Videos

Separation is always difficult, whether it be by death or by distance (in some ways death is just a seemingly further distance...?). I've experienced loss in both of these forms, and was amazed to note how similar, even nearly identical, the feelings run in both situations.

The original inspiration for this song was from my experiences with the first - separation by distance - from my first set of children, and one child in particular who I was very close to at the time. The second version of this song, the one you'll be listening to, is a case of the second separation: death; inspired by my personal loss of 2 children, and also the case of a friend of ours who lost a daughter to a kidnapping & resultant death in the process. All I can say, in all cases, is 'thank God for Heaven...' where we'll be reunited with loved ones.

What's the best way to 'become the best version of yourself' this year and always? Go to God, discover who you are--who He MADE you to be--and then start living in that revealed identity. The One who promised "I know the plans I have for you" can let you in on that secret--that's His joy, watching you fulfill your destiny as you grow into who He made you to be, and fulfill your purpose in this life. It will also be your joy and the joy of those around you who will benefit from that discovery...

Looking behind is sometimes more comforting than looking forward—seeing where you’ve come from, whether you’re mountain climbing, completing a grade in your education, finishing a project, or arriving at the end of a year on the cusp of a new one. And “hindsight is the best sight” as well when it comes to understanding all we encountered during those times, how we process everything…

But can we know the future? Can we see what’s ahead, what’s just around the next bend—even just the near future, if not the distant future? I guess only what God chooses to reveal to us in His mercy, and maybe we’ll get an inkling as we see how He prepares us on a daily basis for what He surely knows is coming… It seems He wants us to trust Him for all we cannot know, and therein find our comfort and peace of mind.

We’re like people pointing a flashlight down on the trail ahead as we walk in the dark, watching for rocks and branches, snakes, critters and other obstacles and dangers. One of my favorite songs has these lyrics:

Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand;

But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.

There’s so much we cannot know, but we can be comforted by His promise that “I am with you always, even to the end of the age;” and also, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” This song is a compilation of many such promises found in scripture that expound that very teaching that He will go with us as we make our way forward. Have a wonderful adventure this new year.

Here is the promised final video of this song, written in 1974 while living in Bahia, Brazil, found on the Honeymoon album “New Song in My Mouth” on my website. I made some lyric changes to help it make more sense 50 years later (now that I've learned so much more than in those beginning years), but message and spirit the same.

And a special thanks to Ken Paone for the sax part done when requested on such short notice, and for making that happen--a real boost to the song!

--An oldie-goodie blast from the past (quite possibly the 1st song I ever recorded in a home studio!) The Story Behind This Song: I received this back in 1974 while living in Brazil, a country and people I loved immensely, and while doing what I enjoyed most: serving My Lord and my fellow man as taught by Jesus of Nazareth. I was now 2 years into my ‘honeymoon,’ very active and busy with lots of important ministering, yet beginning to find that I was missing or lacking something in my life, and coming to the concision that I needed to slow down ‘the work of the Lord’ and take time to praise and worship ‘the Lord of the work.’ He was, after all, the reason for everything I was doing, but I needed to take time with Him in praise and worship.

Here’s an oldie goldie many know and understandably love…I mean, what’s not to love about this story of the Father’s great unconditional love for His children, both the faithful and the wayward? I certainly identify with it deeply, as it is my own story: I was a believer in my youth and drifted away for different reasons, but happily returned to Him when I finally hit bottom in a distant land…What a joyous moment that reception was, when He came running to me to embrace me and welcome me back into the Kingdom He has been preparing for me and all of us His children since the beginning of time!

Promises in song on deliverance from Ps. 18, Ps. 60, Jer. 1 🗝 🎦 https://youtu.be/B-doOFbxoXQ 🎧 https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/so-shall-i-be-saved Life on this earth is a fight, we daily face real adversaries and obstacles in every area of our lives—it’s not a 'walk in the park' in any sense of the word. From the moment of birth the struggle begins, and it only ends when our last breath is surrendered. Thank God we have a God who fights for us daily, and who promised that whatever happens, He is there with/for us and will deliver us. The promises in this song are some of my favorites on that subject! He is worthy of our praise and allegiance!

There are two things we can be certain of in this world:  

1) CONSTANT CHANGE in every aspect of our lives and existence, and 

2) A GOD WHO NEVER CHANGES. Amazingly, since it is His creation, even that has a certain continuity and consistency that we can depend upon. 

Our God is a solid Rock on which we can stand and build upon.

🎦 https://youtu.be/rsektStyXKA

🎧https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/all-things-change-but-he-remains

THESE AND 100THINGS MORE - Mother’s Day 2025💝💕🎁 

Here’s another chance to celebrate the gift of that special woman in your life, Dad, that is at least half responsible for the creation of current members of the next generation running around your home every day …

Enclosed in this song are my TOP 10 SUGGESTIONS of what to gift her on her special day!

