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Who wants to listen to (much less, sing) a bunch of  old songs with a bunch of thee’s, thy’s, and thou’s? I mean, not only is that stuff not cool, it just sounds weird. Yeah, the old hymns lyrics say stuff that nobody even understands anymore. Right?

Well, old hymns lyrics might be hard to understand. But not impossible.

Most of the old hymns lyrics talk about a living, loving Father who shows compassion to all who ask for it. As this example from the song, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, shows. It’s the second verse in most hymnals (and, yes, I know that’s an uncool thing to talk about, too). Here’s the verse:

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Those lyrics simply show how the almost endless, observable forces of nature and the universe show God’s mercy and love.

And the first verse of the song expresses the hope you can have for each new morning. The hope which can only come from this God. He provides, and has always provided, everything you need.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Sure, there are a lot of those TH words.

That’s what I call ’em. Thy, thee, thou, thine. But you can basically just change them all to some form of you or your. And then the meaning is clear.

Side note: when those lyrics say “thou changest not,” they allude to God’s nature. He’s always been, is now, and always will be good, living, loving, personal, and relational. But He has also changed over the course of time. A LOT. And all for your sake. And mine.

Your Creator has made an everlasting pardon for your many terrible mistakes available to anyone who asks Him. Anyone who asks with genuine repentance that is. And when you do, you’ll receive the peace that endures forever. Because you’ll receive the Spirit of everlasting Life from Jesus. That message comes through in another verse from the song:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Remember this…God doesn’t give you a spirit of fear. He gave you a “spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind“. If you’re not experiencing the strength and hope for a bright tomorrow, it’s most likely because you’re still depending on yourself or your things or something worse. My recommendation is that you don’t have faith in YOUR faith. Have faith in His. As the old hymn’s lyrics say:

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

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One day, way back when, as I sat in my college dormitory room in Manhattan, Kansas, I looked out the window and saw feathery, floating flakes of snow. An early Autumn snowfall had just started. So, I knew it wouldn’t last. Or maybe wouldn’t even stick around at all.

So, as I did at just about every opportunity, I flipped open my nifty spiral notebook, grabbed my trusty Bic pen, and began to write. It was a love song I never wrote the music for. But to this day I can hear the melody in my head when I read the words.

A lot of my words and lyrics back then were vague. And filled with open-ended implications. I don’t think I always did it on purpose all the time. But sometimes I did. This was one of those…

Love Is Snow

I’m not borrowing the phrases
That you’ve heard so many times.
I’m just putting down my feelings,
And if by chance it rhymes,
It rhymes for you.

For the misbegotten melodies
That ring from birds an bells
Could sing not of the beauty
That my spy, the wind, foretells.
It tells of you.

Let me be sand
That tickles your toes.
Let me be air
That enters your nose.
And exits your mouth
In delicate sighs.
Then, let me be light
That sparkles your eyes.

I’m not borrowing the phrases
That you’ve heard so long and know.
I’m just putting down my feelings
Like the clouds put down the snow.

© 1974 Tony Funderburk
September 25
(includes secret 2024 revisions)

All that mush from the window of a dormitory room?

Yep. And I have a plethora of spiral notebooks with similar samples. From bedroom windows, car windows, office windows, and even openings that weren’t windows at all.

Of course, for 99.999% of the world my recollections and reminiscences mean next to nothing. Maybe right on to nothing. So, I don’t share them to gain some sort of fame or notoriety. Just to sort of connect the dots of my days here on this little blue planet. And if, by some odd chance, they strike a chord with you, then so much the better.

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It has been a wonderful day. Elgielene and I started this marriage journey 34 years ago, today. And we were able to enjoy some simple things we love in some new places. Plus, it was particularly special because it’s Friday. And our wedding was on a Friday. And it was cold. Not as cold as our wedding day. But the cold made the memory bright.

34 years ago seems like a long time.

But it also feels almost like a flash of light. Like someone took a flash picture of us at the wedding and when our eyes cleared we were 34 years older. But, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun.

Exactly one year, after we got married, we were in Springfield, Illinois. I was booked in a nice hotel there, and Elgielene was my constant companion. The day before our first anniversary, I spent the whole day on the stage where our equipment was, working on a song. My first anniversary gift to my beautiful wife.

I’ve shared the lyrics before. But here they are again. Macho men won’t read ‘em. And that’s fine. But I just like to share them for posterity. Because another one of those camera flashes, like the one from 34 years ago, could happen. And when it does, I won’t be here anymore.

Some Day One Day

Someday; I’ll make it all worth your while
For sharing my life and never losing your smile
It’s not that easy, but you tough it out
You keep within what you’re doing without
and I swear…

Someday; I’ll make it all worth the wait
With all you’ve been through, still you harbor no hate
You could be bitter, but you choose to forgive
You take the punches but you live and let live
and I swear…

Someday; I’ll make it easier
One day; I know our world will be fair
Someday; one day…we’ll get there

One day we’ll make them stand up and stare
We’ll laugh at their doubts,
But we’ll remember to care
And for believing, my heart’s in your hand
You take in stride what almost no one can stand
and I swear…

repeat chorus…inst…repeat chorus to end

© 1991

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I can’t quite see myself writing them. But the memory of how it happened is crystal and clear. When I was almost 20 years old, I wrote a song called “Sparkling Salvation.” It wasn’t a great song. But the melody was nice. I can hear it in my head, right now, as I write about the experience. And I can remember the feeling I had the day I wrote it.

It was also crystal and clear.

