The Poulette Family in Mexico

Express Divorce

Dennis — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:30:11 +0000

We live in a rapid society. We have instant potatoes, instant rice, fast food, and microwaveable popcorn. We want a quick solution for everything.

This instant gratification has translated into the desire to have many things without working for them. It seems like work ethic has disappeared. And not only in our jobs. We no longer want to work on our families or marriages either.

This picture is a sign for an “express divorce.” It boasts that you will only have to wait 30 days for them to finish everything for your divorce. Seems too easy to me.

Why can’t we work at things? Why all of a sudden have we become so lazy that we will no longer fight (in a good way) for our marriages or families? What has happened?

I’m not sure, but I want to be a person who works hard to protect my family and my relationship with my wife. There are things worth fighting for. Work ethic, both in ministry and family, is something that should set us apart.

Posted via email from Life and other things…

Posterous

Dennis — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:32:31 +0000

I’ve been playing around with posterous.com, a site that allows you to easily post pretty much everything and then decide where it goes from there. So far, I like it a lot.

After you set it up, all you do is send an email to posterous.com, and using different addresses, you tell it where it should post to besides your posterous account. Everything you post goes to your posterous stream, too.

I like it because I can post pictures and video to different places just by attaching them to an email and sending it off. Usually within a minute it is posted to both my posterous account and my flickr account. If I want, I can also post it to my facebook or twitter accounts. I’ve given my posterous account the name: Life and Other Things…Everything I can think about right now, because that is exactly how I use it. It’s a way to share experiences and what I’m thinking.

It’s just simply an easy way to get content out there. I’m excited about the possibilities. I can even post to this blog by sending an email to posterous. How cool is that?

Life is war

Dennis — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:54:34 +0000

Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everythign we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of front-line forces, and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need. - John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions - p 41

This is an incredible quote about prayer in the life of a Christian. I need to constantly be reminded that I am not given prayer for my comforts. I am given prayer to use as God accomplishes His purposes in His Kingdom.

Posted via email from Life and other things…

Benjamin graduated to a forward facing car seat

Dennis — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:04:20 +0000

And Nathan now uses a booster seat. They’re growing up fast.

Posted via email from Life and other things…

Seminary Choir Concert last night

Dennis — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:23:33 +0000

Besides graduation, every year’s school activities conclude with the choir concert. Last night was this year’s concert. Here’s a quick clip I recorded on my phone.

Youth Ministry graduates in Cuba 2009

Dennis — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:25:49 +0000

I feel like a grandfather, almost. The students we trained in the Cuba project who graduated last June have seen their first generation of students graduate from the Seminary in Havana.

It’s exciting to see how the ministry is multiplying. Here are some pictures from their graduation. Click one to see a larger version and a description.

See the set of photos on Flickr.

Here are some more posts that have to do with the program in Cuba:
Interview with Pancho
Interview with Giancarlos
Memorable Moment (Graduation in Cuba)
The Last Three Years - Part 1
The Last Three Years - Part 2
The Last Three Years - Part 3
Thanks to You

“La Santa Muerte” and the Elections

Dennis — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:03:24 +0000

Sunday is election day here in Mexico. It’s a mid-term election. They aren’t voting for president, but the outcome of the election is very important. You can tell it’s election time because of all of the signs everywhere, but that’s another post.

I saw this article today and posted a translation here.

Here is some of it that I think is interesting:

The Mexican cult of Santa Muerte today asked its followers to go to the polls on July 5, but that they vote for “candidates for the next generation,” that have a democratic vision and respect cultural, social, and religious diversity.

The leader of this religious group, of which it is calculated has more than 5 million members in Mexico, David Romo, read a declaration in the temple in Tepito that exhorted the faithful to vote for those who respect ecology, for those who want to toughen laws, and those who offer equal justice.

Please pray for the elections this Sunday. It’s important the political situation of this country and for the religious situation.

(image by: phxpma)

There’s Always Room for…

Dennis — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:09:05 +0000

Seth Godin wrote today about the slogan, “There’s always room for Jello.” He says…

Think about your schedule… is there room for an emergency, an SEC investigation, a server crash? If you took a day off because of the flu, is your business going to go bankrupt? Probably not.

So, if there’s time for an emergency (Jello), why isn’t there time for brilliance, generosity or learning?

In ministry, I think we ought to pose the question…”If there’s time for an emergency, why isn’t there time for intimacy with God?” The one thing that will make your ministry, family, or church better is prayer and time with God.

So let’s make time for it.

Outward Thinking

Dennis — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:16:20 +0000

You can become so involved with simply "pastoring" that you forget your mission in life very quickly. Instead of really preparing people for the work of the ministry, we are prone to focus in on ourselves. For instance, at the average prayer meeting, how many are really praying for those who need their eyes opened? How many are really praying for the masses who so desperately need a Savior?

You know, the amazing thing is, the Apostle Paul never asks for his own personal welfare. He prays that the gospel may speed on in triumph. What was his mission? He said, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." Thus he says, "I am going to stay here so I can get the gospel out."

Our focus is so introspective. It does not take long, even in mission activity, believe it or not, to get introspective. Here, too, I stand as guilty as the next fellow. But we must be aware of it, and , by God's grace, keep our sense of mission ever before us.

– Dr. Philip Steyne

Posted via email from drpoulette’s posterous

An unexpected visitor

Dennis — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:15:40 +0000

This afternoon I was sitting in the living room of my house, and the next thing I know, there’s a bird flying in and perching on our couch. We don’t own a pet bird.

I don’t like birds or any other wild animals. I jump if I see a lizard in the house. Imagine my reaction when I saw a bird. I didn’t know what to do. I froze. I knew I had to get him out of the house, but I already told you I don’t like birds.

Well, he flew straight for the window. But the window was closed. He got caught between the vertical blinds, the curtain, and the huge floor to ceiling window. He was trapped. And he had the poop scared out of him, literally.

I opened the front door, but by now he was hiding under the entertainment center. So, I got a tennis ball and rolled it under there to shoo him out of his hiding spot. He flew up to a candle holder we have above our fireplace. That’s when I went after him.

I tried to get him to move with the broom, and luckily, he flew out the door instead of at my head. Whew! These are the things I do when Janell is away.

(photo by: monkeyc.net)