unique to humans Archives - Tony Funderburk

Posted on May 4, 2026 by TonyMay 7, 2026

You are the only you and truth makes that true

“If matter’s all there is, then nothing really matters.” I’ve said that many times over the years. And for a very good reason. Because you are the only you. And the enormous amount of information found in just one of your trillions of cells shows how true that is as it reveals your unique story.

Yeah, truth proves that you are the only you.

But there’s something really interesting about truth. People either love the truth or hate it. And that’s because the truth either sets them free or convicts them. And freedom is great. But that whole conviction thing is a horse of a different color. And people don’t want that different color. Most of them prefer neutral tones.

I’m as fond of gray as the next guy, when it comes to painting things around the house. Because it goes with just about everything. But when it comes to truth, going with gray, or neutral tones, is a recipe for turning you into God puke. Take that off your to-do list.

But let’s get back to your unique story. The reason I write entertaining books for you (especially for kids) is because your story matters. (by the way, “reason” isn’t found in matter)

ThatAnd your story matters because you were created by the original, infinitely brilliant storyteller. You didn’t just happen. And the story of who you are and why you look and sound the way you do is written inside the cells of your body. It’s like a secret code.

But it’s not a secret anymore.

Technology now gives us access to DNA where your code (your story) is written.

Your code is yours and no one else has the your code. That’s how and why you are the only you. And this is true of every person on the earth. Big or little. Fat or skinny. Blue or pink, so to speak.

If we took the code inside of you and used a special decoder ring, we could read the one book in the world written just about you.

It would tell us why your singing voice is so nice. Or why you can’t carry a tune in a bucket. It would tell us how you grew up to be a 7 foot basketball player in the NBA. Or a 5 foot jockey in the Kentucky Derby. Well, your code wouldn’t tell us how you won a place in the NBA or the Kentucky Derby. But it would show us why you’re tall or short.

Imagine how many other things we could learn about you by reading the teeny, tiny instructions in each of the trillions of cells in your body. But then there wouldn’t be time to read or do anything else. You can just be sure that…

Your Story Matters

Inside a trillion tiny cells
Where no one’s eyes can see…
A trillion times your story flies
On sparks of energy.

That energy is life itself
The fire to light your way
To write your story and to live
And love someone today.

Be thankful for your source of life
And bow or smile and nod…
Because your story matters most,
When it reveals our God. © 2013 TF

Your email address matters, too. It’s what I need so I can send you Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. Get lots of fun stuff delivered right to your inbox. Spend your valuable time reading instead of searching. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to The Very First 6 Days, a rhyming book for kids about God’s creation week and 2 songs, right away. Fun for kids AND not too cutesy. So grownups enjoy it, too. Your email address is all it takes to get it almost right away.

Stay tuned,

Posted on June 19, 2024 by TonyJuly 13, 2024

Feelings change. It’s a fact of life. That was even true when I was a young whippersnapper, all those decades ago. I remember the first time I felt like I was in love with a girl. But, later, I felt like I was in love with another girl. It happened several times. What can I say? A red-blooded American boy is a boy after all.

And your feelings will (or did) change many times, too. So, that’s why you shouldn’t depend on feelings for the important things in life. And the most important thing in life is truth. And there are some things that are just plain true. It doesn’t matter how you feel about them. They’re still true.

One big truth is that God created only two genders of humans.

And because He did, a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl.

And it will always be true. No matter how you or anyone might feel about it.

These days some boys wish they were girls. And they do awful, horrible things to their bodies. The same is true for girls. It may sound weird, but it’s true. There are people who try to change genders. And they have to take drugs, take shots with needles, and even have gross operations.

All those things hurt your body because it isn’t built to take that. And it hurts God’s feelings to see it happening. He knows how much it hurts a person.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says you’re made in God’s image. And God doesn’t make mistakes. He never puts any one in the wrong body. He puts you right where you need to be. But if you don’t trust Him or love Him, you might believe just about anything bad somebody says about Him. You might even believe (or feel like) it’s OK to be whatever gender you choose. But it’s not. It hurts you. In fact, it can even take you somewhere you truly do not want to go.

So…how about this?

How about you read more about what God says about you? Because you’ll find out how unique He made you. And since God does that for you, who cares what anyone else says? God says you’re one-of-a-kind. You’re special. And He even knows how many hairs on on your head. He wants you to live forever. There’s only one way to do that. Trust in His Son, Jesus.

Jesus made you and He knows what’s best for you. And He made sure you could live with Him forever. And Jesus is the one who says what you’ll be. That’s why you should trust Him and not your feelings. He loves you. And there’s only one person who can ever change that. YOU.

Here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

There’s a life inside of you, and it comes from God,
And He wants you to live and to always enjoy
And remember He made you the person you are,
Yes, a girl is girl and a boy is a boy.

Stay tuned,

Posted on September 30, 2022 by TonyOctober 18, 2022

Breath of life is the answer to this quiz

It’s unimaginably cool. But you and I actually have the breath of life from God in us. Uh-oh. I’ve already given you the clue that’ll probably make sure you get an A+ on this pop quiz I’ve got for you. I know. Nobody likes a pop quiz. But, no worries. Because I KNOW you’re gonna pass it now.

OK, here’s the introduction to and the breath of life pop quiz…

I noticed how God created the Earth, separated the water from dry land, put “lights” into the heavens, and blessed the ground with all the plants that could reproduce “according to its kind.” Then He created all the land, sea, and air creatures and gave them the ability to reproduce “according to its kind.” And lastly He created Man. But He did something different. And, here’s your one question pop quiz.

What did God to Man that He didn’t do to all the rest of the creatures and creation? ________________

Remember, you have only 30 minutes to complete your quiz. And then turn your papers over on your desk and remain quiet while the others finish theirs. Unless you’re last. In which case, what took you so long?

