The Driving With Rob Podcast

My longest podcast to date. The first half is about Jesus's sermon on the mount which led to a discussion of self righteousness and why modern day journalists feel no regrets over pushing a political agenda

Christmas is two weeks away! Are you ready? I include a brief shoutout to the YouTube series "Sh%t Southern Women Say." Here's the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUFL2GT1-2g . A shoutout to the 1965 special "A Charlie Brown Christmas" too!  

Remembering my friend Tim Dellinger.  I attended his funeral service today and wanted to share some thoughts about him, and his spiritual gift of exhortation and encouragement. 

You can get work done any two of three ways, but not all three

The first guilt-free large family gathering since Covid. The four-day weekend, food, family, and football.  If you're sad around the holidays, you're not alone. It's normal to get a little melancholy around the holidays 

The Red Wave never happened. The Democrats were just as surprised by it as the Republicans were.  Here is my take on where the Republicans went wrong. 

From this week's Sunday morning political shows the Democrat buzz words for this week will be "dereliction of duty" and "failed coup" as related to the January 6th committee hearings, and continual denial of the downward spiral of the US economy under Joe Biden.  Al Gore also made the rounds this week pushing for the elimination of fossil fuels.

The Left Hook is what I'm calling my take on the talking points from the Sunday morning political shows the day before (7-10-2022) I talk about the democrat slants and talking points the media will be using in their reports in the upcoming week    Thank you for listening! 

Gas prices are intentionally high.  It's not Covid, nor the war in Ukraine, it's the "green energy initiatives" to reduce fossil fuels.  Biden reinstalled the Obama bureaucrats and climate change fanatics that caused the 2008 recession and they're making the same bad economic decisions they made back then.  The high cost of fuel is driving inflation and causing the same type of economic chaos that it did twelve years ago.   

In this episode I will tell you why homegrown tomatoes are better than store bought and ten times better than the tomatoes they put on fast food burgers.  There really is a reason!  Listen and find out why.

Planting with a purpose.  I planted a tree over twenty years ago to shade my living room from the morning sun.  I was intentional about what I planted and where I planted it.  We all plant seeds, intentional or not, and they are going to grow.  Shouldn't we be intentional? 

If you want to know why some of us don't want the shot, I explain why I don't want it.  I can't speak for anyone else.  It's not political, I promise, but if you are politically liberal, you may take it that way.  The actual explanation starts around six minutes in if you want to skip ahead.    Thanks for listening!

The Canadians opened their border to US citizens, but we didn't open ours to Canadians.  Why not?  Why couldn't we close the border with Mexico?  Tell me again how our Covid response isn't political.  

There was no gasoline shortage.  The gas stations ran out of gas because of panic buying.  Just like toilet paper last year, and bread and milk during a snow storm, the news media yelled fire in a crowded movie house and created a panic.  

This episode is a little bit of a departure from my normal episodes.  It's a little bit of a tirade on how greed allowed manufacturers to put profit above all else and allowed accountants to run their companies.  I talk about accountants, CPAs, MBAs, large corporations at the beginning of the episode and end with an example of how a small company became a big company, then sold out for profit.  That's what has happened to American manufacturing!    

This episode is NOT about rich people.  I talk about the parable of the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that was lost, and the story of the prodigal son and what happens to the one may not be important to the ninety-nine, but it's vitally important to the one.  

Happy Mother's Day!  I talk about the holiday itself, my mom, and how a mother's love can't be compared with any other kind of love.  Mom loves you.  She always has and always will.

"I didn't mean to hurt you" is not really an apology.  It's almost passive aggressive.  It's like saying, I'm not really sorry for what I did.  I'm just sorry you couldn't handle it.  

Easter in three words.  Actually a few three word phrases.  I love you, it is finished, He is risen, and you are forgiven.  This is the Easter story.

We should be teaching the next generation.  Teaching them what we know, everything we know.  Teach faith and biblical truth, teach them trades and how to fix things.  The ancient Egyptians stopped teaching people how to build pyramids and now nobody knows how they did it!     

Have you ever asked God "Why?" Is it ever okay to question God?  Moses did, King David did too.  It's normal, human nature to want to question God, but should we?    

Are the type of person who stays up late and then sleeps late in the morning?  Have you ever been sleep shamed?  Sleep shaming is a passive aggressive thing early risers do to imply that you're lazy or have a psychological problem because you don't get up before sunrise.  In this episode I talk about being a night owl and being sleep shamed.  

Dr Suess Enterprises has decided to stop publishing six of the books in their library due to their opinion that these books "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong." One of the books is "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street".  I read this book to my kids, as did millions of other parents.  I couldn't remember anything offensive in that book, so I wanted to find out why it is now considered offensive after all these years.  In this episode I talk about the decision to stop publication, censorship, and the cancel culture. 

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump is going on now.  It is such a blatantly political move on the part of the Democrats in Washington, that the whole trial should be dismissed.  I don't believe they can prove the January 6th protest was an actual insurrection, let alone sedition.  If you are a Trump hater, this episode will definitely trigger you, but I hope you listen anyway!  Thanks.

This episode was recorded on January 15, 2021, five days before the inauguration.  This is the first time I've ever talked about politics on the podcast.  Washington just got too ridiculous and I had to get on my soapbox.  This is also the longest episode I've ever done.  Maybe I should start talking about politics! Thanks for listening!   

