1. |
Darkness
02:29
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In this void we call ‘empire,’
The lights have gone out.
We have grasped at the wind and
Chased pipe dreams about.
Through greed, isolation,
Or seasons of doubt,
We have welcomed a darkness
That can be felt.
The choices we’ve made have
Left blood in the river,
But still we will take more
Freely than give.
Lord, be my light in
The place where I live,
Guard me from a darkness
That can be felt.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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2. |
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When you fall, the ground will be soft where you land.
Though you grapple in the night, you rest in His hands.
Beautiful, foreboding cloud overhead.
Behind it the sun shines, but learn from this moment instead.
Let me drown in Your holy waters.
The night's not long for those who call You Father.
It takes all of my concentration to see the bright side.
The ground below swallowed me up for a time.
It was the dark night of my soul, the absence of all that's sublime.
Oh, but isn't this just what I've needed to feel?
Give me rainy days, for I know the torn skies will soon heal.
Let me drown in Your holy waters.
The night's not long for those who call You Father.
We fall into the deep, still we sing Hallelujah.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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3. |
Winter Heart
04:55
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I am frozen to the core.
My words are like vapors,
Just cold smoke from my mouth.
No one's fault but mine.
Ice weighs down my power lines.
My mind flickers like a light, so long neglected.
Lord, bring spring to this winter heart,
Sprout fruit on my limbs, grant me a fresh start.
Oh, I'm a slave to so many things,
I am covered in ice, a lifeless tree.
You're the river flowing strong
Beneath the icy path that stands
Beside my cold roots,
But I can't break through.
Nothing good sown, no good reaped.
I have eaten winter, and it lives within me.
Lord, bring spring to this winter heart,
Sprout fruit on my limbs, grant me a fresh start.
Oh, I'm a slave to so many things,
I am covered in ice, a lifeless tree.
Consuming Fire, catch my heart,
Kill the death in me.
Burn away all the sin and the lethargy.
Let my heart blaze like the summer sun.
Let it sing praise to the Three-in-One.
May You melt all our winter hearts.
May they burn wild as the brightest stars.
May Your fire spread as we sing
And warm this city to eternal spring.
Lord, bring spring to this winter heart,
Sprout fruit on my limbs, grant me a fresh start.
Oh, I'm a slave to so many things,
I'm just like ice.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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4. |
Holier Mysteries
02:52
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A thick cloud of fog on my mind,
A couple scales covering my eyes.
A quiet, complacent, and comfortable lifestyle.
Softly and slowly, this comfort is killing me.
There's more.
Even the stones will affirm what we cannot see.
There's more.
Holier mysteries call.
Will I make myself available?
I am eclipsed fully.
This world's blocked You from me.
Move this shadow from me.
I'm placing myself before You.
I come to the table to taste Truth.
Let me be Your hands and feet, Lord.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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5. |
Fine Print
04:00
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These are the signs of the life I lead on the inside.
My hair is still wild, pupils wide from taking refuge in the night.
I know my life could be more than I’ve made it.
These are the signs of the things I hide from the daylight.
Dear friends, read a little closer. I need it.
Darkness is often in the fine print. Can you see it?
This is the sound of the words I choose in the morning.
My smile’s still wide, but my teeth are clenched like a floodgate.
“Do they know what’s inside?”
I know that I choose the mask that I wear.
This is the sound of the me I’ve built crumbling down, down, down.
“Dear son, live a little brighter. Just try it.
Life is just beyond your eyelids, I promise.”
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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6. |
The Least of These
04:42
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“Where is your heart, son? What did you think my love was all about?
Is it a license to keep the world locked out?
Are there not orphans, hungry and weary, who need open hands?
Open your heart, son, and let the weak climb in."
Lord, I can see Your handprints on us all,
But I've built up such a wall.
Help me to stand alongside
The outcast, the poor, the small.
“Life is a vast sea, and many are kept at bay by loneliness.
Don't be another ship passing in the night.
Find someone who needs a sympathetic ear, a hand to hold.
Don't shield your eyes, son, don't turn away from me,
Or from the least of these."
Sister, you are hungry. Brother, you're thirsty.
