the cost of ministry...

my devotions this week are on this topic. fitting, as i'm in st. paul, in class, getting some book learnin' in hopes of becoming better at what i do. that said, the fam is back home, 4 hours away, fighting off the flu. and driving away was a hard thing to do...kristyn is such a tender heart -- she CRIED ( i use caps as she was really sad). brady was sad until nana showed up. em was asleep. i thought a lot about this whole thing as i was driving -- it's real hard to be gone, especially during the winter. lucky it's not too far, and i can come home on the weekend to see them all. but here's the thing...i was reading today about the when Jesus was talking to some folks about how following Him meant that they would have to give up some things in order to be a disciple. how fitting this day...i've given up my bed, my home, my fam for 2 weeks because He's called me to it. and that, while hard, is an honor that i can't take lightly. so i'll pray from here and trust that God is indeed in the middle of all of this and taking care of the details...

what about you? what have you given up to serve Him?