Saturday, April 25, 2009

This verse has stuck with me for about a month

In Genesis 33:14 Jacob responds to Easu with the following words at the time they are reunited: Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me, and at the pace of the small children.

I am struck as a parent and as a teacher and a missionary by this verse. Here Jacob provides an excellent symbol of what it is to be a good shepherd. Now don't get me wrong Jacob is not sitting around singing Kumbaya. He has traveled a long distance with this clan. He knows his flocks and his children and what they can endure. He has been a servant leader, leading those under his care to the promised land but at a pace adjusted to the weak under his care. Parents, teachers, and church leaders can learn from cross referencing this verse with Psalm 23. Well this verse has been with me for about a month because I have a lot of learn about adjusting my pace to the needs of others.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I drive a minicar

Last year when my parents were here and gas was Skyhigh my mother commented that maybe in America everyone will drive mini cars like us. My wife and I drive two mini-cars which are called Keicars in Japan. Would I ever drive them in America, probably not.

Japan and probably much of Europe are well suited for small cars for a couple of reasons: mass transit for longer trips and exclusive local city driving.
We only do local city driving and when traveling any distance use trains or buses. Japan has a highway system and it even cuts through the city I live in, but I have never driven on it. The local city roads we drive on are marked at 50 or 60 kmh max (30-40 mph). The roads here are also very narrow and large vehicles just do not navigate them well.

So when you live in a land of no high speed head on collisions like Japan small mini cars are fine. That land is not America though, I would never drive the cars I have now on American roads. Maybe in Guam though were the top posted speed limit on the island is 45 and that is only one small stretch.