Lyrics from "Wide Eyed" and "This Mystery" by Nichole Nordeman 1. "To Know You" from "Wide Eyed" ====== It's well past midnight And I'm awake with questions that won't Wait for daylight Separating fact from my imaginary fiction On this shelf of my conviction I need to find a place Where You and I come face to face Thomas needed Proof that You had really risen Undefeated When he placed his fingers Where the nails once broke Your skin Did his faith finally begin? I've lied if I've denied The common ground I've shared with him (CHORUS) And I, I really want to know You I want to make each day A different way that I can show You how I really want to love You Be patient with my doubt I'm just tryin' to figure out Your will And I really want to know You still Nicodemus Could not understand how You could Truly free us He struggled with the image Of a grown man born again We might have been good friends 'Cause sometimes I still question, too How easily we come to You No more campin' on the porch of indecision No more sleepin' under stars of apathy And it might be easier to dream But dreamin's not for me 2. "Wide Eyed" by Nichole Nordeman from "Wide Eyed" ======= When I met him on a sidewalk He was preaching to a mailbox Down on 16th Avenue And he told me he was Jesus Sent from Jupiter to free us With a bottle of tequila and one shoe He raged about repentance He finished every sentence With a promise that the end was close at hand I didn't even try to understand (chorus) He left me wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion I was tongue tied, drawn by my conclusions So I turned and walked away And laughed at what he had to say Then casually dismissed him as a fraud I forgot he was created in the image of my God When I met her in a bookstore She was browsing on the first floor Through a yoga magazine And she told me in her past life She was some plantation slave's wife She had to figure out what that might mean She believes the healing powers of her crystals Can bring balance and new purpose to her life Sounds nice She left me wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion I was tongue tied, drawn by my conclusions So I turned and walked away And laughed at what she had to say Then casually dismissed her as a fraud I forgot she was created in the image of my God Not so long ago, a man from Galilee Fed thousands with His bread and His theology And the truth He spoke Quickly became the joke Of educated, self-inflated Pharisees like me And they were wide eyed in disbelief and disillusion They were tongue tied, drawn by their conclusions Would I have turned and walked away And laughed at what He had to say And casually dismissed Him as a fraud Unaware that I was staring at the image of my God 3. "Who You Are" by Nichole Nordeman from "Wide Eyed" ======= I was certain that I knew You At the tender age of twelve You’d so often been described by those Who said they knew You well Dark and rugged in Your thirties With a smile as bright as Your robe Every teacher, every preacher With the very best intent Found new ways to hide the mystery Replaced by common sense And to know You was to keep You in my pocket So easy to hold I know I can’t explain You I would not even try to And yet it’s clear that You are here beside me I marvel and I wonder So near and somehow still so far What makes You who You are? It is easy to insist On what is packaged and precise And dismiss the clear suspicion That You’re bigger than we’d like It is tempting to regard You as familiar In so many ways I’ve tried to draw these lines around You A definition or an absolute But I could not be satisfied with black or white There is so much more There is so much You 4. "Anyway" from Wide Eyed" ===== Bless the day this restoration is complete Dirty, dusty, something must be underneath So I scrape and I scuff Though it’s never quite enough I am starting to see me, finally A gallery of paintings new and paintings old Guess it’s no surprise that I’m no Michaelangelo Every layer of mine Hides a lovely design It might take a little patience It might take a little time But You called me beautiful When You saw my shame And You placed me on the wall Anyway You, who have begun this work, will someday see A portrait of the holiness You meant for me So I polish and shine Till it’s easier to find Even an outline of mine 5. "I Wish the Same for You" from Wide Eyed" ===== If i tried to tell you If i tried to find a way To explain this freedom Of living underneath this grace Would it be absurd? Can a heart be heard? To think you might see A difference in me... And i wish the same for you Something to hold on to I wish the same for you A chance for love We are not so different Sons and daughters, you and i Facing walls of questions Fearing answers on the other side of eternity... And what the day will bring But i finally found The safe and the sound... To dance in the daylight And not see my shadow To run where I cannot hide In the open