Words and Music Archives - Tony Funderburk

Wow. It’s America’s 250th birthday. And I bet there’s a good chance you get to enjoy an awesome fireworks display wherever you live. I hope you also get to enjoy the company of family and friends and good food and great fun. After all, on Independence Day, 2026 you can actually sing along to Saturday In The Park by the band Chicago, and the lyrics will actually fit. Because Indep...

I wrote and produced a small voice song. But it was based on the greatest life in the universe. Yeah, God doesn’t need the destructive forces of nature to show His power. He doesn’t create the chaos in the world to display His majesty. In fact, He communicates most effectively with a still small voice…with anyone who’s willing to listen . And God’s voice, in these tim...

Is the moon approximately 400 times smaller than the sun? Yes. And that’s not just cool. It’s also on purpose. Because the Son of God made it that way. And not only is the moon smaller by that much… It’s also about 400 times closer to the earth than the sun. And again that’s on purpose for the same reason I mentioned before. Check out what the apostle John had this to say about how everything was...

It’s the only family that will last forever. So, there’s that. But there’s so much more to it that it’s difficult to even wrap your mind around it. And that’s pretty cool because as a child of God, the one, true, living, loving Creator of the universe, you’ll get to spend eternity discovering more and more about your original Father. Many, if not most (or all in...

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 multi...

God is everlasting and everywhere He wants to be. You and I are SO not like that. But if you could take a minute to try and see yourself from God’s perspective, you can get a better understanding of how much trouble He’s gone through to bridge that gap. And that’s true because of one thing, and one thing only. The power of God’s everlasting Love that’s available every...

I’ll start this off with a question. Have you ever seen someone for psychiatric care? I haven’t, but I’ve known people who have. And I’ve certainly seen enough movies and TV shows with people seeking therapy that way. But they never act or talk like it actually works. And I don’t see much care in their psychiatric care. Plus, there’s an unavoidable problem when...

Let’s say you have a beautiful vision of a loving future where no bad people live and everybody lives forever. If that’s you, I can confidently tell you that your dreams come true. But there is a condition. Your dreams only come true if you know the Way to make that happen. About 17 years ago, I wrote a collection of lullabies for kids, even though I never raised any kids myself. But w...

Oh brother, I was so naive. Yeah, I used to believe that Americans were all on the same side. Old people never did bad things. Pretty girls were all saving themselves for marriage. Crazy, I know. But I believed those things. And I assumed most anybody would know I was talking about God when I wrote “higher power” in a song. Boy, was I wrong. And like I said, naive. Fast forward a coupl...

I lived in a one bedroom one bathroom garden level apartment in Lakewood, Colorado for a couple of years. I finished up the 80s there. And I started out the 90s there. During my first summer, in that complex, I noticed oodles of rainbows after the almost daily short summer rains. And that inspired me to write a song called Rainbow City. The only recording I have of the song is an MP3 demo version....

I’m sure you’ll disagree with me when I say this. But I’m so not cool. And this might be the biggest reason… I’ve never done any cool drugs. Not even pot. OK, they say the first step to healing is admitting you have a problem. So, that’s a load off my mind. And I can see my audience dwindle as they run to find another much cooler dude to follow. G’bye everyone. It’s b...

“Everything has already been said a million times over!” “Not exactly the way you can say it,” he calmly replies. “Oh shut up,” I think to myself. I’ve never had that conversation while sitting alone at my desk. Well, not more than a million times over. When I finish one of those conversations,  I get my hands back on my Macbook keyboard and start typing....

It grows from ignorance and selfishness. It spreads, like kudzu, in the minds of fools who claim that hate only exists in others. I’m talking about hypocrisy. Unfortunately hypocrisy tends to be invisible to the hypocrite. And that’s partly why hate grows, like a weed, in this world. OK, now that I’ve rained on the parade, I’ll share some positive news. God’s love is greater than...

