Category Archives: Rhyme and Reason

Enjoy & understand the rhyme and reason for your life with author, voice expert, and multimedia guy, Tony Funderburk.

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A man named Solomon once said there’s nothing new under the sun. When you read his story, you’ll see he was someone with authority on the subject.

But I say there’s not nothing new under the sun.

Even though I’m not a king, and I don’t play one on YouTube, I have more authority on the subject than King Solomon had. So, you can quote me.

“There’s not nothing new under the sun.”

I know them there’s some mighty bold words for a gimpy words and music guy. But I done said it. And I ain’t takin’ it back. And you can’t make me.

‘Cause even if I ain’t got a PhD, I know what a double negative is in algebra and grammar. And I know it turns a negative sounding statement into an actually positive statement and two negatives, in algebra, to a positive.

So, when I say there’s not nothing new, that actually means there IS something new. Ya folla? And that something new should be you. Something created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Now, watch as I take that idea and turn a negative into a positive when I say…

Nothing New

There’s nothing new to say today,
Not even this.
So, I’ll just go outside and play.
Ignorant bliss.
You’ve probably heard it all before
So many times.
And nothing gives you cause to snore
Like simple rhymes.
But maybe this will flash a light
Inside your brain,
A spark of hope so you just might
Avoid some pain.
Now, even though there’s nothing new
To say today,
I know you’ll find some peace when you
Can see the Way
God did the deed you could not do.
And so I pray
For words to write and songs to sing
My whole life long.
To simply not say anything
Would be so wrong.
But will you pay attention to
These words I share?
Or will you say, “It’s nothing new,
And I don’t care.”
You’ll see, one day, you had a choice
Of where you’d be.
If you choose God, you will rejoice
Eternally. © 2020 TF

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I’m not a scientist. And I don’t play one on TV. And I’m not a physicist or alchemist or biologist. I’m a Christian writer and poet. A words and music guy. A guy made up of as much carbon as anyone in those other professions. But I’m a guy, who like those other guys, has a time limit on my LIFE here on earth.

And when my time limit is up, my carbon will still be here.

So my life did not arise from or depend on carbon. And true science (not the pseudoscience you see on TV) shows the undeniable complexity in human DNA. The code in a just one of your cells contains volumes of design information.

Yeah, you have your own unique DNA. So does everyone else. My finite mind can barely apprehend (and certainly not comprehend) the implications of that. But I can say this without hesitation. DNA clearly shows we’re information based, not carbon. And without information this whole world. would be lifeless. So, that certainly begs the question, “Where did all that information originate?”

Well, I believe in the unpopular idea that it didn’t all come from nothing.

Of course, when I say “unpopular,” that doesn’t mean hardly anyone agrees with me. In fact, millions and millions of people agree with me. But there are billions who disagree. And I predict eventually that will not go well for them.

I wish scientists who trust in carbon would get real and go where life’s information leads. Because I believe they get a much better understanding of life, love, and design. And they might even learn to trust in the Designer. I’ll just go ahead and say it, Jesus is that designer.

Secret Mission

In the first ray of light there was a message
That no one else, but me, could even see.
And I had to squint my eyes to decipher
A secret mission plotted just for me.
There were no dots or dashes or impulses.
No man-made codes and no neurology
Could infiltrate and then translate the mission,
The expedition meant for only me.
Then a voice, filled with thunder, in a whirlwind,
Spoke to me about peace and sanctity.
And my soul realized the secret mission
Is for everyone and not just for me.
I appeal, with an urgency of purpose,
To your heart where you’ll find eternity
Written down, as a not so secret mission,
To share God’s love for all with eyes to see. © 2025 TF

Subscribe to my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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Put a few drops of peppermint, or peppermint and lemon, into a diffuser (with filtered water). And I think you’ll love how those scents can open up your sinuses and clear your head.

Anyway…

It’s so cool, how diffusers vaporize the oils and water. And they do it so quietly. But the end result is so pleasant and so powerful. A whole room can transform as you breathe in those aromas. It’s one of life’s little pleasures.

I guess those are some of the reasons why Paul (in the Bible) metaphorically described Christians as diffusers. I’m not making that up. Here’s what he said…

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”

That should clear your head about who you are.

I know it does that for me. And it makes me feel like my 3200 articles, well most of them, are like essential oils. And I’ve diffused “the fragrance of His knowledge” in my own way. Through Rhyme and Reason.

Hmm…maybe I should start my own brand of diffusers. What do you think?

But there’s a catch to letting God use you to diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge. Just like some people are allergic to certain plants and their oils, most people find the fragrance of God’s knowledge offensive, too. Paul talked about that this way…

“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.” Sounds kinda like a life and death situation, doesn’t it?

Well, here’s a reasonable rhyme about that…

The fragrance of knowledge is essential.
Diffuse it. Don’t keep it confidential.
To some, it’s like roses. Some turn up their noses.
Your results will be quite consequential.

Subscribe to my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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Of course, I don’t know what your preferences are or your taste in design. But I’m pretty confident you’d have to agree there’s nothing quite like neon trees.

What’s that? You’ve never seen neon trees?

Oh Matilda, say it ain’t so. Because, especially around this time of year, neon trees are almost everywhere. Not so much here along the Emerald Coast but certainly in many other places around America. From the Smoky Mountains to New England, from the Ozarks to the Rocky Mountains, and from the great Southwest to the vast Northwest. Beautiful neon blowing in the breezes.

