Ben’s Hips

Ben’s Hips

They say that babies who are born breech have trouble with their hips because of the pressure placed on them before birth.

Since Benjamin was born breech, the doctors wanted to do an ultrasound on his hips when he turned 6 weeks old. So we went for today.

We went to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. The results came back negative. Everything is normal. Thank God that nothing was wrong. We didn’t even see the doctor after they did the ultrasound because everything was fine.

So, we went to International Plaza as a family since we were already down that way. Nathan got to play at the Looney Toons park (see the video below), I got to take my first ever trip to an Apple Store (although I didn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked), and we all got to share a delicious cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory.

Overall, it was a great family day despite the stress of having to go to the hospital for the test. Thanks for praying for us (follow our PoulettePrayer twitter stream.)

(Photo on Flickr.)

SERIES: Global Youth Ministry – Benefits of being a Global Youth Worker

SERIES: Global Youth Ministry – Benefits of being a Global Youth Worker

Series: Global Youth Ministry
This post is part of a series on Global Youth Ministry. Be sure to check out part 1 – Why Global Youth Ministry is Important and part 2 – What’s a Global Youth Worker?

Some say that apart from church planting efforts, Global youth ministry training should be the top priority in global missions. I believe it’s a ministry that every youth worker should personally be involved in.

Obviously, I believe strongly in the mission statement of Youth Ministry International, which is “To train national youth workers for existing local churches within the people groups of the world.”

Every youth worker in the United States should be involved somehow in the training of youth workers internationally. Here are some benefits of being a global youth worker:

Five Benefits of Being a Global Youth Worker

  1. Personal obedience – everyone should be involved in world missions because God has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. Your participation in global youth ministry will strengthen your personal relationship with God.
  2. An example for your students. If you expect your young people to have a heart for missions, they need to see that you have a heart for missions. Being a global youth worker will allow them to see your burden for the nations.
  3. An example for your church. I always hope that my youth ministry can be an example to the church. If I am interested and involved in global missions, my students will be an example for the church through their support for global missions.
  4. Fulfillment using your gifts in global ministry. You may not believe me when I say this, but you have something to offer. You can pray more specifically by getting to know other youth workers overseas. You can come for a week. You can mentor long-distance. You could even go long term to train others. There are too many opportunities, and there are many different ways you can use your gifts.
  5. You can use your experience. Someone once told me that everything that happens to us is just part of the training for what God has for us in the future. You have experience and training that others do not, and this experience and training that you have had in your life should be put to use in the training of others.


If you’re interested in training youth workers internationally, please leave me a comment or contact me. Youth Ministry International is constantly looking for international trainers, and I’d love to talk to you more about the opportunities there are all over the world.

Mission trips and Airports

Mission trips and Airports

Stuff Christians Like wrote a great little list about The Mission Trip Airport Layover.

Anyone who’s ever gone on a trip with a group of young people and had to stay in the airport will enjoy the list.

My favorites from their list:

  • The boyfriend and girlfriend couple will break up…
  • …and get back together.
  • One kid will be the “where’s Billy?” kid. A phrase that is fun to yell from the aisle of a plane that is about to close its door and take off.
  • Someone will use their entire spending money on batteries at the airport, which cost $47.

    • Some I would add (not nearly as funny):

  • Some kid will get tackled by security because he says the word “gun” in the security line.
  • One student will constantly ask the adult volunteers to hold his gigantic sombrero that he just had to buy at the market.
  • The entire group parks themselves in the busiest place and unknowingly blocks everyone else from getting by.
  • One of the kids falls asleep waiting to board the plane and doesn’t get on in time.

Anyway, go check out the post on Stuff Christians Like.

There are some pretty good ones in the comments, too.

How Do You Pray for Your Students?

How Do You Pray for Your Students?

“Prayer is the language of a man burdened with a sense of need.” – E.M. Bounds

We need prayer in our ministries. It should be a priority for us. But, it’s easy to get burdened with the hassles of “work” and not pray like we should for our students and volunteers.

Shane at Nailscars.com has the great idea of making Youth Group Prayer Cards to help him pray for students.

How do you pray for your students, their families, and the volunteers who work with you?

Fantasy Football 2008 – Draft Results

One of the little things I like to do to have fun is to play Fantasy Football. This morning, I participated in our live draft with friends from Tennessee, Mexico, Las Vegas, and Florida.

We had a lot of fun with the draft. The entire time I had the chance to talk to my friends on Skype and basically hang out while figuring out who to pick for my team (The Mexico Mighty Muggles).

Here are my draft picks:

  • Marion Barber (RB)
  • Braylon Edwards (WR)
  • Reggie Bush (RB)
  • Ben Rothlisberger (QB)
  • Santonio Holmes (WR)
  • Tony Gonzalez (TE)
  • Ricky Williams (RB)
  • Deuce McAllister (RB)
  • Anthony Gonzalez (WR)
  • Isaac Bruce (WR)
  • Vikings (Defense/Special Teams)
  • Derrick Mason (WR)
  • Amani Toomer (WR)
  • Stephen Gostkowski (K)
  • Mushin Mohammed (WR)
  • Correll Buckhalter (RB)

We’ll see how I well I do. After a strong start to the season last year I didn’t make the playoffs due to a pretty strong push by some teams at the end of the season. This year, I’m hoping to bring home the championship.