Pebble-icious

I admit it.  Unlike the many younger, more "hip" people that get to hang out with as a youth pastor, I am a watch guy.  There I said it.  I like watches.  Always have.  I even prefer analog to digital because I like the classy look.  But since the invention of the calculator-watch (of which I saved up for as a young teenager - and I know that really dates me) watches haven't really evolved into much that could be considered "techy" at all.  While some have heart-rate monitors and such, the overall function hasn't changed much in the past 30 years.

I admit that I was one of those fanboys that utilized the square iPod Nano with a cool watchband and had a watch that people asked about, but it was far from anything more than a conversation piece.  I wanted something more.

My family surprised me on Christmas morning with just that.  A watch that was oh-so-much more.  A Pebble watch, that niche kickstarted project that has made it to retail prime-time.  It works with Android and with the latest SDK release it works REALLY well with iOS.  I mean it really is a fairly seamless experience.

[read more after the break]

Square

This may seem like a no brainer, but if you're not setup to use Square in your youth ministry, do it now!   Square is a simple way to take credit cards for youth trips, candy from your snack shack, and everything in between.  It's also a great way to send parents a receipt for cash or checks they may give you for their teens.  Think about adding credit card payments to your next car wash!  This concept is huge.