Will not the God
of the whole earth
do what is just?

And You have promised me
that You are loving, kind, and good.
What does Your justice mean?
How can we hope to pass
a test of love or law?
We fail in both.
And yet You promise us success
if we will lean on You.
Exchanging all our loss
for perfect love that has
no room for fear.

Hello friends…

I just decided to start a blog here on JonathanPaulMusic.com…

Lately, I’ve been emailing a friend or two (which of course includes family) with recent drafts of writings. I finally just decided to open up these little periodic/aperiodic posts to a few more people.

I don’t know if I’ll get much feedback, but part of my reason for posting is based off something I’ve heard several well-published writers express. They said basically that they don’t know what is their better writing and what is worse. What they tend to like, others may not find as good, and others may like what the author doesn’t. So… it’ll be interesting to see what gets more comments, and what sort of things are said.

I won’t mind if I don’t get much feedback though, because I simply enjoy the process of writing, even if I don’t come up with anything useful from that particular session/week/month.

I hope you’ll find that the topics are at least somewhat varied, but I can’t promise anything at this point… I don’t often set out to write about any particular topic. Like one-time Hope College prof Jack Ridl says, “I just wait for something to arrive.” :o)

~ Jonathan ~

P.S. Just in case you’re wondering, I’m posting most things by the date they were actually written in my journal rather than the date they were posted here on this blog. That’s why some posts show up before this one that was written and posted on my first day here…

Remember joy?
It came so many times.
The open field reminded you of praise.

Come back to Me,
Your feet have worn that
  distant road too long.
I never left our home,
I’m waiting gladly,
  soon to hear your voice.
Come speak with Me,
Forget the things you’ve learned.
Don’t be a slave in foreign lands,
Remember joy!

Remember joy
  that made you strong.
If you are far from home,
Why not come home?

Remember joy.

What has your beauty seen 
   since I have seen you last? 
What songs have you begun to learn? 
How strong are they in you? 

For me, I want to notice skies 
   beyond the place 
   where man might stand and see. 
I want to drink the ocean dry 
   and not be satesfied. 
I want to fly and find 
   that I’m not in a dream 
and then perceive the things 
   that might be called unseen 

What was your saddest day? 
What do you celebrate? 
What do you fear 
   and do you walk away 
   or toward that place? 
If you could whisper anything 
   what would that be? 
And if you could proclaim 
   and reach all men, 
Think carefully 
   what would you speak? 

What is your pain 
   and why can you not 
   make it go away? 
What is your joy 
   and is it great enough 
   to make these sorrows small?