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 terrain. I didn’t know that before today.

But his books are fictional accounts of the old west. In fact, if you bring up the subject of old west fiction, anyone who’s lived more than two or three decades will almost immediately think of Louis L’Amour.

My friend’s reference nudged me to do a little research on Louis’ visualization skills. I discovered this:

~ His knack for describing landscapes wasn’t just a product of imagination. It was deeply rooted in his real-life experiences and meticulous research. L’Amour traveled extensively across the American West, working jobs like cowboy, miner, and lumberjack, which gave him firsthand knowledge of the rugged landscapes he later depicted. He walked the trails, climbed the mountains, and crossed the deserts he wrote about. And he absorbed the details that brought his settings to life. ~

And I saw a snippet that mentioned Hondo specifically. It said:

~ For instance, in novels like Hondo, the terrain isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character. And it helps shape the plot and the people in it as much character descriptions and dialogue. ~

Apparently Louis L’Amour could paint a mental picture of a canyon’s twists or a river’s flow so clearly that readers felt they could navigate it themselves. And that was a result of his habit of studying maps, hanging out in locations, talking to old-timers, and even sketching landscapes to lock them into memory.

He said he’d “mentally walk through it.” And that’s how he could visualize the sun’s angle, the scrub brush’s texture, or how a horse’s hooves would kick up dust on a dry ridge.

But there’s nothing mystical about his talent. He honed his skills by actually living in those kinds of places. And he had a genuine, lifelong curiosity about the land’s history and geology. Plus he photographed locations and studied the pictures to double-check his mental images of them. And he researched historical records to be sure his stories were accurate and authentic.

I guess his imagination and ability to visualize stories was pretty good. Because he wrote over a 120 books. Not to mention (but I will) all his short stories and other writings. And plenty of those were turned into big screen, and even made-for-TV, movies.

Sure, that’s all impressive. But I always “see” something else at work when I read or hear about “special skills.” And I know they aren’t just a “product of imagination” or “ability to visualize.” Those talents are gifts from God. And no matter how amazing they might seem, they’re just a shadow of what God wants for us.

Paul put it this way: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

I fly…till tangled thoughts untie,

And one day, sooner than you might imagine, the Lord of creation is gonna give everyone who loves Him that perfect point of view. I, to that, I say “Hi yo, Hondo! Let’s go!”

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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

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If you even think evil thoughts, you’ve sinned. How’s that for a cheerful start to your week? I had one main reason why it came up in me to say that. Because of the kinds of things that transpired over the weekend as millions of Americans enjoyed beer and football. Their thoughts and deeds were mostly benign.

Would you believe there were even some people with murder in their hearts? (*gasp!*) I know. It’s unthinkable. No, wait. It’s totally thinkable. Because people have been thinking it almost as long as there have been people.

But these days, you and I live in a diluted system and a deluded society. Where cheating, stealing, and murdering are slap-on-the-wrist incidents. So, it’s no wonder the thoughts and deeds of so many turn to whatever devious plans their selfish minds and wicked hearts can devise.

Yeah, if you think the owner of a store has too much, and you have too little, then you should be able to go grab a thousand dollars worth of his products and walk out. No questions asked. Because, no harm no foul. So foul.

And if you disagree with a political candidate’s views, kill him. Because YOUR view is superior and supreme.

Of course, it’s not surprising (to anyone who’s been paying attention for decades) that our world has gotten to this point. Because, for decades, governments (through schools and politics) have taught kids it’s OK to do whatever YOU think is right.

And that even includes destroying anyone who inconveniences you. Regardless of age or stage of life.

As I read some articles and blurbs about another assassination attempt against Donald Trump, I thought about a news story I read in the Atlanta Journal way back in 1981-82. It was so sad. A young boy had been missing for days. And someone finally found his beaten body next to the Chattahoochee River.

Imagine the immeasurable anguish a mom or dad would have to deal with in that situation. But, on the flip side, millions of moms and dads are responsible for a crime even worse. They destroyed their own unborn children. And only because those children were inconvenient.

Every person on Earth (and that includes YOU) is guilty enough to receive the death penalty. And every person on Earth will receive it, even if no government carries it out. But, never fear. You know (or should know by now) that I’m a silver lining kind of guy. And the silver lining is that your death sentence CAN be temporary. In fact, you might even be fortunate enough to experience it in the twinkling of an eye.

