Category Archives: true love

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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My first true love lasted about four and a half years. Even though I thought it would be the rest of my life. But the relationship didn’t endure a separation that happened when I moved to Texas to be there for my dad who was suffering from terminal kidney failure.

So much for the first true love.

And after “getting over” it, I discovered I could actually love again. Another multiple year relationship developed, blossomed, went sour, and ended. So, that’s when I decided to “play the field.” And see what all the “lotsa fish in the ocean” notion was all about.

Because, in spite of my Christian background, I vowed that no other girl was gonna rope me in. Nope. Enough was enough. And I used my professional musician platform (a stage) to impress and woo the opposite sex. Yeah, I vowed that, if any heart was gonna get broken, it dang sure wasn’t gonna be mine.

That worked out great!

Not!

Because then came the pesky consequences.

Guilt. Shame. Conscience. A still, small voice would confront me each time I did what I shouldn’t do. I was able to ignore that voice for a few years. But it was there each time anyway.

Oh man. Why wouldn’t that voice let me have my fun?! Why did it have to be there? Every. Single. Time.

Eventually I discovered that’s how my actual first true love works. Confrontation when I needed it. Instruction, deconstruction, accomplishments, and even failures. And most of all, a light on the darkest parts of my heart.

And that’s because my actual first true love was God’s enduring love.

I discovered His love is bigger than problems. It’s more valuable and dependable than “feelings.” His love has endured every stupid mistake I’ve made. And there have been more than I care to admit. Now, that’s amazing Grace.

Thankfully, the consequences of love from God include eternal life.

I’m so grateful and thankful God never left me. He never gave up on me. And He still works on me when I stumble back into my self. There’s a comfort and joy in His love that no human being can even remotely match.

All you gotta do is ask Him for it, and you’ll get it. It’ll last forever. And it’s more real than any heartbreak or loss you’ll you’ll ever experience. After studying evidence for decades, I’m more convinced than ever of the reality of our one, true, living, loving Creator. Nothing and no one else could explain love. Love didn’t evolve. It’s a gift from God.

Because I Can Love

What made You think
That I was worth the risk You took?
What made You take the time
To write Your Holy Book?
I don’t believe I’d give myself a second look,
But You did because You love.

You made a world
That was as perfect as could be,
But then I broke it
When You gave it all to me…
By going through the gate You made to set me free.
This You did because You love…me.

Because You love me so…in spite of all You know…
Because You did the most that You could ever do…
And because I clearly see…evidence of You in me…
Because I can love…I do love…You!

You put a life
And a will inside my soul.
You knew true love
Would be to give me full control.
But knowing You is all that ever makes me whole.
I trust You because You love…me.

I can live because You live!
I can love because You love!     © 2010 TF

Listen up for that song coming up in The Power of God’s Love Podcast.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

So, let’s talk about your vortex energy generator. Sounds fun, right? I recently discovered that a man named Rudolph Steiner said the heart is a seven-sided regular form that sits in an imaginary box in the chest. And in case you don’t know what a “seven-sided regular form” means, it’s a three-dimensional form, and the “regular” part means the surface areas are all identical.

That means your vortex energy generator is your heart.

Who knew? Well, apparently that guy named Rudolph Steiner knew.

And another guy named Tom Cowan, who’s a doctor with some very different ideas, mentions Rudolph Steiner in an article about how your heart is a vortex energy generator. The article talks about a lot more than just that. And I found it extremely interesting. But I’m kinda nerdy that way. You might find it extremely boring.

Anyway…

Yet another guy named Frank Chester spent fifteen years trying to figure how to sculpt a seven-sided regular form. And he eventually did it and called it a chestahedron. Catchy.

Then, Chester made a cast of the heart. And he “put it into a vat of water and spun it to see what would happen. What happens first is that it creates a vortex, a spiral within the chestahedron itself, like the Milky Way. If you do it long enough, you’ll see an appendix form that creates its own horizontally shaped vortex off the edge of it. The horizontal vortex closely resembles the shape and attachment of the right ventricle to the left ventricle of a human heart.”

It also closely resembles a strand of DNA. Very cool.

Yeah, before I completely bore you into clicking away, I’ll tie this whole vortex energy generator stuff into something much more romantic. And I’ll do that by sharing a poem. I wrote to Elgielene when I was working on winning her heart. It goes a little something like this.

