Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Awakening

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Dress down your pretty faith, give me something real
Leave out the Thee and Thou and speak to me now
Speak to my pain and confusion
Speak through my fears and my pride
Speak to the part of me that knows I'm something deep down inside

I know that I'm not perfect, but compare me to most
In a world of hurt in a world of anger I think I'm holding my own
And I know that you've said there is more to life
No I am not satisfied
But there are mornings I wake up and I’m just thankful to be alive

I've known for quite a while that I am not whole
I've remembered the body and the mind, but dissected the soul
Now something inside is awakening
Like a dream I once had and forgot
And it's something I'm scared of and something I don't want to stop

I woke up this morning and realized
Jesus is not a portrait
Or stained glass windows
Or hymns
Or all the tradition that surrounds us

I thought it would be hard to believe in, but it's not hard at all
To believe I've sinned
And fallen short
Of the glory of God

He's not asking me to change in my joy for martyrdom
He's asking to take my place
To stand in the gap that I have formed
With His real amazing grace

And it's not just a sign or a sacrament
It's not just a metaphor for love
The blood is real and it's not just a symbol of our faith

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Strangely Ready

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Brought me to a spot at the edge of town
Pointed to the fading light
Said you had a plan for a plot of ground
Left me kind of starry-eyed

I'm strangely ready for what comes next
I'm strangely ready
It's hard to describe cause it makes no sense.
I'm strangely ready for what comes next.

Every indication is contrary
That this will ever come to life.
Still every little hope is alive in me
A fire burning in the night

I'm strangely ready for what comes next
I'm strangely ready
It's hard to describe cause it makes no sense.
I'm strangely ready for what comes next.

Count it faith, I got up.
Nothing left for me yet but a longing with trust.
Was it faith? I don't know.
You just lifted and led me and I had to go.
Now I'm strangely ready.

A vision in the sky
A fire in the night
You said you'll do your part if I'll do mine
Now I'm strangely ready

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Blessed Be The Tie

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Words by John Fawcett

Before our Father’s throne
We pour out ardent prayer
Our fears and hopes are one
Our comforts and our cares

Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts
In Christian love

We share each other’s woes
Our common burdens bear
And often for each other
A sympathizing tear

Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts
In Christian love

Oh a kindred heart!
It’s like heaven above
It’s like heaven

Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts
In Christian love.

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Lay It Down

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Songwriters: Aaron Fabbrini, Ben Gowell, Sara Groves

Oh we’ll never be short on people
Who will never be short on trouble
It’s a well worn path so how on earth can we feel alone

Why carry on your own what’s coming to all men?
Why drag your bag of bones to hell and back again?
Why carry on your own what’s coming to all men?
Look around, lay it down, lay it down.

We’ll never be short on good news
Or somebody to tell our story to
And we’ll never be short on redemption
And light for the dark

Why carry on your own what’s coming to all men?
Why drag your bag of bones to hell and back again?
Why carry on your own what’s coming to all men?
Look around, lay it down, lay it down.

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Kindness of Strangers

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Rolling around in a big world
Somewhere that I've never been
Setting up again the rhythm and roads
The bridges and bends
Just when I'm ready to call it
That's when I'm wrapped in the safety
We mended and fed the wine and the bread
The rest and reprive

In the kindness of strangers many miles from our home
We have spoken to angels
We have seen just a hint of our great hope

What happens here is a mystery
No one can hold it too tight
Let it up, let it flow
'Til empathy grows and turns on a light
Hearing myself in your story
Fills in the holes in-between
In the land of the living, in suffering and giving
God has been seen

In the kindness of strangers many miles from our home
We have spoken to angels
We have seen just a hint of our great hope

Stories beget stories
And hope begets hope
Kindness begets kindness
And round and round we go
Love begets love, begets love

In the kindness of strangers many miles from our home
We have spoken to angels
We have seen just a hint of our great hope

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

The Word

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

I've done every devotional
Been every place emotional
Trying to hear a new word from God
And I think it's very odd,
that while I attempt to help myself
My Bible sits upon my shelf
With every promise
I could ever need

And the Word was
And the Word is
And the Word will be
The old Word is the new Word is
The old Word is the new Word is...

People are getting fit for Truth
Like they're buying a new tailored suit
Does it fit across the shoulders
Does it fade when it gets older
We throw ideas that aren't in style
In the Salvation Army pile
And search for something more to meet our needs

I think it's time I rediscover
All the ground that I have covered, like
Seek Ye first what a verse
We are pressed but not crushed,
perplexed but don't despair.
We are persecuted but not abandoned
We are no longer slaves
we are daughters and sons,
and when we are weak
we are very strong

And neither death nor life
nor present nor future
nor depth nor height
can keep us from the love of Christ
And the Word I need
is the Word that was
who put on flesh to dwell with us.
In the beginning....

