ahem... excuse me.

the funniest thing happened to me today. so, a little background. yesterday i spent my day working at home. i have not gone grocery shopping in the past 3 weeks so i have very little food to make. i had some rice and frozen italian meatballs from trader joe's so i went with that and yogurt all day. needless to say when i woke up this morning i was hungry. i decided to stop at Shaw's on my way to the T to buy one of my favorite breads (Iggy's baguette) so that i could eat it with butter and dipped in coffee. i had it all planned. i also bought my favorite vanilla soy milk (Eden) and chai mix (Oregon chai); i was in organic heaven. of course i brought my own canvas bag which as a bit short for the baguette but good enough. so... i got to the T station and went down the giant escalators. the baguette was hanging out a bit but it was fine. the train was arriving and everyone was running to catch it. me with my thought of eating my buttery baguette was in no rush. i almost did bump into this asian girl wearing a backpack, though. as i walked a bit down the platform i realized that the bag felt lighter. oh, no... the baguette fell out!! i immediately turned to get it. surely it would be there. yah, right. as i turned around i saw...get this... the asian girl closing her backpack and what appeared as a folded clear wrapping very similar to one covering the-baguette-previously-known-as-mine. the horror! what do i do? do i ask her, "ahem... excuse me miss, could you hand over my bread?" i had just paid like $3.99 for that little sucker. at that moment i thought to myself, it's not worth it. if she really wants the bread that badly to indirectly steal it from me, then let her have it. it did rub me the wrong way that she would not say, "hey, you drop your bread" or something. no. instead she grabbed it and up it in her backpack. she then proceeded to quickly get in the train. i decided to wait for the next one. a number of other things happened today, but the funniest part was that every time i thought of the asian chick stealing my bread all i could do was laugh. i kept thinking, "she stole my bread!" this is a first for me, and quite amusing. :)

wow.

i'm kinda glad i work at a church. i have access to the sanctuary anytime--provided it's not being used. i just spent what felt like hours of crying before the silence of the altar. i am so overwhelmed. it's work. it's family. it's life. it's love. it's me. it's them. it's everything. wow. i have not cried that like that in a while. i'm not sure why i was crying. i just think that there's a lot of pressure on me and i needed to come to the one person i know would understand me. to remind myself of who i am. it's sadness. it's powerlessness. it's complication. it's lack of support. it's feelings. it's emotions. it's lack of emotions. it's wanting to run. it's wanting to be alone. it's loneliness. it's crazy. after all this insanity. i feel a bit better. i still feel tired and somewhat overwhelmed but i'm also relieved and happy. i can still smile--which i'm doing right now. i need to prioritize. i need to focus. anyway, this is more for me than for anyone else; to remind me of moments like this when i had nowhere to go, no place to run to but, even then, i can choose hope.

NH retreat-- day 2

the night ended great last night. we had a campfire and made smores with these giant marshmallows. it was so much fun. then we played with sticks in the fire trying to make ghetto fireworks. it was hilarious. we sang a bit--Manny playing the guitar--and laughed so much that it looks we were high other than the tons of sugar intake from the marshmallows and chocolate.

i got to spend some time with this guy from church. he's very quiet and reserved but once we got talking the conversation was so interesting. he had done some stage design for my program's youth rally last year but I didn't get a chance to connect with him becauce I delegated that to one of my colleagues and she was the one to communicate with him on that. I was surprise when we started talking because I didn't know he was such an interesting guy. he's an artist; he does painting and graffitti. he is also an electrician and is interested in physics, science, astronomy, etc. plus, he has very insightful comments when it comes to theology. the conversation was so engaging and stimulating that i found myself thinking, "wow, this guy is really cool and i wasn't aware of all that he has to share." i had talked with him about art and such but never more than 5 minutes and in collective conversation. it was crazy. he had spent the whole day quiet. the whole day. we were having all these engaging phylosophical discussions and he had been quiet all day. then we started talking about a particular point while at he campfire. we were talking about religion and art, and things and then quantum physics and the Large Hadron Collider that they've built in Europe. it was so awesome to listen to him and learn about things. he also shared some jokes in the process and made fun of my corny jokes. it was pretty neat. we talked for a long time and after most people had left we decided to head back and proceeded to talk more about Cain & Abel and God's punishment to Cain and the implications of that for us as we engage with God. it was really cool. i mentioned to Sonia how I didn't know he was that cool. i hope i get a chance to converse with him again. it was a very intellectually stimulating chat with such variety, depth and passion. i was pleasantly surprised. i would have never thought that behind that curtain of silence hid such an intriguing human being. hmmm...