The Story Behind the Song:

It was 1975. I was living and working in Brazil with my first wife and we were visiting friends who had invited us to their place in the country, a small rural village outside of Rio de Janeiro.They were showing us around their property passed on to them by their parents now deceased, and at one point we entered their dining area where as a family they had spent many meals together. We were immediately impressed by the size of the table and all the chairs around it…I counted 15 seats! Incredible…”Why so many seats?”, I asked, and they began explaining that this was how is was ‘back in the day’ when they were kids, that this was for all the siblings sitting with their parents around that table, eating what they had grown and raised together as a family.

At the same time, cesarean births were just becoming a ‘thing’ in Brazil, with 25% of all births delivered in that manner. It was hard to believe at the time, now so commonplace everywhere. Coming out of youth movement of that day, I was interested in natural ways of doing things, and this seemed anything but natural.

I began thinking of my own country, the US of A, and how things had changed there, in particular the school systems that originally allowed the Bible and Christian-Judeo teachings as part of the curriculum, long before these days when every philosophy EXCEPT those teachings are allowed.

I’d say it’s safe to say that as a nation we have ‘sowed the wind, and reaped the whirlwind’, having ‘turned out backs and closed our ears to what the prophets all have told…”

Special thanks to Salem Bezenac for his great audio production, and to Ben Davidson at ‘Bible for You’ for this meaningful video rendition of this …. song https://www.youtube.com/@TheBibleforYou

I received this song on a flight from New York to Puerto Rico way back in 1972. At the time I was a new believer after only recently having ‘decided to follow Jesus’ wherever He led and given my life into His hands. I had spent the last few months struggling with raising the faith and funds to go to the mission field as a self-supported volunteer, stepping out “not knowing whither I went…” That particular stressful fight was now over, I was sitting in the plane, and looking at all I had just been through to get where I was now sitting and where I was heading.

At that juncture I was realizing that in all my struggles to do what He said and go where He led, that I had somehow forgotten HIM in the process and my zeal to serve Him. I began to reflect on all the wonderful things I had gained through giving up my life, independence and submitting to Him, and submitting to HIS will and greater wisdom…

RU anxious about the upcoming American presidential elections? You’re not alone, the whole world is watching the US as this important event draws nearer to becoming a reality.

These past 4—dare I say 8 s, even 12 years, have captured the world’s attention, and the power struggle we have witnessed has been anything but inspiring and uplifting.

As a believer in Jesus and His Kingdom of love, it is especially heart breaking for me to watch as it all unfolds, as I’ve foreseen a better way to rule and reign in this world from reading scripture, and sadly our 2 present political parties both fall short and disappoint on a daily basis. It’s honestly hard to get excited about what’s ahead, as this nation grows more and more divided—I’m pretty sure either outcome will be disappointing for many of us.

So I wanted to repost this song I got as a reminder that there is a better kingdom coming, one where love between all humans will reign, and which even now we as individuals can promote and work towards building day by day; something we can do right where we are—in our daily lives and workplaces—and together as a body of brothers and sisters, friends and followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the one prophesied and destined to rule over ALL NATIONS in the not so distant future…

SO my plan this year is to consider the example of what God’s kingdom is like, what He has planned for this country and all nations, reflect on these 2 candidates and see who I think comes closer to living up to that standard (that’s gonna be a hard one!) and choose accordingly…I suggest you do the same.

Let’s have faith that whatever the outcome God has a master plan, a Perfect Plan, and this kingdom, obviously in decline, is temporary… Happy voting!

P.S. If you want to dig deeper into what’s happening in our American ‘Promised Land’, check out the writings of the prophets in the Torah or Christian Bible—they had a lot to say about Israel’s failures and the similarities are unsettling to say the least, and spot on to say the most…VERY applicable…

“GOD HAS SHOWN YOU” - (Micah 6:8, Jn 13:17) A simple song, but containing the key to happiness in this life, as laid out in 2 scriptures, one from the Tanakh and one from the words of Jesus. Simple but effective...easy reading, but hard to put into practice!!

“RUNAWAY CHRISTIAN” - my story in a nutshell--and a song! 🌅

A song from Psalms 1 and 16

Recently 2 dear friends passed away within a week of each other, people I had partnered with on different projects over the span of our lives. They will be missed... Many of us are in the age bracket where that is going to be a more and more common occurence, as we are much nearer to the end of our races than to the beginning…

I took time to reflect and had to thank God that they had SAFE PASSAGE from here to the Other Side, and that in spite of any tears also be glad they made it across the finish line, knowing where they were going and at least a bit of what awaits them according to what has been revealed to us. Those who were left behind will hurt the most at this stage naturally, but we do have the hope of seeing them again and picking up where we left off--I'm counting on it...

