Rhyme and Reason with Tony Funderburk

Throw away your daytimer (does anybody have one of those anymore?). Toss out your to-do lists, your notes to self, your calendar apps, and your reminders. Because everything has already been painstakingly planned out for you. You just need to get your research hat and glasses on. And discover the details of that plan. And how they apply to you. But there’s a snag in that approach to life. Go...

Imagine, for a moment, that you’ve set up a move in day for your nice, new house. Or apartment. Condo. Doesn’t matter. It’s just about perfect. It has precision appliances, digital climate control, two car garage. And basically all the amenities you could ever want. There’s just one catch. On move in day you discover your neighbor hates you. In fact, your neighbor hates you...

If it ain’t got a beat, then it just ain’t no treat. Of course, I’m talking about that ever-popular writing style known as sonnet poetry. And man is it ever manly! In fact, that’s the main ingredient to stylish poetry and prose. Manliness. But, before I harp on that, check these facts about sonnet poetry. First, it’s got da beat. Well, purists might call it meter. But...

A social media friend of mine shares some amazing photography. The colors are often so brilliant and high resolution they almost jump off the screen and directly into my brain. Lately (for obvious reasons) many of the pics are focused on Autumn. One of them, that popped up only yesterday, was titled Nestled in Nature. And I’m a huge fan of alliteration. So, I added a poem to the photo. This...

I read another article about brain cell connections to music. Yeah, I’m a nerd when it comes to that kind of information. And I love a quote from that article that said, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Of course the scientist who said that was talking about how brain cells communicate with each other by “firing” messages through junctions called synapses....

Let’s see. There was one bassist. Three cellists. Three violinists. And one pianist. Yeah, that about covers it. An eight-piece ensemble that started out, in second class, as a three-piece ensemble and a five-piece ensemble. Second class were their accommodations. Not their character or talent. Yeah, these were the kind of classy musicians who played for teatime gatherings. And other sort of...

95 years ago, today, October 6, a quirky little guy said, “”Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet.” And the crowd went wild. You probably already know I’m talking about Al Jolson. And you probably already know he was the guy who made movie history when “The Jazz Singer” premiered as the first “talkie.” Yeah, after all those silent...

Hey, you know what would be a lotta fun? Let’s talk about the evolution of music. Are you with me? But let’s don’t do it in my boring musician way. Let’s start with a discussion about it I found on a government website. Yeah, I’ve got your undivided attention now. Right? Check out this interesting paragraph on the evolution of music. “Music is a core human exper...

Just about everybody has a bedtime routine. It makes sense. Because humans are creatures of habit. Like brushing your teeth and changing into pajamas. Those activities just become something you do without having to put a lot of thought and effort into them. And then maybe you read a little and turn off the lights. Boom. You’ve got a bedtime routine. Good for YOU. And you might think that&#82...

I’m happy to celebrate when a church moves in the direction of rightly dividing the word of truth. But you almost never see that anymore. In fact, most establishments calling themselves churches move in the opposite direction. Sometimes the move is speedy. And often it’s slow enough to be almost unnoticeable. Like when a report says a church moves by the hand of God. On the surface tha...

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...

You’ve been a person your whole life. If you’ve lived a few (or several) decades, hopefully you’re getting pretty good at being a person. Yeah, it’s an ongoing struggle. But somebody’s gotta do it. Right? But let’s begin at the beginning and see where it takes us. Even if you can’t say for sure when your life started, you know without a doubt, the human fo...

Imagine if you could breathe underwater. Just think of the places you could go. How do fish breathe underwater? Well, they actually have a wonderfully designed system of gills that capture the oxygen from the water as it passes through. So fish don’t have to hold their breath like you and I do. But what if you didn’t have to hold your breath? Yeah. What if the gill slits you have durin...

Music is an aural expression of life. From babies in the womb to the silver-haired citizens, music is an amazingly comforting language. I’ve shared a lot of information about the health benefits of music and sound. But it doesn’t benefit only the listener. And I know this from a lifetime of aural expression. Whatever musical gifts and talents I have are gifts from God. And I’ve b...

Hypnopompic hallucinations. No, there are no drugs involved. You might have experienced them, even if you’ve never heard of ’em. Because they can occur in that transitional time between sleep and fully waking up. And they don’t have to include scenes of terror. After all, it’s not like everything in life mimics Stephen King books. My hypnopompic hallucinations almost always...

10 years ago I wrote some Christmas songs. And one of them became one of my favorites. Yeah, I know. How unabashedly arrogant of me. Right? No, it’s OK to favor your own creative work. And it’s OK to have enough ego to admit it. Anyway…I’ve been sharing that song for just about every Christmas since then. This year is no different. May the Prince of Peace and God of Christm...

What if joy were against the law? Sounds crazy, I know. But play along for just a bit. And let’s pretend that somehow that kind of law was pushed through congress. What would you do? If joy were against the law, would you break it? The law that is. Would you break it? Could you break it? I believe, and I hope I’m not alone in this belief, that there are plenty of people, right here in...

Bob Dylan said it. So, it must be true right? He talked about how you gotta serve somebody. In fact, in one of his songs, he sang “you’re gonna have to serve somebody” quite a few times. So, he must be pretty darn sure it’s true. And, in a way, it is. Sure, you could say you gotta serve somebody, OR… You could say you GET to serve somebody. First, and foremost, you GE...

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...

Eight years ago, today, I shared Episode 15 of my Podcast. Wow, 15. I’m now up to 739 episodes. (Side note: I’m way behind on recording episodes because my voice has been, shall we say, less than smooth. But the plan is to get going again shortly.) Anyway…Episode 15 focused on your understanding. And when I say “your,” I mean mine too. In fact, I mean everybody. Your...

“They” called him the “Chairman of the Board.” How he got the title depends on who you ask. But there’s no denying that Frank Sinatra liked being in charge. And I was never a fan even though he sang a couple of songs here and there I actually liked. One of those was about lost love. But this particular lost love was blown away. At least, according to the lyrics, there...

I spent a lot of my formative years in Texas. So, I still use (and always will use) some of those friendly southern, colloquial expressions in my everyday language. And many of those southern memories are some of my fondest childhood recollections. Like the sounds of croaking bullfrogs. And the chatter of bugs just as dusky coolness sweeps away the heat of the day. Or the chunky sound when mom wou...

It’s 33 miles in a round trip. And I read where it’s apparently America’s only “urban byway.” And that means it’s a scenic byway (on the National Register) closer to an urban area (Denver) than any other anywhere. And since it’s part of the “old west” it seems appropriate to call it the Lariat Loop. Not so long ago, we called the Lariat Loop ju...

People get ready. There’s a train a-coming. You don’t need no baggage. You just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesels humming. Don’t need no ticket. You just thank the Lord. Yeah, those are lyrics to the old Curtis Mayfield song, “People Get Ready.” And there’s a lotta word power goin’ on in that song. When The Impressions had a hit with...

Yes, God does have a plan. A MasterPlan. But He most definitely does not have a plan for your day. As I’ve said many times…He’s far too brilliant a designer than to create a bunch of humans who can’t do anything apart from Him. So, if you’ve been one of those Christians who says things like, “I’ve just got to remember, God’s in control,” stop t...