Coming to an End

So I've come to the realization that I suck at keeping up my blog. I apologize for that. But I am excited to tell you guys about what God's been doing! I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks left. And I don't know where to start right now, God is SO amazing, and I'm learning soooo much. Not necessarily just because I'm in Bible College or from classes (not that I don't learn from those), but honestly the biggest things I've learned are the things that God's revealed to me himself. As some of you may know, I am transferring to Murietta next semester. That was the LAST campus i thought i would ever go to, but literally one day God just changed my mind. And I know that it's not Maui, and that I'm incredibly lucky to be living here, and that it won't be as nice. But when i was in a sense making my claim to God of why I didn't want to go to Murietta (its a bigger campus, I'm going to miss the atmosphere, I'm going to miss maui, I'm going to miss the church here, etc.) God just laid into me and was like, Giselle, Are you in Bible College to be comfortable or are you here for Me? And that has been the thing that keeps me focused on following where God wants me to go. While I know that it may not be as great on the outside, there's a reason God wants me there, and following His will should be a privilege, not a duty. So with all of that said, I have felt a peace about going back to California, and am actually really excited. I will be sad to leave, I'm trying not to think about it. But i feel like God is preparing me for a life of moving around, and I'm just going to have to get used to it :) Along with that, God has been showing me the bigness of the world around me. he's really putting things in perspective, making me see how tiny I am in the grand scheme of things. We've had some speakers on missions come and show videos and I have a few teachers who are Military Veterans and have shared their experiences from overseas, and I keep getting this overwhelming sense of embarrassment. I'm embarrassed because i spend SO MUCH of my life worrying about the dumbest most selfish things in the world. Being in a Bible College of only 40 students, there's bound to be drama, and I just look at the stuff that's going on and I'm just embarrassed that these things even matter to us. There are people facing death, murder, sickness, starvation, and abuse everywhere. It's more than just watching a missions video. Its REALITY to some people- it's the only way of life they know. And yet i'm worried about if my roommate did her dishes before dorm checks this morning. I love this new perspective on things, because it helps me get over me really fast. One of my friends back home (who's an atheist) asked me my stance on drinking now that i'm "religious". And my response actually surprised myself. I kind of learned my answer while i was answering him. I said that my choice in not drinking at first, was because I am a Christian, and Christian's aren't supposed to drink. but now it's more of a choice between selfishness or selflessness. Yeah, I could party and drink with my friends if I wanted to. But regardless of if I give into that temptation, all it does is show my lack of focus on somebody other than myself. If thats still a battle that I internally have, then that's just more of me that I'm not devoting to something bigger, regardless of if i act on it or not. Not to say that we won't have struggles or temptations, or that i think that I'm not subject to that. But more just that I'm done engaging in a selfish battle, one that won't benefit anybody. I have bigger things to think about and work towards that don't revolve around me. I realized that a life revolved around me is a life that i don't want to live. And it's not the life Jesus is calling me to live either. I know that this will by far be my biggest challenge, but it is my goal. It's not something I think i'll achieve anytime soon, but at least it's something that i've become aware of, and that in itself has changed me the most. There are so many more things that I could talk about, but I think that has been the most impactful thing so far. As far as fun things go, I got the opportunity to go on a retreat to Hana on the other side of the island over my birthday, that was so much fun! Best trip ever. I also got to 10,000 feet up to the top of Haleakala to watch the sun rise. That was gorgeous. I felt so blessed to have gotten to do those things. Every day life still consists of homework, more homework, church, and the beach on the side. Currently, its been about 3 weeks since i've been to the beach, but I'm hoping to squeeze that in a few more times before i have to leave! However, I have lots of packing, christmas shopping, and finals to tend to. But I know that the Lord will get me through it, just one day at a time! Hopefully I didn't bore you all to death with my latest novel, and I love you all and hope you have an awesome Christmas :)