before the campfire i had a very in-depth conversation with a friend. it crazy how things develop but i ended up sharing with her how i view her behavior and actions. i feel that my words were full of care and love for her but also full of clarity and discipline. i see this friend extremely burdened by what people say about her. her whole world revolves around meeting standards that are not even her own. i see her wrestle with that and in turn not allow for her to grow as the person that she could be. she has so much potential but yet is enveloped by this fear that prevents her from reaching her fullest potential. it was a charged conversation but a positive one. i was able to see where she is coming from and confirm many of my thoughts about her behavior. i also feel that she is very inwardly focused and that is something that is pushing people away as she tries to overcompensate for other things that she is "restricted" from. it was intersting. but i really hope that she can slowly but surely start to take hold of her identity and live freely. i can't wait to see what the amazing woman she'll become once she does that.

it was a great weekend indeed...

NH retreat-- day 1

we made it to the retreat center last night at around midnight. yay! it was a good ride with Rupert, Jocy and Miguel. we talked all the way there. missed a couple of exits but made it there fine.

the first day of the retreat has been great. we have had so many spiritual breakthroughs in so many different levels. at the beginning there was definitely resistance to engaging from people--as expected--but then God just worked in us in ways that i had not even imagined. it was great so see the Spirit moving in such ways! we are praying and singing and confessing and interceding the entire morning. our agenda pretty much went to the trash. God is faithful. how exciting.
after lunch we dived into the Truth Project DVDs and the discussions have been awesome. it is just so great to engage with a community where you are all free to engage and ask questions and theorize, etc. i love it!

for a break tonight Shirley and Willie gave us a salsa lesson. well, i came in late but still danced a bit. it was fun to see people having fun that way. so much fun and laughter!

i also had a great conversation with Sonia and i feel that we were able to connect in many ways. i was very honest with her but also encouraging and supportive, i think. i'm glad we got to talk. it was something that i felt i wanted to touch base with her on and i hope that my perspective can inform her journey a bit. God has taught me so many lessons during this weekend retreat. we've also eaten so much. gosh! we're now getting ready to go to the campfire and chill by the fogata while we sing some songs and laugh. i'm so exciting to keep connecting with people and learning. i'm happy! :)

iPod obsession of the day... [sigh]

i just learned of michael recently but i am so smitten. i love his songs. he's just awesome. there's something so enticing about a guy who's strong and sensitive at the same time. his songs are pretty much that. did i say i'm smitten? ok, good. 'cause i am, you know?

beautiful spring night

after the church service tonight I took the T home--well, first the bus, then the T. I decided to get off at Harvard Square and walk home from there which is about 1.5 miles or tad more. it was a marvellous walk. the trees were so full of life, with that seductiveness of Spring when buds are just about to bloom, and tempting you to almost smell the flowers already. there was a wonderful breeze which made my hair walk at its own pace, which it kinda always does but tonight was more like dancing than walking. I couldn't stop smiling and people probably thought that I was a bit tipsy because I just smile and sighed, here and there.

i love that walk. i find it amusing to walk through Cambridge Common and see all the people walking alongside me. i pass the giant lit spheres hanging from the trees across harvard law. then one gets to see the new building harvard has been working on for a while now. i wonder what it would be. pass that i see my favorite French restaurant in Cambridge, Chez Henri, and remember my dinners there with Courtney. it's been a while since i last had their awesome Cuban sandwich. anyway, i just like walking home from harvard. for some reason, i notice that i like walking on the left side of the street. i wonder why.

