Catching up

Hey guys, I have 3 weeks of blogging to catch up on so here it goes:

When I read the Holy Week passages, I couldn't get over the power of Jesus's sacrificial love.  He acted as the lowest of all slaves in washing his friends feet, he filled his own heart with our sins, he took the blame, he was punished for crimes he never committed, he was everything that is good and sacrificed it all  for us.  My favorite line was "It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there.  It was love."  Even when everyone was taunting him and he knew he had the power to stop it, he chose to stay on that cross because he knew he must sacrifice himself to save us.  He loved us that much.  After reading that weeks devotional, I felt so  thankful because I know I am loved and blessed despite my mistakes and I owe it all to Jesus.

The "study" devotional stuck out to me, as I believe it also stuck out to a lot of you, because as a student right now,  I spend so much of my time studying all sorts of subjects yet I don't make enough time to study the bible.  I make excuses that after so much other studying,  I am too worn out to pull out my bible and read a passage or two, yet that is what I truly need to be restored.  Reading through the whole bible is a goal I set up for myself but I haven't put in nearly as much effort as I would like to.  At times I am disappointed in myself for not even taking 5 minutes out of my day to turn off the computer or go sit outside and just read God's word.  I even have to push myself to pull out this staff devotional and take the time to write in this blog.  I am ashamed of my laziness or fear or whatever it is that keeps me from studying.  I truly pray for a desire to study scripture, a rich desire for studying the only thing that can transform me.

Submission was a hard one for me this week because I struggle with the idea of losing control of my life.  I like to plan out what I want and work for it, but I need to learn to accept that God has THE plan for me and I need to submit to him.  I have been blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life, serving me, and I realize that I am to serve them.  Looking at Christ as an example of submission is hard to think of at first because I always view him as this glorious being and not as a servant.  But I realized that he is glorious and wonderful and great because he was a servant.  He loved us and sacrificed everything for us.  I hope and pray that I can give up my control and give my life over to God so he can work through me, restoring me along the way.  

I hope everything is going well with all of you!!
Amanda

P.S. an update on my friend Hallie for any of you that are wondering: she was kept in ICU for 3 weeks but is now moved into a rehab center to start the recovery process.  Now she is able to have her phone and computer with her so I have been able to talk to her everyday though we still are not allowed to see her.  She is recovering very quickly and sounds good but she will most likely not be coming back to school this year though she will still get to graduate.  I am just so thankful that she is on the other side of it now and everything will be okay.  Thanks again to those of you who supported me back on training weekend when I found out about it,  your thoughts and prayers meant a lot to me.