Put Your Head On A Swivel!

Yesterday our neighborhood was "treated" to a scene that is, on a normal basis, only viewed in theaters.  I did not witness it myself, but a high speed police chase passed right down our street.  The suspect vehicle was being pursued by undercover officers, and soon thereafter, marked police vehicles joined the chase.  I was speaking to my brother and commented on how the vehicle was racing down a major street, and while the driver did not hit anyone, he presumably blew right through a four way stop.  I mentioned how I never take off when the signal lights turn green, as it seems like every day now; vehicles still pass through the light even seconds after their light has already turned red.  He said "your head always has to be on a swivel".


A swivel is a device that allows an object to turn side to side, up and down and even in a complete circle.  I am a people watcher by nature, so I constantly see people driving and walking with their heads straight forward, seldom looking from side to side.  Many times, they are the ones that you see on the news saying, "I never saw the car coming until it hit me!" This constantly takes place, even though, when we learned to drive, we were all taught to keep our eyes moving from side to side, behind us and of course up ahead.

This made me think about how we sometimes approach life.  Many times we go through life unfocused and paying little attention to our surroundings.  We are shocked when our health, our finances, relationships or employment status gets sideswiped.  Perhaps we would have seen it coming had our heads been on a swivel.  Perhaps if we would have paid attention, we would have noticed that we weren't feeling as well as before, our money wasn't stretching as far, that relationship seemed strained, or that the company had been downsizing for years.  Many times our neighborhoods deteriorate right in front of us, but we were completely oblivious to the change.

Too often we stumble through life just looking at what is right in front of us and not paying any attention to our past mistakes, the future that lies ahead of us, or the side road that could lead us in a totally different direction.  We sometimes miss out on opportunities because we didn't see the open door as we focused on our current situation. We could literally find ourselves in a traffic accident simply because when the light turned green, we accelerated, without looking!

Today's point is simple; go put your head and your eyes on a swivel.  Take a look around and analyze life from your current vantage point.  Take stock in where you are and where it is you are going.  Perhaps you will see some things that you have never noticed before.  Maybe you will avoid a serious financial or health problem by noticing the signs early.  And of course, when you are driving, please wait and look both ways before you take off!

As always, thanks for reading, feel free to share, and if you want an email notice when I upload a new post, you can enter your email in the top right corner of this page!

ps-It has cooled down a bit now, so maybe now is a good time to go back and read this:   http://jonathanpantages.blogspot.com/2013/06/it-june-in-fresno-of-course-it-hot.html

I'm Sad

The Trayvon Martin verdict has been announced, and the results have left me sad. I'm sad because tragically, regardless of the circumstances, a seventeen year old kid is dead. I'm sad because his parents are left without their son. 

I'm sad because George Zimmerman's life will no longer be the same. I'm sad because if he truly was guilty, he got away with murder-at least in this life. I'm sad because if he was truly defending himself, he has to suffer with the memory of taking someone's life, and he has to live with those who feel he is guilty. I'm sad because if the individuals who are calling for his life are successful, he will soon be dead. 

I'm sad because the jurors lives are probably in danger as well. I'm sad because the lone African American woman on the jury will have to forever justify her "not guilty" verdict. 

I'm sad because this whole case, partially driven by politics, partly by people stirring it up and partly to our propensity to depend on the media for "the whole truth", has now driven a further wedge between races. I'm sad because we still have racism issues in this country-and it is not an issue that is perpetuated by just one race. . 

I'm sad because many individuals who identify themselves as Christians, as do I, are joining the fanning of the flames. It's my opinion that we should be trying to put the fire out with love, not stoking the fire with irresponsible posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.  Instead of praying for Zimmerman's protection, many are hoping he gets "what he deserves". Jesus said to "love your enemies"!

Most if all, I'm sad because it seems that we have forgotten who we say we trust in. We seem shocked that the world system is so messed up, but in most cases, our response to tragedies like this is to cry for justice (revenge?) with our voices, but we do nothing to try and heal the world we were placed in to impact, and in fact, some of us (christians) may be making matters worse!  

What if we logged off the tv and social media for a minute, took a deep breath, and prayed? Pray for our country, pray for our judicial system, pray for the family of Trayvon Martin, prayed for George Zimmerman, his family, and their safety. Most of all, lets pray for ourselves. Let pray that we would contribute peace and hope to this messed up world, instead of "preaching" a message of love, hope, and trust in God, but acting in a way that screams otherwise.

As always, thanks for reading!

If I Had A Ton of Money...

Have you ever thought, "I wish I was rich"?  Of course I have, and my suspicion is that almost everyone reading this has too.  Everyone has their reasons for having the desire to be financially wealthy. After volunteering at the "Extreme Home Makeover" project here in Fresno, back in 2009, I found myself wishing I had a lot of money to help out as many people as possible.  Perhaps we would not be able to do an extreme makeover on someones house, but just replacing someones worn out water heater, or broken dyer would certainly be a help to someone who is struggling financially.

The very simple fact is, I'm not financially wealthy, and in all honesty, over the past 10 years or so, we have had our own financial struggles.  I came to realize that I do not need to be rich to be a help to someone.  While it would be nice to be able to help thousands of people, that is simply not possible right now.  So, I will just try and help who I can on a small scale. 

This is a short blog this time, but I just wanted to challenge anyone who reads this to think.  Many times we want to help everyone, but do not have the time, energy or resources to assist on a large scale.  What if we just took a look at our extra cash, clothing, food etc., and used that to help someone who is not as well off as we are.  We may not be able to change the entire world, but perhaps our small contribution can change one persons world. 

So today, be thankful for everything you have, and take a look around to see whose life you may be able to bless by reaching out and giving them a helping hand.  If I had a ton of money, I would gladly help out as many people as I could, but for now, I will continue to find small opportunities to help one individual, or one family.  If we all did the same, perhaps together we could really make a large scale impact.

As always, thanks for reading!