it's interesting how simple things make me happy and yet some people sometimes say that i have a very selective taste. anyway, i was also really happy today because i saw some of my favorite people at church. there are some people in that community that i really, really like/love. i talked to Brother Orange about our community garden plot since gardening season is soon approaching. getting one of those little plots across the church was the best idea ever. he loves it. we do gardening together. we're an odd dirt couple--he's in his 60s and i'm entering my 30s. our plot neighbor thought he was my father. it's great. all summer i get enough lettuce to feed a family of 10. he's crazy about lettuce. today he also gave me advice on how to take care of the cold i have. he is just such a wonderful man. honest, if i knew, somehow, that i guy my age had the same, exact characteristics as Bro.O and would be like him when older, i would marry him even if i didn't feel that i was attracted to him. people like Bro.O are rare in this world. every time i see him i am happy.

another favorite person i saw today was Hna. Blanca. she is such an awesome lady. she works doing housekeeping all day and then goes to clean the church at night--including my office. i really like her. she is so sweet and genuine. i'm always joking with her and she's making fun of me for working too much or not doing my office dishes. then we both make fun of her brother together.

i don't know why. for the longest time i have had an affinity with older folk and people who have similar souls as those two. they just bring about such tenderness in me. they're such hardworking, honest, humble, quiet, faithful, ethical, loving people. they make me feel loved every time i see them. i pray that one day i can convey how i feel and how lucky i am to know them.

not liking the Crystal City Sheraton.

i should have gone back to the Hampton Inn. the service is not as good, the room either. hmmm, i wonder. at least i'm only here for two nights for work and not for like fun or anything like that. the bed is ok; king size gigantic bed. not as comfy though. maybe i'm just biased because the hotel shuttle took too long to get me at the airport and it went down hill from there. hmm. they didn't allow my dinner delivery to go up to the 14th floor where i'm staying so i had to go down in my pajamas to pick it up. how annoying is that. in any event, let's see how things go. i'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. :)

anyway, the plane ride was not bad but i still feel uncomfortable flying. i don't get it. i have been to aruba, japan, florida, and DC x 2 after i had bad experience coming from Spain where the plane dipped a bit. i should be able to let go of that lingering fear but why do i still get nervous when i fly? i don't get it. i was sitting next to this young guy who also has a cold--apparently, or he instantaneously got it from me. i wasn't very friendly; didn't even look his way. i hate it when i'm like that. i should be courteous to people even if i am sick and tired. it was funny because he was sitting next to be while waiting for boarding and then we end up sitting next to each other on the plane. he kept reading a magazine and i was reading my book (Oscar Wao). i kept laughing with the book and i think he thought i was a bit looney. then i fell asleep.

\.o./

It is not a human right
To stare not fight
While broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find
The Mercy for the need.

Acabo de llegar del concierto de Hillsong United en Boston. Me parece tan increible como Dios trabaja aun para llenar los vacios mas superficiales y vanidosos de nuestro corazon. Por alguna razon u otra en los ultimos dias he querido sentirme especial para Dios y la gente que me rodea. Sera poque estoy sumamente cansada y no puedo enfocarme bien el el porque. De todas formas, Dios muchas veces hasta en nuestros caprichos nos consiente. Al llegar al concierto no encontraba donde me iba a sentar ya que mi amiga me dio mi boleto y al parecer todos eran distintos. Finalmente, en vez de sentarme donde no debia decidi ir a buscar el asiento que me tocaba ya sea bueno o malo. Cuando llegue me quise morir, no podia ver casi nada por estaba en el balcon, pero lejos, en la fila W. Decidi que iba a disfrutar el concierto y no hacerle caso a si tenia buen asiento o no. Una de las razones por la que no compre mi boleto a tiempo es porque espere hasta hablar con una amiga que estaria de cumpleanhos hoy para ver si lo comprabamos juntas. Cuando le hable ya ella habia comprado su boleto y yo me quede sin nada. Otra amiga me dijo si queria un boleto que tenia y por fin pude ir al concierto. Asi que desde el principio hubo una cierta barrera para yo ir.

