#musicmonday: The Day That I Found God | Switchfoot

v

The morning comes like an enemy soldier

I feel the weight across my shoulders

I feel the shadows getting colder

But that ain't you

This noose ain't getting any looser

I get so fearful about the future

I hear the shame of my accuser

But that ain't you

I found strength but it wasn't what I thought

I found peace in the places I forgot

I found riches ain't the things that I had bought

I found out

The day I lost myself was the day that I found God

I get caught chasing my own illusions

I get so lost in these confusions

I keep on looking for my own solutions

But that ain't you, that ain’t you no

My enemies weren't the ones I had fought

My liberties weren't the freedoms I had sought

What I learned weren't the lessons I'd been taught

I found out the day I lost myself was

The day that I found God

Where is God out in the darkness?

Cause the voices in my head ain't talking honest

They're saying maybe you made us then forgot us

But that ain't you, that ain’t you no

And all I know is that I still don't know a lot

I don't know how it ends I'm in the middle of this plot

Yeah and I found grace for the man that I am not

Yeah, I found out the day I lost myself

Yeah, I found out the day I lost myself

Yeah, I found out

The day I lost myself was the day that I found God

N is for New Way to be Human #AtoZChallenge

Because it came up on today's CG video.

---

Everyday it's the same thing,
Another trend has begun.
Hey, kids, this might be the one.

It's a race to be noticed,
And it's leaving us numb.
Hey, kids, we can't be the ones.

With all of our fashion
We're still incomplete.
The God of redemption
Could break our routine.

There's a new way to be human.
It's nothing we've ever been.
There's a new way to be human.
New way to be human.

And where is our inspiration
When all the heroes are gone?
Hey, kids, could we be the ones?

'Cause nobody's famous,
And nobody's fine.
We all need forgiveness
We're longing inside.

There's a new way to be human.
It's nothing we've ever been.
There's a new way to be human.
It's spreading under my skin.

There's a new way to be human.
Where divinity blends
With a new way to be human.
New way to be human.

You're throwing your love across my impossible space.
You've created me.
Take me out of me into...

...a new way to be human.
To a new way to be human.

You're a new way to be human.
Where my humanity bends
To a new way to be human.
Redemption begins.

You're a new way to be human.
You're a new way to be human.
You're the only way to be human.
You're a new way to be human.

#musicmonday: I Won't Let You Go | Switchfoot ft Lauren Daigle

Because this song deserves a repost.

#musicmonday: Native Tongue | Switchfoot

Oooooo new Switchfoot album coming!

#musicmonday: Your Love is a Song | Switchfoot

(I've been listening to old playlists, I have)

Yuppie

Where I get a little lazy because it's Saturday, I just started on Lynn Flewelling's Stalking Darkness and I really can't think of anything about Yuppie, except this song.

Looking for an orphanage
I'm looking for a bridge I can't burn down
I don't believe the emptiness
I'm looking for the kingdom coming down
Everything is meaningless
I want more than simple cash can buy
Happy is a yuppie word
Happy is a yuppie word
Happy is a yuppie word
Happy is a yuppie,
Nothing is sound

Yes. Switchfoot has  profound impact on my life.

---

Yuppie

A well-paid young middle-class professional who works in a city job and has a luxurious lifestyle.

---

I suppose in a way, I could be a yuppie. Sort of. *shrug*

Restless: #atozchallenge

I am the sea on a moonless night
Calling falling, slipping tides
I am the leaky, dripping pipes
The endless, aching drops of light

I am the raindrop falling down
Always longing for the deeper ground
I am the broken, breaking seas
Even my blood finds ways to bleed

Pace. Endlessly, up and down. Because the room isn’t long enough, large enough, wide enough.
“Sit still, will you?”
“But I can’t.”

Even the rivers ways to run
Even the rain to reach the sun
Even my thirsty streams
Even in my dreams

I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
Looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
Looking for you

“What are you looking for?”
“You.”
“But I’m here.”
“I can’t seem to reach you.”
“Take my hand.”
“I can’t.” Her fingers grazed the wall between them.

I am the thorn stuck in your side
I am the one that you left behind
I am the dried-up doubting eyes
Looking for the well that won’t run dry

Running hard for the other side
The world that I've always been denied
Running hard for the infinite
With the tears of saints and hypocrites

Let go. Breathe in, release. “Why couldn’t it be? Why do things have to be this way?” she screamed, tears streaming down her face.
Silently, he wrapped his arms around her. “Trust me.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I love you.”
“Do you?” Cynical. Broken. The spear that pierced the Saviour’s side.

Oh blood of black and white and gray
Death in life and night in day
One by one by one
We let our rivers run

“Konig…”
“Oh, you call me that, do you?”
“I don’t know what else to call you.”
“My love.”

I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
Looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
Looking for you

“Which way do you mean it?”
“Any. Both. Which ever means most to you.”
“Why?”
A shrug of the shoulders. A smile, playing on his lips. “I am here. Find me.”