wide... 6. "Is it Any Wonder?" by Nichole Nordeman from "Wide Eyed" ===== Is it any wonder That she would feel less than real When she reveals what is clearer In her mirror Take a look around her Magazines, glamour queens Waist-line dreams in her diary So inspiring Nobody told her that little girls Don’t have to have the softest curls for love So whatever’s left inside her Is gonna smile wider, shine brighter Until she gets pulled under Is it any wonder? Is it any wonder That he’s obsessed with what is best And nothing less...he’s a hero With six zeros Take a look around him His wallet size and what he drives Will symbolize how he’s made it How they’ll grade it Nobody told him that little boys Don’t have to have the fastest toys to win So whatever’s left inside him Is gonna keep on tryin’ to keep on buyin’ Until he gets pulled under Is it any wonder? Will somebody tell her there’s a love that can’t be glamorized Tell him there’s a hope that won’t be downsized Someone tell them that the billboards lie All the time Cuz whatever’s left inside her Is gonna smile wider And whatever’s left inside him Is gonna keep on tryin’ Until they get pulled under Is it any wonder? 7. "Burnin'" from "Wide Eyed" ===== Started rubbing sticks together I thought a spark would take forever I never dreamt this fire would appear When Moses saw the Bush in flames And heard the branches speak his name I wonder if he felt this kind of fear 'Cause I'm burnin' Yeah, I'm burnin' And I know I'm gonna blister in these flames So I'll stay here 'Till this smoke clears And I'll find you in the ashes that remain Used to be that I could say My faith was one arm's length away From any flame that ever felt too warm Asked for matches, but I recieved A gallon full of gasoline Now my cozy campfire days are gone 'Cause I'm burnin' Yeah I'm burnin' And I know I'm gonna blister in these flames So I'll stay here 'Till this smoke clears And I'll find you in the ashes that remain 'Knock with caution at the door' They said, 'Beware of what you're praying for' So I'll stand here with my whole desire In the middle of this forest fire 'Till I've nothing left to show And new life begins to grow... 8. "Gone Are the Days" by Nichole Nordeman from "Wide Eyed" ====== Do I dare even wear what I was thinkin’ of My true colors bleeding on my sleeve? Do I chance the romance that I’ve been dreamin’ of Instead of wishing for it quietly? Always at a distance, I wish You’d safely stayed Despite my resistance, You sought me anyway Gone are the days of all that I was afraid of I’ve left behind the traces of who I’ve been No longer able to wrestle with this angel And the closer You get, I can let You love me I had found it was easier to dance around The edges of who I could be If I chose to expose what grows deep down Would You still desire what You see? No more self-rejection, no longer paralyzed This holy perfection is me inside Your eyes Never mind this mirror hanging on the wall Cuz I could not pretend to be the fairest of them all Took a hammer to the glass To shatter all the pieces, the pieces of my past 9. "To Say Thanks" from "Wide Eyed" ===== Hello, Mr. Darkcloud Never thought that we would meet so soon Never thought I’d bundle up in June Funny how the fog rolls Funnier that I’d know who to blame Never thought I’d have to own this pain If all that’s good and true comes from heaven Then what’s a girl to do when it rains? Chorus And I’m sayin’ Why, why, why, why? I’m shakin’ a fist in the dark, and I’m askin’ Why, why, why, why? Why does it keep getting harder To say thanks? Even fields of flowers Dressing in their best because of You Knowing they are blessed to be in bloom But what about November When the air is cold and wet winds blow Do they understand why they can’t grow? Chorus And I could not pretend to know the difference Between the storms You send and those I find Chorus till end ===== 10. River God ===== Rolling river God Little stones are smooth Only once the water passes through So, I am a stone Rough and grainy still Trying to reconcile this river’s chill But when I close my eyes And feel You rushing by I know that time brings change And change takes time And when the sunset comes My prayer would be this one That You might pick me up And notice that I am Just a little smoother in Your hand Sometimes raging wild Sometimes swollen high Never have I known this river dry The deepest part of You Is where I want to stay And feel the sharpest edges wash away ------------------ 1. "This Mystery" by Nichole Nordeman from "This Mystery" ===== Say goodnight to the light of the setting sun One more day, one more way Of keeping track of all I've done I run this race, keep this pace I'm doing fine And I won't stop until each box gets checked a second time And life becomes the 'round and 'round Revolving door that won't slow down It won't slow down (Chorus) Do You wish, do You want us to breathe again? Say goodbye to the lines that we've colored in Brown and gray from day to day Do You cry, do You hope for all things made new? Try and try to invoke us to live in You That we might be the hands and feet of this mystery. This routine is nice and clean from dawn to dusk I rise and rest, I do my best When will it ever be enough? And life becomes the bigger noise Drowning out Your little voice Your little voice, Jesus repeat chorus We take stock, and we punch the clock And we make sure all those zeros have balanced in the end 2. "Tremble" by Nichole Nordeman from "This Mystery" ======== Have I come too casually? Because it seems to me There's something I've neglected How does one approach a Deity With informality And still protect the Sacred? 