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 Angel Café.

After all, I’m sure you realize you can’t hang out at the Angel Café here on earth. So, a place with that name must be a place you’ll only be able to visit after you die.

Uh oh. I just did a quick search, online, and it turns out there IS an Angel Café right here on Earth. But I can tell you, with 99.99% certainty, that it’s not THE Angel Café. And I can say that confidently because first it appears to be in Turkey. And there ain’t no angels in Turkey. Second, it. was created by human beings from Turkey. And human beings are not, and never will be, angels.

Anyway…

THE Angel Café it’s just a pigment of my imagination. And because I thought it was a colorful and creative way to describe putting something off till it’s too late I wrote a song about it. I’ve shared the song here on my website (and on my podcast) before. But with the things that have happened in the past couple of months, and other things I’ve observed in my extended family, I thought it might bear repeating.

Is there something you’d like to share with someone? Or maybe there’s something you wish they would tell you? Regardless, here’s the point. In case you never heard this before, you ain’t getting any younger. No one is.

One of these days, when you least expect it, in most cases, it’ll be too late to say what’s on your mind or get those questions answered. Once you breathe your last breath, all opportunities are lost. And that might be forever. Because you might be separated from that certain person forever.

So I encourage you, today (in fact, right now, if you can), to make and take an opportunity to say or ask what needs to be said or asked. Tomorrow will get here and turn into today. But you have absolutely NO guarantee you’ll still be here then. If the last two months have taught me anything, and they have, it’s that drastic changes can happen in the blink of an eye. I like the song says, don’t put off who you should get to today. Because you might not be able to meet up in the…

You’ve already been to the mountain,

You might recall all the tea and conversation.

Well time flies away.

I watched as your world got so busy.

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No, I haven’t taken up golfing. So, the one stroke I speak of is the kind of stroke you don’t wanna get even once. But on April 17, yeah, just last month, I had one sneak up on me and knock me down pretty hard.

It’s one thing to read about, or watch what someone deals with in a movie, or hear somebody tell a story about relearning how to walk and do simple things like pick something up. But it’s another thing entirely to actually have to do it yourself. And yet that’s where I find myself now.

It all started, as I said, on the evening of April 17th. I had just a few hours to go before I would drive to the airport to pick up Elgielene at the airport. She was getting back home around midnight from a two-week trip to see her sister in Florida. I had just gotten off the phone with her and her sister, after a conversation about flight numbers and times. Then I got up from my desk, walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and a weird feeling, came over me. It was something I haven’t felt before, so, being a typical American tough guy, I decided to.” walk it off.”  And I started pacing back-and-forth from room to room.

Unfortunately, the pacing didn’t help. I couldn’t walk it off. Matter of fact, I noticed my left leg started not responding so well and it bumped into things. Then, I started to have suspicions that something dastardly was taking place in my brain. So, I started quoting the first couple of lines from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address to see if my speech was OK. Oddly. enough, my speech was pretty much fine.

But I tried to walk again and my left leg refused to cooperate. It just felt like a heavy weight that I couldn’t even drag. Well, that was enough to get me to dial 911 and put in a call for an ambulance.

In very short order, a couple of very nice female paramedics showed up at my door, came inside, checked my vitals, and recommended that I waste no time getting to the emergency center of a nearby hospital.

The crew in the hospital very quickly diagnosed that I had experienced one stroke, and that I needed to go into the ICU for quick treatment.

I was only able to leave her a voicemail that told her what happened and that I had been taken to the emergency room at this particular hospital. Imagine her surprise when she got off the plane and found that I wouldn’t be there to pick her up at midnight. And not only that, I was also in intensive care at the hospital. How’s that for a wake up call after a long day of connecting flights between Florida and Kansas?

Anyway…

It’s nearly a month since that took place and I just got back home four days ago. And it’s quite a drastic change in the Funderburk lifestyle. Before, I did all the driving because, well, I’m a man, and that’s what real man do. But now I’m not allowed to drive. Elgielene has really stepped up her game. And she’s taking great care of me.What a blessing! She has to do everything she was doing before plus help me do things that I don’t do so well now. My physical and occupational therapists told me they expect what they call “activation” to return to my left side eventually.

So, there’s the word I’m dealing with right now. Eventually.

This is my first message out to anyone who has connected with me online. And I expect to share more updates as my eventual recovery progresses.

There are some people who know about the stroke, and I know there have been a lot of people praying for me. For that I’m eternally grateful. Thank you for including me in your prayers. And thank you for the awesome encouragement and support.

Here’s a rhyme that I wrote way back that needs my personal attention now:

Hey, I’m talkin’ to you man…

Think about what you’re eatin’…

“I’m a healthy happy human

Subscribe to my FunderFlash Journal. Because the flashes of light I share on my website come directly to your inbox. So you can spend your valuable time reading 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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Back To The Future. I’d say there’s a good chance you saw that movie. So, you probably remember that certain song by Huey Lewis and the News. The power of Love. It’s catchy. Huey sings it well. And it’s got a good beat.