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Painting Pictures of Egypt

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

I don't want to leave here
I don't want to stay
It feels like pinching to me
Either way
And the places I long for the most
Are the places where I've been
They are calling out to me
Like a long lost friend

It's not about losing faith
It's not about trust
It's all about comfortable
When you move so much
And the place I was wasn't perfect
But I had found a way to live
And it wasn't milk or honey
But then neither is this

I've been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacks
The future feels so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
Those roads were closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy
To discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
I am caught between the Promise
And the things I know

If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time in sand?
And if it comes to quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time in sand?

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

How Is It Between Us

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed,
the wrong side of the room,
the wrong side of the world.
Can't put my finger on the mood.
It's not melancholy, anger or the blues.
I love my husband, my house, my job.
Couldn't be any better,
and really what else is there?
Then I realize I'm forgetting God,
and that's the root of all my misery.
Lord, first of all, how is it between you and me?

How is it between us?
How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last,
and what has happened since?
How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last, and what has happened?

When I wake up I am on my way,
reinventing the wheel and saving the day.
I have learned this lesson a thousand times,
I am the branch, and you are the vine.
Apart from you we are mice and men,
with our fancy dreams of grandeur and no way to get there.
Oh I can think about you now and then,
or I can make a mark on eternity.
Lord first of all, how is it, between you and me?

How is it between us?
How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last,
and what has happened since?
How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last, and what has happened?

So let the wicked prosper, let the oceans roar,
let the mountains crumble, and fall into the sea.
There's something more important weighing on my mind.
Lord first of all, how is it between you and me?

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Every Minute

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

I am long on staying. I am slow to leave,
Especially when it comes to you my friend.
You have taught me to slow down,
And to prop up my feet.
It's the fine art of being who I am.

And I can't figure out why you want me around.
I'm not the smartest person I have ever met.
But somehow that doesn't matter,
No it really never mattered to you at all.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.

And I can think of a time when families all lived together,
Four generations in one house.
And the table was filled with good food,
And friends and neighbors.
That's not how we like it now.

'Cause if you sit at home you're a loser,
Couldn't you find anything better to do?
Well, no, I couldn't think of one thing
I would rather waste my time on than
Sitting here with you.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.

And I wish all the people I love the most
Could gather in one place,
And know each other and love each other well.
And I wish we could all go camping,
And lay beneath the stars,
And have nothing to do and stories to tell.

We'd sit around the campfire
And we'd make each other laugh,
Remembering when...
And you're the first one I'm inviting.
Always know that you're invited, my friend.

And at the risk of wearing out my welcome.
At the risk of self-discovery,
I'll take every moment,
And every minute that you give me.
Every moment, and every minute that you give me.
Every moment, and every minute that you give me.
Every minute...

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Fly

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Speak in a summer tone,
Pause in the afterglow.
Tenderly whisper my name.
Tell me once again, why I am your bride.
So I can fly.
So I can fly.

Pause in your busy day,
Look extra long my way.
Wink at me across the room.
Kiss me longer,
Touch my arm when I am by your side.
So I can fly.
So I can fly.

Oh, how the little things strengthen my tiny wings.
Help me to take on the world.
When you love me, there's nothing I wouldn't try.
I might even fly,
I might even fly,
I might even fly.

I'll fly.
I'll fly. I'll fly.
I will fly.

I will fly,
I'll fly.
I'll fly.
I'll fly.

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

All Right Here

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Songwriters: Nathan Orville Sabin, Sara Groves

It's every loss and every love
It's every blessing from above
Here I am, all added up
Oh, it's all right here

It's what I know, and what I'm guessing
Half truths, and full confessions
It's why I choose to learn my lessons
Oh, it's all right here

And I'm not God, I'm a girl - I confess
That I don't have a sea of forgetfulness
No, it's all right here
It makes me stronger, it makes me wince
Makes me think twice when I pick my friends
Oh, it's all right here
It's all right here

It's caution and curiosity
And it's all the things I never see
Welling up inside of me
Oh, it's all right here

It's what is best, and what is worse
It's how I see the universe
It's in every line and every verse
Oh, it's all right here

And I'm not God, I'm a girl - I confess
That I don't have a sea of forgetfulness
No, it's all right here
It makes me stronger, it makes me wince
Makes me think twice when I pick my friends
Oh, it's all right here
It's all right here

Every heart has so much history
It's my favorite place to start
Sit down a while and share your narrative with me
I'm not afraid of who you are

I'm all here, and you're all there
Some of this is unique, and some of it we share
Add it up and start from there
Well, it's all right here