Or, in a word, pure. Yep, that’s the feeling. And I wanted to describe purity. So, I used things that sparkle to help verbalize my feeling. Blinking away tears, a china set, children’s eyes.They all had a special meaning for me at that time. So I put them in the lyrics. I never recorded the song. But, as I said, I can still hear the melody right now. So, who knows? Maybe I’ll get around to it. Better be soon, though. I ain’t gettin’ any younger.

If you’re a Christian, how would you describe your feeling of hope and expectation for what’s to come? Write to me and let me know. In the meantime, here’s the much younger Tony’s crystal and clear rhyme and reason about…

Sparkling Salvation

Look to the clouds in the sky.
Blink all the tears from your eyes.
See how salvation arrives.
At last the moment draws nigh.
Think quick…everybody think clear.
No more living in fear.
See now that Heaven is here.
As we are here it is here.
Break out the china for tea.
Let’s talk of the lives we’re to live
And remember the one special rule
That in order to take we must give.
Children’s eyes sparkle today.
What better thing can we say
Than that they have chosen the one right Way
And made our eyes sparkle, too?

© 1974 & 2024

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Ok, let’s take Wisdom from the top, on four. And uh one and uh two. What’s the matter? Never hoid o’ da song? Where ya been, Ben. It’s the cat’s pajamas. And the bees knees.

So, here we go. Wisdom, from the top. On four. And uh one, and

Uh, it looks like some of you didn’t come to play today. Matter of fact, it looks like most of you aren’t interested in the Wisdom song at all. Wow, that’s too bad. Because it’s more beautiful and valuable than silver, gold, and rubies. Nothing you could ever imagine could or can compare to Wisdom.

But apparently you’d rather:

  • Watch your favorite TV show.
  • Play video games.
  • Go to the movies.
  • Cheer for the anti-wisdom sports teams.

If so, that’s too bad. Because, whether you like it or not, one day you’ll discover how every one of those activities meant next to nothing. They’re not inherently evil. But they DO require time and attention. And, if you’re not careful, they can distract you from your mission.

And your mission is to get Wisdom from the top and use it in this world.

Yeah, by now you know I’m not talking about a song (I’m sure you knew that all along). But, back to your mission.

First, I gotta say that wisdom isn’t the same thing as being intelligent or smart.

But only a relative few seek wisdom. Those few are the ones with humility. The ones who admit they’re not THE God or even A god. Wise people realize that only God can create everything in the universe. Wise people know they owe their own lives to Jesus, who is the Tree of Life.

And in Proverbs you’ll find that getting wisdom is like taking hold of the tree of life. The writer also said that long life “is in her right hand” and “in her left hand riches and honor.”

And here’s the thing. When God gives you long life, it can last forever. All you have to do, to get it, is ask.

Would you like to live forever
Under bright and blue skies?
Then go get some understanding
In God’s word and be wise.

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Back when I used to perform, nightly, in an island-themed restaurant, one crowd favorite was a song by Jimmy Buffett. The lyrics talked about volcanoes erupting and what would happen when they do. Words like,

“Ground she’s movin’ under me.
Tidal waves out on the sea.
Sulphur smoke up in the sky.
Pretty soon we learn to fly.”

And then the chorus said, “I don’t know where I’m a-gonna go when the volcano blow.”

If you’re a Jimmy Buffett fan (aka “parrot head”), then you’ve probably heard that song lots of times. And I can tell you I sure played it lots of times. Not as many times as “Margaritaville” (ay yi yi). But, trust me, a lot.

Anyway…

I didn’t show up, today, to talk about Mr. Buffett (who now knows, for sure, that he did NOT evolve). So, let me get back to those volcanic eruptions.

This won’t be a crowd favorite post. But maybe you’ll enjoy the information.

Did you know volcanoes spew almost a cubic mile of ash, lava, and other stuff every year? I knew it was a lot. But I didn’t know it was that much. Until I read it in Dr. Walt Brown’s book, “In the Beginning.” And he said that, “At this rapid rate, about 10 times the entire volume of Earth’s sedimentary rock should be produced in 4.5-billion years.”

But then he explained how “only about 25% of Earth’s sediments are of volcanic origin.”

And while that might still seem like a lot, it’s not how much should be there if volcanoes had been erupting for 4.5 billion years. Dr. Brown also shared how volcanoes erupted much more in the past. In other words, they’ve slowed down a lot in recent history. And by “recent history” I don’t mean the past million years or so.

In 2000, I wrote and sang about the silliness of the theory of evolution in my song “Fast Forward.” And, in the bridge of the song, I asked…

So, what does it all mean?
And why should we care?
That we didn’t come from slime!
And there’s a God out there!

Yeah, worldviews matter. Because your idea or ideas for how we all got here can have eternal consequences. Bad theories lead to bad choices and bad consequences. But if you truly don’t care about any of that, then I hate to think about where you’re gonna go when the volcano blow. It won’t be a crowd favorite.

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This will be the third year I’ve shared the Doris story. And it probably won’t mean anything to anyone who didn’t know her. But to those who knew her, were related to her, and even worked with her, it might make you smile a sad smile.

It was a cold day in January of 1938. In rural Oklahoma. FDR was in the first year of his second term as president of the U.S. And a second daughter was born to a young couple named Lee and Syona. But it was also a time when America was still struggling to recover from the Great Depression. So, after a time, the little family was ready to travel. And they piled into their car and headed west to California.

Yeah, that first cold day in Oklahoma turned to west coast warm.

And the young couple went to work, as countless other migrant workers did, picking produce and fruit from the fertile California farms and orchards. But times were tough. And even the Golden State didn’t provide enough work and wages for Lee and Syona to take “proper care” of their two daughters.

