The Tax Man Cometh ...

Happy Tax Day! I hope everyone got his or her taxes in today--if today is your day. We found out yesterday that the tax deadline has been extended for a month for residents of the Georgia counties hit by the recent tornadoes. We had our taxes done last month, so we didn't get to take advantage of the extension. But that's OK.

Kate actually went with us to H&R Block. Tanna told our tax guy that we wanted to bring our new deduction in person. ha! She actually did OK at first ... but she was definitely ready to go home toward the end.

Back when I used to do my taxes myself, I enjoyed making it an occasion! I kind of liked going to the post office to mail them in on April 15. Some post offices have extended hours and special drop-off lines and extra staff on hand, etc. (You know how I love going to the post office! Yes, that is a literal statement--I do enjoy the post office and mail in general.) I am pretty sure I have said to people on previous Tax Days something like: "Wouldn't it be fun to drive on down to the post office around midnight to be a part of the excitement--maybe we could get on the news!?" Do television reporters still do live reports from the post office on tax night? I don't know ...

Now that we go the H&R Block route--something I started doing when I moved to Georgia, what with all of the work-related moving expenses and now with freelance work, etc.--Tax Day as an actual event has lost some of its luster. But I can count on my friend Karen to share in the excitement of this special day on our country's calendar. I called her this morning to wish her a happy Tax Day--and she's done the same for me in years past. We may not talk on Easter or Christmas--but we're sure to place those important calls on holidays such as Groundhog Day and Tax Day! (I believe my sister Cindy also shares a bit of fondness for April 15.)

So ... here's wishing YOU a happy Tax Day ... and many happy returns as well!

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If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Matthew 5:46

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The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:9-14