I think the Covid19 lockdowns are hurting our compassion.  This is a follow up from the last episode "I Feel Your Pain".  Listen to that episode first. I believe the lockdowns encourage people to NOT help.  We are constantly told to stay away from other people, and I think this is a totally wrong approach.    #Covid19 #compassion

You can sympathize with someone when they are hurting, but feeling the pain with them is empathy, which says "I hurt when you hurt."  In this episode I talk about empathy and also about compassion, which is empathy with legs.  I tell the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and a little about the compassion demonstrated by Covid care nurses and first responders. #Covid #compassion

This episode includes a little Christmas tree history, and the connection between our Christmas tree and the railroad tracks.   

Has a snake ever gotten inside your house?  We're not fans of snakes, especially one inside the house.  This is the story of the time we had a snake get inside our house and how we dealt with it.

Tell the people you love that you love them!  I never was one to tell people I loved them until my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer many years ago.  I didn't want him to pass away without me telling him I loved him.  Then he started saying it to me, then I started saying it to other people, and I realized how powerful those three little words really were!

I'm back in the truck for this episode, so please ignore the background road noise.  It's no accident that I have a woodstove.  We didn't just happen to buy a house that had one.  I will never own another house without a woodstove, or at least a fireplace!  

A little Thanksgiving trivia.  Did you know the pilgrims never referred to themselves as pilgrims?  Did you know they meant to land at Jamestown, Virginia and ended up at Plymouth Rock by accident?  Learn more than you ever knew about Thanksgiving.  Thanks for listening!

A true unsung hero, astronaut Mike Collins.  You hardly ever hear about him.  While Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Mike Collins flew the command module that brought them home.  The success of the mission depended on him doing his job.  #NASA #Apollo11 

The one year anniversary of starting the podcast.  Rather than taking a nostalgic look back, I decided to tell the story of the first date I ever had with my wife of 33 years.  How we met and how we ended up being together since December of 1981.  It's a little self serving. Thanks for listening!

What is "Imposter Syndrome" and is there anything you can do about it?  It's similar to self doubt that seems to be common with professionals, particularly among professional women.  This episode covers what the syndrome is and a coping mechanism that has worked for me. #impostersyndrome #podcast

Everything you wanted to know about Veterans Day but were afraid to ask!  Why is it a holiday?  When did it start?  Who does it honor?  Our allies around the world who also recognize it, and proper pronunciation and punctuation!   

Your Mom loves you!  No matter what you have done, no matter how you have disappointed her, no matter what kind of relationship you have with her today, she has always loved you and always will. Call your mother today!

I don't accept the concept of new normal when it comes to the covid19 crisis.  All the mask wearing and lockdown protocols are just the temporary abnormal.  During no crisis in the history of America did anyone say "this is the new normal" until 2008.  It's not how things are now, it's how things are FOR now.  It will get better! #NewNormal2020 #TemporaryAbnormal    

A kind word or gesture can make my day.  A compliment goes a long way!  Make a conscious effort today to make someone else's day.  A compliment or a word of encouragement that makes someone say "that made my day!" not only helps them, it reduces your stress and anxiety too!  When you're focused on someone else, you're less worried about your own problems.  Go out and try to make someone's day!      

We all want one more day to finish a project or to get a report done for school.  We wish we had one more day with loved ones who have passed on.  What would you do differently if you knew you only had one more day?

Sometimes things don't go according to plan and result in unintended consequences.  The thing you never anticipated produced a result you never expected.  Unintended consequences can be tragic, but not always.  Sometimes the thing you never expected turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to you!  

I'm usually running a few minutes later than I intended.  Being late is a habit with me.  Is habitually lateness passive aggressive?  It can be.  In my case it's a combination of procrastination and the fact that I don't have to punch a clock.  

Anxiety is why you don't have peace and serenity.  The fear of failure is where the anxiety is coming from.  Ask yourself if there's anything you can do to change the situation.  If there's nothing you can do to change it, why worry about it? #Serenity #Peace #Anxiety     

Irreconcilable differences is legal grounds for divorce.  The recent announcement by Kelly Clarkson that she was getting divorced caused me to think about the term "irreconcilable differences" itself.  I don't believe any differences can't be reconciled if you're willing to try.      

When it came to cowboys, John Wayne was always the good guy.  With Clint Eastwood cowboys you weren't always sure.  It's getting harder to tell the good guys from the bad guys.  Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? 

The origin of the phrase "stay in touch" probably used to mean "within arm's reach" of each other, face to face communication.  Now a text message serves the same purpose.  Are we actually staying "in touch" when we're far away from each other?  With the covid19 lockdown, that may be as good as it gets for a while.  Stay in touch!   

Mulberry trees are fascinating to me.  I had this odd plant growing in my backyard that had differently shaped leaves on the same branch.  I decided to let it live just to see what it would become and eventually it started producing berries.  Who knew!  

This episode is more about political beliefs.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen - Hebrews 11:1, but when it comes to political beliefs, you should be able to give reasons WHY you believe what you believe. #election2020  #blocked

Has it been hot this summer, or is it just me?  Is the heat and humidity part of global warming?  Is this hurricane season worse than normal?  In the midst of an already weird year, with the presidential election and covid19, I'm ready for the temperature to become at least tolerable! #Summer2020 #GlobalWarming 

Do you love what you do?  You probably don't!  The quote, usually attributed to Confucius, says "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!"  In this episode I share a story about a woman who learned to love what she did by serving others. #dowhatyoulove  

Some people thrive on chaos and disorder.  Some people with chaotic personalities are used and manipulated by those who want to create chaos.  Here are just a few thoughts on chaos.  Thanks for listening! #CHAOS