So, they sent Donette, the oldest, and Doris, who was 2 years younger, back to Oklahoma to stay with their maternal grandparents. And Poodle and Poppy, as the kids called the old couple, were happy to take them in to their home “on the farm.”

There would be multiple trips back and forth between parents and grandparents. And there would be hardships far beyond what many Americans would call hardships these days. Hunger from sometimes only one meal a day. Worn out clothes. Barefoot walks to school because there wasn’t enough money for shoes. And, every day, life in shantytowns or worn wood and dirt yards.

But, as life often turns out, the young sisters made it through those hard times. With the loving help of Poodle and Poppy. But both girls yearned to venture out on their own. And, while they were still kids (young teens) themselves, they both married and started having children of their own.

Now, from this point on, it’s the Doris story.

She married a young man named Dwight, she met in school, in Norman, Oklahoma. And, before long, they had two boys. They were the typical young couple adding to the baby boomer population. But their own youthful inexperience and lack of wisdom proved too much of a hurdle. And they divorced, after only 4 years.

So, on another cold day in her life, Doris started to figure out her next step.

After some bumps and stumbles, she found and married a young man named Bill. And after a stint in the Army, Bill went to work for General Motors in the Kansas City area. He and Doris also had two kids. A girl. And then a boy. Plus, the two boys from Doris’ first marriage would join the four of them each summer.

And that life went on for several years until the two older boys graduated high school and left to start their own lives. Sadly, Bill and Doris began to drift apart till one day they also divorced. They worked out the details for the care of their two younger kids. And they went their separate ways.

Once again the Doris story included a “cold day” on her own.

I’d like to tell you her life rebounded onward and upward like a comeback story from an old Hollywood movie. But, for years, quite the opposite was true. And I won’t dwell on the dreary details. Just know that there were considerable obstacles for her to overcome. Some she created with her own choices. And others were thrust upon her.

After a couple more seriously broken dreams, Doris trained for restaurant management. And she worked her way through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. Either as a manager or assistant manager for restaurants like Village Inn and Sambo’s. Usually it was to be near one or more of her kids and grandkids.

After years in the restaurant business, Doris hired on as the dispatcher for a transportation company based in the Kansas City area. And she lived and worked there until she retired. Then, she moved into her tiny, one bedroom apartment in the small community of Gardner, Kansas.

And she remained in Gardner until late in 2020.

Her health declined for several years leading up to that time. And, on a walk from her bedroom to the living room, she fell, injured her head, and required several stitches. She bounced back somewhat, but dealt with more frequent bouts of headaches and dizziness.

Then, on January 8, 2021, one day after her 83rd birthday, Doris suffered a stroke. And her health and stamina began to slowly deteriorate until she died in her sleep in her daughter’s home.

But a big part of her story continues.

She is survived by her four kids, 10 grandkids, 6 great-grandkids, and 4 great-great-grandkids. And those lives, an extension of her own, will go on for years to come.

And I shared some of her history with you because I was her firstborn. Mom died on this date, February 11, 2021. Hard to believe it’s already been three years since the end of Doris story.

Dorsie, as she was affectionately called by family and friends, will be remembered as a Mom, Memaw, Great-grandma, sister, aunt, and friend who always finished her good-byes with “I love you.”

And we all love you, too.
Your gracious love shone through
The darkest days, like songs of praise,
To those you loved and knew.

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They build them tall. Because they don’t want you to see what’s going on behind there. And they don’t want anyone who cares about what’s going behind there to be able to make eye contact or interfere. And there are guards to keep caring people out so parents can kill their kids in peace. I wrote a song about those guards who stand behind that wall. Sounds like a fun tune, right?

Well, it’s not fun.

It’s not fun to listen to. And it was NOT fun to write. I didn’t enjoy the process. And I certainly despise the fact that the subject matter even needs to be brought up right here in the “land of the free.”

But this “home of the brave” is full of hypocrites who are afraid of their own shadows. And they’re afraid of how their offspring might negatively affect their own fun times and easy-breezy lives. Solution? Kill the offspring.

And they visit buildings, possibly just down the street from you, and pay people to do that very thing. And they even get to go in to those building protected by “escorts.” Some say deathscorts. If you’re one, this song is for YOU.

If You Stand Behind That Wall

There’s a wall here between life and death
Where the unborn are denied their first breath.
There are guards here making sure that life ends
And they don’t care that they’re killing our friends.

Well you can’t plead ignorance.
You don’t stand blameless,
When you stand in the middle of it all.
As you discard the innocent
You shake foundations.
If you stand behind that wall, you will fall.

There’s a clear line between right and wrong.
Listen close, please, to the words of this song.
We were all, once, where those babies are now.
Mothers kept us…we all made it somehow.

Well, the martyred little ones
Your choice keeps nameless
Never had any single choice at all.
Please don’t discard the innocent,
They’re God’s creation.
If you stand behind that wall, you will fall.

You will fall from Grace
To a hopeless place
With eternal, mournful cries.
And the sound you’ll hear ringing in your ear
Is the sound of your own lies.

© 2010

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I remember Ted Kennedy’s shaky voice, during a eulogy for his brother Robert, as he quoted George Bernard Shaw  who said, “Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” I’m not sure Ted OR Robert were capable of anything more than why and why not questions. I hope so. But I won’t know until I leave this world. And maybe then it won’t matter. But I DO know that KNOWING why is awesome.

Because knowing why melts away a lot of the wondering in the world.

And the biggest why question is the one about our existence. Why are we here? If you don’t KNOW the answer to that, you’re liable to come up with all sorts of foolish stuff. Not the least of which (in fact, maybe the most of which) is how everything came from nothing.

Foolishness. And for one main human reason. And one main supernatural reason.

