Go Ahead And Ask!

Two recent events led to the genesis of this thought.  Recently a young high school student, Jake Davidson, utilized YouTube to ask Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Kate Upton to be his prom date.  While she ultimately turned down his invitation, another swimsuit model, Nina Agdal stepped up and attended the prom with him!  In another bold move, local (Fresno) basketball star, turned NBA professional, Quincy Pondexter began a series of tweets that culminated with him asking Chandler Lawson, Ms. Tennessee out on a date!  She accepted the invitation!

This made me think of all the times fear, of being rejected kept me from asking for certain things.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who lost out on a promotion, a raise, a great opportunity, the chance to drive someone's exotic car, or maybe even a date with an individual that was “out of our league”.  Sometimes fear of rejection, low self-esteem, or other issues prevent us from stepping out and asking for what we want in life.  I was reminded of a very simple, yet profound Bible principle that says, "You do not have because you do not ask" (James 4:3).  While I have taken the verse slightly out of its context, the principal still applies.  While I'm sure the scripture is not referring specifically to asking someone out on a date, or to accompany you to the prom, the fact remains, in most cases, you must ask if you want something!

 So, instead of continuing on in life frustrated about "what could have been", or "if only" stop waiting for things to happen and begin to ask for what you want!  Ask the girl out!  Ask for the raise!  Ask her to marry you! Fill in the blank with your own specific situation and go for it.  Don't forever wonder, "What if?”, go ahead and ask!  Jake Davidson got rejected by a supermodel, but still went to the prom with another supermodel!  Quincy Pondexter risked public reject, sent a tweet, and got a date with Miss Tennessee!  At the end of the day, you may end up getting rejected, like Jake did, but end up with an equally great opportunity.  Perhaps you will get an immediate "Yes!" like Quincy Pondexter did and life will be good.  Even if you are flat out rejected and you don't get what it is you wanted, then perhaps it was not meant to be and your answer is somewhere else down the road.  In the meantime, face your fear of rejection, and "Go Ahead and Ask!"  

Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to share this with anyone you wish!  Need to make a change in your life? Read this: http://jonathanpantages.blogspot.com/2012/10/change-can-be-good.html

Inspiration From a CEO

Recent statements by a CEO of a popular clothing brand have caused a great deal of chatter as of late.  It seems that the CEO of this particular company feels only certain people should wear his brand.  He was quoted as saying, "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids."  He continues, "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."

I must make one thing clear; I believe he has every right to believe what he believes and to market exclusively to whomever he wishes. I don't need to worry about shopping in his store since I am not cool enough, certainly not attractive enough (you should see his picture!) and I'm too fat to fit in his exclusionary garments.  While I admire his laser-like focus on his target market, I believe his comments are misguided.  After all, who cares if the money he earns comes from someone ugly?  Then again, he is the one with the billion dollar corporation, not me! 

As I read the article, I found myself getting angry at this individual that I don't even know.  I got angry because I believe his attitude is wrong, but then a story popped into my head.  In the Bible, (John 8:1-11) a woman is caught in adultery and according to the law, was to be stoned.  Jesus basically tells the accusers that the individual with no sin could go ahead and throw the first stone.  I found myself realizing that in some ways, I have, or have had the same attitude as this CEO, yet I was ready to call him to task! 

If we are honest, we would prefer to hang out with the cool and popular people, not the broke and busted individuals in the world.  Many of us would prefer to be seen with the owner of the company over the janitor.  Please don't read too much into this, but there was a time where I felt certain people should be excluded from churches due to their particular choices of sin.  Some will still not allow people into their particular organizations simply based on religious beliefs or political views.  Others do not have anyone with a different skin color or financial status in their circle of friends.  Most of us would not dare be seen with an individual with a turban for fear of what would be said about us. 

I decided not to mention the name of the CEO or company in this post.  I didn't want to give him any publicity beyond what I mentioned.  So what is my point?  Simply take a moment, as I did, and ask yourself if his remarks made you upset because they are offensive, because it stirs up some of the same attitudes in yourself, or perhaps both.  We can get mad at what he said, but we can also look at ourselves and see the areas in our life that reflect the exact mentality.  While we may not make millions of dollars, we may find ourselves living more enriched lives by including others instead of excluding those who look, act, think or worship different than us.

