Hear the sound of constant sound where silence seems unnatural and uncomfortable? I hear media screaming, yelling at us to pay attention and then to pay for that attention/tension. The liars are working harder than ever to fool us that black is just a another shade of white and white is really black lightened up!!! Extreme??? Yes it is but not my statement, the activity behind changing the colors of truth is manic, a war of words and sounds, demands we change our shallow hold on reality and let it drift into the lake of "relativity" where we drown.

History is cruel when you live in yesterday
All the things they did to you in a virtual replay.

His story tells us the past can be healed today
Prison bars melt, old stones crumble back to clay.

White is back again honest and bright
The darkness hates the return of the light.

The liars of the night slink away suddenly
Nothing to say but mouthing silently.

The Son turns on the lights of revelation
Blinds those who have fallen in love with delusion.

Watch, be aware, check, verify, wait!

So will this blog make a sound? Will it change the atmosphere? Will it achieve anything? Will it make you want to cry out to God and say, "Save Me Again!!!!" Take a long moment out of the modern madness of supply and demand and decide you would rather give and receive. Fear drives the bus over the cliffs of reason and into the valley of internal paralysis and emotional bankruptcy. Fight it with everything you have, keep asking for fearlessness, for courage, for wisdom, for creativity and a place to let it shine. Shout your existence and humble yourself! Let silence be a fiiend who opens the door to the sound of a voice far wiser than our mental squeaking. Have a great day.

Here we are in the middle of August 2006 and yet we can't hear the sound of time flying!!!!  Yet it seems to!! We look at our watches/clocks and exclaim," Is that the time?!!!!", and rush a little faster in panic to get the jobs done before the next lot scream for your attention. Traffic jams outside, too much traffic inside! Our heads, my head can be filled with far too many ,' MUST DO's ' instead of the peace that comes from being confident in God's strength, His power, His timing, His intervention. So I find myself independently going about the fuss of the day, talking only to myself and/or others to get the days trauma/work completed. I want to stop the noise in my brain and hear, listen to God's thoughts instead. My success rate is too low, with too many cares of this world. It leaves me disappointed with my own lack of discipline to hand it over and put my hands down!! Hope you are doing better at it. Peace to you in this day.

You don't just write songs and sit around thinking you've arrived. There are so many areas I am getting educated on to protect and promote what I have written and recorded. This is all part of being a small business. We are getting a promotional Cd produced and manufactured which we will begin sending out in July. Then there is entering song competitions, and getting with the digital technology to send songs to record companies, producers, promoters etc. Then, hey don't forget to keep practising and writing!!! Also I am looking at contracts to do with collecting royalties. So now you know why I spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer!!! Have a productive day good people!

I am very aware of the info technology world, aware but not proficient!! It is true that things are getting faster but 'things' are not relationships. You can't turbo charge a friendship or put it on DSL speed. It is about trust and adventures and shared experience and TIME. You build it on a continuing series of trusting events whether in conversation or activities. Is there genuine respect and love, sacrifice? Most advertisements seems to try and make us move faster or make it possible for success to be quicker and greater. Instant university diplomas????? Give me a break on being stupid but I thought it took years of study, analysis, exams etc before you were qualified to be in a certain area and even then you don't have experience....ahh that priceless stuff that brings wisdom and quality. Wisdom and quality are God's attributes and I have to keep asking Him to give me wisdom and the attitude to treat other humans in a quality way. Constant selfish noise really hurts your ears after a while and you'll find yourself alone. I want to listen more, speak less, enjoy the silence, build the trust, phone my friends with ,"How are you?" not,  "Hey, guess what else I have to say about me!!???"

This is Jo's wife Victoria blogging for him while he's away in New Zealand. Jo got to honor his spiritual father by singing and sharing at his funeral. He'll share more when he returns which is tomorrow!! Yeah!! Or as Jo would say "Yippe Do Dah's Babe!" Anyway, been thinking about trusting God and how I still struggle with that. I went and saw the movie "Take the Lead." Amazing movie. So many one liners and more that God spoke through. We can feel so inadequate for what God's called us to. Yet the truth is we are. Without Christ we are nothing. And what's more he's saying all you have to do is "learn" to trust me. Amazing when you really think about it, just trust someone whose the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega! Learning to trust is a process and a renewing of the mind. We have to let God take the lead and trust that he knows all the steps. And remember, thou you may not know all the steps, you must "learn" to join the dance! Don't miss out on what God's got for you!! It's your destiny and it's now.

Dylan's Bells

I wrote this song in New Zealand during a three day stay in a friends house in the back country. It is an awesome place called Waimana. I was on my way to California to record my second album and wanted to spend a few days alone collecting my thoughts and praying. I arrived close to midnight and heard that the Australian Deputy prime minister had resigned because he was so stressed and missed his family. He actually said he would be dead within a year if he did not quit and was asking for understanding. I started the chorus that night and went to bed only to wake up to a very heavy mid- winter mist and frost in the valley. As the fog gradually lifted I was inspired to write a warning song and included a reference to Bob Dylan as a prophetic voice warning us for over forty years that we need to change the way we live. 

 

 

Tomorrow I am flying to New Zealand. It has happened suddenly as my spiritual father died from a heart attack. He was in his late 70's and has had medical conditions for some time. He has pruned me, guided me, hugged, listened, advised, comforted, corrected, questioned......for 30 years!!!! His name is Roel Ubels, a dutch guy who emigrated to New Zealand in the early 60's I think. Life coaches are very important people and he has been that for me and prayed for me consistently over 3 decades!! I last saw him in February when he came up after I sang and spoke at his church group. He blessed me, annointed me and prayed a prayer, commissioning me to go to the world because I was finally ready!! He gave me his stamp of approval, a very special event for me. So I am going back to sing over him, honour him, thank him, remember him. On the outside a frail older man with the heart of a lion on the inside. I love him and will miss him very much. Now it is time for respect and mourning. If I miss a few days of blogging please forgive me....I'll be back.

I want to explain the song on my new album, 'Ko Wai E Werohia?'. It is a native New Zealand war dance. It has been getting a fabulous reaction and I want to make sure you have some of the background to it. When the Maori people of New Zealand used to fight, they would do a war dance before the battle. Only men did this of course, and it was done without instruments. Many parts of a culture can be redeemed and be useful and constructive in the Kingdom of God. So I wrote this war dance which basically says, "Who dares challenge Jesus?", and then goes on to list all the things He did at the cross and who He is. This was translated by a very good friend of mine, Charlie Mathews, who has a Masters Degree in the Maori language. It is an incredibly poetic translation and adds a lot of power to the song. I actually recorded this in 1999, but it didn't fit my next two album projects. However, this time we had two brilliant percussionists just have fun in the studio for three days, telling them to play whatever they wanted to. One of the pieces we recorded was a brilliant match for 'Ko Wai E Werohia?'. The result is a world first and is stunning to listen to. We haven't got it on mp3 yet, but it should be available next week. Of course you won't understand the words, so you'll just have to buy the album!

Had an awesome story regarding the song, 'Sahmundeh'. This eighteen year old guy was afraid of speaking in tongues because of pride, not wanting to sound stupid. He was in his apartment by himself so he thought, "Noone can hear me if I try this". He got to the words, "Don't hold back just let go" and burst out into tongues for at least 15 minutes! I like those kinds of stories!!!!

Welcome to the Jo Vogels Diary.