Faith Hope Love - these prove there's a rhyme and reason for your life

The end of April is fast approaching. So, get read for all those May flowers. Of course, that leads to Mother’s Day and then Memorial Day and backyard barbecues. All that wonderful evidence of Spring can help you forget that God hates you. Anyway… So, last week I had a nice conversation with some people who walked their Yorkie by the bungalow. We got to talkin’ about how they don...

If it’s Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, just ignore this message. Because this is specially designed to help you focus on your Wednesday blessings. I won’t be responsible for results you get by attempting to use it on those other days. “Why Wednesday blessings, Tony?” you ask. Well, I’m glad you asked because I’d like to expound with grea...

Here in America, we still enjoy a certain amount of “free speech.” During the 20th century this country participated in two world wars. And many men and women fought and died to get rid of evil dictators and despicable governments. The ultimate sacrifice for God-given rights. Thomas Jefferson sort of acknowledged where our rights originate when he composed the Declaration of Independen...

To see me now, it might be difficult to even imagine I was once considered part of the cool crowd. Not the smoke-dope-drop-ludes-party-till-you-drop crowd. But because I was a full-time musician that so-called “cool crowd” those people figured it was OK to have me around. Even though they discovered it’s difficult to find someone as uncool as me. But the truth is, it’s pref...

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...

Do you have siblings? If so, did you ever get into arguments with them when you were kids? No, who does that, right? Seriously, if you have a brother or sister (or a bunch of them like Elgielene does), you most likely had at least a disagreement or three. And you might remember answering the “why” question with the most profound reply of all. Just because, that’s why. Am I right?...

It’s summer time. And no doubt you’ve been in the garden yourself, or you know someone who has. Or you’ve been to someplace to get some of the good stuff that comes out of a garden. Right? And I can tell you, from a LOT of experience, how good it is to go into a garden to feel the dirt beneath your feet and smell the variety of scents. But you don’t go in the garden to lose...

Well, you can call me Tony Splendorburk. Because I meet the criteria for that title. And it took me a long time to earn it. So I’m gonna own it. That means this post is gonna contain a lot of me me me talk. But it’s really not about me. Really. First, a little back story. I’ve already lived over six decades. And I’ve got the silver/gray hair and the extra lines in my face to prove it....

I’ve talked about it before. But something popped up, online, this morning, that brought back a good and sad memory. And it’s about sticks. But not just any kind. I’m talkin’ about Pick Up Sticks. A game that used to be popular with kids before technology took the soul out of games. Anyway… Back to the memory. My brother and I used to ride the Santa Fe Big Chief twice...

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” That’s a good line. Even though it does come from a former U.S. president who was so wrong on so many things. But back in that time in American history, even FDR understood that fear creates the wrong kind of defensive positions. Fearful defensive positions lead to lights under baskets. Yes, that’s a thinly-veiled reference to a Bi...

If I talked to carnations, or lilacs, or even lilies of the valley (and I don’t, in spite of what you might’ve heard), I’d probably say something clever like, “You must’ve been scent from above.” And that’s because there’s nothing like a good pun to get a conversation rolling. Yeah, “scent from above” is a pun. Not a typo. And now that th...

Huey shared the news back in the 80’s. Jennifer Rush wrote about it back in 1984. And Céline Dion repeated Jennifer’s message in 1994. That message was about the power of love. And people evidently were open to the idea. Because they all had big hits with their songs. But none of them had a clue about the never-ending power of love. And, of course, I don’t mean the power of love...

Favor and grace sound favorable and gracious to me. But maybe I’m just being too literal. And maybe those words aren’t conducive to your ability, or willingness, to sharing information about eternity. And maybe I should clarify why I’m bringing this up. First, here’s a quote from a king who lived a long time ago in a land far, far away. “As iron sharpens iron, so a ma...

Tomorrow is not the time to start something new. Because tomorrow is a concept. Because humans need that concept to help us understand the flowing of time. And even though it helps to include tomorrow in your understanding of time, it never actually gets here. Then, on the other hand, tomorrow is already here. On the other side of the world at the international date line area. But those people who...

Got some health challenges? Or other physical obstacles? How about emotional or relational problems? And let’s not forget your mental well-being. Have you discovered you’re not as young as you used to be? And wouldn’t you like to know why bad things happen to “good” people? Well, I can tell you why. You did it. “Wha?! I did it?!,” you ask incredulously. Or...

I read a post, from a friend in social media (thanks Allen) about famous last words from some famous atheists. And the despair in their words struck me in such a way I wanted to share some of them with you. It’s chilling. But first…why do I say famous last words of foolish jaybirds? Well, back in medieval days, when I was growing up, the term “jaybird” was Southern slang fo...

Just in case you haven’t noticed, the world is full of mean people and bad stuff. Nations are at war…all the time. Political parties are in constant power struggles. Murder is consistently at epidemic levels. And man-made pandemics are all the rage. But, even with all this dark-hearted dreariness, my cup runs over. And my cup runs over because all this will go away. Yeah, it’s te...

Everybody’s trying to be nicer than God. Even real estate websites like to show off their “LGBT legal protections.” Which, of course, are bigoted policies. And I oppose any ideology that singles out individuals or groups who hate God and give them their own so-called “legal protections.” Instead, I wholeheartedly support the MJSPBR and their God-given legal protection...

Paramecia don’t become parakeets. And an amoeba will never be an ambulance driver. Not in a million, trillion years. Because changes like that don’t happen. Not by accident. Not on purpose. And certainly not accidentally on purpose. Accidentally on purpose used to be a joke, when I was a kid. But we didn’t imagine how serious that whole “accidental” thing would be. We...

Empty the ocean with a spoon? Yeah, that was a thought that rushed into my head one day back in the 1970’s. Because I was thinking about all the people in the world who give up too easily. And, at the same time, I thought about all the people in the world who would never give up. And I wanted to make sure I’d always be in that second group. At the time, I wasn’t as aware of what...

The short speeches were over. The room was put back in order. And the leftovers, sound system, and other ceremonial items were carried out, packed into cars, and driven away. So, all that was left of this celebration of my Mom’s life was the spreading the ashes part. My younger brother suggested “the old farm” where our family had lived decades before. And the rest of us agreed t...

Elgielene and I were driving down the highway the other day, and we saw a small herd of longhorn cattle. And we both commented on how healthy they looked. We could tell it was at least partly because they were grazing in greener pastures than other cows in the area. But that didn’t stop one of the cows from poking its head way through the fence to graze on the other side. And that made me th...

I’m a word nerd. And I’m certain I was born that way. So, you need to just love and understand me. And accept me for the identification I choose for myself. OK, now that I’ve gotten that heated rant off my chest…I only brought it up because of an online dictionary. I just got off the Merriam-Webster website where I found the word of the day. And I wasn’t even looking...

31 years ago, today, a beautiful, petite, slender, tan woman said one word that changed my life. Of course, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what that word was. But I’ll share it anyway. The word was “What?!” Just kidding. The word was “Yes.” Because I had just asked her if she wanted me to stop bothering her. Sorry, just kidding again. No, I had just ask...

1938. It was a cold day in January. 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, when the little family was ready to travel, they piled into their sedan and headed west to California. The...