Don't Worry Up Your Mind. They're Only Words...

  Give of yourself fully, not unto yourself and your desires, but unto your friends, your neighbors, your family, your spouse, and your children. Unto strangers, and your enemies. But most of all give your whole self unto God who’s Spirit gave the power and will to give. When you give, give not to receive, but when you receive, receive with joy and be grateful. What you are gifted with is to be given unto others and is not yours to keep. Let this be the heart and mind of His church. To see others as greater than one’s self. To let go of the American dream and to latch on to the hope of the Kingdom that is now present in part and will soon come in full. 

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And on that day, may you say to Him who judges the just and unjust, “Because of You I live. Because of You I love. I trusted with my life all that you said you are. You drew me unto yourself and I responded. I trusted Your words as greater than my logic and understanding. All I stored for myself was given long ago to You in full for Your name and glory as an offering of love, just as You, in all Glory and Power, were the perfect example of sacrificial giving by laying down a perfect life for the sick and weary enemies of your Father and Kingdom. You and You alone, my Lord, are my Glory and Treasure.”

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And on that day, may he say to you, “well done my good and faithful servant. Come now into my Kingdom and we will break bread together and fellowship in eternal Glory. You are now and forever will be a resident of this place. Once you were an enemy, now you are welcomed in as family. What I have I give to you. What is Mine is yours. I am your beloved and you are my bride. And we are going to a feast…”

Here’s a new song I finished tonight. It could mean a few different things, but I like what a friend said after reading it: ” It conveys that feeling of hopelessness; feeling like there is not enough time to accomplish what you want in one lifetime.” I think that is where I was going with it but, then again, hardly ever do I know exactly what I am trying to say. Hope you like it.

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“Simple Hands”

By: Justin Cross

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I am drifting, I was listening

Now I’m tired

The weight of a heart gets heavier with time

I’m a good son

Though the work seems uninspired

Simple hands break even most their lives

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Hold the horses, stow the guns

Put up those knives

No one here is showing out tonight

We were young once

Stubborn fools

We took our stands

Now we’re old and left to simple hands

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Heaven knows I’m trying to hold on to

All the things I should throw to the wind

But there is no point in trying to outlast

And curse this broken state I’m in

It’s so hard not to hate these simple hands

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From the road, a humble home

In winter cold

Looks just like it’s one with all the snow

Bridal white in fading light

And sunset sky

Someone else will live here when I die

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You fight with all you have and find

The credits roll before the story ends

You play that song the best you can

But you are still two beats behind the band

It’s so hard trying to build with simple hands

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All the things built up in dreams

We’ve made ourselves

Survive in pictures placed upon the shelves

Hopeful smiles, frozen in time

And clothed in dust

When all our lives were still ahead of us

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Heaven knows I’m trying to hold on to

All the things I should throw to the wind

But there is no point in trying to outlast

And curse this broken state I’m in

It’s so hard trying to live with simple hands

This song surprised me today. Oftentimes when writing, a song just comes out quickly and without much premeditation. Those usually turn out to be the most honest and close-to-the-chest tunes that a songwriter can write. Just a simple prayer that has been trying to find a voice for a while now. Lord, may I struggle after you…

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There’s a spirit o’er the deep

And it wants my soul to keep

With a whisper in my ear

Beckoning me ever near

Beckoning me ever near 

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I have struggled with that voice

Now for most of my grown life

But I never entered in

Because I bought into the lie

“Surely you’ll not die.”

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I have wrestled with the snake

I have struggled with the fruit

I have fumbled with my fig leaves

As you call me through the dew

Lord, may I struggle after you

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I have lusted far too long

For other lovers in the dark

I have bound myself in full

I have given them my heart

I have given them my heart

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You’re that candle in the window

Like the lighthouse on the shore

Like the sheperd leaves the flock

To usher one back through the door

One back through the door

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You have turned ear to my prayers

Though I break your heart in two

Bearing all my selfish begging

What else would I have you do?

Lord, may I struggle after you

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I have taken of the wine

I have taken of the bread

I have taken of your flesh and blood

With the Devil in my bed

The Devil In my bed

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I’m the son too far from home

You’re the father fair and true

And you love although I fail

As good fathers always do

Lord, may I struggle after you

A fun little love song I wrote tonight. I really enjoy how short and sweet it is. 