'Cause You came and chose to wear the skin of all of us And it's easy to forget You left a throne And the line gets blurry all the time Between daily and Divine And it's hard to know the difference (chorus) Oh, let me not forget to tremble Oh, let me not forget to tremble Face down on the ground do I dare To take the liberty to stare at You Oh, let me not forget to tremble What a shame to think that I'd appear Even slightly cavalier In the matter of salvation Do I claim this gift You freely gave As if it were mine to take With such little hesitation? 'Cause You came and stood among the very least of us And it's easy to forget You left a throne (repeat chorus) The cradle and the grave could not contain Your Divinity Neither can I oversimplify this love. 3. "Fool For You" by Nichole Nordeman from "This Mystery" ===== There are times when faith and common sense do not align When hard-core evidence of You is hard to find And I am silenced in the face of argumentative debate And it's a long hill, it's a lonely climb 'Cause they want proof They want proof of all these mysteries I claim 'Cause only fools would want to chant a dead man's name Maybe it's true But I would be a fool for You All because You asked me to A simpleton who's seemingly naive I do believe You came and made Yourself a fool for me I admit that in my darkest hours I've asked, "What if?" What is we created some kind of man-made faith like this? Out of good intention or emotional invention And after life is through, there will be no You 'Cause they want proof They want proof of all these mysteries I claim 'Cause only fools would want to chant a dead man's name Maybe it's true Unaware of popularity Unconcerned with dignity You made me free That's proof enough for me I would be a fool for You Only if You asked me to A simpleton who's only thinking of the cause of love I will speak Jesus' name And if that makes me crazy, they can call me crazed I'm happy to be seemingly naïve I do believe You came and made Yourself a fool for me 4. "Help Me Believe" ===== Take me back to the time When I was maybe eight or nine And I believed When Jesus walked on waters blue And if He helped me I could too If I believed Before rationale, analysis and systematic thinking Robbed me of a sweet simplicity When wonders and when mysteries Were far less often silly dreams And childhood fantasies Help me believe 'Cause I don't want to miss any miracles Maybe I'd see Much better by closing my eyes And I would shed this grownup skin I'm in To touch an angel's wing And I would be free Help me believe... When someone else's education Plays upon my reservations I'm the first to cave I'm the first to bleed If I abandon all that seeks To make my case informed and chic Could you, would you show yourself? 5. "Small Enough" from "This Mystery" ===== Oh great God Be small enough To hear me now There were times when I was crying From the dark of Daniel’s den I had asked you once or twice If you would part the sea again Tonight I do not need a Fiery pillar in the sky Just want to know you’re gonna Hold me if I start to cry Oh great God Be small enough to hear me now Oh great God Be close enough to feel me now (Oh great god be close to me) There have been moments when I could not face Goliath on my own And how could I forget we marched Around our share of Jerichos But I will not be setting out A fleece for you tonight Just wanna know if everything will be alright Oh great god be close enough to feel me now Oh praise and all the honor be To the god of ancient mysteries Whose every sign and wonder Turn the pages of our history But tonight my heart is heavy And I cannot keep from whispering this prayer Are you there? And I know you could leave writing On the wall that’s just for me Or send wisdom while I’m sleeping Like in Solomon’s sweet dreams I don’t need the strength of Sampson Or a chariot in the end Just wanna know you still know how many Hairs are on my head Oh great God (Are you small enough) Be small enough to hear Me now 6. "Lookin' At You" by Nichole Nordeman from "This Mystery" ===== I don't need another friend tryin' to tell me somethin' I don't need somebody's expert advise When just another two cents still adds up to nothing I get away to find a place to close my eyes And I don't