The human reason is: there’s NO such thing as nothing.

The supernatural reason: something from nothing isn’t natural. It doesn’t happen. So, if it DID happen, it would have to be supernatural. Above that which is natural. Outside of all that is natural. Beyond everything that is natural.

Supernatural!

Uh-oh. That takes us toward a supernatural Designer. Because all of creation is FULL of design. And you can’t logically look at design and say it happened all by itself. You know, automatically, it had a designer. And this highly complex world, solar system, galaxy, and universe we live in is held together by design. Not accidentally.

I pondered that sort of thing, way back in 1987, when I still hadn’t found the love of my life. And I wrote a poem (because, yeah, that’s what real thinking men do) about my questions. A lot of why questions. But I ended the poem with an acknowledgment of my ability to KNOW even when I didn’t have an answer. And here’s how it went/goes…

Knowing Why

I pause; I wonder,
And see myself through a magnifying glass.
l ask a question,
And give myself a test that I may never pass.

I yearn for freedom;
I don’t belong in a complicated life.
My needs are simple;
A mountain home and perhaps a loving wife.

So why can’t I make this happen?
Why don’t my dreams come true?
Why is the picture always fading?
And why can’t I change my view?

Why don’t things change no matter how I try?
And why do I constantly ask myself why?

I sit. l listen,
And try to hear all the music in my head.

A song; a feeling.
I need someone to understand what I’ve said.

When I’m being optimistic
I know I’ll be fine.
Asking why is realistic;
Knowing why, divine.

© 1987 (August 26)

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There have been countless times when all it took to open a gate of rhyming reason in my head was a picture of one single object. And that happened a lot, last year, after I stumbled upon a seemingly endless flow of stunning pictures in a social media feed. And more often than not the pictures connect my neurotransmitters and receptors to God and His Living Rain of love.

Of course, if you’re unable or unwilling to view or appreciate the poetic approach to your Creator, then much of what I write probably isn’t your chalice of pekoe. Yeah, I could’ve said “cup of tea.” But where’s the fun in that.

Anyway…

Eight lines of rhyme and reason took root, in my mind, last year when I saw a picture of a blue-violet rose swooning over on an emerald vine. Since it’s February, the commercial month of love focused on Valentine’s Day, it’s only reasonable to expect to see roses everywhere.

But you won’t see many like the one I saw on that social media feed. Not unless you do an online search. Or visit enough flower shops. Because most people want the standard red roses. And that’s fine. I just choose a different garden path. And I prefer to discover even more of the awesomeness of God’s creation. But that’s just me.

I love how delicate, and yet hardy, roses are. In the nicest ones you can see the veins. And their petals feel as soft as a baby’s hair. And God could’ve created ’em in black and white. But I think He knew how much some of us would love seeing the rainbow of colors in His creations. And, of course, He was right.

You can see a small version of that special rose in the picture that goes with this article. And, if you’re not offended by, repulsed by, or totally opposed to poetry, then enjoy this floral connection to God and His…

Living Rain

The rain of Living Water
Soaked the petals of the rose,
Blue-violet, and graceful,
In its natural repose.
And someone took its picture,
With the Hope it could explain
That even flowers show us
How WE need that Living Rain.

© 2023

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So, there was this friend of mine who always said some pretty radical stuff. Like “abhor what is evil.” Well, I looked up the word “abhor.” And do you know what it means? Basically to hate something with all your might. Yikes!

Yeah, this friend of mine could really pour gasoline on a fire.

But don’t be too quick to jump on his case. Because he also said stuff like “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” But then he followed that up with some more gasoline on the fire by saying, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Wow, some might think his ego needs a reality check.

In fact, I can almost hear somebody ask, “Who died and made you God?”

And to say that is the understatement of the century would be an understatement.

Because (did I mention?) this friend of mine just so happened to be killed for the radical stuff he said. But, to the consternation of his accusers and killers, he had already predicted his own death. And do you know what my egomaniac friend did on the last day before they killed him?

He washed the dirty feet of others. And he comforted others as they rambled on about their petty problems.

Then, as he was being put to death, in a most horrific way (even after being found innocent in kangaroo court), he still prayed to God to forgive the ones who killed him. He said they didn’t know what they were doing.

On this first Sunday, in the month of February of 2024, I hope you’ll remember my friend Jesus in your prayers. If you can’t do it for Him, do it for yourself. Because He’s so much more than just a friend. He created you and me.

And knowing what He did to provide me something I don’t deserve inspired me to look out a window, during a particularly colorful sunset, and write…

Friend Of Mine

As I look between these bars tonight
And see the blue and red firelight,
I’m reminded of the life in me
That was put there so creatively.
And I’m humbled by the endless love
From the God who will raise me above
Even all this glorious design.
Yeah, I’m glad He is a friend of mine.

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They can be gifts from God. And they can certainly just be the result of random thoughts your brain interprets and visualizes randomly. But how do you know which is which?

Well, it takes more than a feeling to know if they’re gifts from God.

Oh wait. I haven’t even mentioned what I’m talking about. How rude of me. Of course, I’m talking about dreams. You know. Those movies you get to watch, while you’re sleeping, without a subscription to Netflix or YouTube. And if you tell me you don’t dream, I feel sorry for you.

Although, come to think of it, I don’t dream all the time. Or else I don’t remember them all if I DO dream all the time.

Anyway…

Those sleep time movies can be awesome, gruesome, lonesome, and even troublesome. Well, at least some of them can be. And that about somes, uh, sums it up.