How can I keep what I have from you?
Brother, you have wisdom. Sister, you glow, too.
How can I grow from behind these walls?
Sister, you are lovely. Brother, you're like me.
I must make it my practice to tear down these walls.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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7. |
Hope
04:39
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Life is the thing I'm after, bags underneath my eyes.
Creases across my forehead. No wonder why.
Joy makes the days move faster. Hindsight is always grand.
What could have been a disaster was all in Your hands.
I'm all right. Now I'm all right. Day follows night, and now I'm all right.
Light's at the end of my tunnel. Sunshine outlines my cloud.
You are the one I'm after, and I'll be alone no more.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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8. |
My Beloved
04:44
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My beloved is mine, and I am hers for all time.
I once spent my days in a dark malaise, but no more.
We lie out in the road watching stars as they glide and erode.
Things will come, and they'll go, but my love remains. I'll be yours 'till the end.
My Beloved is mine, and I am my Lord's for all time.
I may run away, but in Your grace, You retrieve me, and You say:
"Things will come, and they'll go (Things will come, and they'll go),
But my love stems from the days of old.
Things will come, and they'll go (Like a dusting of snow),
But my love remains.
Things will come, and they'll go (Things will come, and they'll go),
But my love lasts when the Earth erodes.
Things will come, and they'll go (Time's the ultimate foe),
But love prevails."
Is this a picture, the two of us exchanging rings?
Is how I love her how You love me?
I'll be yours 'till the end.
Oh, I’ll be yours even then.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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9. |
A Better Dream
02:57
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Fever dreams of finer things, they flitter quickly past.
Help me dream a better dream of love and life that lasts.
Our minds are swimming with the world's things,
But when the sun goes down
On all our Pleasant Valley Sundays,
Will these new fashions we've bought really keep us warm?
Monuments to what I've spent, a shaky blue jean shrine.
Chasing dreams of fleeting things is such a waste of time.
I dream a Kingdom dream intermittently between
Fits of American fantasy that lead to hollow, restless sleep.
Let Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, Lord.
Fever dreams of finer things, they flitter quickly past.
Help me dream a better dream of love and life that lasts.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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10. |
Love Is
03:42
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Love is a candle burning despite what may come.
Even besieged by strong winds or rain, it must burn,
For everyone, for everyone,
For everyone's in need of love.
Take this cup from me. I'm bad company.
Love is a mountain we all must scale over time,
And I slide nine steps back every ten that I climb,
But we must go on, we must go on,
For they will know us by our love.
Take this cup from me. I'm bad company.
Pour Your love through me for all this world to see.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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11. |
Phases
06:00
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Once I was a new moon.
No light visible, I lived in shadows.
I know You were still shining,
But I struggled to see Your light.
I wax and I wane
And catch Your rays from different sides.
Oh God, You are the same.
It's just my eyes that can't perceive where You are.
Teach me to find hope in the darkest times.
Now I am a full moon
Glowing bright for all, and life feels complete.
No more helpless wandering.
You are faithful to make me glow.
I wax and I wane
And catch Your rays from different sides.
Oh God, You are the same.
It's just my eyes that can't perceive where You are.
Teach me to find hope in the darkest times.
Help me to shine even when You're hard to find.
I know I'll be fine. These phases form my storyline.
Lord, You are my one bright Morning Star.
Even when I can't see You, You are.
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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12. |
Nocturne
05:01
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Sometimes, the night alone's the perfect sound
For every ear feeling worn down
By a noisy life or the blast of an evening storm.
Sometimes the night sings a comforting melody.
Take time to listen to stillness in the air
And rest on a moonlit drive.
Though I might not hear a thing,
I see the Light, He knows my name.
All my cares are kept nearby in headlights.
All that lies beyond is out of sight.
Sometimes a darkened highway can be home.
Take time to listen to stillness in the air
And rest on a moonlit drive.
Though I might not hear a thing,
I see the Light, He knows my name.
Sometimes the stillness is our only answer,
And the dark highway's all we see.
And if our God was no mystery,
What kind of God would He be?
- Lyrics by Chris Skillern
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