Anyway…

When it describes the creation of humans, the Bible says “And then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

He didn’t do that to any of the other creatures.

Have you ever pondered that nuance between humans and every other living thing? It was written almost like just another line in the creation account. But it reveals how unique the human design is.

When I went through the Genesis account of the six days of creation for a writing project, that “breath of life” thing jumped off the page at me.

Only humans received life that way. His very essence entered into us and us alone. And only humans were made in the “image and likeness of God.” No other creatures.

We’re unique. And even though more and more people act like animals, that’s not how we’re designed.

That person you see in the mirror has the breath of life from God.

And I think you know that. But maybe somebody you know doesn’t know that. If so, and if you care about them (and you should), tell them their last breath will exhale from them sooner than they imagine. And tell them they’re only free to decide what happens after that before it happens. Not after.

He’s my shepherd through thorns and thru clover.
He’s my new wine, and my cup runs over.
As I walk through the shadow of death,
I will sing till my very last breath.
(from my song “In The House of the Lord“)

Stay tuned,

No-cost, low-cost, and premium ways you can help me spread the Word…

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

Get digital Bible stuff from the same company I do.

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for believers, dreamers, and thinkers

Posted on December 18, 2021 by TonyDecember 18, 2021

Unique to humans and it's good to understand

One week from today is Christmas 2021. And in just about every part of the world there are Christians who will celebrate the birth of Jesus. But have you ever stopped to think (or even thought about it without stopping) how that celebration is unique to humans?

No animals, birds, fish, or reptiles can be found putting up Christmas trees. Or buying presents. Or even gathering together to sing and talk about their Creator.

And that’s true, partly, because of something else unique to humans.

Speech.

It’s unique to humans for three main reasons.

Your larynx is low in your neck with a long air column above your vocal cords. Because of this physical design you can make clear vowel sounds. And the back of your tongue extends deep down into your neck and modulates air flow to make clear consonant sounds.

And guess who can’t do that.

Apes. Because apes have flat, horizontal tongues that leave them unable to make consonant sounds.

But here’s something even cooler than that.

You have a prewired brain that can learn and convey abstract ideas. Ponder that in your prewired brain for a moment. I’ll wait. (cue the Jeopardy music)

OK, stop the ponder.

Now, think about your favorite color.

Because there are so many things you can conjure up just by thinking of a color. But even better than that, you can describe the pictures you conjure up with words that other humans can understand. Then, they can actually understand what you mean. Even if it doesn’t jive with the mere scientific facts of why your eyes see color.

Are you pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down?

Can you see the significance of this trio of design traits?

Scientists admit they can find no evolutionary development to explain the speech center in your brain. Of course, Christians aren’t stumped. At least not the ones who believe God’s word that says He created us in His image and likeness. And we know that we’re prewired, by the most intelligent being in the universe, to make and understand speech.

So, speech is unique to humans.

But if you disagree…I’m willing to talk about it.

It does my heart good to know I’m not some inconsequential little animated pile of carbon. I’m confident I’ll leave more than a footprint here on earth. I’m going to live forever with the One who gave me awareness of my own existence. And I’m going to love every minute.

Now, that’s a Christmas present for the ages.
I’m in a book that’s filled with endless pages.
And who I am was written by a Savior
Whose love for me helped change my heart’s behavior.

Stay tuned,

Sign up for my Rhyme and Reason emails. (good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

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Posted on August 8, 2016 by TonyAugust 16, 2022

How to Put the YOU in Unique
Lasting Motivation Part 3

Fingerprints. DNA. Brainwaves. Know what they have in common? You have all three, and so do I. But yours aren’t the same as mine or anyone else’s. And mine belong completely to me. Think about it. Something as tiny and seemingly insignificant as fingerprints help make you the one and only YOU. And these are only three ways of knowing how to put the YOU in unique.

There aren’t any carbon copies of YOU. And even if “they” could clone you, the clone wouldn’t have your brainwaves. So there YOU are. You’re so totally unique that even if all the scientists in the world got together and agreed to work on making another YOU, they couldn’t do it.

You’re that awesome and wonderfully made.

You’ve probably heard all the hogwash about being the sum total of all your life’s experiences. Bunk, I say. You’ve probably been told you won’t amount to anything because of your family history. Balderdash! And you might have even believed you couldn’t live up to the expectations of mommy and daddy because you didn’t finish “œhigher education” or some other nonsense. Stop believing that.

YOU are a marvelous creature whose brain processes trillions of bytes of information while simultaneously making a peanut butter sandwich. When you smile, muscles move and calories burn”all without the slightest twinge of strained thoughts. Word pictures dance around the imagination section of your mind just by listening to words. Close your eyes and see the images. Amazing. How did you get so magnificent?

So, are you still wondering how to put the YOU in unique?

If you’re spending any time at all on what you can’t do, you’re slowing yourself down from doing what you can. Why keep your eyes on a problem when the solution is within your ability to grasp? Keep your eyes on “œthe prize”. When you hear someone say “œyou can achieve what you focus on”, they don’t just mean the good stuff. If your focus is on the bad stuff, you can achieve that, too.

I’m asking you, as a personal favor to me, to remember the things that make you uniquely YOU. So if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for someone who cares about you. I want you to succeed. Don’t leave the success stories to someone else. Be one. YOU can because now you know how to put the YOU in unique. How will you use the information today?

Stay tuned,

No-cost, low-cost, and premium ways you can help me spread the Word…

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

Get digital Bible stuff from the same company I do.

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for believers, dreamers, and thinkers

Tony Funderburk

Your Life Has Rhyme And Reason Because God Made You