But did you know (you probably did and still do) that dreams play a big role in the Bible? Yeah, probably most people never dreamed how big a role (see what I did there?). And there’s a section where a prophet, named Joel, talked about how, in the “last days,” God will pour out of his Spirit and “old men will dream dreams.” And that’s important enough for Luke, the physician, to quote Joel’s prophesy.

That’s a clear case of dreams being gifts from God.

And here’s another way dreams are gifts from God. I’m talking about those visions or yearnings you get in your mind during the daytime. Not random brainwaves. Actual concentrated thoughts. You might not connect them to your Creator.

But it’s a mistake to miss that connection.

Because, at the very least, you couldn’t even think if it weren’t for God. Because if He didn’t exist, you wouldn’t either. And, by simple deductive logic, if you didn’t exist, your dreams wouldn’t either. Game! Set! Match!

OK, on that note, I shared all that so I could share something I’ve shared before. Whew, that’s a lot of sharing. Yeah, it’s what I consider an encouragement, especially to youngsters, to dream. AND to follow through. Because, well, read, and you’ll see why.

Dream The Dreams

Waking up from silly dreams isn’t silly as it seems
Because dreamers are what makes the world go ’round.
With those pictures in your head,
As you rise up out of bed,
You might find the thing that needed to be found.
You might dream of flying cars
That go cruising through the stars,
Then design a brand new turbo rocket ship.
You might wake up from your sleep
With an awesome way to keep
People safer when they’re going on a trip.
What if you could dream a dream
That, to some, could sound extreme,
But your idea helped to ease a lot of pain?
Well, put on your dreaming hat
‘Cause we need more dreams like that,
And they’re waiting to be dreamed inside your brain.
If you’re eager to create, and you find you just can’t wait,
And your dreams are overflowing from your ears,
Take a breath and write ’em down, with a smile and not a frown.
Then your dreams become ideas you’ll have for years.
When you dream, don’t think it’s odd.
Dreams are thoughtful gifts from God.
They can help to give your weary mind some rest.
So relax and dream away.
Every day’s a brand new day
To begin to dream the dreams that you dream best.

© 2013

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I shared some stuff a few years ago that bears repeating. Because even though government schools dumb down all who attend, teach in, and run those institutions, humans still have complex capabilities other creatures don’t have.

My wife and I share a common ancestor. My dog and I do not.

Some evolutionary scientists embrace a theory they call “convergent evolution”. This is where complex capabilities might be found in unrelated organisms but not in their so-called “evolutionary ancestors”. These scientists say a “common need caused identical complexities to evolve”.

So, that proves a common ancestor. Right?

Not so fast.

Let’s consider, for a moment, three little bones. (no, not the Bob Marley song “Three Little Birds”) The three little bones I’m talking about are in the ears of mammals. And they’re called the stapes, incus, and malleus. These little bones are arranged in a complex way with a precise fit to give mammals the ability to hear a wide range of sounds.

One explanation for this could be the evolutionary scientists’ perspective.

They evolved from the bones in a reptile’s jaw.

OK…if that’s true, then it must have happened at least twice. And there should be transitional fossils found in the fossil records, but so far none have been found or presented. Also, if there was some sort of transition from reptile jaw bones to complex bones found in the ears of mammals, how did any transitional organisms hear during the millions of years of transition?

Huh? Speak up! How did they survive without those complex capabilities?

Without the ability to hear, and hear well, survival would have been virtually impossible.

It would have taken some sort of miracle. And to believe that sort of “miracle” could happen more than once? Well, that would require a common designer. Not a common “need.”

Hey, you gotta put your faith somewhere. I’m not foolish enough to believe everything came from nothing. And I’m not foolish enough to believe that a complex universe, filled with creatures that exhibit a wide range of complex capabilities, sprang out of a compressed dot.

No, my faith isn’t blind. It’s based on where the evidence leads. The similarities of design in different organisms imply a common designer. I call that designer God. In fact, I call Him Lord.

You can have your accidental convergence.

But I’ll take purposeful intelligent design.

All of creation holds information…
Encoded within every cell.
All of the best minds in each generation
Won’t banish what Christians know well…

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As an adjective, a dictionary defines it: deep purplish-red or sanguinary. And then a check on the word “sanguinary” shows this definition: full of or characterized by bloodshed; bloody – ready or eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty. Yikes! So, I guess if I wrote a sonnet about a tree dressed in a crimson coat of leaves, I’d be a bloodthirsty poet with some sort of deep purplish-red fixation.

Well, we can’t have that, now can we.

Wrong!

We most certainly can have that.

Because I wrote a sonnet about a crimson coat.

Oh sure. Sonnets are all the rage now. Haven’t you heard? No? Well, you should get your eyes off Facadebook once in a while and get out into the real world. The world where sonnets practically grow on trees.

OK, not really. I kid. I’m kidding. I’m a kidder. You should know that by now.

Anyway…

I recently saw a beautiful picture (check the view inside my glasses), on another social media channel besides Facadebook (yes, they exist). And as I’m wont (that’s not a typo, the apostrophe left out makes it a whole ‘nother word) to do, I wrote a poem. But not just any poem. A sonnet, which, as I’m sure you’re well aware, is 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

And I’m about to share it with you. It’s a short story, within a note, within a pocket, within an idea that came to me when I saw the photograph. If you hate sonnets, you’ve probably already moved on. But if not, save yourself some time and skip my bloodthirsty excursion into this poetic madness I call…

Crimson Coat Sonnet

She stood alone by frozen water,
Protected by that crimson coat
Her lover bought her on her birthday
And, in the pocket, left this note:
“In winters chill, when you are still warm,
Remember me. I’ll be with you
As close as spirits ever can be,
As close as vision is to view.”
With smiling lips and tear-filled eyes
She conjured up his fading face
Just as she’s done for twenty years now,
When she returns to, this, their place.
But now she’s just this poem I wrote.
A tree now wears her crimson coat.

