Energizer Bunny

"Don't you ever want to just take a break or not do something?" That was a question I was asked by one of my housemates. I thought about it for a minute before realizing the answer was, "very, very rarely". I'm constantly going about a hundred miles an hour, and love it. I feel like I thrive off of the activity and the people. This trip has been really good for me to learn more about people and realize that everyone is so different in so many ways. Not just in personalities but in needs. I had always just kind of assumed that everyone's basic needs where the same. It's been a cool learning experience. Also learning about that has helped me realize a bit more of who I am and how I work and how I can best utilize every single day. 

In following the pattern of me not slowing down, and just keeping going(I just remembered that my nickname one summer was the Energizer Bunny. ha, now it makes sense!) I have decided that I will continue to stay in Thailand until either May or June of next year. I have a house already that I can live in. I will be running the horse stables I have been working at as well giving more advanced lessons to local riders, and training horses, and giving clinics to make an income to support myself living here. Not everything is in stone yet, as details are still being worked out. But I truly feel like this is where God is leading me to be and how I need to spend my next year. I will continue to be apart of the DTS and start working when we get back in December. I'm beyond excited! 

This morning after my run, i was just sitting on our porch and really praying when I realized something. Through the past couple weeks I have been really focusing on laying down my life to God completely. But, I hadn't given  Him all the pain. I wanted Him to help me through all the new stuff, and forgive me for my past, but I wanted to still hold onto all that pain I'd received. I didn't want to give Him all of that. So this morning, I just went through, and prayed for every single person or situation that I'd ever been hurt by and just gave it to God. Those hurts aren't something I want to be defined by.I don't want to look at something and be like, because of that person or pain or situation I am this way. I want to be defined by Christ alone. I want my identity in Him. And by holding onto all of that, I'm just giving those things power in my life, and I don't want that at all. I trust the fact that God works everything together for good. I also started to realize that my shoulder surgery is possibly on of the biggest blessings God has given me. He has used it for so so so so much. Our God truly is an awesome God.