need someone new on television "Send your money and we'll send you a new life" And I don't need your tried-and-true paperback addition The one that fixed you overnight I'm lookin' at you Lookin' at me Lookin' for love that comes with a guarantee What if I knew All that I need Is held in a hand that will always offer me This love And I don't have to waste my time Wonderin' who will love me I don't need to look for some kind of clue It isn't written in my sign or the stars above me It isn't hidden in the blue I'm not trying to set an expectation I'm not asking for the moon I just need a little confirmation Something true 7. "As" (by Stevie Wonder) ===== As around the sun the Earth knows she's revolving And the rosebuds know to bloom in early May Just as hate know's love's the cure You can rest your mind assure That I'll be loving you always As now can't reveal the mystery of tomorrow But in passing will grow older every day Just as all is born is new Do you know what I say is true That I'll be loving you always Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky ALWAYS Until the ocean covers every mountain high ALWAYS Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea ALWAYS Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream Did you know that true love asks for nothing Her acceptance is the way we pay Did you know that life has given love a guarantee To last through forever and another day Just as time knew to move on since the beginning And the seasons know exactly when to change Just as kindness knows no shame Know through all your joy and pain That I'll be loving you always As today I know I'm living but tomorrow Could make me the past but that I mustn't fear For I'll know deep in my mind The love of me I've left behind Cause I'll be loving you always Until the day is night and night becomes the day ALWAYS Until the trees and sea just up and fly away ALWAYS Until the day that 8X8X8 is 4 ALWAYS Until the day that is the day that are no more Did you know you're loved by somebody? Until the day the Earth starts turning right to left ALWAYS Until the Earth just for the sun denies itself I'll be loving you forever Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through ALWAYS Until the day that you are me and I am you Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky Until the ocean covers every mountain high ALWAYS We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles Can make you wish you were born in another time and space But you can bet your life times that and twice its double That G-d knew exactly where He wanted you to be placed So make sure when you say you're in it but not of it You're not helping to make this Earth a place sometimes called Hell Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love And maybe our children's grandchildren And their great-great grandchildren will tell I'll be loving you Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky Loving you Until the ocean covers every mountain high Loving you Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea Loving you Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream Be loving you Until the day is night and night becomes the day Loving you Until the trees and seas just up and fly away Loving you Until the day that 8X8X8 is 4 Loving you Until the day that is the day that are no more Loving you Until the day the Earth starts turning right to left Be loving you Until the Earth just for the sun denies itself Loving you Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through Loving you Until the day that you are me and I am you Now ain't that loving you? Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky Ain't that loving you Until the ocean covers every mountain high And I've got to say always Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream Until the day is night and night becomes the day Until the trees and seas just up and fly away Until the day that 8X8X8 is 4 Until the day that is the day that are no more Until the day the Earth starts turning right to left Until the Earth just for the sun denies itself Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through Until the day that you are me and I am you Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky Until the ocean covers every mountain high Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream Until the day is night and night becomes the day Until the trees and seas just up and fly away Until the day that 8X8X8 is 4 Until the day that is the day that are no more Until the day the Earth starts turning right to left Until the Earth just for the sun denies itself Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through Until the day that you are me and I am you. 8. "Home" ===== Bright are the stars that shine In somebody else's sky Green is the grass that grows Some place different More possibilities More than You offered me More than I can see From a difference I was certain that the truth would be In a