Remember Surrender

by Sara Groves

Remember, surrender
Remember the rest
Remember that weight lifting off of your chest
And realizing that it's not up to you
And it never was

Remember, surrender
Remember relief
Remember how tears rolled down both of your cheeks
As the warmth of a heavenly father
Came closing in

I want to do that again
Why can't I live there
And make my home
In sweet surrender
I want to do so much more than remember

Remember, surrender
Remember the peace
Remember how soundly you fell fast asleep
In the face of your troubles
Your future still shone like the morning sun

Remember, surrender
Remember that sound
Of all of those voices inside dying down
But one who speaks clearly
Of helping and healing you deep within

Less Like Scars

by Sara Groves

It's been a hard year
But I'm climbing out of the rubble
These lessons are hard
Healing changes are subtle

But every day it's
Less like tearing, more like building
Less like captive, more like willing
Less like breakdown, more like surrender
Less like haunting, more like remember

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like character

Less like a prison, more like my room
It's less like a casket, more like a womb
Less like dying, more like transcending
Less like fear, less like an ending

Just a little while ago
I couldn't feel the power or the hope
I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing
Just a little while back
I was desperate, broken, laid out
Hoping you would come

And I need you
And I want you here
And I feel you

And I know you're here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars
And more like character

You Did That for Me

by Sara Groves

I don't have to cry anymore
I don't have to worry about what's in store
I've walked that road exhausted and poor
I don't have to cry anymore

I don't have to know it all
I don't have to be so proud and stand so tall
I climbed that mountain only to fall
I don't have to know it all

You did that for me
You wore the chains so I could be free
You did that for me

And I don't have to be ashamed
Hang my head or shoulder the blame
Wondering if my life's been in vain
I don't have to be ashamed

Man of sorrows
Well acquainted with grief
Drug down to the city dump
Spread eagle on a cross beam
Propped up like a scarecrow
Nailed like a thief
There for all the world to see

First Song That I Sing

by Sara Groves

In the morning when I rise
Help me to prioritize
All the thoughts that fill my day
Before my schedule
Tells me that my day is full
Before I'm off and on my way

I want to praise You
I need to praise You
Let the first song that I sing
Be praises to my God and King

Before the curtains part
Before my day is starting
Before I make up the bed
Before the snooze alarm
Reminds me that it's morning
Before the dreams have left my head

Before my feet hit the floor
I'll praise You, Lord
Before I fill my cup
I'll lift You up
Before I start my day
I'll sing Your praise
Before I start my car
Before I get too far

This Peace

by Sara Groves

So many words to say
But I'm opting for silence
So many days to live
I thinking I'm sitting this one out
'Cause something I've been chasing
Finally stop to let me catch it
Something I've been longing for
And dreaming about

It's a whisper in my ear
It's a shiver up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

It's something so elusive
Something close but far away
It's the home that I can't live in yet
Somewhere in outer space
And sometimes I barely miss it
When I walk into the room
The curtains are still swaying
And I feel the air move

It whispers in my ear
And it shivers up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

No time to grab a camera
No time to write it down
Just time enough to breathe it in
And linger

Love

by Sara Groves

Love, I made it mine
I made it small
I made it blind
I followed heart
Only to find
It wasn't love

Love of songs in pen
Love of movie endings
Takes out the break
Leaves out the bend
And misses love

Love not of you
Love not of me
Come hold us up
Come set us free
Not as we know it
But as it can be

Love's reality
Is not of passing bravery
It holds out hope
Beyond what's seen
The hope of love

Fireflies and Songs

by Sara Groves

Thirty years ago I was a little child
Riding in the back seat of a car
A woman sang, 'You don't bring me flowers anymore'
I felt a sadness in my little heart

We're looking for the music
In the music box
Tearing it to pieces
Trying to find a song

I was drawn to you in ways I can't explain
I fought like crazy, but I couldn't stay away
Piled on expectations and lots of blame
Like we couldn't do it any other way

We're looking for a firefly
Moving through the night
Staring at that one place
Swear it never lights

Were you surprised our hearts were not like ticking clocks?
The faces and hands easy to read
We both wished, 'If only in the land of Oz'
And longed for things we'd never really need

Now we're standing in the kitchen
All pretense is gone
You kiss me on the shoulder
Fireflies and songs

This Peace

by Sara Groves

So many words to say
But I'm opting for silence
So many days to live
I think I'm sitting this one out
'Cause something I've been chasing
Finally stopped to let me catch it
Something I've been longing for
And dreaming about

It's a whisper in my ear
It's a shiver up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

It's something so elusive
Something close but far away
It's the home that I can't live in yet
Somewhere in outer space
Sometimes I barely miss it
When I walk into the room
The curtains are still swaying
And I feel the air move

It whispers in my ear
And it shivers up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

No time to grab a camera
No time to write it down
Just time enough to breathe it in
And linger