But there’s only one Way to make sure. If you don’t know what that is, find out. If you do, share it today.

Because this world is hellbent for destruction. That’s why we’ve had generations of this…

Way down along the river,

Been forty years in this killin’ spree…

Inside a broken promise

Where we gonna go?

Who becomes a cheating wife.

© Tony Funderburk 2002

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It makes me mad how some people feel a deep-down, dastardly need to rule over others. Yeah, for them, rule number one is “Do unto others before they can do unto you.”

I know you realize we have a very short time here on planet earth. There’s a one-to-one ration of births to deaths. And nobody gets out of this life any other way.

So, given that fact, don’t you think rule number one should still be “do unto others as you’d have them do unto you? I know it’s an old-fashioned idea, but it’s still the truth. And, as I’ve said before, we need the truth. And, of course I’m talking about THE Truth found in the person of Jesus.

Yeah, I know that’s a hard pill to swallow for most people. But that doesn’t change the facts.

Because, if there’s no absolute standard of truth, then there are about 7 billion standards. That’s called chaos and confusion. And God is not the author of confusion. His Truth is crystal clear and health to your bones and spirit. That’s why we need the Truth.

How long till we see the vengeance?

How long till we see the Savior?

We need the Truth! The world doesn’t care.

 (repeat chorus)

Our bodies ache; You can hear the groans.

(repeat chorus…inst…repeat chorus to end)

© Copyright Tony Funderburk 1999

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You can learn to fly. And it won’t cost you lots of money for oodles of hours of training. AND you’ll be able to fly up to the sky much faster than technology can take your text across the globe. What do you say? Interested?

Uh-oh. The proverbial fly in the ointment. Right? Because humans seem to be very good at making mistakes. But it’s not quite so easy to learn from them. In fact, you might be one of those who’s good at repeating the same mistakes over and over.

Sound familiar? Me too.

We don’t seem to learn from history. And so we “doom” ourselves to repeat it. A few years ago, I shared three ways humans don’t learn from their mistakes. And they’re even truer now.

1. Truth: Those who want to control others cast shadows on the truth. Truth is their mortal enemy. So they have to pound out lies with great resolve until the truth becomes nothing more than a cloudy concept. Truth becomes “whatever you make of it”. Or whatever is “right in their own minds”. Nazis believed if you told a “lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually become to believe it”. Do you see that happening all around you today?

2. Morality: This is another area under constant attack by those who want to justify their behavior. When you reduce right and wrong to whatever is right in your own mind, you produce a culture where anything goes. Then everything goes…out the window. Who knows where that might lead? You might even find adults killing babies. Well, at least that couldn’t happen here in America. Right?

3. Property: Once people realize they can vote the money away from the wealthy and into their own pockets, the genie is out of the bottle. And it’s difficult to impossible to get him back in. Politicians run for office (and win) using promises based on redistribution of wealth. It’s not merely wrong. It’s evil, and it destroys lives. But who cares, right? It’s just the way things are. The status quo. I’m gonna get mine as long as the gettin’s good.

But just because that’s the way it is for the rest of the world doesn’t mean you can’t learn to fly above it. Because the rest of the world can only keep you from the truth if you let it.

But like Carol King sang in her song, “You’ve Got a Friend…”

“They’ll hurt you and desert you.

Let today be the day you learn what it takes to fly up to the sky in the blink of an eye. Talk to and trust your Maker. And, if everybody starts to make fun of you, just remember these lyrics from another favorite songwriter:

Oh give me love…give me justice…

© 2002

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How about this expression? “The bad apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” You’ve heard that, right? Hmm, maybe that’s acorn. Or lemon. Doesn’t matter. The point’s the same. But there’s another expression, too.

That, of course, originated from the Jackson Five, where the wise and glimmering guru of pop, EmJay began his journey. But I digress…

Could there ever be a time when a bad apple leads to good fruit?

Metaphorically, I think this is possible. And I think you’ll agree after these examples.

Let’s say a father curses at and beats his son. In that scenario, father equals bad apple. But let’s say those bad deeds motivate the son to seek and discover words of wisdom in the Bible. And then he passes the compassion, love, and mercy he finds there, to his own kids. So, the son equals good fruit.

OK, here’s another example.

A mother does too many drugs and ridicules her daughter on a daily basis. In that scenario, mother equals bad apple. But then the daughter reads about the great women of Bible. And she passes on those stories to anyone who’ll listen. So, the daughter equals good fruit.

