Roadside Photographs

Chorus
A brand new day is lying here before me
And I have a chance to make amends for the time I’ve lost
The sun melts away the past that came to haunt me
As I reach into the sky and fall into the arms of God

Late at night upon my bed I remember the day
And how I fed a life of pride and selfishness
The night before I tossed and turned and didn’t want to pray
I’d rather dream of a better place than this
And the night it covered my shame I have only myself to blame
For this wasted day of sin but the sun is rising again

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Misreading the peace of God that comes from the Father
With the inevitable silence of complacency
There on the shore of hearts, as the sun becomes brighter
I see Jesus standing waiting for me
I can only hit my knees and humbly ask God to guide me
To keep me from a day of sin, so in everything I do I glorify Him

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Here I am alone along this empty road
I make my way with a song that I have always known
A cool wind is blowing on my pilgrimage
I’ll take a snapshot so I’ll remember this

Chorus
Roadside photographs, tracing reality
The purpose of the truth fades in the serenity
This is where I am and where I’ll be

One of many places where I have found myself
When my mind was clear enough to ask my God for help
A never-ending lifeline full of trials and of doubt
But now the peace comes through the clouds

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I think of the moments I wish had never been
The ones I don’t want to remember, wrongs of life relived
My God has erased them but I hold the negative
And still my heart’s weighed down by the sin

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Up on a cliff side there sits a lonely man
Drained of all thought of selfish gain
Standing in a doorway a young girl awaits
For the Lord she loves to come and be her love
Their eyes look towards the sun
They try desperately to forget the sins of their youth
With grace and tender mercy the Lord comes
And says a heart of a love is all I want from you

Chorus
The sun paints a picture of the fading day
Its brilliant light reflects in their eyes
Tears of love pour down their face
The whistling wind brings in the night
They close their eyes and bow their heads
And touch the heart of God

Their bodies are tired from waiting on God
Still their prayers continue to go up
The tune they were singing no longer makes a sound
But the song in their heart still rings of love
Their eyes look to the edge of the horizon
But they’re able to see past the setting sun
Into tomorrow and into the next
Feeling complete, they have only just begun

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The sun shines through the trees
The wind blows on the top
Orange and yellow, red and green
Expressions of God’s perfect love

Each tree sings a melody
Each leaf sings to Him a new song
Praises in perfect harmony
Sacrifice to the Lord they love

Chorus
Let Your portion be enough for me
Your sacrifice all I need
To be like the falling seed
Planted wherever you please
Rooted deep within Your peace
Knowing where I fall is where you want me to be

Though it is never ending
There’s a callus on my heart
Swallowed in my mind’s own thinking
Tossed and turned by the plans of my life

The wind blows where it pleases
And I know not from where it comes
But I pray when it stops blowing
I’ll be dead enough to trust

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In a war-torn Asian land a woman lies weeping
Clinging her hands onto a man who is dying
Because of his beliefs in a God who does not hate
He will die for his faith and enter as a saint

But now he leaves behind a family whom he has shown
The way to salvation through the truth he has known
Forced to pick up what her lover has left behind
And step into a world that’s seldom kind

Chorus
God help the widows whose husbands have gone home
And left the children by her side whom she must now show
That Jesus is bigger than this world they have known
And they’ll see Daddy when they get back home

The work that God had called him to is the greatest you could have
But now he leaves his wife behind to face the flock he had
The work of her husband’s life is what he died for
And she knows one day she too will walk through that door

To die for the King of life is the greatest sacrifice
And no gift is greater than to give one’s own life
And God give her the strength she needs each and every day
And when she speaks, oh, hear the words she prays

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It’s not in the heavens and it’s not on the earth
It’s more than a twist of fate that gave us birth
It is more than you and I can ever realize
Holding onto today looking to the eastern sunrise
A memory of a dream which we somehow can’t recall
‘Cause the presence of life demands our all
And as we become who God wants us to be
Let us not forget our memories

The fragrance of life of our childhood freedom
Causes us to recall what He has done
Motion back the past, let it flutter through your mind
And praise the Lord of host for your very life
For it’s only by His hand that we live to see
Our Ancient of Days and our youth’s mystery
The sun will rise to begin its setting
So let us not forget our memories

Innocence of thought which our minds can’t comprehend
The taste of childhood which we’ll never know again
Complexity of heart, simplicity of soul
And majesty of love which works to make us whole
Equal to youth is transgressions of life
The two intertwine in the frame of time
And the strand of grace is what we want to see
Oh, when we look back on our memories

Dive into life, but never give into the lie
That we can be more than we are
Becoming as God, knowing the end and the start
For we have gone astray
Every man lives for himself, no price is left to pay
So humble yourselves and be free
But never forget your memories

Here at the table with the family I love
We say a prayer and thank God for the food
For Him to be with those who have none
We thank Him for His wisdom and truth

Then we read a verse from your word
To remind us who you are
And that the fellowship we have is sweeter than
Any food that could satisfy our hearts

Chorus
This is where peace and love lives

This is where my heart is consumed
This is where holiness began in me

And where someday I hope to lead you

As we eat together and discuss the day
It isn’t long before the truth is revealed
The hidden meanings behind the words I say
Are in the light so we can all be healed

How I thank God for those times
When I could speak my mind so free
And know the rebuke that came sometimes
Was love after love poured for me

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When I look to you and choose not to fall away
When I seek the truth and let my self be put to shame
Then the doors are open and the spirit can come in
And break this frightened child and change the man that’s within

Chorus
Oh, I wonder where I would be
If self wasn’t crucified in me

Lay me low in the dust, preserve my life to Your word
Teach me how to trust and let Your fire cleanse and burn
For you are the God I love and whom I want to see
Separate the good from bad, the chaff from the wheat

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Oh, Lord God, Father of my life
Hear the prayer of your servant’s humble heart
I am crushed but not destroyed, beaten but not bruised
I am crucified but I’m still alive
Before I was afflicted but now I obey Your word
It was good for me to be in that place, so that I may learn Your ways
For Your righteousness is all I want to see

Chorus
Oh, God, do you have an answer for me
Or do I have to rely on what I see?
I have chased the visions of my life before
And I have wrestled with the angels in the night before
All amounts to nothing as I follow the Lord
All of it means something in the eyes of the Lord
Your face is all I want to see
Do You have an answer for me?

Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish man
Who no longer knows how to seek the Lord
As dreams come with many cares so the speech of a fool
Comes disguised in the lies of his words
God is in heaven and I on earth, so teach me how to be still
Though I failed to seek Your face yesterday, do not ignore me now
For Your love is more precious to me than anything

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I clinch my fist and I fall to the floor
I cry aloud as I wait for You oh, Lord
The battle waged against me is not of flesh and bone
I fight off demons and the sins I have known
I grasp the hands of God as my sweat turns to blood
I am fighting against the Living One
But oh, what a peace comes when I’m done
Oh, what a peace comes when I’m done

Repeat Chorus