© 2024

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A train can’t make turns at the next intersection the way your car or pickup can. They have to follow the tracks. But even trains can go just about anywhere. Because there isn’t just one set of tracks.

But they don’t get to follow the tracks in more than one direction at a time.

Not only is it impossible, it’s a misguided idea to even try.

So, what does this have to do with anything in your life? Maybe nothing. In fact, I know most of the people who read what I write or listen to what I say on my podcast don’t have an issue with trying to follow multiple tracks in life. But you might not be one of them. And you might be someone who, like Mary MacGregor sang back in 1976, is torn between two lovers. One of them is YOU. And the other is the “higher power” you sense is “somewhere out there.”

All this fuzzy philosophical stuff came up in my brain when I looked at a picture someone shared on social media. It’s an account filled with amazing photography and art. Beautiful colors. Amazing settings. Just plain fun to see.

One of the pictures was of what appeared to be lighting on some railroad tracks. And, in my fat-headed poet brain, the image represented the journey you and I take in this life. So many people want to know the meaning of life. But way too many of them believe it can be discovered if you just “follow your heart.”

And then, before they know it, in a FLASH, it’s over.

If you’re still young, that won’t have nearly the impact it does on people who’ve lived several decades. But it’s SO true anyway. And when you consider how long eternity will be, your time on earth will eventually seem faster than the time it takes lightning to strike.

So, my recommendation is to pick a “lover.” But I highly recommend you check into the “higher power” option. Because there most definitely IS a higher power. And He created you. He has the most famous name ever. And, sadly, way too many people are uncomfortable with the mention of it.

But you’re only here because Jesus made it possible for you to be alive. And He made it possible for you to have the option of eternal life. There IS a sort of catch. He is the ONLY way to that eternal life. You might say He laid the tracks and it’s up to you to choose to follow those tracks. In fact, I just said it.

So, will you do that? Or will you just be another flash of…

Lightning On The Tracks

Lightnin’ on the tracks
And dancin’ in the sky.
Electrical collusion
In the quest for knowing why
We are here.

Parallel begins
The journey to one place,
Away from Earth’s delusion
And straight into God’s grace
With no fear.

© 2023

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Where do vitamins originally come from? And where does nutrition start? Food. I’ve never been able to kick the habit of eating every day. And I don’t want to. Food good. No food, bad. I’ll be the first (or second) to admit I don’t eat what’s best for me 100% of the time. Yeah, we splurge, now and then, in the FunderHaus. But we DO make it a habit to be a lot more aware of what we eat.

And we DID kick the habit of rabbit food.

That’s what my father-in-law used to call my meals back in my vegetarian days. NOT vegan. I still ate fish and fowl. But my typical diet consisted of a lot of plant-based foods. I’ve mentioned why that was the case, a few times, here on my website. Basically I followed the (so-called) advice of doctors who had a vendetta against red meat. And that was because of some issues they believed were hereditary and a cause for alarm. And that was because my Dad died of kidney failure which they attributed to red meat proteins and stunted growth in his kidney.

Naturally, doctors thought I might have the same traits because they determined my cholesterol levels were too high. Don’t get me started on where that led. Just know it was a junk diagnosis. Which I found out the hard way.

Anyway.,.

I eschewed (which has nothing to do with your mandibular joint) red meats. Then, I continued to remove other meats until I reached a point where the only non-plant food I ate was fish and eggs. Suffice it to say, there was no joy in Mudville, for the mighty Tony loved savory, beefy burgers and steaks. But since doctors always know best…

Moving right along. Eventually, after several years on a vegetarian diet, FINALLY, my cholesterol levels went UP. (Wait, did he say “up?” Shouldn’t that be “down?”)

No, you read that right.

Cholesterol levels went up. And my doctor advised me to take a statin drug called Baycol. That’s bad enough. But what’s worse is, I got the first month’s prescription worth of the despicable stuff. After about two weeks, Elgielene told me, one morning, that I looked like I was dying. Well, that didn’t seem like the right result. So, I stopped the drug.

And my doctor wasn’t pleased with my decision. But, it just so happened, some time later, I received a notice in the mail that I could be part of a class action suit against the makers of Baycol. Apparently the helpful little statin drug was killing people. Thanks to my observant, and ever-vigilant wife, I wasn’t one of them.

OK, there’s a whole lot more to my food and drug journey. But I don’t want to jump into that quicksand right now. The highlight that led to where we are now, in the FunderHaus, is my appointment with a chiropractor/naturopath.

The short version of that meeting is that he got me back on red meats (yay!) and my cholesterol levels went down.

Yep. Down.

So, Elgielene and I stopped the “western medicine” approach. And we started putting our money in the best source of vitamins and minerals. And that’s simply better food. We follow a carnivore based diet with a focus on grass fed beef. Plus, we add some supplements to help our immune systems. And we filter our water.

So, back to basics. Just plain ol’ food.

Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t say “plain.” Because Elgielene made a meat loaf type dish twice this past week that’s maybe my new favorite. I won’t share the recipe right now because I don’t know it. But I WILL say, it includes crispy bacon.

We buy as much organic as we can. You might think that’s much more expensive. Nope. It’s really not more expensive to eat organic, when you consider the money you’ll save on doctor’s bills for nutrition related health problems. Which most health problems are.

And here’s something else to consider. Real, nutritious, delicious food doesn’t overwork your internal organs like processed vitamins. But don’t take my word for it. Look into it for yourself. And see if you can kick the habit of buying boxed and highly processed “foods” with weird-sounding ingredients.

