Category Archives: Rhyme and Reason

Enjoy & understand the rhyme and reason for your life with author, voice expert, and multimedia guy, Tony Funderburk.

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Yeah, right now is the right time to ask yourself this question…

“Am I doing what I’m doing right now because it makes me happy…or am I doing what I’m doing because I’d like to help someone else be happy.”

Either one is OK. But it’s really so much better and so much fun to help someone else.

If you only look at what makes you happy everyday, you can become selfish. And being selfish means you’ll spend even more time on what makes you happy everyday. And then you’re stuck in a circle that’s like a clock. You go ’round and ’round but never get anywhere.

So, right now is the right time to go find someone who needs a smile.

Or right after you read the short poem below. And go ahead and give them two or three smiles. If you do, they might even give you one or two back. And that makes a circle that looks like a wheel. It spins ’round and ’round and goes wherever you steer. So, steer clear.

This Minute Is

This minute is your minute.
Go ahead and jump in it.
One sparkle and one twinkle
One snowflake and one sprinkle.

Be sunny and be cheerful.
Skip worried and skip fearful.
Keep smiling and keep living.
This minute is for giving. © 2013 TF

If you prefer to live in the here and now, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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My mom was not an evangelist. She wasn’t an apologist. And she was never a missionary or even someone who stayed active in a local church. But if anyone ever asked how she could believe that Jesus is a risen savior, she would just quote Henry. I heard her say, more than once, “Because He lives within my heart.”

Yeah, Henry wrote a song in 1934 that’s still sung in churches.

Now this Henry isn’t to be confused with the Henry who was my mom’s brother-in-law for a while. I guess I should share his full name. Alfred Henry Ackley. He’s the one who wrote that famous hymn…

He Lives

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me, and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart!

In all the world around me, I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading Through all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last!  (chorus)

Rejoice, rejoice, oh Christian, Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, The help of all who find,
None other is so loving, So good and kind!  (chorus)

I really like how Henry composed three strong verses.

And all three illustrate how he could see evidence, so he didn’t have to just rely on a feeling. But the evidence he saw gave him such a glorious feeling in his heart he had to sing about it. And my mom couldn’t recall all the lyrics, but she sure remembered, and quoted, the last line of the chorus a lot.

I read an article that talked about how and why Henry wrote the song. Here’s a snippet from that article:

While in California in 1932, Ackley began witnessing a Jewish man who attended some of the evangelistic meetings. This young student kept saying, “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”

This bothered Ackley and it stayed on his mind. After waking early to prepare his Easter Sunday message, he was amazed to hear on the radio a famous liberal preacher in New York say, “Good morning. It’s Easter! You know, folks, it really doesn’t make any difference to me if Christ be risen or not. As far as I am concerned, His body could be as dust in some Palestinian tomb. The main thing is, His truth goes marching on!”

What the liberal preacher said on the radio made Henry so mad that he threw the radio across the room. That’s my kind of songwriter right there. And he popped up on my radar because he died on this day, July 3, back in 1960. So, I’m honored to say that he and I shared some time here on planet Earth. And I’ve sung his song more than a few times.

If you enjoy a good hymn like this, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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Much of the world has gone mad when it comes to genders. Or maybe you’re one of the goofballs who think it’s only beginning to make sense (you’d be wrong, of course). But here’s something you can’t deny. At least not if you’re into science and reality. Men and women have major differences. And because they do you have yet another big dose of evidence against life on planet earth magically popping up from non-life.

So, three cheers for the men and women differences.

It’s amazing when you think about how the sexual reproduction systems in men and women are different. But they appear to be so made for each other. Of course, that’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek. Because they don’t just appear to be made for each other, they’re perfectly made for each other.

But just imagine the earth millions and millions of years ago (and that requires even more imagination than I have, which is ginormous). That’s when some so-called scientists say the separate reproduction systems were said to have been “evolving.” They expect us to believe that two radically different, yet highly compatible, systems could time their evolution so well. Just think about a few off the compatibility issues:

  • Physical
  • Chemical
  • Emotional
  • Environmental
  • Accidental

And not only men and women are different.

The reproduction systems in the male and female of all the other species had to have been simultaneously evolving at the same (or similar) rate and speed, too.

And then there are the plants. Don’t get me started.

You can boil it down to timing. If one or the other, of the reproduction systems in any of the species, had been off only a little, that species would quickly become extinct. The number of miraculous accidents that would require is mind-boggling. So mind-boggling, in fact, it’s impossible to calculate.

Dr. Walt Brown talks about this in more detail. And I recommend you read his book “In The Beginning.” In it you’ll discover lots more amazing and awesome reasons you can know that you know you’re created by the one true, living, loving God of all creation. It can help build your confidence and hope in the Truth.

If you don’t already have the hope of eternal life,

Then my hope is you’ll check into the scientific evidence. Yes, I’m a Christian, and I have an agenda. But it’s not to scam you or lure you into one of those churches where you’d better hold onto your wallet. My agenda is simple. I call on my vast expertise in Rhyme and Reason to share the faith, hope, love (and mountains of evidence) that comes from knowing and trusting Jesus. Especially with anyone who’s looking for better answers than evolutionary science fiction.