The real POWER of love I’m always harpin’ on is only found in one place. And that place is actually one Person. And that one Person is, let’s all say it together, Jesus. I know I’m preachin’ to the choir right now. But “the choir” needs to speak up more about the whole Jesus. Here’s what I tell people. And I hope you do, too. Of course, you can put your own personality into it and use your own words. But tell them. Because most churches don’t now.

The world (and many Christians) say “God is love.” But God doesn’t say that. He says He is:

I just did a search in His book. And I couldn’t find anywhere in there where He says, “I am love.” No, when God describes Himself, you’ll find a lot of references to the effective power of His love. But no references to Him BEING love. He’s the source of it. But He’s the God of justice AND mercy. Because He loves you.

Yes, that’s completely sensible. Because God understands that in order for love to be true, it MUST be freely given. So, He freely gives His to anyone who will receive it. Yep, you get to choose whether or not you will. Because God gave you your own will.

And the POWER of His love provided (and still provides) the way you can know the truth and receive eternal life. But He never has, doesn’t now, and never will force you to believe in, trust in, or love Him. You are free to be your own little god. The person who is nicer, wiser, and more loving than anyone. I suggest you wise up and don’t choose that option. Because nobody in the whole world has ever done anything to deserve His

If this was the last day of my life…

If this was the last thing I could write…

If this was the last time I could pray…

© 2018

Subscribe to my FunderFlash Journal. Because the flashes of light I share on my website come directly to your inbox. So you can spend your valuable time reading 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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I woke up this morning and saw the same stories in the news again. Too many fires. And too many people with questions. And not many who shared how Living Water is the answer. So, you know what that means.

But this ain’t about too many fires burning down forests, prairies, or houses. It’s about a focus on problems when you should be focused the solution.

A long time ago, if you wanted to tell God something, you had to follow a bunch of rules. And if you wanted God’s help with your problems, you had to ask a high priest to let God know your request.

But then Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead to make a way to change that. Now, you can pray to God anytime and every time you want, and He’ll listen. It doesn’t matter how many fiery problems are burning across your landscape right now. Because Jesus, who called Himself the Living Water, can help you put them all out.

He loves to hear from you, by the way.

So, try this idea.

Talk to God today and ask Him for some peace and quiet. Then, be still and listen for His word. I should say, that last part works if and when you’ve been in His word and His word is in you. If that’s not quite how it is, then grab yourself a Bible and read Paul’s letters. You can find them way over in the right side of the book. He wrote 13 of them. And they’re the ones from Romans to Philemon.

He was beaten with rods. And he received 195 lashes on his back. He was stoned. Shipwrecked three times. Dangerously adrift at sea. Thrown in prison, where he almost died, several times. And he listed a bunch of perils:

Wow. Every way he turned. But those weren’t the only issues. He also dealt with:

And he knew when you focus on all the fires (issues), you just end up with too many fires. So, I hope you’ll follow my suggestion and stop listening to and reading what everyone, who gets their unwise wires crossed, says about it. Forget about all the sky-is-falling people running their potty mouths, full time, about the bad news of the day.

Because the Good News is as close as your thoughts.

Stay tuned,

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There I stood. In between the guitar player’s loud amp and the drummer’s crash cymbal. That’s where my equipment had been placed on a stage in front of business executives. Things had already fallen behind a bit. So, there was no time to rearrange anything. So, that’s where I was for an hour and a half. And take my advice. If you ever get the chance to be in that position, pass it up.

And I’m not sure which was worse. The piercing guitar in my right ear. Or the crash cymbal in my left. Maybe it was a tie. Anyway, I can tell you my hearing was damaged, at least a little, from that day on.

But you know what’s worse than having your ears damaged? It’s having your soul damaged by somebody trying to impress you with their fancy skills just because it makes them feel “special.” And a wise man, named Paul, wrote about what happens to anyone who tries to do that. He talked about people who had special gifts from God like being able to predict things and speak other languages.

He said, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

Yikes. That ain’t good. And as I already showed you, a clanging (crash) cymbal can hurt your ears. So, if and when you’re like that, there’s a good chance you might be hurting more than just ears. Because someone might think you’re just trying to show off. So, they won’t even wanna listen to your noise.

You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for the power of God’s love. Yeah, He loved the world (which is another way of saying you and me and all the people) so much that He put Himself into a human body to be punished for all the bad stuff He did.

Wait a second! Read those last 6 words again.

NO. He wasn’t punished for all the bad stuff HE did. He let people beat Him, make fun of Him, and even put Him to death because of all the bad stuff YOU did. And all the bad stuff everybody did.