Hoy estaba pensado no ir al concierto ya que tengo mucho trabajo en la oficina y pues eso seria como 3 o 4 horas "perdidas". La cosa es que cuando llegue a la fila W encontre a otros amigos. De un momento a otro una de las chicas me dijo que nos ofrecian mejores asientos y nos movimos. El asiento que me toco estaba en primera fila. No me lo podia creer. Dios ha estado mirando mi corazon resignado y creo que me ha concedido mis caprichos esta semana. Se que el conoce mi corazon y le place mostrarme que le importo. Fue una noche super. No podia haber pedido mas.

it's my birthday and I'll laugh if I want to...

today is my birthday! yay for me. what a great birthday it was! i stayed home with a sore throat from working saturday and sunday so it didn't start on a very happy note. however, my family came over to bring me lunch and they also got me a cake with balloons and all the fixings for a birthday party to a 6 year old. :) they were so cute. the cake was so totally yummy--it had guava and pineapple in it. i have been eating cake all day.

my grandmother came too and we spent most of the time laughing with her. i took a video of her formula to deal with a person who snores when sleeping in the same room with them. it was hilarious. i also felt happy to see many friends and dear people text, email or facebook me congratulating me on my special day. it was funny because early this morning as i was eating my breakfast i kinda complained to God because i didn't want this to be a boring, work-centered bday. he came through. i had a really, really good time with my family and that was really, really nice for me. i don't spend much time with them so these moments are special treats. i'm happy. it's another year of life. i'll have to reflect more on what this previous year brought me but for now i'm going to bed. i'm going to the hillsong united concert tomorrow! so happy for that too! i think it's going to be great. bye!

for answers like this is why i will always love Johnny Depp...

Q: Did you receive scripts to work with Vanessa in a movie (his wife)?

A: yeah, we've had a couple of offers here and there but ah...

Q: Nothing interesting?

A: Well, it's gonna be pretty difficult to be as interesting as what our life really is. You know? uh, it would be impossible to be as interesting as that, be as interesting as being parents together, being together, so... Um, it's more fun just to be together.

women flirting

it's kinda weird when women kinda flirt with you on the street. not that this is a thing that happens often but when it does, it feels rather... different. men on the street can flirt and try to strike conversations, etc. but if it's not someone i'd like to engage i'm pretty good at keeping them at bay. women, however, i don't know how to react to. in Spain, for example, this young woman was walking down the street with a group of friends and make a number of comments to me. i didn't really respond--playing the tourist card--but if she had kept going, I don't know what i would have said. here in Boston this other woman was just kinda creepy, commenting about my smile as we walked past each other. i don't necessarily uncomfortable but it does feel different. hmm, i don't know...

flirting is so subjective. if a creepy old guy is flirting with you, obviously it's not fun. unless you're into that kind of stuff. ahem. i can't flirt for the life of me; neither with men nor women--if i were to want to flirt with a woman i imagine i wouldn't. anyway. my friend Euni always says that i flirt all the time and i don't know it. how is that possible? she says i flirt with people i don't like. i don't really flirt with people i don't like because, doesn't flirting have to be intentional? how can i involuntarily flirt with someone? i don't know. that theory doesn't really hold water for me.

long answer to random quetion

It’s been very interesting lately with me. It seems as if random people keep asking me questions about what think regarding some God-linked questions. I have no idea why I open my mouth but I seem to do it quite often. The other day, I was chatting with a friend over sushi and she was telling that in one of her classes they were talking about predisposition and human beings. Basically her question was, does God already know who is going to hell and who is going the heaven? If he does, then, what is the need for free will? Or why would he let someone be born when he knows they are doomed to choose sin? I don’t know much about theology nor do I know anything about predisposition but we talked about it for I think 1.5 hours or more. It was funny because all my examples related to food, “if you are born to be mashed potatoes, there’s no point in being french fries...” It was very amusing to us both.

Anyway, going back to the serious question. I believe God in his omniscient qualities, already knows who is and who is not going to heaven/hell. I also believe that in His love he allows us to make choices so that we can exercise our free will. My friend was saying, something along the lines of if God knows who is going to hell, why allow that person to be born? That to me, is what makes God so mind-boggling-freaking-out-of-this-world-amazingly-completely incredible. Let me explain where I’m coming from--without all the crazy food/potatoes-related examples.