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Anything You Set Your Mind To

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I know the bad days

I know the questions

I know that the right way

Is not the easiest direction

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But know that you can do

Anything you set your mind to

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I know the pressure

Know what you go through

Just know the way is clear

Because I set it straight before you

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And know if you get lost

I’ll give up everything to find you

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You give the signal, I’ll come runnin’

Don’t you ever doubt a thing

‘Cause baby you’re so stunnin’

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You got the questions

I got the answers

I know you won’t go wrong

If you will give this love a chance girl

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Baby, we can do

Anything we set our minds to

Wrote this in a single sitting tonight. Kind of somber in it’s words, but the tune turned out to be fairly up tempo and happy. Coloring over the melancholy of life to make it seem less black and white is half the battle sometimes… Hope you like it. 

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I Can’t Take another Winter On My Own

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Oh, the night, it opens up like

Ten-thousand eyes in the sky

As she grips my mind

It throws the fight

Like the leaves give their color when they die

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Oh, the battle lines are forming

Fall, Summer, and Spring

When flowers grow

Even they must know

That Ol’ Jack Frost is king

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How the wind brings back the cold

Building up like banks of snow

All the things I should have known

I can’t take another winter on my own

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Well, you can run, run, run like an outlaw 

But there’s no losing this tail

Before the day is done, let me tell you son

Running’s not gonna make you well

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It’ll smoke, smoke you down to the filter

It’ll leave you with nothing to give

I’ve been on the run nearly twenty-tree years

And I never truly lived

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I’ve been living on a fault line

One day it’s bound to give

I want a home on the solid ground

And someone to share it with

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Oh, the night, it opens up like

Ten-thousand eyes in the sky

It grips my mind

It holds it tight

One day these feelings gotta die

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How the wind brings back the cold

Building up like banks of snow

Though next year I may know

I might not make another winter on my own

This became progressively more ridiculous as I wen’t along. I had some stuff I wanted to get off my chest, but then I realized that being stupid was making me feel better. It often does. Here is a list for you. People seem to like lists…

• Don’t call it honest reporting if you’re not going to put the whole story in the paper. It’s called tabloid journalism, plain and simple. Cheap, dirty, and not worth the $2.75 you end up paying for it.
• Don’t feign anything for anyone. The people who shouldn’t matter all too often are the people you try to be more like. This is usually done at the expense of those who truly care for us. Simply be. Then you will see that the people we try to be like are actually goblins. And everyone knows that goblins are trying to turn us all into plants so they can eat us. 
• When the wind is blowing your hair out of place or a storm threatens to ruin your day, walk outside, laugh loudly, and tell the wind or storm you aren’t gonna let it get the best of you. Nine times out of ten, it will not stop the wind or the storm, but it will make you feel foolish. And we need more people who act foolish. And, hey, if your attempt somehow does stop them, you will feel really really cool for the rest of the day.
• When life gives you lemons, throw them back and demand that it also throw you some sweet tea. Otherwise, lemons are useless.
• Call your mother every day. I do, and I pwn you in pretty much every way.
• Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it. Unless you are Saddam Hussein. You don’t deserve it. Plus you’re dead so you really can’t, can you? Haha. America.
• You gotta fight for your right to party.
• Give blood. It helps baby seals or something. 
• Don’t waste your time on stupid things like video games or pointless online activities. Instead, refer to it as “spending” time. Then it becomes a transaction, and transactions are for grown-ups. 
• Learn from your mistakes. That way, next time you make them, you can call them life lessons and not feel all icky inside.
• Most women are from the devil…. What? You wan’t me to say something to redeem my last statement? No. They will suck your soul from your lifeless corpse,then sprinkle powdered sugar on your remains and let their hell hounds feast. That is pure metaphor, and not an entirely accurate representation of what they actually do. But it is oh so close. 
• If it isn’t Facebook official or re-tweeted three times, it is not reality. Period. No excuses, you farmer. Get digital or be retarded. 
• Making people watch as you play video games is only socially acceptable when I am the “you” behind the controller. Don’t ask me why you can’t play. You are being selfish. You were never a true friend to me anyway. I realize that now.
• Come to recognize that everything begins and ends, and that a rocking ending is worth more than a million beginnings. But not a million dollars. You could sell your children for a cool milly-mill.

                                                    Fin