kc bob: July 2016

Don't Waste your Vote

I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant. -John F Kennedy

There is only one way to waste your vote:
Voting for someone you don’t want to be president. -Nathan Mech

No matter what name we give it or how we judge it, a candidate's character is central to political reporting because it is central to a citizen's decision in voting. -Roger Mudd

Voting is a right best exercised by people who have taken time to learn about the issues. -Tony Snow

Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world. -Sharon Salzberg

I think voting for the lesser of two evils in game theory always leads to more evil. -Penn Jillette

I've always tried to vote my conscience. Sadly, those who I voted for were not always people of conscience. -KC Bob

Star Trek :: Beyond | ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

I really want to rate this movie higher. I love Star Trek. Love the characters. The hopeful story. The Enterprise. Yet, like last years Star Wars sequel, I found the movie to be lacking. Like that sequel too much of the flick is spent of special effects and action scenes.

On the positive side, I liked it better than the Star Wars sequel. I felt that the story held together pretty good. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are still great in the roles that Shatner and Nimoy iconified. Also enjoyed the sentimental nod to Nimoy's passing in the plot.

I liked the movie. If you are a Trekker you may too. On a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★☆☆☆.

Catch my other mini-reviews by selecting the Movies link in the menu bar above.

40 Years Ago Today

40 Years Ago today I began computer programming training in Kansas City. I flew in from Houston to interview for the promotion a few weeks earlier. For two months I stayed at a hotel in midtown KC and took a bus to the office where I learned all about software design and coding. I absolutely loved what I was learning. I really had an aptitude for it. Each weekend the company would either loan me a car to hunt for a place to live or they would buy me a round trip plane ticket to my home in Houston. It was a beautiful time of transition to a new profession and a new city.

Ghostbusters | ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

I liked the original and I liked this reboot of it as well. A few points about it.

  ★  The gals were as funny as the guys were in the 80s.
  ★  It got off to a great start, slowed down a bit but then ended well.
  ★  The ghosts were a little less cartoonish than the original.
  ★  Loved seeing members of the original in cameo roles.
  ★  Found myself smiling a lot. I thought it was a feel good movie.

I liked the movie and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★☆☆☆.

Catch my other mini-reviews by selecting the Movies link in the menu bar above.

Dodge Charger 2016 R/T

What Every Car Wants To Be When It Grows Up!

Christ of the Abyss

Christ of the Abyss (Italian: Il Cristo degli Abissi) is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus Christ, the original of which is located in the Mediterranean Sea, off San Fruttuoso, between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. Various other casts of the statue are located in other places worldwide, both underwater and in churches and museums. -Wikipedia

The Comfort Bubble

Comfort Bubble? Heard the phrase used this morning on Facebook. Got me to thinking about how scary it can be outside of The Bubble.

To the degree we're not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control of us than we have over ourselves. -Peter McWilliams

Comedians tend to find a comfort zone and stay there and do lamer versions of themselves for the rest of their career. -Chris Rock

Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun. -Benedict Cumberbatch

As long as you're uncomfortable, it means you're growing. -Ashton Kutcher

I don't like to be out of my comfort zone, which is about a half an inch wide. -Larry David

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. -Neale Donald Walsch

It's good to feel stupid sometimes and do things that are out of your comfort zone. -Mary-Louise Parker

Faith is an Attitude

Jessie writes about the role of faith and disability in her life at the Easy Stand blog. Here are a few quotables snippets:

Faith is very hard to hang onto when you’re being beaten down
from every direction at once.

Faith is more than a belief, it’s an attitude like life and you’re going to
get out of it what you put into it.

We had very different struggles in life and we both climbed that mountain.
We reached the top with bloodied nails, scars, and cried many tears along
the way, but faith was what kept us strong.

I so resonate with Jessie. Ann's disability has caused us to engage an attitude of faith in many ways.