What does this all mean?
And why should we care
That we didn’t come from slime
And there’s a God out there?   (from my song, Fast Forward)

If this landed somewhere good with you, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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It’s all your fault. And I mean every bit of it. And it’s probably because you got up on the wrong side of the bed, or you opened your big mouth again, or you just didn’t pay attention.

OK, now that I’ve got you feeling all good about yourself, let’s get real. Maybe you did get up on the wrong side of the bed. And maybe you couldn’t bite your tongue when that certain someone said that certain thing. Or maybe you didn’t get enough sleep so you keep bumping into things or people. What does all that prove?

Well, it proves it’s all your fault.

And it’s mine, too. And the other people around the world. Even the ones who think their essence is what makes the world turn. Life ain’t fair. Because you live in a world that humans broke. A long time ago. Before you say it wasn’t you who ate the fruit from the wrong tree, I gotta say this…

“You would’ve done the same thing!” You would’ve fallen for the deceptive lie. How do I know?

I know you would have done the same thing Adam and Eve did because you have. Admit it. You’ve wanted everyone to realize you’re the cat’s meow, the bee’s knees, and the bag of chips. You’ve chosen to do things you know you shouldn’t have. Right?

And if you’re gonna be truly honest (I hope you already are), you’ve made more bad decisions in your life than good. Can I get an amen? I’m right there with you dude…or dudette.

Life ain’t fair. But that’s not something that should ever hold you back.

Keep working hard to be better than you’ve been. Say this with me, “I’m better than I was yesterday, but not as good as I’ll be tomorrow.” There. Don’t you feel better? And ain’t that all that matters? Feelings?

NO! Your feelings will keep telling you life ain’t fair.

And before you know it, you’ll give in to those knucklehead feelings and start to go back to those knucklehead bad decisions. So, you gotta decide (and the power to decide is totally in you) to change bad feelings into better ones. Use the logic and reason God gave you, and your life will get at least a little more fair. Not perfect, but it WILL make sense. Then you’ll be more sensible.

And being sensible (using wisdom and discernment) will take you on a righteous road. Where fairness won’t matter a fraction as much as Truth. What do you think? Is your life good? Or do you still think it’s…

Not Fair

You’re born to parents you don’t get to choose,
And you just have to trust that they care.
They pick your clothes and your food and your stuff,
And you learn fast that life is not fair.

As you grow up you discover some things
About water and mountains and air.
You think your big brain should earn you rewards,
And you find out that life is not fair.

One day you wake in a place of your own,
Watch the news, and see pain everywhere.
You decide you can’t ignore it away,
And you’ll help because life is not fair.

Then, when you serve others, you one day find
A real joy that, before, wasn’t there.
And living will glow in a whole new light
Even though this old life isn’t fair.   © 2017 TF

If you wanna help make life better, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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I’ve talked about Nilsson, a songwriter favorite of mine, before. He was a popular singer with some very catchy songs. One of my favorite songs by him was called “Without You.” And the main line of the chorus said, “Can’t live, if living is without you.” If I tell you that the song reminds me of the building blocks of DNA, you might think I’m tetched in the head, as they used to say. But I promise I didn’t sit out in the sun, at the beach, too long.

Of course, Harry Nilsson wasn’t singing about the building blocks of DNA.

But the concept of one thing needing another thing to even live is in that song. And that’s kinda what the building blocks of DNA show us.

You’ve heard me talk about DNA (if you’ve listened to The Rhyme and Reason Podcast), or you’ve read some of the things I’ve written about it here on the blog. Right? And maybe you’ve heard me mention how proteins are the building blocks for DNA. Yes? Alright then. It’s important to talk about them both at the same time. Because DNA and proteins are each a dependent variable for the other.

And like the lyrics to an old song about love and marriage say, “you can’t have one without the other.” But they’re separate components.

So, do you realize what the means?

One couldn’t evolve without the other. One component couldn’t simply wait however long it took for the other to evolve into something useful. Because each one is too complex. It just simply couldn’t happen. But being designed in place at the same time by the most brilliant scientist in existence makes perfect sense.

I just watched a video that featured Seth Godin, a well-known author and marketing dude. And I really enjoyed this following quote. He said…

“Make things better by making better things.”

Well, you know who does that better than anybody and everybody else? You guessed ‘er Chester. God. And He designed proteins to do things like decode, store, transcribe, assemble, and protect. As a matter of fact one protein, known simply as p53, stifles cancer and protects DNA. So, how could DNA have ever survived some lengthy evolutionary process without p53 being there from the beginning? Short answer (and the only right one). It couldn’t.

There are intangible reasons why I trust Jesus to be my savior and creator. His love and goodness and righteousness immediately leap to mind. But I believe it’s important to share tangible, scientific evidence for God’s existence in this day and age. Because more and more people think science doesn’t require God. And actually quite the opposite is true.