As for me, I believe there’s a good reason why God started out with “herbs of the field” and eventually added meat. But I’ll leave that for another time.

Cheers to your health.

Hey, I’m talkin’ to you man.
Be a healthy happy human.
It’s not so hard to do man,
But don’t wait one more day.

Think about what you’re eatin’…
Those brain cells you’re mistreatin’…
Bad habits keep repeatin’
Unless you stop and say…

“I’m a healthy happy human
‘Cause I know what to do man.
I’m changin’ through and through man,
I’m gonna eat well and pray.”

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Hey fathead. Yeah, YOU! Don’t get mad. I’m just tellin’ it like it is. Because essentially you’re a fathead. For that matter, so am I. So, were in this together. Of course, I’m talking about that think zone inside your head. Your brain. It’s made up of about 60% fat.

How can you even function with such a sludge-filled think zone?

I mean, how could thoughts move around in all that fat? Yeah, the average adult brain weighs about three pounds. That means about 1.8 pounds are fat. In your head. So, see? I wasn’t fat-shaming you when I called you fathead. I was just stating the scientific fact. And you gotta trust the science, right?

According to those who’ve chopped up brains to find out, the remaining 40% of your brain is “a combination of water, protein, carbohydrates, and salts.” (side note: That quote left out the Oxford comma after carbohydrates, but I added it for your protection. You’re welcome.)

Anyway…

Your brain’s not a muscle (even though it needs a daily workout). But it IS quite an intricate design filled with blood vessels and nerves and neurons and glial cells. And when you dive even deeper into your think zone, way down to the molecular level, you get to the fatty acids. They’re so essential to your brain’s integrity and ability to perform that just about everybody who talks about ‘em calls ‘em essential fatty acids.

Wow! Your head is full of fat and acid. It’s a wonder you can think at all.

But you can.

And you do. And here’s the actual reason I’m even talking about this. Certainly not because I’m a certified nutritionist. I don’t even play one on YouTube.

Nope. It’s because too many people believe everything happens for a reason. And that everything you do and think has already been planned and ordained by God.

He created brains. And He designed all those essential fatty acids that build vessels, nerves, and the rest. Everything you and I need for a functioning think zone. But God did NOT preload it with every thought you’d ever think. And here’s proof He’s the ultimate (infinitely wise) risk taker. He gave you the ability to think for yourself.

GASP!

I know. In most of today’s Christian circles that’s almost anathema (which isn’t a respiratory problem, btw). But consider this, because you CAN consider it. Your infinitely brilliant Creator wouldn’t build a fence He’d have to hold up. Surely that makes sense. So, why in the world would He create human beings that way?

Short answer?

He wouldn’t. He didn’t. And He doesn’t.

That means you and I are free to use our fatheads on our own. We can fill our think zones with whatever we prefer. And that’s why this world is SO messed up. Because most people fill their brains with hogwash (and that’s not even remotely related to bacon) and hate.

Only a fraction of humans chooses the road less traveled that leads to a narrow gate that leads to Heaven. The rest use their heads for a hat rack.

I know that’s not you. But maybe you know somebody who fits that description. If so, tell ‘em pump up their brains with some grass fed beef (and other good sources of essential fatty acids) and clear the crud out of their think zones. Because people love that kind of advice.

Or not.

Your think zone is all your own,
And God lets you decide
If you will use your own will
To choose what He supplied.

I can always use your support to help me keep the nearly 3000 posts I’ve shared on my website available to the world that needs to see and hear about the one, true, living, loving God of creation. So, see if one of my books suits your fancy. Get one for yourself or for someone you love. Here’s a link to check ‘em out:

(https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008R08LUG/allbooks)

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I think about what she said, more often, these days.

I’m talkin’ about what my Grandmother said, as I sat on her front porch snapping green beans with her. It was during a couple of years when my brother and I lived with our Dad’s parents while he worked on setting up a new home life.

Dad and Mom divorced when I was about four and my brother was two and a half. Since he was given custody of us, he asked our Grandparents to take care of us, most of the time, so he could find another wife and someone who could be the “mother figure” in our lives. This was, of course, before feminism ruined so many households. But that’s another topic for another time.

Anyway…

Back to what my Grandmother said.

And I don’t think enough old people tell young people this stuff these days.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Despite the fact that it was decades ago. Grandmother sat on her porch chair, the metal clamshell style, with a large enameled metal bowl, full of green beans from their back yard garden, in her lap. I sat in the other chair with a smaller bowl in my lap. And we snapped green beans. And she talked while I listened.

“Enjoy this peaceful, wonderful day, and don’t take it for granted,” she said. “Because, one of these days, you might be my age and most of, or all of, the people you love will be gone for good.”

I remember thinking to myself, “Why do old people talk this way?” Of course, being a pre-schooler, I couldn’t have seen how Grandmother was speaking from experience. I was too young to grasp the depth of her advice. But, even a young age, I had enough respect for my elders to listen and pay attention.

And for some reason, I enjoyed snapping green beans.

Now, let’s fast forward to THESE days.

I’m about 10 years older than Grandmother was when she gave me that advice. And as of 2021, the fullness of her prediction came true. All those people I loved, except for my brother, are gone for good. In February, it’ll be three years ago already that Mom was the last to go.

They’re all gone.

But I’m one of the fortunate ones in this world. Because I have the hope of seeing them again. Because my Grandparents AND my parents believed in and trusted Jesus.

I know. At first you thought I was just gonna share a little of my good ol’ Americana story. But then I had to go and spoil it all by saying something about Jesus. (side note: for some reason Frank and Nancy Sinatra popped into my mind)

But here’s the thing.