OK, by now (or even sooner) you probably figured out I’m talking about autumn art as the leaves change from different shades of green to the bright, fiery colors of fall. I hope you make time to get outside check out the change. Because not only is it a blast, but it’s just plain good for you. It’s a great way to reinforce and reinvigorate your brain to remember how it’s all part of God’s design and intentions.

In His bestselling book of all time, God inspired Moses to write:

“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

That should bring you comfort, if you need comforting, that this planet isn’t gonna be destroyed by so-called climate change or whatever other knucklehead scheme they come up with. God’s word and His promises always bring me comfort. And I believe he indirectly inspired me to write about neon trees.

Well, maybe not neon trees specifically. But I do believe He gave me a creative mind that I can use to write rhymes like the following two. They were written years apart. And I didn’t realize how connected they would be until this morning. As I read the words out loud to myself I get the same visual I did when I wrote these…

Singing silent solo songs…
Looking up redeems the poorest.
Don’t doubt where belief belongs.
Threaded through the days of living
Light librettos linger low
Thankful to be sources giving
Blue, green, orange, red, and yellow. © 2022 TF

AND…

Walking in the woods of wonder…
Leaping off a limb of lights…
Slipping down a secret scots pine…
Kiwi trees are flying kites.

All around are dancing aspens…
With their white and wondrous wings…
Bristling branches and sweet breezes…
Where a speckled sparrow sings.

Rainbow redwoods rake the blue sky…
Mystic music mingles in…
Dragons drift by in their dreamboats…
Lemon larkspurs live within.

Walking in the woods of wonder…
Thinking thoughts of thrilling things…
Life’s a lilac filled with lightning…
We’re all wearing water wings.  © 2013 TF

I hope you get inspired in some way to use your creativity and express your delight in God’s design.

Get my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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Scientific curiosity led to the discovery that the earth revolves around the sun. So, scientifically speaking, the sun don’t rise. But you and I know we were created by a living, loving, artful God. So, we know we can say the sun does rise. Every day. Because you and I understand the difference between literal and metaphorical.

Yeah, don’t tell me the sun don’t rise.

Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. For over seven decades.

A sunrise is a metaphor, an allegory, or even a simile. It’s how your creative mind “sees” things. Either as you’d like them to be, or as they appear to be. In both cases you get a sense of the imagination forged into your spirit. God didn’t have to give  imagination. He could have just designed you to see whatever He preferred you to see. Or to perceive only those things necessary for survival.

But God loves. Not that ridiculous worldly love that’s here today and gone tomorrow. His love is  real and enduring. And your imagination is intangible proof of His love. You can think with logic and reason. But you can also imagine and create. You can soar into the skies, dive into the depths of the oceans, paint rainbows in the leaves of trees, and even rise above whatever physical limitations you might have.

But those limitations will never make you say the sun don’t rise.

Where will you let the gift of imagination take you today?

When the sun does rise,
And it surely will,
We will run straight to
The aroma hill.
We will pluck one rose
From its thorny vine,
And refresh our lips
With a sip of wine.
We will find delight
In the sweet bouquet
Of this flowered hill…
Of this brand new day.
It will be a feast
For the nose and eyes,
And it all begins
When the sun does rise.

Get my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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Where we are right now, in the heart of the heartland of America, mother nature is putting on her Autumn attire. Fall officially started yesterday. So it’s still too early for the colors to be vibrantly on fire. But there are hints of the beautiful shades to come all around.

The so-called autumn attire is an annual reminder, too.

You probably recall what Jesus said, in the book of John, when he talked about death that brings life. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Side note: When he said “he who hates his life in this world,” it’s actually an expression of someone who urgently desires eternal life and realizes how this life here now doesn’t compare at all to that.

Anyway…

I wrote a short rhyme about it, inspired by a beautiful photograph of a small cabin, surrounded by and autumn attired forest. It all looked quite cozy. So I wrote….

Nestled In Nature

Nestled in nature, in evergreen fire,
A small cabin sits in its Autumn attire.
Some leaves have fallen and many remain
For just a while longer, to sing a refrain
Whispering breezes have brought to this place.
It’s so solitary and so full of Grace.
A scene so serene you might wonder why
The world goes berserk in the blink of an eye.
Answers are simple, and life can be, too.
Your Creator wants to restore it in you.
Silence and music, in sync and in tune,
Reveal His love from this burnished doubloon. © 2022 TF

Get my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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You could even have the right stuff and your ideas could still bomb out. So, now that I’ve inspired you with that little tidbit, go out and make it a great day.

But wait a sec. One time even the right stuff didn’t have the right stuff.

I’m talking about the movie that was released in 1983 about the original American astronauts. I thought it was a hit. But today I found out it didn’t do well in theaters. Here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

“The Right Stuff was a box-office bomb, grossing about $21 million (domestically) against a $27 million budget. However, it received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for eight Oscars at the 56th Academy Awards, four of which it won. And the film was a huge success on the home video market. In 2013, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’ The film was ranked #19 on the American Film Institute’s most inspiring movies.”

None of that stuff makes a difference one way or the other with me. Probably you too. And, for me, that’s because I know no one is truly made of the right stuff. There was only one person, who ever lived (the One who has always lived), who’s not only right, but perfect. And He is your only chance of having what it takes to make the grade and not bomb out.

He’s the one who can give you the courage and strength to be a doer; a person who shares love with…

More Than Saying

Saying you love someone is easy to do,
But showing your love should be, too.
Starting today, with the words that you say,
Share all the best parts of you.
Saying you love someone is not quite enough
And backing it up might seem tough,
But make it your plan, I’m sure that you can
Because you’re made of the right stuff.  © 2022  TF

Get my Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, the 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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