A famous athlete has a public meltdown because he’s too immature to handle his fame without alcohol or drugs. In that scenario, famous athlete equals bad apple. But a young Christian boy sees this and uses it as an opportunity to learn how to focus on others. Then, he establishes foundations for the less fortunate. And he creates a legacy of giving. Christian boy bears good fruit.

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Paul used examples of the people who followed Moses out of captivity and into the wilderness. He said “but with most of them God was not well pleased” and that “their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”

Paul showed how we can use what they did as examples of what not to do.

Most of them just wanted to eat, drink, have sex, and complain. Ironic isn’t it? Because, if all you had to do was eat, drink, and have sex, what would you have to complain about? Ponder that for a second.

And that kind of crazy nonsense is pandemic (used that word on purpose) right now.

Here in America we have it exponentially easier than our forefathers. Most people can easily and comfortably sit around and watch TV or play video games for hours a day.

And way too many people eat an almost endless cornucopia of foods and snacks while they watch TV or play video games. And even believe they can have sex anytime, anywhere, and with anyone they want.

Even as they do all that, they complain about how rough and tough and unfair life is. They falsely believe they somehow deserve their piece of the wealth and resources of others. And they believe if they could get their hands on those democratically gotten gains, they’d miraculously have a more fulfilling life.

That, dear neighbor, is envy.

Envy turns good apples bad real fast.

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So. You grew up, left your parents’ house, and went out on your own. Great. You’re not a kid anymore. And that’s exactly as it should be. What’s that? You still have to deal with your inner child? Well, here’s some free, unsolicited advice.

Yeah. You read that right. Kick that inner child out of your head immediately. And don’t look back. Matter of fact, don’t think back. Because back is SO backwards when it comes to rehashing your past.

Sure, I know my unadulterated, unsolicited, and un-delightful advice goes against “modern advice.” But my advice is based on the Manufacturer’s information.

Here’s what a so-called hypnotist healer has to say about this subject. And this comes from an audio session called “Compassion for Inner Child”

She said, “In this audio, I will lead you through an exercise that helps you find compassion for your inner child. You will find this soothing and reassuring, as your inner child may experience for the first time what it’s like to get adequate attention and care.”

On the other end of the self care spectrum is your Maker. And He says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

So, as it is with most of your life, you have a choice to make.

Believe what a touchy-feely hypnotist says. Or believe what God says about you.

Now, if you disagree, don’t pitch a fit.

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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. God does not lie. You know that, right?

Uh, that would be a big Ten-Four good buddy.

In fact, if you haven’t already lied today, you probably will at some point before the day’s over. Admit it. You lie. So do I, so you don’t have to feel like the Lone Ranger (For those of you who were robbed of an opportunity to watch decent TV, he was a Saturday morning TV hero back in the day.)

Anyway…

God does not lie. And He is NOT the author of confusion. So, what kind of Father would He be if He made all of us lie as we run around a world overflowing with confusion?

Clue: I want that last question to be rhetorical. Sadly, it’s not for many, many, many Christians.

And I’m talking about the Christians who believe (and will tell YOU) how everything is part of God’s plan. Well, that’s a lie. And I cringe every time I hear a Christian say such things. Because it makes God look SO BAD in the eyes of intelligent unbelievers.

Or the days of all the other 8 billion people on the planet. He did something much better. And more complex. Much more brilliant than that.

Because He loves us. And He’s willing to take risks. Because He knows what TRUE love is.

Wanna know what He did? Good. Because I’m gonna tell you.

God designed something you can use to plan your own day. And He gave it to you (and to everybody who has ever lived) when you were conceived.

And you’ve been using it every day of your life.

Plus, you don’t have to ask His permission to use it. Of course, you should always consult Him and ask for His help. But you can make decisions based on your own choices. Then you can reap the rewards or deal with consequences based on what you chose.

God didn’t wreck your car, or burn down your house, or make your kid steal, or crash that plane, or make anybody shoot anybody else. He didn’t send Hurricane Ian as a punishment for anybody. And He absolutely did NOT give us an imbecile president to teach us some sort of political lesson.

He isn’t fickle. He doesn’t play games with your emotions, your family, or your life. God does NOT have a plan for your day. But He’ll never leave you nor forsake you as you plan your own day. Because He has the big picture view of this world. He told us that. And God does not lie.

