Sunday, September 30, 2007

A Matter Of Perspective

On my recent trip to the USA I was able to visit with some family and friends as well as speak in some churches over a period of about three weeks. It is always great to see everyone and to catch up on all the latest news. Another thing I enjoy is hearing about what is happening in other people's lives and ministries. Taking a trip like this is something I like to do because of the people I see and also because of the chance I have to get some different perspectives.

I have realized after nine years of being a missionary that it is good to get away from things from time to time. Taking a step back from the normal routine helps me to keep things in my everyday life in the proper perspective. It is also good to have the opportunity to talk with fellow ministers to see what God is doing in their lives. Hearing about all of the victories and even the challenges that are going on in the lives of others is also a good way for me to keep my own life in perspective.

It is so easy to get focused on our own lives and situations that we miss seeing the big picture. Taking a step back to examine our life and to see that what we know and experience is not all there is will help us to keep the right outlook on life. Some people think they are the only one who ever had a certain problem or that they are in a situation that no on else ever experienced. Besides that, some people start to get the idea that they see and know things that no one else sees or knows and that is not too good either. We all need to keep our life and experiences in the proper context. With a little realistic self examination and some good input from family and friends we can keep things in the right balance; I believe it is a matter of perspective.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Seeing Around Corners

Driving in Germany is different than in the USA, even though we drive on the same side of the road here and in the USA. I have been asked quite often about driving on the opposite side of the road here but that is in England and not Germany. Besides the obvious difference of signs being in German and not in English there are some other things that you will find if you are driving around in Germany and one of those things are the traffic mirrors. I have a photo here of one of these mirrors to show you want they are like. To get a better view of this you can click on the picture to enlarge it.


The traffic mirror is a handy thing that some smart person came up with to see around the corner in some of the tight streets here. There are some places where you cannot really see what cars might be coming your way but these mirrors are set up so that you can see the traffic on the street you are entering before you might meet them head on. In this picture you can see a mini-van that is on the street that intersects with the street in the picture. These mirrors are really helpful and I can think of a few places I have been in the states that would have benefited from having one of these!