Thanks for reading!  If you enjoyed reading, you can subscribe by email and recieve notification when a new blog is posted.  Have some unfinished business in your life?  Read this: http://jonathanpantages.blogspot.com/2012/11/lessons-from-phil-jackson-and-lakers.html

The Empty Bedroom

This past weekend my two boys took a mini vacation to Northern California.  As bedtime came on Friday night, there was a strange quietness throughout the house.  As we put Sara to bed, we couldn't help but notice how empty the boy's room seemed to be.  Their absence was felt so strongly, that I felt as if someone had knocked the air out right out of my body.  My mind wandered a bit, and even though I knew they were having fun hanging out in Monterey, I could not escape the thought, "What if my boys were gone forever?”  I quickly pushed away any bad thoughts, and asked God to simply protect them. The sensation I felt was awful, but I knew my boys were safe with their grandpa and uncles and would be home soon.

A nagging sadness remained as I thought of people who have lost their children in accidents or to sickness.  It was as if God allowed me, for just a few moments, to "feel" the grief and emptiness of someone who has had a child die much too early.  I was almost forced me to tears as I tried to imagine the unbearable pain that some have endured.  As the boys returned from a weekend of playing at the beach and watching the Dodgers and Giants, I hugged them a little tighter and a little longer than usual.  It felt so good to have them home; even if I knew that within minutes they would probably be arguing and fighting!

If we are honest, our kids can sometimes make us wonder why we ever had kids in the first place!  They are not always on their best behavior, and do not always do what they are supposed to do.  We like to think our kids do no wrong, but we know they are not perfect and make mistakes.  Although our kids can get on our last nerve and sometimes drive us nuts, they are truly gifts from God.  Even though they sometimes embarrass us with their actions, drive us crazy with their endless questions, and seem to argue and fight non-stop, I will gladly take all of that over the quiet, empty bedroom. 

***Thanks for reading!  Feel free to share without asking for permission.  If you want notification when I post something new, enter your email address on my blog page and you will receive an email anytime I publish a new post!  By the way, it has been over 5 months since we celebrated thanksgiving.  If you need a reminder to be thankful, read this: http://jonathanpantages.blogspot.com/2012/11/are-you-still-thankful.html

Why Do I Blog?

There are thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of thousands of blogs on the Internet.  Everyone has their own specific reason for creating a blog, as did I.  As I hope you can tell, my purpose is to use everyday life situations, some my own, and some from observing others, to provoke thought, and more importantly, to hopefully bring a sense of encouragement to our lives that can sometimes be so chaotic.  

If you have read my posts, you know I occasionally make reference to faith, the Bible, or God.  While I have my own beliefs, and am not ashamed to share them, I understand and respect the fact that everyone does not share my views.  Perhaps some may think I should be more "preachy”.  Others may wish that I would refrain from making any reference to God. I would never intentionally offend anyone, I just type what I’m thinking or feeling and it comes out how it comes out.  I strive to be authentic and not be influenced by how others may, or may not want me to be.

Today, I started to write about a situation in which I experienced a degree of hurt, but eventually led to a more positive outcome.  I didn't publish it because I didn't want anyone familiar with the situation to get the impression I was sending a message to someone through my blog.  I will revisit that post in the near future, but for now, I decided to instead, post why I blog to reassure you that my agenda is not to take shots at anyone through this blog. 

I'm not writing to become famous, but if by some crazy miracle this blog were to become wildly popular, it would not in any way change my purpose.  I'm not trying to project a life that is perfect or better than anyone else's.  In fact, while I certainly don't want my personal business spread all over, sharing my mistakes, faults, fears, insecurities, weakness and other liabilities, along with my strengths and victories is something I may do if it can contribute to lighting up someone’s day, or just encourages one person.

So, there it is, the reason why I blog.  Feel free to share it with anyone who you feel would be encouraged by what you read.  The other day, someone asked if they could share a post on their social media page.  Tweet it, post it on Facebook, or share it on Google+, no need to request permission.  If you want to be notified when a new story is posted, you can subscribe by putting your email address on the main page of the blog and it will automatically email you.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it and hope you are encouraged!!! 

JP

Ps-If you can't even remember what your 2013 New Years Resolution was, it's not too late to get back on track! Read this:

Read this:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6346664444597874914#editor/target=post;postID=539848335561122658;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=7;src=postname