And that means He allows you to live your life with the freedom to love Him or not. The freedom to choose Him or not. Here’s what I suggest…

As you begin to plan each day, put time with your Creator at the top of your to-do list.

Choose Him and His ways, today, if you never have. Or, if you have, let them be the guiding force in your life. Most importantly, choose to love God. There’s not a better relationship in existence. And you have nothing to lose but nothingness.

And that’s really something.

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“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” You’ve heard that more than once I bet. And it sure applies to Christian doctrinal differences. Because I see it more and more, with each passing year, how Christians put words and actions into God’s mouth and hands that He didn’t (and doesn’t) do and say. In other words…

Like the messed up idea that God predestined everything that happens or has happened or ever will happened. And how that means everything happens for a reason. And that we just need to remember it’s all “part of God’s plan.” Like I said, that’s messed up. So, to that I say, no.

And then how about this whole messed up idea of Christians forgiving everybody? Yeah. You even see people interviewed on TV after a loved one was murdered. And they’ll say things like, “I know God wants me to forgive him (the murderer), but it’s not easy.” Or they just go ahead and forgive the murderer and feel good about themselves for doing so.

That’s messed up, too. And to that, I also say, no.

Of course, the most ubiquitous case of what you know that just ain’t so is “Judge not.” Also known as “don’t judge” or “I’m not judging you” or some other form you’ve probably seen and heard.

And the irony is…the Christians who say we’re not supposed to judge will get very judgmental toward any other Christian who’d dare to judge someone. I’m sure they mean well (don’t touch that sarcasm dial), but they truly either haven’t read Paul’s writings, or they just forgot.

It’s really important to get these things right. I wrote a song about ’em. Here are the lyrics.

Everything is for a reason

No, no…a thousand times no.

Should you freely give forgiveness?

No, no…a thousand times no.

And who are you to judge?

No, no…a thousand times no.

© 2010 Tony Funderburk

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A few years ago I felt like a man of dust. Because I did some handyman work in addition to my ad writing, copywriting, and website building business. I was getting established in a new city after living in another city for over 20 years. And the client connections didn’t materialize fast enough for me to rely on what I’d been doing for a long time. So, being the handy kinda guy, I booked residential appointments to fix stuff.

The settled dust in houses where owners neglected to clean often enough…if at all. And sawdust from woodworking projects. But worst of all, sheetrock dust.

And I believe the sheetrock dust, in addition to exposure to mold (in those houses that owners neglected to clean properly) proved to be my arch enemy, as far as my overall health.

Yeah, in January of 2018, I woke up one morning with what I thought was a head cold. But a couple of weeks passed, and my “head cold” was still there. Not like me at all. Because I’ve always had a great immune system. And most illnesses, in my life, never lasted long.

But I kept getting up and going to work. Back to those houses filled with dust. And back to those woodworking and sheetrocking projects. And the “head cold” went from weeks to months.

I finally had to break down and admit something more than a “cold” had a hold on me. And Elgielene said if I didn’t go to the doctor and find out what was going on, she’d have to put me out of my (her) misery.

And through steroid prescriptions and rescue inhalers I was able to sort of “control” the breathing issues. But I could tell the root cause wasn’t being addressed. And I eventually went through a sinus surgery to move things around and open sinus areas.

Then, I had to see a pulmonary specialist because the sinus surgery didn’t open my lungs. And the pulmonary guy got me on some strong steroids and it helped clear my lungs much more. But my breathing issues still persist (over 3 years later), even though they’re on a much better level. And I’m hopeful a better solution is in the near future.

But I didn’t share all that with you so I could throw a pity party.

I shared the story because it reminded me of how Paul said a human is a “man of dust.” And I found it ironic how we’re essentially made of dust, but we don’t tolerate dust very well.

And that connects to how there won’t be any of that “dust” in Heaven. Not the normal settled dust you have to clean off your furniture. And none of that dust from dusty humans either.

Because dust is synonymous with corruption. And that dust won’t be tolerated in Heaven. And like Paul said, “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

And that’s why I consider myself highly blessed, even during these past 3 years of dealing with dusty lungs and sinuses. Because that dust only corrupted my physical health. It didn’t corrupt my heart. Because that was permanently healed when I trusted Jesus to save me.

Yeah, that’s right. I turned a handyman story into heart-healing story.

But that’s how it is when you sprinkle the dust with Living Water.

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