How Much do Things Cost Me?

When I think of all the comforts I have in my life - my nice house, my bed, my books, my coffee, my occaisional chocolate, I think I have it pretty good. I have what most would call a pretty enjoyable life. I stay at home and homeschool my kids, I have time to pursue the things I enjoy for the most part, I am able to get 7-8 hours of sleep....yes, life is good.

This week I was challenged in the Beth Moore Bible study I am doing (Daniel) with living a sacrificial life. She said lots of great stuff, but I think the Lord brought one thing to my attention over the others, at least for the time being. "For something to seem priceless or expensive to us, it needs to cost something."

With that particular point, I am still mulling that over. I am looking at that point more from the perspective of what I need to sacrifice so I can make the Lord my first priority, sleep being the most obvious place to start, but what about during the day? What about as a long-term thing? I like my comforts! Yet how often do I really sacrifice any of my comforts for spiritual reasons, whether through fasting or other things? But honestly, I don't feel like I am sacrificing in that area, which may be why I don't have the type of relationship with the Lord that I desire.

And what about in other areas of my life? My weight has been an issue with me for years now and I do the typical thing - lose it, gain it, lose it, gain it. I DO want to lose weight - permanently, but am I willing to sacrifice to do it? Losing weight is a costly thing to me. I mean, look at the name of my blog - chocolate and books. I don't want to give up foods I like.

But pretty much anything in life worth doing or getting is going to cost something, whether personally, physically, emotionally, or monetarily. Am I willing to lose some comfort in my life in order to make progress in other areas? What, exactly, am I willing to give up?? What a challenge.