Yeah, your life is your own, and it’s unique. No one else who ever lived, is living now, or will ever live will have the same life as you. But your life is no different from anybody else’s either. Confused? I’ll explain. The DNA found in every cell of your body is incredibly complex and singularly yours. The chances of it existing by chance are so small (translate that into nonexistent), you&#8217...

Just because some authoritative power makes a rule doesn’t make the rule a good one, a just one, or a fair one. In fact, many rules, policies, and laws are downright bad. But you gotta think and ponder and examine to know which rules are good and which are bad. Before you decide to break rules you’d better be sure you’re on the right side. But is that possible? Short answer is ye...

By the Grace of God I’ve enjoyed a life filled with music, singing, and songwriting. I’ve been all over the country because of my ability to carry a tune. And I say by the Grace of God because I’ve been a miserable failure in so many other ways…so many times. God never saw fit to take my gifts away. For some reason He still trusts me with them… Even though I’ve...

I saw this headline on a social media platform today: Podcast Host Calls White Evangelical Christianity a Cancer – And I could not believe how badly they misspelled the word blessing. I mean, cancer doesn’t even remotely look like blessing. So how could they mix those words up so badly? Because I’m sure they meant to say white evangelical Christianity is a blessing. At least if t...

Have you ever read the list of the perils of Paul? It’s an epic list, to say the least. And it was because he shared the unvarnished, hard truth. About the only peril preachers, in probably 99% of American churches, face these days is obesity. And my guess is, that’s not because they’re sharing that same unvarnished, hard truth in God’s word. Here’s the list of the pe...

OK, we’ve only got a few Christmas spirit days left. Then everything gets turned off again for another eight or nine months. Oh sure, there’ll be a few leftovers. But pretty much once December 25th is done, the lights go out, and that sparkly holiday cheer turns into just another year. Sorry to throw a wet blanket on your Christmas spirit days. I’m sure they’re probably ple...

I’ll tell you, right up front, it’s a metaphor for Heaven. And I didn’t come up with the metaphor because I had to. Because if someone told me I had to, I probably would’ve skipped the whole darn thing. Yeah, I guess I’m just one of those hardheaded writers who doesn’t want to be told how or what to write. So, I said all that to explain why I called the song Ang...

Who cares if you sing truth to a kid? Especially if it’s a very young kid. Because they’re not even gonna know or care if it’s true or not anyway right? They’ll just trust you. Or whatever grown up is in charge. Bingo! That right there is why you should sing truth to a kid. Well, at least if singing to, and with, a kid is part of your approach to spending quality time toget...

A social media friend of mine shared a link to a video of John Wayne throwing a kid into deep creek. Actually it was John Wayne playing the title character from the movie, Hondo. And the movie was based on the book, by the same name, written by Louis L’Amour. His books were partly the products of imagination and largely a part of Mister L’amour’s exceptional ability to visualize...

So, this catchy tune popped into my head this morning. And I thought, “Hmm, that might go real nice with some lyrics I wrote a few years ago.” Then, I sat down in my vocal booth and fired up the studio mic. And I hummed along with a salsa beat as pictures of avocado bliss danced in my head. If you never enjoy avocado bliss, you need a taste buds tuneup. And surely you’d like some...

Here’s the three-step process a hypocrite uses to become one. Point finger. Say stuff. Play the sound of their own voice back in their head. Now. Who’s ready to start with step one? Point finger. Hmm. I see no hands raised. And, as Martha Steward used to say, that’s a good thing. Because I know you’re like me. We’ve all certainly done things, in this life, we’re...

Regardless of what happens today, this weekend, or ever, hold on to the Truth. And just in case you didn’t catch it (but I bet you did), I capitalized the word, Truth. And I just did it again. Because I’m not talking about the truth that can be so manipulated in this world filled with lies and AI’s. It’s crucial to hold on to THE Truth, now, more than ever. Because now, more than ever, that Truth...