This is an oldie goldie I never got to record until very recently, just before someone's wedding at which I sang it & dedicated it to the bride & groom, young lovers. It's significant to me because of the circumstances: I was kinda 'on the bench' (out of the game!) for having incessantly been chasing after a wife, and had finally accepted maybe I needed to give that search a break & just relax and focus on other things...when 'bam', someone arrived in my life [literally, from another country) unexpectedly, and there was something different about her. This song was written within 24 hours of her arrival, and we were married within the year!--And had 5 wonderful children together!

We are told to love God above all things and keep Him in first place in our heart and lives if we want to have success in love and life…

It might seem a bit odd in this modern day and age, but I can say from experience that keeping things in that correct order makes sense.

Finding a person who feels the same is a treasure indeed: as Solomon said “Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [empty, because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!” I’m grateful that I got me one a’dem!!

🎧 https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/that-seems-crazy-lord

These are the kind of questions I was asking back in 1973 when I first started following Jesus of Nazareth, and the kinds of lessons I was learning at that time. I was looking around me at things going on, and had so much to ask, now that I knew the Answer Man. As a result, all I can say is:

Trust your questions to the One Who Sees the past, present and future and knows every outcome and the reasoning behind it all; that His ways are not my ways, that He knows best about everything, and that we should just trust him, no matter how crazy it seems at times.

We all want the very best for ourselves, and all the time if possible, right? But obviously we don’t always know what that is, or what’s REALLY best for us in the long run. We tend to go for what we see before us, especially when it looks inviting! This was a big lesson in my young life many years ago, and has continued ever since: learning to lot go of what I wanted, and put my choices in His hands—letting Him decide what’s best for me.

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/god-gives-the-very-best

I had so many questions, but can’t deny that the moment I asked the right one and then opened up my heart, Jesus came in as promised and changed me forever. This song is about that.

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/he-changed-my-life

This has been my experience with Jesus of Nazareth, not unlike the experience of so many others I’m sure. Haven’t you found all of this to be true in your relationship with Him? If not, move in a little closer!

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/i-believe-in-you-2

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/sleep-now-little-one

We all have to do it sooner or later, and it doesn’t get easier with each instance. We can only be grateful that they’re eternal beings, we WILL see them again, and they are going to a wonderful situation/place, free from all pain and suffering. “We’ll see you in God’s time…”

I left the USA in 1972 and returned only recently in March 2020 (mid-COVID pre-election). After watching from a distance what went on here for 49 years, and now seeing things up close for 2 years, I have come to certain conclusions re: the political situation here, and where I stand on the ideological scale. “Ideologies (beliefs) have consequences” and it’s important for each of us to know what hill(s) we are willing to die on, and what we are ready to fight for in order to help our society function and even flourish…Here are some of mine, as of July 2022.

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/what-im-not-and-why

✍️ The Story behind the song (why I wrote it): https://jerrypaladino.medium.com/the-story-behind-the-song-what-im-not-and-why-22b22068619c

🎧 audio: https://jerrypaladino.bandcamp.com/track/tomorrow-ill-be-stronger

So many of us have been passing through times of testing of varying severity lately, and comfort is not that easy to find. I’m reminded that in the midst of one of the toughest times I was to pass through in my life, one thought that helped me endure the moment was the thought that “one year from now this will all be over; I’ll be in another situation and this current difficulty will be resolved, or have morphed into something different, and I’ll no longer be in the midst of what I’m going through now…” That helped me escape the intense pressures of the moment…

This song encapsulates my hopes and dreams for our future on this planet….With so much going on around, i periodically have to retreat to a quiet place to read and re-focus on what’s ahead, where we’re heading, and what prophecy tells us awaits—what is seen by the eyes tends to be extremely disturbing.. The good news/bottom line? “Love WILL reign one day!” I wish I could say that it’s today, but a fair few things have to happen before we arrive at that station… But no matter how rough the journey gets, how desperate the situation becomes, there IS a Happy Ending foretold that will end current and future madness, and be the start of a wonderful new era that makes the struggle worth it all. Good times coming!

HAPPY EASTER everyone!! 💝 Here's a special package I prepared of 🎶SONGS AND VIDEOS🎥 regarding this important week we're starting.

COPY AND PASTER the links somewhere, and let's enjoy this historical week together!

🔎☛ FIND ALL LINKS HERE:

https://medium.com/@jerrypaladino/j-pals-easter-package-2021-%EF%B8%8F-402c1af23e1