So, what He did is WAY more important than any so-called “special gifts” you and I might have. And He did it because of His love. That’s why you don’t wanna be a crash cymbal in this world. But that’s exactly what you’ll be if you go through your day without love. Because…

Without love there’s just no way out

And I’d love for you to get encouraging, regular issues of my FunderFlash Journal the easy way. Just add your email address and they’ll come to you and you won’t have to look for them. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, when you do, I’ll send you download links to 2 of my Christian books for kids and 2 songs, right away, that grownups AND kids can enjoy.

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This world is getting darker and meaner every day. And there are fewer kids doing wholesome kid stuff with each passing year. But I think you’ll find that the sights and scents of a flower garden can still attract kids almost as much as they attract bees.

So, stop what you’re doing and make the most of it. So what if you had an appointment. Be a little late. So what if you’re on the way to work or the kids are on the way to school (which I recommend is in your own home). What you can teach them in a single, precious moment can have eternal benefits. And that trumps the daily routine any time.

Here’s the main reason you and the kids should stop and smell the flowers. Because it’s a simple, effective connection you and they can make to your living, loving God who made the flowers. He’s the Creator who spoke words and all the universe exploded into existence. That’s powerful stuff packed into each flower. And right down to the very fragrance that wafts up into your nose. I call it…

Take a look at the colors in a flower.

Even more than the best and brightest flower

“Lord I love to smell the lilies of the valley

Your email address is all it takes to get encouraging, regular issues of my FunderFlash Journal. It comes directly to your inbox so you spend your valuable time reading instead of searching. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to 2 of my Christian books for kids and 2 songs, right away, that grownups AND kids can enjoy.

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There are lots of bad guys (and that includes the female part of “guys” too) out there everyday. You can’t swing a metal jump rope without hittin’ at least one.

In fact, I could tell you a story, three stories in fact, that happened one after another on three consecutive nights way back in the 20th century. Well, I’ll just share the short version of the first one.

I was beaten by a motorcycle gang. Yep. True story. A group of them arrived at a place where I worked, and I had been advised to let them know they wouldn’t be allowed in. The establishment had a dress code. And, as you might imagine, the bikers didn’t come close to meeting the standard.

And they started to, let’s say, “raise some cane.” One thing led to another, and I found myself locked outside with no other workmates. And the biker dudes threw me on the hood of a VW and commenced to pound the daylights out of me. I knew I couldn’t take them on, so I just rolled onto my belly and protected my face and head as much as possible.

After what felt like too long, I heard sirens, and they hopped on their hawgs and took off.

Workers opened the front door after hearing the sirens and motorcycle engines. And they found me lying on the sidewalk. Of course, the management saw the huge swollen spots on my face and rushed me to a nearby hospital to be checked out. Fortunately I ended up with only minor cuts, bruises, and a concussion.

That was just the first night. Remind me to tell you what happened the next two nights.

The Way to be alert and aware. The Way to be prepared to avoid all, or at least most, of the baddies out there everyday. And the Way to get wiser and not just smarter.

Since too many good guys don’t have a clue how to properly handle bad guys, it’s a good idea for YOU to learn how to discern. And that’s just a fancy word that means figger some things out. But never worry. Never fear. Because, as I said, your Way is here.

Or at least the Way is a close as your bookshelf, table, or even your phone. That’s where I go when I need or want to know more about how to handle bad guy stuff. Here’s how it works:

When you wear the full armor of God,

Take a second and join the growing body of believers who’ve already signed up for the FunderFlash Journal. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to 2 of my books and 2 songs, right away, that grownups AND kids can enjoy. Then, I’ll do my best to encourage you to sing a new song with the power of God’s love.

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Do these sound like masculine traits? Decisiveness, assertiveness, and confidence? I think they certainly SHOULD sound like masculine traits. And I believe those traits can be instilled into boys in ways that help them develop leadership skills.

Let me ask you this? Do you think that’s happening in America these days? I don’t. At least not as a rule. Only as the exception. The general rule has turned to females in charge of little boys. And a majority of those little boys have turned into pasty-faced, video-playing mama’s boys who act way too feminine.

Well, here’s some reasoning I read in a bullet list somewhere online. It said, “Boys who are taught to lead with integrity and respect can become leaders in their communities, workplaces, and families, promoting positive change and setting examples for others.”

Yeah, OK. Nothing particularly wrong about that. But it uses two overused clichés. “Promoting positive change.” And “setting examples for others.”

And I exiled those two phrases to cliché status because they don’t actually say anything. For example, what one person might call “positive change” another person might say is too crazy to even consider. And what kinds of examples should be set for others? Who gets to determine what they should be?

I’ll tell you who, here in the FunderSphere, gets to say what positive change is and what kinds of examples should be set. Mister Tony. That’s who. Uh-oh. Did I just put myself in charge of what’s right and wrong? You bet I did. But before you go ballistic, berserk, and bonkers on me for doing something so unthinkable, let me use some of my hard-earned leadership skills and ‘splain it just a step or two further.

