Category Archives: Tony Funderburk

Tony Funderburk is THE Rhyme and Reason author, singer-songwriter. He’s written and published 30+ books for kids and adults in addition to scores of articles. And he’s composed hundreds of songs (and a couple of books) for businesses and loyal listeners.

Tens of thousands of families have enjoyed and supported his recorded music and live performances for many years. Tony believes our existence is a beautiful gift from God to each of us, including our gifts and talents.

So, we should use them to create and serve others. When you tune in to Tony Funderburk’s The Power of God’s Love Podcast, you’ll get rhymes, reasons, and songs delivered to your inbox for free. AND click here to get free songs and a book right away. And Click here to learn more about Tony’s story.

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Advertisers and marketers constantly shout out the message: “be a brand new you.” But is that even possible? Well, not in the physical world. Thank God, the physical world is not all there is.

And thank God, also, that you CAN be a brand new you.

Paul told the Colossians what day must do in order for that to happen. And his message applies to you and me Here’s what he said:

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”

He also said that the evidence of a brand new you would be someone who would do something like this:

“…put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

See? Once again the power of God’s love old lady jumps into the mix. And it becomes a bond of perfection. But, as I’ve mentioned it many times, this is a limited time offer. One day the gift of Grace will no longer be available. And it is the most incomparably valuable gift anyone could ever receive. A gift so beautiful it inspires me to write rhymes like…

Brand New

This brand new poem is nothing new.
But I want to share it with you.
And if it draws a smile on your face for a while,
Well, that is the least I could do.
Yes, it’s true, you could pass it by.
But then you would never know why
I used up some time to think up of this rhyme.
Then it’s gone in the blink of an eye.  © TF 2025

Subscribe to Tony’s Daily Devotional , my 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.

Daily Devotional

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Here are the links to the flashes of light, from the week of October 20-26, 2025. I shared in Tony’s Daily Devotional and on the Rhyme and Reason PodcastEpisode 1011:

Get Tony’s Daily Devotional , my 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.

Daily Devotional

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If you can’t trust the king, who can you trust? That’s a good question. Well, it’s at least an interesting question. Especially since so many people seem to prefer no kings at all. In fact, they’ll go to any length, including the exclusion of men who aren’t kings.

In a way, history is filled with examples of why you can’t trust the king.

Because there have been more corrupt monarchs, male and female, than decent ones. That’s even true with the examples you find in the Bible. What?! Say it ain’t so!

OK, it ain’t so for the one true, living, loving King of kings. The only one who was not only incorrupt but also good. And since no one is good, but God, I’m sure you can guess who I’m talking about. If you can’t, check out just about any of my other thousands of posts for more clues.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and venture guess that those “no kings” people include the one and only incorrupt one, too. At least the vast majority of them do. Because the vast majority of them hate God. And truth.

They’re free to do so. But, tragically for them, that decision will not go well in the end. One day they will meet the one they hated and rejected. And they will discover that all their options and freedom to choose to hate God have taken them to the one place where they can be free from Him.

That place will be their eternal destination. And their eternal torment. And all it would’ve taken to avoid that hopeless situation was humility and a willingness to love, and…

Trust The King

You might win a few things in this life,
And you might even win a whole lot.
But you’ll lose everything if you don’t trust the King
Who has given you all that He’s got.

Know that nothing is too hard for God.
He can help you through all of your fears.
If your gold turns to rust, or your diamonds to dust,
Only God can dry all of your tears.

Make the most of the moments you have.
They fly by in the blink of an eye.
Don’t waste time in the dark, jump inside of the ark
Of God’s love. Kiss the old life goodbye.  © 2015 TF

Subscribe to Tony’s 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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My Dad worked hard. And for most of his life he worked milkman hours, back in the days when a milkman delivered dairy products door-to-door.

I remember those milkman hours first-hand.

Because dad took me with him on a LOT of Saturdays. So, when I say he worked hard, I know what I’m talking about from personal experience. First, you get up around 3 a.m. to be at the dairy plant way before daylight. Because you gotta have the milk truck loaded with cases of gallons, half gallons, and quarts of milk, juice, butter, and more. Then, you hit the road by 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. in order to deliver to customers before breakfast.

Dad worked two routes each week. One was his Monday, Wednesday, Friday route. The other was Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. He delivered milk in some neighborhoods in Texas near NASA. In fact (as a side note) several of his customers were some of the first well-known, “right stuff” astronauts.

And that brings up another side note (and true story).

Dad made sure, on one of those Saturdays I worked with him, I got to personally hand deliver a half gallon of ice cream to Neil Armstrong. For those of you not born in the 20th century…Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. And little ol’ me handed him a container of Dutch chocolate rocky road ice cream! (I think that’s what it was)

Anyway…

Even on those long Saturdays, when I was helping Dad deliver milk, he spent lots of time with me. And not just telling me what to do. We also had conversations about the more important things in life. Things like what I had learned in math, science, and language classes. Other topics included boats, fishing, family, and where I was going someday when I die. Yeah, even that.