The Heart

They use the heart as a logo.
They use the heart as a prop.
And they show it all deflated.
They show it about to pop.
They have it wearing faces.
And they have it in the stars.
They draw it into corners
And even behind bars.
But a heart is still a heart
Feeling pleasure; feeling pain.
A heart is not an object
Of some far, unearthly plane.
It should never be taken lightly,
When, in faith, it’s passed along.
For this day I pass mine to you
Hoping you won’t think it’s wrong.
Let me also take this chance to say
I’ll be thinking of you on Valentine’s Day. © 1987 TF

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional delivered to your inbox for free. I share it with believers who want to focus on the power of God’s love and rightly divide the word of truth. Spend your time enjoying the entertaining flashes of light instead of looking for them. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to books and music, 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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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Most people, if they even think about it, wonder why people like me (Christians) read the Bible over and over. But in their current condition, they can’t possibly understand how the word is alive. In fact, they probably look at a statement like that and ask,

“The word is alive? Don’t you mean the words ARE alive?”

And, grammatically, they’re sorta correct. But the question illustrates their inability to understand how the Word is alive, was alive, and always will be.

Of course, a key thing to note (at least in the written form) is how I capitalize the W in the word, Word.

Uh-oh, Tony’s going off into the nether world of language again.

No. I just wanna clear up a point. Christians (followers of Jesus) always want to emphasize the deity of Jesus. So, we not only capitalized his name, we tend to capitalize the first letter of every word that describes Him. See? I even capitalized the W in the word, Him. Because He (there I go again) is beyond worthy of that kind of respect. And the Bible even calls Jesus, or the Son of God, the Word.

Yeah, it says “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

And that’s one example of how I can say the words alive. And it’s also part of why I’m always talking about the power of God’s love. Because my knowledge and recognition of that love drives me to keep going every day in spite of physical or mental challenges or other obstacles. And it helps me connect it to…

The Power of the Word

So, you’ve been thinking that you’ve got a whole lot to fear.
And you keep asking, “What on earth am I doin’ here?”
Well I wouldn’t tell you it’s as gloomy as you’ve heard.
You just need the power of the Word

I know you’ve heard that if at first you don’t succeed,
Just keep on trying and you’re bound to fill the need.
But you don’t believe all that stuff applies to you.
And without the power what can you do

Well the power of the Word takes an ordinary bird
And it gives him songs to sing and wings to soar.
With the power of the Word, even when your vision’s blurred,
All your dreams will be fulfilled forevermore.

Numbers are crunching and seconds are ticking on.
Your hopes are fading until you wonder where they’ve gone.
But you wouldn’t worry that your life could be deterred,
If you had the power of the Word

Chorus

And if you’re asking, “What’s in it for me?”
Well, give up your soul and I think you will see…

Eternity…eternity…eternity……….

instrumental…repeat chorus to end © 1993 & 2011 TF

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Apprehend:  to understand or perceive – great art invites us to apprehend beauty. I shared that definition to emphasize how you and I can somewhat understand or perceive how the son of God can also BE God.

But we can’t completely comprehend how the son of God can BE God.

One day, we will be able to understand, completely. But our puny mortal minds can’t take in that information right now. The apostle Paul said this about this idea: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

So, knowing that should encourage you and me (Christians) to remember there’s a whole lot more to Jesus than the teacher who went around, healing people and doing other miracles. In fact, those were the parts of Him that He de-emphasized. Yeah, he told people to go and tell no one after he performed a miracle. But He emphasized His identity in and relationship to God, the Father.

And as my friend, Bob, used to say, that shows how Jesus, your Creator, is living, personal, relational, good, and loving. And all this understanding inspired me to write the song…

Give Me The Whole Jesus

Oh give me love…give me justice…
Give me Grace and the strength to endure.
When the world comes against me,
Give me Your Spirit steadfast and sure.

Give me words…give me courage…
Give me time and a powerful voice.
And when many still may hate me,
Give me Your love and I’ll always rejoice.

Give me the whole Jesus;
The whole Good Lord…
The One who shields the child…
The One who wields the sword.
Give me the whole Jesus
Son of God and man…
‘Cause only Jesus saves…
And only Jesus can! Only Jesus can! Only Jesus can!

Then give me dreams…give me wisdom…
Give me peace at the end of my days.
And give me life…everlasting…
In Your world and in Your higher ways.

Chorus   © 2010

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You and I could get to know each other very well, and I would still never know your thoughts. At least any of your unspoken thoughts. So, I can judge you by what I see and hear. But I can never truly judge your heart. And you can’t judge mine. But God can. Because God knows your heart. And He knows the hearts of every other person on this beat up broken planet.

Yeah, God knows your heart, and He’s still willing to save you.

So, here’s something I recommend. If you have anything against Him or some reason not to believe and trust in Him (and the power of His love), let Him know. But don’t speak to Him with pseudo intellectualism, you know, as though you already know all the answers and you just want to tell Him what for. Because, remember, God knows your heart. And that means He knows if you really are interested in the truth and where it can take you.