place that kept eluding me But every stone turned and unturned again Would only serve to prove That I never had to move to find you And you will always be The only love I'll ever know Home And you have made for me The only place I'll ever go Home God, for the shameless pride The times when I rolled my eyes To laugh at simplicity Show me mercy Knowing what I know now It's hard to imagine how I could feel anything But unworthy And the mystery of Your love for me Is not as hidden as it seemed to be Should have known then when You said to me "Seek and you will find" It was right here all the time I believe in the quest and the journey I believe that the answers come in time And where we begin is where we arrive 9. "Please Come" ===== Oh, the days when I drew lines around my faith To keep you out, to keep me in, to keep it safe Oh, the sense of my own self-entitlement To say who's wrong, or won't belong, or cannot stay 'Cause somebody somehwere decided we'd be better off divided, And somehow despite the damage done, He says, "come" There is room enough for all of us Please come And the arms are open wide enough Please come And our parts are never greater than the sum This is the heart of the One Who stands before an open door, and bids us, "come" Oh, the times when I have failed to recognize How many chairs are gathered there around the feast To break the bread and break these boundaries That have kept us from our only common ground The invitation to sit down If we will come There is room enough for all of us Please come And the arms are open wide enough Please come And our parts are never greater than the sum This is the heart of the One Who stands before an open door, and bids us, "come" Come from the best of humanity Come from the depths of depravity Come now and see how we need Every different bead on this same string Come 10. "Every Season" from "This Mystery" ===== Every evening sky, an invitation To trace the patterned stars And early in July, a celebration For freedom that is ours And I notice You In children’s games In those who watch them from the shade Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder You are summer And even when the trees have just surrendered To the harvest time Forfeiting their leaves in late September And sending us inside Still I notice You when change begins And I am braced for colder winds I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come You are autumn And everything in time and under heaven Finally falls asleep Wrapped in blankets white, all creation Shivers underneath And still I notice you When branches crack And in my breath on frosted glass Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter You are winter And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced Teaching us to breathe What was frozen through is newly purposed Turning all things green So it is with You And how You make me new With every season’s change And so it will be As You are re-creating me Summer, autumn, winter, spring "Why" by Nichole Nordeman from "This Mystery" (live version at end) ======== We rode into town the other day, just me and my daddy He said I'd finally reached that age And I could ride next to him on a horse that, of course, was not quite as wide We heard a crowd of people shouting and so we stopped to find out why There was that man that my dad said he loved, but today there was fear in his eyes I said "Daddy, why are they screaming? Why are the faces of some of them beaming? Why is he dressed in that bright purple robe? I'll bet that crown hurts him more than he shows. Daddy, please can't you do something? He looks as though he's going to cry You said he was stronger than all of these guys... Daddy, please tell me why... Why does everyone want him to die?" Later that day the sky grew cloudy, and Daddy said I should go inside Somehow he knew things would get stormy, boy was he right. But I could not keep from wondering if there was something he had to hide So after he left I had to find out, I was not afraid of getting lost So I followed the crowds to a hill where I knew men had been killed, and I heard a voice come from the cross It said "Father, why are they screaming? Why are the faces of some of them beaming? Why are they casting their lots for my robe? This crown of thorns hurts me more than it shows Father please, can't you do something? I know that You must hear my cries... I thought I could handle a cross of this size... Father, remind me why, why does everyone want me to die? Oh when will I understand why?" "My precious Son, I hear them screaming. I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own. Jesus, this hurts Me much more than You know... But this dark hour I must do nothing, though I've heard Your unbearable cries The power in Your blood destroys all of the lies, Soon, you'll see past their unmerciful eyes Look there below and see the child, Trembling by her father's side Now I can tell you why.... She is why you must die."