And since that includes me, I look for real truth. I found real Truth when I was only 13. And every time I’ve zig-zagged away from that Truth, I knew it was me who moved. Not Truth.

So, when I want to share actual, man-building truth with kids (at least the male kids), I go to the Manufacturer’s manual. And I look for the solid answers there that are always right. Always on target. And always based in God’s love for anyone who loves Him.

Then, I take those answers I find, in the manual, and I convert them into easy-to-understand nuggets of knowledge and insert them into Christian books for kids, rhymes, songs, and videos.

Here’s a short, to-the-point example:

There’s a life inside of you, and it comes from God,

And that ain’t never gonna change no matter how much haters try to change it.

Now, take a second and join the growing body of believers who’ve already signed up for the FunderFlash Journal. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to 2 of my books and 2 songs, right away, that grownups AND kids can enjoy. Then, I’ll do my best to encourage you to sing a new song with the power of God’s love.

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Ipecac. No, I’m not talking about the story of the headless horseman. I’m talking about syrup. And this ain’t from Aunt Jemima or even Cousin T’s.

In fact, ipecac is what they use in medical situations (poisonings, etc.) to induce vomiting. So, obviously it’s not something your body needs or wants.

And yet, would you believe people have used it (and somebody probably is even as you read this) to look good? Well, sort of.

One famous example is Karen Carpenter, who died at the prime age of 32. She died of a cardiac arrest at her parent’s house on this day, February 4, back in 1983. And the coroner’s report listed the cause of death as “imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa.” Yeah, Karen used ipecac syrup to vomit so she could lose weight and look slim and good, according to her misguided standards.

What a sad story. And a sad loss. Because she was SO talented. In fact, she had one of the purest voices in pop music. Ever. Plus, she could even play drums so well that she was voted best rock drummer of 1975. Go figure.

Karen, and her brother Richard, better known as The Carpenters, won Grammy awards for best song and best performance by a pop duo, for We’ve Only Just Begun, in 1971. They won the Grammy for best album of the year again in 1972. And they won the American Music Awards best pop duo in 1975. They were also nominated for lots of other awards. Back when awards weren’t some weird freak show.

Because soon after their first awards and successes in 1970 Karen’s self image problems started. And they never really went away until she finally did in 1983.

It’s a little bit ironic that someone who appeared to have a heart to help and please others would die from ipecac syrup which destroys the heart muscles.

If you’ve never heard Karen sing, do yourself a favor today. Watch her sing “Superstar.” You can see it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJmmaIGiGBg

Check out what the world lost because of a low self-image problem. And I hope it inspires you to trust in God’s view of you instead of your own. Because once life on Earth is done the next phase is forever.

It isn’t always easy.

Oh, I believe in understanding,

It isn’t always peaceful.

© 1978

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You know the time between dates is measurable. So, I know you know those measurements are called days or weeks or months or years, etc. Because those are the words we use to describe measurements of time. Alright. I think we’re good on that.

Uh-oh. I think I just kicked my figurative toe on a figurative can of figurative worms. Well, that figures. I do that kind of thing all the time when I start talking about golden calves (I’ll just leave that there).

Anyway…

I saw again today where a Christian, on social media, said certain things don’t affect God the way you might think because He’s “outside of time.”

And once again, I can’t just not reply. Nope. Because God can no more be outside of time than you or me. Or even Dick Van Dyke (not-so-obscure old guy reference humor). Because ALL of existence, including God exists IN time. Because time exists because God exists.

Wow, those last couple of thoughts contained a lot of becauses (not a real word, but it makes a point). And that’s to highlight the point.

God thinks one thought after another. It takes time to do that. God created the different components of the Earth, solar system, galaxies, and universe on different days. It takes time to do that. And God is the ultimate intelligent designer, so it didn’t take more than six days for Him to make it ALL.

But there WAS time between dates, so to speak.

God called those measurements of time (which He was fully IN as He created) days. Not periods of time. Days. And not some esoteric days. Nope. He mentioned a morning and an evening.

I’m not gonna dive deeper into whether or not God is out of time. Because I’m put together some thoughts (which takes time) and share a fun reason-filled rhyme about this. But I DO think you’ll enjoy a deeper dive on the subject. So, try this God outside of time article. It’s great. Before you do, maybe you should consider…

So, Playtoe was a guy who couldn’t speak

Well, Playtoe wasn’t sure, but he just knew

Yeah, Playtoe said God lives outside of time.

If Playtoe could have only learned to trust

Ol’ Playtoe DID find out the Truth one day.

© 2025

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Stay tuned…

The post Time between dates never moves. It just waits. appeared first on Tony Funderburk.