#1. God is completely under control. He knows everything, he sees everything; nothing escapes him. The guy is omniscient and omnipresent. He is like the air we breath, the light we see or don’t see; he is all and all things are of/in Him. That’s what the Bible says and given that I believe it, I know it and that’s that. Ok. So since he knows everything, he knows the past, the present and the future. He knows what I am to do after typing this and what I was doing before it---picking my nose and stuff. The beauty of his forgiveness--one aspect of it anyway--is that He forgave ALL of our sins when we allowed Christ into our hearts. Yes, ALL sins, present, past and future ones. He already knew the sins I would commit. All of my crazy, regular, hidden or open sins; kwon by me or unknown by me. Therefore, God cannot be surprised. If He didn’t already know who is going to hell and go is going to heaven, then that means that he would have the ability to be surprised. However, in his nature he cannot. He is not man to be taken by unexpected things, He is God. Thus, not knowing who is going to hell or who is going to heaven is impossible for God. As the Bible says, vanity, vanity everything in this world is vanity and there is nothing hidden under the sun that is not known by God. He even knew that Satan was going to betray him. He knew it since the beginning of time. With all that said, then, this is my argument as to why it is impossible for God not to know who is going to hell or heaven even before he created that person. That my main reasoning given the initial question (does he know or doesn’t he?).

#2. Having established that God already knows all things including who is going to fry for eternity and who isn’t, let me babble about the other part of the question (why would he allow people to be born if he already knows that they won’t love him?). In my mind it is very simple, the Word says that God is not man to go back on his word nor to repent from what he does. God is such an amazing being that He cannot violate his own laws just so that he doesn’t feel “uncomfortable” knowing that someone may or may not be saved. He already established from the beginning of time that the payment for sin is death. He already declared that this is what it is. Now, because he is the utmost definition of fairness and justice, he cannot violate the chance of someone being born by the mere fact that He knows they’ll choose sin. God intended to create us. He wanted us to live and be part of his perfect creation. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen this way. However, since he had already intended to create us, he cannot go back on his word and “uncreate” what he already had decided to create. God cannot violate his own nature, or his own laws. That is why in the old/new/middle and daily testament of our lives we see him always coming up with clear ways to provides us with a way out. He could very well just say, “Ok, you know what? you’re saved. you don’t have to accept Jesus. you don’t have to live a certain life. you don’t even have to have a relationship with me.” He is able to do that if he wanted, but he also isn’t. He cannot, as the holiest, most righteous, most virtuous, most just being once can imagine, he cannot just violate his own nature. So, he has to allow us to live even though when he knows that some of us will screw up colossally and die to eternal damnation. Not allowing someone to be born just because they will end up in hell is unjust. He cannot choose to let some be born and stop others from being born because that would show partiality. He can be partial all he wants; heck, He is G-O-D. However, not given someone a chance and choosing to give it to others even if by giving that chance he knows one will die would be unfair because he has to give both people the opportunity to exercise their free will. He doesn’t predisposes that some will die and others won’t, he just knows who will and who won’t. The Bible says that God wants everyone to come to repentance and be saved. He wants us to choose the right path. He is rooting for us regardless of his previous knowledge. He wants good things for us but he also knows that not all of us will get it. I imagine that it pains God to know that one of his creatures will end up hurting for eternity because their choices. However, because he can’t violate his nature, he has to let them live.