And you’re a dependent variable whether you like it or not.

You wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the one, true, living, loving Creator. It’s scientifically, mathematically, and statistically impossible that the complexity found in your 30 trillion cells could have happened and function so well simply by chance.

And I don’t know why anyone would prefer it to be another way. Oh wait, yes I do. Because most people would rather be their own selfish god. Why serve, when you can be served? Right?

I invite and encourage you to look into the mountains and oceans of evidence for creation and the building blocks of DNA. I bet you’ll discover much more than reasons. You’ll discover love deeper and fuller than you can ever imagine. And here’s a related question for you. Why would you not want that kind of love?

And something inside you too tiny to see
Says you will be you and never be me.
It was God who designed it and made it that way.
He gave you a code, and it’s called DNA.  (From You Need)  © 2016 TF

If this at least boosted your curiosity, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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This morning I recalled when the accelerator cable on my awesome pickup, Ol’ Blue, broke. That’s the kind of stuff that’ll make you ask, in exasperation, “What in the world?!” And then, when you figure it out, you might say something like: “Oh, for cryin’ out loud!” And when these things happen, they’re not some unexplainable part of God’s plan of action for you.

Broken stuff happens because of this broken world. Not God’s plan of action.

It’s eternally important to put your faith and trust in the one true, living, loving Creator of Heaven and Earth, Because He’s willing to help you in some awesome ways. And when you read Paul’s writings, in the New Testament, you discover how important it is to know this. You also see how God didn’t decree a plan of action for your life. In fact, He’s the one who can (and will) help you through and over the mistakes YOU make.

Paul said it like this: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…”

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, their actions literally broke the world and our spiritual connection to God. After they did that, everything changed. Everything started to break down. And things have gone downhill ever since. You can actually trace everything bad in the world back to sin. But certainly not to God. Rust, mold, slime, germs, and ultimately death, all happen because we live in a broken world. And we broke it. Not God.

So, please don’t fall for “everything is part of God’s plan.”

Sure, God has an ultimate plan of action. He will ultimately bring justice back to the world He made. And He will make a new Earth and new Heaven. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt He didn’t break my accelerator cable to teach me some sort of spiritual lesson. He wrote a book to teach me those lessons and help me fix broken stuff. It’s called the Bible. I hope reading it is part of your regular action plan.

I’m broken, but God didn’t do it.
In fact, only He can get me through it.
He heals me with love on the inside,
And I’ll live forever because Jesus died…

And rose again!

If this landed somewhere good with you, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

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For about 20 years evolutionists and the media made the silly claim that human DNA and chimpanzee DNA were about 99% the same. Now keep in mind, no one had completed sequencing human DNA. And sequencing of chimpanzee DNA hadn’t even started. Sheesh. And evolutionists like to make fun of Christians for prophecy and predictions. But I guess you gotta expect such behavior from adults who believe in fairy tales and fables.

Ladies, you’re actually closer to call your man a “snake in the grass” instead of a big, dumb ape. According to evolution snakes should be more closely related to other reptiles. But a computer-based study found the genetic distance between a particular protein, cytochrome, from a snake was actually closer to the cytochrome protein from a man.

Wow! Imagine the poisonous fairy tales and fables and sci-fi movies around that.

And speaking of computer-based measuring of genetic distance, the number of organisms that have had their genes sequenced is doubling every year? So, that means our molecular information bank has increased exponentially. And on the molecular level, there’s no evidence to support the evolutionary fairy tales and fables of how life began. None.

Now, I realize Christians are just supposed to have blind faith in “a god” we “created in our own image as a crutch.” But the Christian Faith is based on so much more evidence. And that’s important because Christians place their faith and hope in someone they’ve never seen. I say He’s the one true, living, loving Creator of the universe. And the universe of evidence backs up that claim. By the way., the Bible (bestselling book of all time and only book supported by evidence almost daily) talks about evidence and how important it is.

So, don’t monkey around with evolutionary monkey business.

Even though only about 4% of human DNA differs from that of chimpanzees, that 4% represents “thirty-five million single-nucleotide changes, five million insertions or deletions, and various chromosomal rearrangements.” And the differences between the males from each species is around 30%.

See what I mean, ladies? Guys are not apes. Nope. We’re just as fearfully and wonderfully made as you. Even if we aren’t the eye candy you are. Hey, too much candy isn’t healthy anyway.

Anyway…

For more information on genetic distance and the way it relates to how we all got here, click on most of the links I just shared. They’ll take you to Dr. Walt Brown’s online book, “In The Beginning“. While you’re there, be sure and check out so many other compelling reasons to believe in the Creator rather than evolution.

And save the fairytales and fables for reading to the kids at bedtime.

In awe of all creation and how it all could be,
The fairy tale illusions increase with every year.
The wrinkled plans expand, exponentially,
Until one day, perhaps, a duck becomes a deer.   (yeah, right)
(from my song, Fast Forward)

If enjoyed this science-based shot of reality, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Daily Devotional

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