With Devotion

My blogging began in 2004 when I published my first post at An Eye for Redemption. It began as a place where I would share all sorts of things. Faith. Bible. Movies. All sorts of things. A year or so in my focus began to shift and I created the Kansas Bob blog which became KC Bob. My first blog continued to focus on biblical topics and the new one became a place where I shared everything else. In January 2011 I began posting devotional thoughts at An Eye for Redemption. Since that time I have posted over 1,000 devotions.

Yesterday I said goodbye to An Eye for Redemption and hello to With Devotion as I renamed my twelve year old blog. The blog template is new but my focus will be the same. I am currently reading through 1 Peter and sharing thoughts about it.
I invite you to follow along with me and perhaps add me to your blog reader.

What does it mean to have eternity in your heart?

Ever think about the future? Ever wonder about what life will be like when we shed our mortal shell?
King Solomon, when he was old, thought about such things when he wrote Ecclesiastes. He wrote:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV)

Interesting that, in context of eternity, Solomon says that He has made everything beautiful. That is good news because life before death is often not too pretty, much less beautiful. It is interesting that we all seem to be born with this concept of eternity but really cannot understand it, even at a superficial level, with our heads. I guess that is because we cannot grasp timelessness.

I know that I cannot imagine a place where there are no seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or years. What I find interesting about this idea of eternity is that it is a concept of the heart not the head. It is a concept that confronts us at a heart level. It causes us to wonder at a gut level. Sad that many take eternity, try to discern it with their heads, and arrive at some strange places. Maybe this sort of cogitation is a way to handle an unanswerable question with a non-answer?

Let me wrap up with the titled question. What do do you think it means to have eternity in your heart?

Friends that Refresh

Yesterday we said goodbye to our friend Mary Jo as she boarded her plane back to Michigan.. it was hard to say goodbye. Mary Jo is one of my wife's oldest and dearest friends. They met at St Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas when they shared a dorm room. A few weeks ago when I heard that she was coming a smile crossed my face. A bit of my stress was relieved. Mary Jo is a friend that refreshes. The last time we moved she was also with us for a week. Her presence was such an uplifting one. We were so blessed to have her with us this past week. Her help with our house move was invaluable. Yet even more valuable was her encouraging presence.

Mary Jo reminds me of a friend that I have known for over 30 years - his name is Ollie. We became friends in the late 70s when he lived in the Kansas City area. He and I enjoyed such great fellowship back then. Ollie moved out of the area in the 80s. He came back into town for a few years. Then moved again. He currently lives in Texas. Ollie has always been an absolute joy to be around. In 1994 I found myself heartbroken and devastated when my wife died. Ollie flew in from Ohio to sing at her funeral - when I saw him my heart was refreshed. It was as if God has sent an angel my way telling me that things would be okay. Ollie came back into town the following year to sing at my wedding. I had lunch with him last month when he was in KC - his friendship still refreshes me.

I get a bit choked up thinking about how these friends have refreshed and blessed my life.. they are truly gifts from the Lord. Can you relate to having friends like Mary Jo and Ollie? Shakespeare said it best when he penned these words:

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.

There is simply something wonderful about friends that refresh! Can you relate?

... originally posted in July 2010

Celebrating America - with all her faults

"Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I'm not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be." -John Wayne

There is a negativism and cynicism that seems to permeate the world of social media. Presidential candidates insinuate that we are no longer a great country. I think that our nation is great because of how we deal with our faults. Our history is rife with examples of how we have corrected our faults.

So today I am celebrating America and the many freedoms that people have fought so bravely for.

The Civility Pledge

In 2010 Mark Demoss wrote a post titled "Why this fear of a civility pledge?" (read it here). Here is the Civility Pledge:

• I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.

• I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.

• I will stand against incivility when I see it.

I am taking the pledge. Won't you take the pledge with me?

PS: It is interesting to note that The Civility Project website (mentioned in DeMoss' post) is no longer up and running. Perhaps that is representative of how folks have given up on civility. Even so, I wish our candidates would take it.

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