And I'm not God, I'm a girl - I confess
That I don't have a sea of forgetfulness
No, it's all right here
It makes me stronger, it makes me wince
Makes me think twice when I pick my friends
Oh, it's all right here
It's all right here

It's caution and curiosity
It's all the things I never see
Oh it's all right
It's what is best, and what is worse
It's how I see the universe
Oh it's all right, it's all right here
I'm all right here

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Maybe There’s A Loving God

SARA GrOVES SONG LYRICS

Songwriters: Nathan Orville Sabin, Sara Groves

I'm trying to work things out
I'm trying to comprehend
Am I the chance result
Of some great accident
I hear a rhythm call me
The echo of a grand design
I spend each night in the backyard
Staring up at the stars in the sky

I have another meeting today
With my new counselor
My mom will cry and say
I don't know what to do with her
She's so unresponsive
I just cannot break through
She spends all night in the backyard
Staring up at the stars and the moon

They have a chart and a graph
Of my despondency
They want to chart a path
For self-recovery
And want to know what I'm thinking
What motivates my mood
To spend all night in the backyard
Staring up at the stars and the moon

Maybe this was made for me
For lying on my back in the middle of a field
Maybe that's a selfish thought
Or maybe there's a loving God

Maybe I was made this way
To think and to reason and to question and to pray
And I have never prayed a lot
But maybe there's a loving God

Maybe this was made for me
For lying on my back in the middle of a field
Maybe that's a selfish thought
Or maybe there's a loving God

Maybe I was made this way
To think and to reason and to question and to pray
And I have never prayed a lot
But maybe there's a loving God

And that may be a foolish thought
Or maybe there is a God
And I have never prayed a lot
But maybe there's a loving God

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

You Cannot Lose My Love

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

You will lose your baby teeth.
At times, you'll lose your faith in me.
You will lose a lot of things,
But you cannot lose my love.

You may lose your appetite,
Your guiding sense of wrong and right.
You may lose your will to fight,
But you cannot lose my love.

You will lose your confidence.
In times of trial, your common sense.
You may lose your innocence,
But you cannot lose my love.

Many things can be misplaced;
Your very memories be erased.
No matter what the time or space,
You cannot lose my love.
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose my love.

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Roll To The Middle

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

We just had a World War III here in our kitchen
We both thought the meanest things
And then we both said them
We shot at each other till we lost ammunition

This is how I know our love
This is when I feel it’s power
Here in the absence of it
This is my darkest hour
When both of us are hunkered down
And waiting for the truce

All the complicated wars
They end pretty simple
Here when the lights go down
We roll to the middle

No matter how my pride resists
No matter how this wall feels true
No matter how I can’t be sure
That you’re gonna roll in too
No matter what, no matter what
I’m going to reach for you

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing your praise
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
The mount of thy redeeming blood

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let your goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart Lord,
Take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Prone to hear you and not heed it
Prone to scorn you in your love
Prone to wander
Prone to wander

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let your goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Jesus sought me while a stranger
Wandering from the heart of God
And He to rescue me from danger
Used his own precious blood

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

You Are the Sun

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Songwriters: Matthew Ryan Bronleewe, Sara Groves

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere you are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still you have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light unless I turn my face to you

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere you are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still you have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light unless I turn my face to you

Shine on me with your light
Without you I'm a cold dark stone
Shine on me I have no light of my own
You are the sun, you are the sun, you are the sun
And I am the moon

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Add to the Beauty

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Songwriters: Matthew Ryan Bronleewe, Sara Groves

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work

It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find it's worth

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Something Changed

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Something changed inside me broke wide open all spilled out
Till I had no doubt that something changed

Never would have believed it till I felt it in my own heart
In the deepest part the healing came

And I cannot make it
And I cannot fake it
And I can't afford it
But it's mine

Something so amazing in a heart so dark and dim
When a wall falls down and the light comes in

And I cannot make it
And I cannot fake it
And I can't afford it
But it's mine

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

Why it Matters

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Sit with me and tell me once again
Of the story that's been told us
Of the power that will hold us
Of the beauty, of the beauty
Why it matters

Speak to me until I understand
Why our thinking and creating
Why our efforts of narrating
About the beauty, of the beauty
And why it matters

Like the statue in the park
Of this war torn town
And it's protest of the darkness
And the chaos all around
With its beauty, how it matters
How it matters

Show me the love that never fails
The compassion and attention
Midst confusion and dissention
Like small ramparts for the soul
How it matters

Like a single cup of water
How it matters

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Ben Johnson Ben Johnson

When The Saints

Sara Groves Song Lyrics

Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I can't let it go

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought
I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
It all can overwhelm me
But when I think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life
Their courage compels me

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought
I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharaoh's court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying man's side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come kicking down that door

I see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them

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