Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a safe and merry Christmas. Christmas Eve and Day came and went as any other day for me because I worked. The only thing that marked the difference  on the 24th was the fact that the amount of customers tripled where I work, but everything else was the same. The postal worker walked in wearing his same short sleeved shirt and shorts, and the mothers kept on telling their children that if they kept on touching the items in the store, that young lady (meaning me) was going to hit them.

On Christmas Day, I went to  church with my family in the morning and then again went to work. We didn't have anything formal at home because my family is not very traditional. Please don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas, just that because we are the only ones of our family living in Houston among other things we have never gotten into the habit of having a big meal and the "traditional" celebration. Nonetheless, Christmas does serve as a marker that the year is about to end, and is a good time to start looking back over the past year to learn from our errors and see in what we can improve in the coming year.

 New Year's resolutions come to mind! But I'm talking about real commitments that we plan on keeping, not the usual New Year's resolutions that are forgotten after two weeks. But anyway, my commitments for this year, as for most of all the commitments I make are along the line of learning new things and having new and different experiences. When I was in middle school I learned about Benjamin Franklin, and how he was able to accomplish so many things in his life. I was so inspired by that that it has been one of my goals in life to be able to do as many things and learn as many things as I can, and I hope I can challenge some of you out there to do the same. One of the saddest things is getting to the end of your life and looking back and wondering what you got done in all those years you had.

There is this book I highly recommend titled Time Management from the Inside Out written by Julie Morgenstern which shows how to not only manage your time but also set goals for yourself. A life without goals has no worth. The only guarantee is that if you aim at nothing you'll get there fast. But it won't be satisfying. And don't forget to make goals for eternity -they are the only ones that will last forever.

On a lighter note, though, one of my resolutions is to learn how to cook. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I am 20 and can't cook. But, I am hoping to quickly rectify that problem. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was determined to cook a meal for my family, but my grandmother and father strongly discouraged me from doing so. I wonder why.

Okay, well y'all have a great New Year!! Take care and may God bless each and everyone of you. See you in '04.

Year Winds Down, Christmas

This year has come and gone so quickly, or so it seems to me. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was sitting down in the all night meeting we have in my church the night/morning that will usher in the new year. Now it is a year later, and so much has changed in my life as well as in many other 's. In my Bible I have had to record the death of one of my beloved friends, and also will be recording the marriage of my dear sister.

On an international level, Saddam Hussein's regime was overthrown in Iraq earlier this year, and just a few days ago he was captured alive, but appearing to be only a shadow of the man he once was. Nationally, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governor of California, and  in sports, the Cincinnati Bengals have become the feel good story of the NFL.

Christmas is nearly here! For those of you up north, it seems you will have that cherished white Christmas we Houstonians see only in our dreams or in movies. Snow or no snow, one of the things I like about Christmas is that joy and happiness and longsuffering are promoted, but I think we should be living that throughout the year. We need to show our family and friends that we love them and care about them every chance we get, because we don't know if they will be with us the next moment. Ultimately, the people in our life and our relationship we have with God will be what counts at the end of our lives. Don't live to regret the choices you have made.

Well, take care. Until next time.

A Cold Day, Busy Week, Revival Meetings

A cold day-  Today is one of those days I just want to curl up in my bed, under a warm blanket, with a mug of hot chocolate, close the curtains, and go to sleep. Well, I'd close the curtains if I had some in my room -I guess I'll settle for closing the blinds. It's a cold, rainy day, full of tornadoes, and I am cold, wet, and hungry. Poor, poor me. And to add to that, I have to work tonight. Alas, these calamities in life will come, we must bear them as best we can ;)

Busy Week-   These past two weeks have been crazily busy and filled with non-normal happenings ( if that wasn't a word before, it is now). We had special meetings in the church I attend this past weekend, had people in my house from out of town, I had been running around practicing for a skit and a special song the youth performed for those meetings, had an overdose of dayquill a few days prior to that, and was threatened to be kidnapped. And y'all thought all we did in Texas was milk cows and sit around and watch the grass grow ;) About that overdose (before someone blasts me on the message board) I took the recommended dose, but that was too strong for me, and I was going crazy. After that I decided that I would NEVER try drugs (not that I have ever wanted to), even if I am Colombian.

Revival Meetings-  Anyway, about the revival meetings, they were really great. I feel spiritually refreshed. It is a great feeling when things start getting into perspective once again. I tend to get caught up with my busy lifestyle and lose sight of what is truly important. One verse that has been in my mind, and goes along with some of the messages is found in Philipians 3:10 "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death". That is a pretty powerful verse.  As I said, the meetings were great, and I have a few pictures so that y'all can see. So I'm not the best photographer, I admit, but I still hope you enjoy.

It's time for me to leave, and I'm sure you are very disappointed at the lack of reference to grammar, but have no fear; next time I will be posting a sample of the worst writing I have ever seen, featuring Joyce, otherwise known as the ghetto Canadian-Texan gal. With her permission, of course. If any one knows someone who writes very bad, or if you think you do, I'd like to see a sample of your writing. Post it up or e-mail me. But I think I have the worst one to tell you the truth. Not that she can't  write well, but, well, I'll tell you about it next time. So, Until next time.

A Typical Day, A little bit of English

A typical day-  If you click on the picture below,  you’ll be able to see other pictures that represent a typical day for me at school. Oh, and I also threw in a picture of the car I usually drive so that y’all could know we actually have cars here in Houston and don’t ride horses everywhere. As a matter of fact, Texas is second only to Canada in the quality of the highways in the world.

New Perspective out of Texas

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Brenda and I live in Houston, Texas. It is a privilege for me to be brought on board IPF, and I am definitely looking forward to working with Chris and all the other webmasters. Chris, Vinod, thanks for the welcome. As Chung mentioned, Susan and I will be updating alternately on Tuesday and will be bringing you a lady’s view from the north and south of the country. Should be fun.

A.  Submitting Content:  Missing your Birthday in the B-Day section?  Want to submit an article, event or comment?  Well, we just made it easy for you.  Just fill out the form below, and click submit.  Its as simple as that.