't.  It is awful.  And I haven't gotten any better at it.

In Matthew 22:20-21, Jesus said:  "...whose image and superscription... (is on this coin.)"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  Jesus then said to them, "...render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."  I think the Romans must have had a simpler tax method.

I'm willing to render unto the IRS  And render unto God--but rendering to God is a lot easier.  God simply told us that 10% was okay.  And if you couldn't do that, then he reminded us to "Let each man do according as he has purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver."  2 Corinthians 9:7

I'm always cheerful about giving to God through the church, or giving to the poor...but the tax codes in America are ridiculous.  You have to be a genius to understand them.  I'm not.