I can hear you breathing,
I can hear you leading
More than just a feeling
More than just a feeling
I can feel you reaching
Pushing through the ceiling
Til the final healing
I'm looking for you

Pace. Past the endless glass that separates. On and on.
“You’re still there.”
“And you’re still there.”
Fingers brushing against frosted windowpanes, losing sight. “Come back!”
“I’m still here.” His breath warm against her neck. “If you would step over, I am here.”

Until the sea of glass we meet
At last completed and complete
Where tide and tear and pain subside
And laughter drinks them dry

I’ll be waiting
Anticipating
All that I aim for
What I was made for
With every heartbeat
All of my blood bleeds
Running inside me
Looking for you

Step through, skin melting through the cold glass, a shiver passed through her.
“Stay.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You can.”
“I’m slipping away.”
He held her as she faded through the glass. “Then I’ll stay.”

Looking for you

---

Restless lyrics from Switchfoot. 

#Fridayflash: Living is simple

Living is simple.
The floating lyric echoed itself in his head. Was it really? He stood on a precipice.

Twenty floors below him, the people seemed to crawl like ants on the sidewalk, bustling about their unknown business. What would they do if he came down among them like a bolt from the grey? Would they run about screaming? Would they be disgusted at the mess? Would they wonder if he had blown in from a stray cloud? He hated the rain. It was cold, wet and depressing.

The strong winds whipped a gust of spray into his face. He stepped back from the balcony railing. A step forward was all it would take for a shot at the next life, if that was open to him.

Living is simple.
It was dying which was hard. The when, where and how was more than he could take. It pounded in his brain, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. Everything he had considered would be too messy, too disturbing for everyone he left behind. If they took the time to bother. That was moot at this point.

His apartment was stark, bare. He sat down on the starchy couch and stared at his peeling fingers. The detergent he used was too corrosive and he had used too much of it, but he wanted everything to be neat and clean when they found him. It seemed now that everything would be except him.

And that was the problem.

Living is simple.
It sure was simpler than trying to die. You didn’t have to think much, living. Living was just carrying on - putting one foot in front of the other, watching time slip away. Living was waiting for the crushing, like the way his car had broken down yesterday, like the gimp knee he had that made him limp, like the smile he had given Kerrie when she had walked out. It didn’t require much effort. It just was.

He walked out to the balcony again, watching the slow stream of red and yellow lights below through the thickening downpour. The north wind blew and he turned to close the glass door behind him, determined that his hard work would not go to waste. He shivered as his soaked clothes clung to his skin. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Living is dying.
---

I didn't exactly start out to write such a depressing piece based on a random line from a Switchfoot song. It just happened.
Switchfoot stuff is generally very hopeful, in case you didn't know. This song is actually quite a nice one. Not depressing at all. It talks about mercy. And choices remaining, like second chances.
I should not take song lines out of context. Sorry.

Restless - Switchfoot

I am the sea on a moonless night
Calling, falling, slipping tides
I am the leaky, dripping pipes
The endless, aching drops of light
I am the raindrop falling down
Always longing for the deeper ground
I am the broken, breaking seas
Even my blood finds ways to bleed
Even the rivers ways to run
Even the rain to reach the sun
Even my thirsty streams
Even in my dreams
I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
Looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
Looking for you
I am the thorn stuck in your side
I am the one that you left behind
I am the dried up, doubting eyes
Looking for the well that won't run dry
Running hard for the other side
The world that I've always been denied
Running hard for the infinite
With the tears of saints and hypocrites
Oh, blood of black and white and gray
Death in life and night in day
One by one by one
We let our rivers run
I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
Looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
Looking for you
I can't hear you breathing
I can't hear you leading
More than just a feeling
More than just a feeling
I can't feel you reaching
Pushing through the ceiling
Till the final healing
I'm looking for you

Until the sea of glass we meet
At last completed and complete
Where tide and tear and pain subside
And laughter drinks them dry
I'll be waiting
Anticipating
All that I aim for
What I was made for
With every heartbeat
All of my blood bleeds
Running inside me
Looking for you
I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
Looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
I'm looking for you
I can't feel you breathing
I can't feel you leading
More than just a feeling
More than just a feeling
I can't feel you reaching
Pushing through the ceiling
Till the final healing
I'm looking for you
I'm looking for you

---

There's just something about a melancholic Switchfoot song that just captures the longing in your heart. I am restless. Aren't we all?
We're all pilgrims, aren't we? Looking for something more. Looking for something deeper.
And there are times we just can't feel Him. It's a glass ceiling we can't get through, even if most times the glass ceiling is of our own making.
Always running hard for the infinite, not yet there, still hypocritically pretending that we are. Still, striving, restless, looking.
Always the paradox of Christ and the paradox of man. Death in life, night in day. 
I am restless, and yet there will be a day. Pushing through.

Also:
Revelations 15:2 appears here? And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God.
Betcha you didn't catch that: Until the sea of glass we meet / At last completed and complete / Where tide and tear and pain subside / And laughter drinks them dry.