There are many millions of men and women (and even young girls) who have taken part in the abortion of unborn human babies. Probably most of them don’t even give it another thought after it’s done. But I know there are many who deal with a guilty conscience.

By the way, that guilty conscience is proof that God knows your heart. Because He wrote eternity into it. And a guilty conscience is one way He helps you to understand you need Him in order to have abundant life throughout that eternity.

So, take the first opportunity and deal with that guilty conscience.

Because, personally, I would love to know that you took my recommendation and had a heart-to-heart with your Creator. That would make my day, week, month, year, and more. And if none of this applies to you, share it with someone you believe it might help. And urge them to consider this…

No matter how tiny, no matter how small,
Right down to conception,
The Lord loves them all.
They just need some love
And a place they can grow.
Unborn babies are persons.
God knows that you know.  © 2022

Get my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, my ongoing Devotional that’s Logical AND Emotional. Because then the flashes of light I share on my website come right to your inbox. So you can spend your valuable time reading and listening instead of searching. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to books and music, right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies.

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35 years ago, today. That’s when my beautiful Elgielene became my wife. We zoomed up high in the Denver, Colorado skyline (for real) and shared our vows to stay together through come-what-may. Then, lo and behold, we’ve done it.

And when I say we’ve been through some amazing things together, it’s no exaggeration. Those amazing things included 2 years of living together “on the road” full-time as I played music all around America. Not quite from sea to shining sea. But certainly across the fruited plains and purple mountain majesty.

Not long after our road life started, we shared our first anniversary in Springfield, Illinois of all places. I had a booking at a very nice hotel there. And I spent most of the day before our anniversary on the stage and on my keyboard composing a love song present for my bride.

I wanted to show her that I understood what she had gone through before we got together. And I wanted her to know how much character it showed to put her heart out there for me after all that. Plus, I wanted to be sure she understood I’d make her my top earthly priority. So I wrote her this song and sang it for her, from the stage, that evening of our first anniversary. My mom had even come there to be part of the party. The song:

Someday 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 took 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

Amazing to think the journey started 35 years ago.

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Sinless perfection. Man, did I ever miss that mark?! And I’ve got the lines in my face and gray/silver/white hair to prove it. Yep, I’ve lived long enough to see the killing effects of sin. But I’ve also lived long enough to gain some wisdom. And wisdom has taught me that those lines and gray hair just mean I’m closer to the end of my troubles.

Yep, I’m closer than ever to sinless perfection.

And I owe it all to love. But not just any love. Not the you and me wimpy kind of love that’s easily challenged by an ache or an emotion or witless words.

I owe it all to the one, solitary, sinless man who was, is, and always will be sinless perfection.

The man who started a three year ministry, at around the age of 30. And it was a supremely effective ministry which he used to teach, admonish, heal, and even raise people from the dead. You’re catching my drift, aren’t you?

If so, then you know he did something way more important than all those amazing things. He was beaten to a pulp and nailed to a cross. Then, he endured an agonizing, painfully slow death. And that was even after being found innocent. Let that sink in for a sec. Imagine a judge and/or jury finds you innocent and then sentences you to death.

Can you say, “Mistrial!”

But here’s the real kicker. The man I’m talking about holds the very fiber of all the universe in his hands. Yeah. It all holds together and functions light years more efficiently than the finest Swiss clock for one reason. And that reason is because it was created by Jesus. The embodiment of sinless perfection.

He wasn’t just “a good man,” or “a nice teacher,” or “a humble prophet,” as many have described Him. He was Truth. And He was God with us. Most definitely the manliest of all men. And yet He was the gentlest of all. He took on human flesh in order that He could endure (instead of us) the death we all deserve. He said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth…” But, ironically, the only true peace that ever existed on Earth was in His body and presence.

He showed us how we need to love one another. And He led by example. Because there’s no greater love than to “lay down one’s life for his friends.” So, Jesus is the ultimate reason for faith. And that’s why I sing…

Give Me The Whole Jesus

Oh give me love…give me justice…
Give me Grace and the strength to endure.
When the world comes against me,
Give me Your Spirit steadfast and sure.

Give me words…give me courage…
And give me time and a powerful voice.
And when many still may hate me,
Give me Your love and I’ll always rejoice.

Give me the whole Jesus;
The whole Good Lord…
The One who shields the child…
The One who wields the sword.
Give me the whole Jesus
Son of God and man…
‘Cause only Jesus saves…
And only Jesus can! Only Jesus can! Only Jesus can!

Then give me dreams…give me wisdom…
Give me peace at the end of my days.
And give me life…everlasting…
In Your world and in Your higher ways.

Chorus

© 2010 Tony Funderburk

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