I would never have any nostalgic stories to share if it wasn’t for Jesus. And neither would you for that matter. Because He created us. For crying out loud, without a Manufacturer, there are NO manufactured goods. Without a Designer, there’s no design. Without a Creator, there’s no creation. You get the idea. Right?

The image of sitting on the porch with my Grandmother came into my head after I read about a Christian brother whose wife died a couple of days ago. And this has recently happened with a couple of my other friends, too. Fortunately, each of them has the hope of seeing their wives again. And that hope is because of their faith in Jesus.

If you’re reading this without that kind of hope, I hope that changes for you very soon.

Because these days the end of this world is closer than you’ve ever known.

You don’t know, for certain, you’ll even make it to lunch. And without the hope of life after death, that uncertainty will only lead to torment. And even though most people in the world ignore the solution to that problem, it’s so easy to avoid. But the solution requires humility. The kind of humility that selfish people don’t wanna think about.

Humility that says there IS a God of creation, you’re NOT Him, and He IS the source of faith, hope, and love.

Most people who read what I write or listen to what I say already know this. But if you just happened to land on my website, or someone else sent you this message, maybe you need to hear that your problems DO have a solution. And if it makes sense and you want the problems solved, don’t put it off. Remember…

“Enjoy this peaceful, wonderful day, and don’t take it for granted. Because, one of these days, you might be my age and most of, or all of, the people you love will be gone for good.”

There’s no difference when going first to last.
Lord we need you like generations passed.
Give us strength for this life.
And help us always focus our gaze,
With our eyes on the Prize, because these…
Are the Bible days.

(from the song of the same name)

By the way I can always use your support to help me keep the nearly 3000 posts I’ve shared on my website available to the world that needs to see and hear about the one, true, living, loving God of creation. So, see if one of my books suits your fancy. Get one for yourself or for someone you love. Here’s a link to check ‘em out:

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They say (whoever “they” are) that a picture is worth a thousand words. But, on the other hand, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So, I guess it’s up to me to connect the words to the picture. And that’s what I do on a fairly regular basis. Just like the time (many seconds ago) when I saw a beautiful picture of night skies outlined by the northern lights somewhere up in Norway.

Those night skies were filled with light.

You could see countless stars from the top, darker edge of the picture, all the way down to the outline of the aurora borealis. And the lights, in the night skies, illuminated a quiet, basically uninhabited landscape of sparse trees and mostly virgin snow. A great photograph of beauty most people never see, in person, anymore.

I found the picture online where a woman shares many photographs like that. And most of the time she adds her own titles. Sometimes the combination of her title and the beauty of the picture inspires me to make the words and picture connection. That’s what happened early this morning with the picture you see in my glasses at the top of this article.

Here’s the result.

When Heaven Whispers

When Heaven whispers through night skies,
God’s children listen to the sighs
That freely flow up to the source
Of love Who keeps us on the course
Toward eternal love and light
Where there will never more be night
Or need for whispers through night skies
For those who ran to win the prize.

© 2024

Yeah, I connected that picture to MY words. But, I also connected it AND my words to THE Word. That’s the prize link.

By the way I can always use your support to help me keep the nearly 3000 posts I’ve shared on my website available to the world that needs to see and hear about the one, true, living, loving God of creation. So, when you get a second, see if one of my books suits your fancy. Get one for yourself or for someone you love. Here’s a link to check ‘em out:

(https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008R08LUG/allbooks)

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Your eternal fate all comes down to your answer to one question. Who do you believe in? Do you believe in yourself? Or buddha, confucius, or the universe? There’s a mountain of evidence against them being good choices.

Of course, you’re free to believe in yourself.

Because you’re free to make your own choices in this life. You’re not pre-programmed by God to do what you do in, and with, your life. And that’s just one of the reasons I Have To Believe and trust Him. He gave me my own will.

I gotta sing about it for a bit, and then I’ll get back to my assertion…

Here’s the link to the video: (https://youtu.be/AuI9uX_qUIM)

Yeah, I believe so strongly about Jesus being the only way to eternal life, that I wrote a song called “Have To Believe”. Or, to say it another way, I must believe. Or I can’t help but believe. When you face off with irrefutable truth, you have two choices. Either you believe, or you continue to rebel against it just so you can maintain your status as god of your own universe.

I recommend you believe in the Creator. Not the creation

Your conscience tells you there’s a design in your world. There’s design throughout the universe. And even in the way the moon and sun are the perfect distance away from us. There’s design in the tiny cells inside your body. You feel it in your gut that I’m right. And that’s why it’s so important to know the right answer to the question.

Who do you believe in? Yourself? Or the One who designed you?

Design, at the very least, implies a designer. Christians call that designer, Jesus. He created everything there is. Notice I used the word “everything”. Every. Thing. Not every idea. Because He lets you come up with your own ideas.

Trouble is, you know us humans. We can come up with some awesome ideas and start getting the notion we’re the awesome ones. But, we can only manipulate what’s already been created. You and I don’t have the power to create one grain of sand from nothing.

Don’t feel bad. In fact, feel great. Because it’s great to know that the one, true, living, loving God of all creation loves you. He created you. And He wants you to live forever. You’re more important to Him than you can imagine.

And just so you know, it’s OK to believe in yourself when it comes to abilities and skills in this life. Just don’t take it so far you forget where you truly started.

Stay tuned,

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Get the song I shared, Have To Believe, and about a dozen others in your very own handy, dandy journal songbook.

That’s right! It’s not a journal. No, it’s not a songbook. It’s a journal songbook. Here’s your link to get yours today.

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