#3. Ok. Now onto the issue of “free will”. Why would God give people free will when he knows will mess it all up anyway. The example I gave to my friend was one where a parent with a toddler has no choice but leave the child in a playpen where there are a number of open electric outlets. Unfortunately, the parent has no other choice but to place the child in that playpen. It pains the parent but there’s nothing he/she can do. The parent gives the child instructions not to touch the plug because it may hurt the child. The parent keeps giving the child reminders; he keeps trying to steer the child away from the outlet by giving it other things to play with, toys, crackers, etc. But the child is always drawn to the outlet. Once the parent but that child in the playpen, he/she cannot control the child and/or force the child to not touch it. The parent suffers because although he/she knows that the child will get hurt, he/she cannot violate the rules that the child must be left in the playpen but not controlled while in it. Of course, unless the child calls out to the parent and asks to be guided. However, it is up to the child to accept and the sustain that help. To me that is free will. God already knows what things will be like. He does. However, he cannot prevent me from doing certain things unless I clearly give him permission to guide me in my walk. He cannot arbitrarily do that. He can, however, when I mess up, turn things around me so that my blunders are not totally disastrous. I will have to pay for my stumbles but when in Him, his children will have positive outcomes. Without free will, we would not be choosing God. Without free will, we would not be accepting his gift nor would we be exercising our faith in Him. We would just be parasites. My God doesn’t want me to be a parasite. He wants me to be victorious. He wants me to be daring. He wants me to have His nature. He wants me to be like him. I can’t be him Him if I can’t choose. I can’t be like Him if I can’t freely love him. He wants me to love him freely. He wants me to seek him freely. It’s like when someone give you a gift because you were pestering them to give it to you for months. Well, it’s not the same as if someone comes to you one day and gives you something because they felt like it. That’s the love that God wants. That’s why salvation is a gift and not a task list. God himself exercises free will by choosing to bless us and save us. He could have said, “yeap, you sinned and now you die.” But he didn’t. He had to find a process to be able to redeem humanity so that we could live. He can’t violate his precepts, but he can exercise his will by finding ways that will satisfy the rule but that doesn’t lead to death for us. That’s where Jesus comes in. This is another food example I mentioned to my friend, God basically said: Ok. There’s a piece of cake. I have decided that I will not eat that piece of cake until noon. Since I am God and I cannot violate the rules I have established, I have to wait until 12pm to eat that cake. However, something happens and He can’t wait until noon to eat the cake. But, because he can’t just go back on his word, he has to find a way to eat the cake at 10am without violating the initial rule. Well, the only way for him to do that is if he buys the initial right to eat the cake. So, God in is infinite wisdom decides to put with his right hand a $5 bill on his left hand. He is paying himself for the right to now eat the cake at 10am. After doing that now he can eat the cake at 9am, at 10am, at 11am or at noon, whenever he wants.

To me that is just amazing. God suffers for us. He roots for us. He finds ways to help us. He wants our happiness. He loves us just the same, and gives us the same value even when he knows that if one makes it to hell or to heaven. He provides free access for us to live. He doesn’t unjustly kills us before we even have the chance to make a choice. If you look at it, we are the best pro-life or anti-death penalty argument there is. If God, the creator of the universe, the all-knowing being that sees our full timeline, allows us to live despite his knowing our end, why on earth would we decide to not let someone be born and/or live. Anyway, I digress. To stop my rambling, I just think that he is pretty cool. He is sovereign and yet he chooses to life for us despite our messed up nature.

I just feel bad for poor Ivi that had to hear all this stuff live. I'm sure she won't engage me in these type of crazy conversations again.

神様、愛している。

きのう、教会でイスターのプレセンタチョンがあった。すばらしかった。本当に。神様からの愛は比べることがない。どうしてあたしのことをそんなに愛されてるですか。まったく分からないけど喜びます。イエス様あたしのために死んだ。彼がそんなにあたしのこと愛しているだ。さいこじゃない？あたしの人生の一番大切なプレセント。

maybe it's because of Easter. or i have been going kinda crazy but i have no other way to say this but i'm in love. i'm in love with the most amazing being there is. i am in love with the one that loves me and cares for me. when i think of him i smile and when i see others through him a get this tenderness in my heart. yesterday i was on the bus and kept looking at the people passing by. i thought i was crazy. in my heart i had this feeling of love for those people even if i didn't know them. you know when you feel this tenderness towards somone because of nothing really. this happens to me usually with elderly people, but never with, like, bums on the street or college students. but yesterday as i looked at all the different faces passing in front of my bus window i could not help but think of them fondly and how God must love them so much more. does that make any sense? i think not. i wonder what this means? i wonder why i felt that way.

current iPod non-stop