Those one-on-one times with my Dad were my favorites. And I wouldn’t trade a second of them for all the cool technology in the world.

Dad died when he was only 51.

There were tough times with my Dad, too. He was a strict disciplinarian. And when I failed to do the right thing once in a while, sometimes there were serious consequences. But those times never overshadowed the fun times with him. He also showed me how to use tools. And work on lawnmowers, bicycles, and even my first car. He built (yes, built, not bought) go-karts and mounted lawnmower motors to power them up. And my brother and I would test drive them around the block. Sometimes successfully. Sometimes not so much.

Dad also showed us how to fly kites attached to the line on our saltwater fishing rods and reels. He’d throw the football with us, in the street, during football season. He taught us the finer points of throwing a baseball with either hand. I remember even getting him to play tennis with me when I started up that sport in high school. And I remember it was the first sport where I could beat him. Guys might identify more with me on that…how it feels to first beat your dad at anything. Right?

My Dad was only 20 years older than me. That means he’s now been gone longer than he was around during my life. And I still think of him and so many of those special moments almost daily.

I’m not sure if he knows, right now, how important a role he played in my life.

But I AM sure he knows, without a doubt, what the more important things in life are. He was (and is) a Christian. So, I know my Dad is “present with the Lord” right now. And I’m confident that Dad has experienced, firsthand for almost 40 years, the ultimate relationship. It’s an awesome and incredible HOPE I have…to know I’ll see him again someday. And to know we’ll be eternal brothers in the presence of the one, true, living, loving Creator.

That’s why I encourage you to interrupt temporary with eternal.

As you go through your day today…as you check your texts, instant messages, social media accounts, YouTube and Instagram videos, and even your eCommerce stats…take a pause. Look up. Look around. Pay attention to the ones you love. Talk to them. Embrace. Laugh. Enjoy the time. They won’t be here forever. You won’t either. Be you’ll all be somewhere forever. Talk about that. And be sure where you’re going. It matters more than any other message you’ll receive from any other source.

I hope you’re tapped into the power of God’s love. Because there ain’t no other security that even comes close.

Subscribe to Tony’s Daily Devotional , my 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.

Daily Devotional

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Most people, if they even think about it, wonder why people like me (Christians) read the Bible over and over. But in their current condition, they can’t possibly understand how the word is alive. In fact, they probably look at a statement like that and ask,

“The word is alive? Don’t you mean the words ARE alive?”

And, grammatically, they’re sorta correct. But the question illustrates their inability to understand how the Word is alive, was alive, and always will be.

Of course, a key thing to note (at least in the written form) is how I capitalize the W in the word, Word.

Uh-oh, Tony’s going off into the nether world of language again.

No. I just wanna clear up a point. Christians (followers of Jesus) always want to emphasize the deity of Jesus. So, we not only capitalized his name, we tend to capitalize the first letter of every word that describes Him. See? I even capitalized the W in the word, Him. Because He (there I go again) is beyond worthy of that kind of respect. And the Bible even calls Jesus, or the Son of God, the Word.

Yeah, it says “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

And that’s one example of how I can say the words alive. And it’s also part of why I’m always talking about the power of God’s love. Because my knowledge and recognition of that love drives me to keep going every day in spite of physical or mental challenges or other obstacles. And it helps me connect it to…

The Power of the Word

So, you’ve been thinking that you’ve got a whole lot to fear.
And you keep asking, “What on earth am I doin’ here?”
Well I wouldn’t tell you it’s as gloomy as you’ve heard.
You just need the power of the Word

I know you’ve heard that if at first you don’t succeed,
Just keep on trying and you’re bound to fill the need.
But you don’t believe all that stuff applies to you.
And without the power what can you do

Well the power of the Word takes an ordinary bird
And it gives him songs to sing and wings to soar.
With the power of the Word, even when your vision’s blurred,
All your dreams will be fulfilled forevermore.

Numbers are crunching and seconds are ticking on.
Your hopes are fading until you wonder where they’ve gone.
But you wouldn’t worry that your life could be deterred,
If you had the power of the Word

Chorus

And if you’re asking, “What’s in it for me?”
Well, give up your soul and I think you will see…

Eternity…eternity…eternity……….

instrumental…repeat chorus to end © 1993 & 2011 TF

Subscribe to Tony’s 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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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Here are the links to the flashes of light, from the week of October 13-19, 2025 I shared in the Tony’s Daily Devotional and on the Rhyme and Reason PodcastEpisode 1009:

Play

Get The Rhyme and Reason PodcastDelivered to Your Device Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

Get Tony’s Daily Devotional , my 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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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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

Subscribe to my Tony’s Daily Devotional .

It’s 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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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