John Steinbeck

I read this passage last night and it completely blew my mind.

My question about Free Will were answered.

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From John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (Penguin, 1992, pages 301–303):

[Lee said,] “The King James version [of the Bible] says this — it is when Jehovah has asked Cain why he is angry. Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’ It was the ‘thou shalt’ that struck me, because it was a promise that Cain would conquer sin.”

Samuel nodded. “And his children didn’t do it entirely,” he said.

Lee sipped his coffee. “Then I got a copy of the American Standard Bible. It was very new then. And it was different in this passage. It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’ Now this is very different. This is not a promise, it is an order. And I began to stew about it. I wondered what the original word of the original writer had been that these very different translations could be made ...

“My [elders] felt that these words were very important too — ‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Do thou.’ And this was the gold from our mining: ‘Thou mayest.’ ‘Thou mayest rule over sin.’ ...

“The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel — ‘Thou mayest’ — that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’ — it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ ...
“Now, there are millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.”

A Dream within a Dream

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

---Edgar Allan Poe

Never has a poem made me cry so much. It's so beautiful.

I should stop being so sentimental these days!

To the Fountain Of the Palace Of the Bakchisarai

And only dreamed imagination
Had drowned in the empty dark
Its flitting visions' pale reflections,
The soul fancy's easy mark?

---Alexander Pushkin

Juan 17: 20-21

Mas no ruego solamente por éstos, sino también por los que han de creer en Mí por la palabra de ellos, para que todos sean uno; como Tú, oh Padre, en Mí, y Yo en Ti, que también ellos sean uno en Nosotros; para que el mundo crea que Tú me enviaste.

NO MORE IB!!

English A1 Higher Paper 1
English A1 Higher Paper 2
Math Standard Paper 1
Math Standard Paper 2
History Standard Paper 1
History Standard Paper 2
History Higher Paper 3
Biology Standard Paper 1
Biology Standard Paper 2
Biology Standard Paper 3
Psychology Standard Paper 1
Psychology Higher Paper 2
Psychology Higher Paper 3
Spanish A2 Standard Paper 1
Spanish A2 Standard Paper 2

I'M DONE!!!

This is the piece of music that played inside my head when I exited the exam room.

East of Eden

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction its wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system. Surely I can understand this, and I had it and I will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts. If the glory can be killed, we are lost.

---John Steinbeck

Faith! again!

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not...ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea; it shall be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew:21:21-22)

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Are You, O Lord, trying to tell me something?

I already know the answers. I just needed this extra oomph today, to stop doubting and make real my decisions.

I love suprises! Please, do give me one!

:) :) :)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding (Proverbs 9:10)

Pop! goes my heart

Description: Hugh Grant in an 80's music video.

La Dolce Vita

Abide with me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

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I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Holy Poopy!

G.K Chesterton reads my mind.

"An imbecile habit has arisen in modern controversy of saying that such and such creed can be held in one age but cannot held in another. Some dogma, we are told, was credible in the twelfth century, but it is not credible in the twentieth. You might as well say that a certain philosophy can be believed on Mondays but cannot be believed on Tuesdays..."

"The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait."

"Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within."

"The men who really believe in themselves are all in lunatic asylums."

---Orthodoxy

By far, one of the best books about Christian theology I've ever read...kudos and many kudos to my dear ol' Chesty.

ponderings

For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow (Job 8:9)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. (Isaiah: 40:7)

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I have often meditated about the fact that how short and limited is our lifespan. That we occupy a small portion of the history of mankind.

Our lives here on earth is a tiny fraction of eternity.

So, let's give our best shot. Waste no time in doubting or regretting. And live our life to the fullest to glorify Him.

Nineteen days.

19 more days for school to end.

Part of me says that I have so gotten over highschool a long time ago.

And part of me says that I will miss it like crazy because I will no longer see my classmates every day.

Maybe because I grew up with these people, I have shared the last 15 years of my life with them.

I am having mixed feeling about it.



People that I love...:)

Olivooo and me messing with the camera. GOD, I'M SO GONNA MISS HIM!!!!!!

With Olivo and Katy! I'm so glad I had a chance to grow close with Katy.

with Yani, Oli and Luli!

Us girls messing around in lunch. Hehehehe.

Kandom convo of da moment:

Andrew says:
what ifs are dumb questions
Andrew says:
what if the sun dies out? what if your bladder explodes? what if you're never ever able to have ice cream again, because you become allergic?
Andrew says:
what if the sun never dies out? what if your bladder is always healthy, and you never feel a surprising urge to pee again? what if you acquire a condition where you can eat all the ice cream you want and it becomes healthy?

Free

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

-Augustus Toplady
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I am renewed!
His mighty right hand restoreth my soul!
And took away that stupid clump of lead
And made me new and pure!

Kandom tip of da day: Prayer = rapid recuperation in Christ. Try it!!!

:(

Guilt is like a clump of lead,
that poisons a pure heart
and clogs the circulation of the soul.

worship

The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind:
the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down:
the LORD loveth the righteous:
The LORD preserveth the strangers;
He relieveth the fatherless and widow:

But the way of the wicked He turneth upside down.
The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God,
O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

(Psalms 146:8-10)

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The Lord brings out the best of our weakness. He loves us to be humble. He loves to change the bad things into good, useful things for Him. So great is His glory!

Favourite Psalms

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say,
“Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Psalms 139

"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

Blue like Jazz

"The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: Life is a story about me"
---Don Miller