When It Was Over

by Sara Groves

When it was over and they could talk about it
She said, 'There's just one thing I have got to know
'What in that moment when you were running so hard and fast
'Made you stop and turn for home?'
He said, 'I always knew you loved me
'Even though I'd broken your heart
'I always knew there'd be a place for me
'To make a brand new start'

Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

When it was over and they could talk about it
They were sitting on the couch
She said, 'What on earth made you stay here
'When you finally figured out what I was all about?'
He said, 'I always knew you'd do the right thing
'Even though it might take some time'
She said, 'Yeah, I felt that
'And that's probably what saved my life'

Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

There is a love that never fails
There is a healing that always prevails
There is a hope that whispers a vow
A promise to wait while we're working it out
So come with your love and wash over us

What I Thought I Wanted

by Sara Groves

Tuxedo in the closet
Gold band in a box
Two days from the altar
She went and called the whole thing off
What he thought he wanted
What he got instead
Leaves him broken and grateful

I passed understanding
A long, long time ago
And the simple home of systems
And answers we all know
What I thought I wanted
What I got instead
Leaves me broken, somehow peaceful

I keep wanting you to be fair
But that's not what you said
I want certain answers to these prayers
But that's not what you said

When I get to heaven
I want to go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions
I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted
And what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

Staring in the water
Like Aesop's foolish dog
I can't help but reflect on
What it was I almost lost
What it was I wanted
What I got instead
Leaves me broken and grateful

First Song That I Sing

by Sara Groves

In the morning when I rise
Help me to prioritize
All the thoughts that fill my day
Before my schedule
Tells me that my day is full
Before I'm off and on my way

I want to praise You
I need to praise You
Let the first song that I sing
Be praises to my God and King

Before the curtains part
Before my day is starting
Before I make up the bed
Before the snooze alarm
Reminds me that it's morning
Before the dreams have left my head

Before my feet hit the floor
I'll praise You, Lord
Before I fill my cup
I'll lift You up
Before I start my day
I'll sing Your praise
Before I start my car
Before I get too far

All Right Here

by Sara Groves

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

It's what I know and what I'm guessing
It's half-truths and full confessions
It's why I choose to learn my lesson
It's all right here

And I'm not God, I'm a man, 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
It makes me think twice when I pick my friends
It's all right here

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

It's caution and curiousity
And it's all the things I never see
It's all right here

It's what is best and what is worse
It's how I see the universe
I'm all right here

From This One Place

by Sara Groves

I was about to give up, and that's no lie
Cardinal landed outside my window
Threw his head back
Sang a song so beautiful it made me cry
Took me back to a childhood tree
Full of birds and dreams

From this one place I can't see very far
In this one moment I'm square in the dark
These are the things I will trust in my heart
You can see something else

I don't know what's making me so afraid
Tiny cloud over my head
Heavy and grey with a hint of dread
And I don't like to feel this way
Take me back to a window seat
With clouds beneath my feet

Rewrite This Tragedy

by Sara Groves

Tonight I forgot a line in the play
That you and I have been rehearsing
Since the day we met
It made me put down my script
And made me look around a bit
Wonder how we came to play these roles

I'm here to rewrite this tragedy
One line at a time
Hold on, I'm changing all the scenery
It's okay, we'll be fine
'Cause we know how this ends
We know there's a better story

Sometimes it's hard to tell
What to keep and what to kill
What of this makes us who we are
All that we love the most
All that we cannot let go
How much of change can we survive?

There's a better story
Of true love, of true grace
There's the hope of glory
And our first chance to be truly brave
It's the place we're going
When we can't stay where we are

He's Always Been Faithful

by Sara Groves

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God's hand in mine
Season by season I watch him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of his perfect ways
All I have need of, his hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can't remember one single regret
In serving God only and trusting his hand
All I have need of, his hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, he will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, his hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

Add to the Beauty

by Sara Groves

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

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

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find its worth

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

The Word

by Sara Groves

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

The Word was
The Word is
The Word will be

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

The Word was
The Word is
The Word will be

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
When we are weak, we are very strong
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
That put on flesh to dwell with us

In the beginning....

The Word was
The Word is
The Word will be

Just Showed Up for My Life

by Sara Groves

Spending my time sleep-walking
Moving my mouth, but not saying a thing
Hoping the changes would take
By working their way from the outside in
I was in love with an idea
Preoccupied with how a life should appear
Spending my time at the surface
Repairing the holes in the shiny veneer

There are so many ways to hide
There are so many ways not to feel
There are so many ways to deny what is real
And I just showed up for my own life
And I'm standing here taking it in and it sure looks bright

I'm going to live my life inspired
Look for the holy in the common place
Open the windows and feel
All that's honest and real until I'm truly amazed
I'm going to feel all my emotions
I'm going to look you in the eyes
I'm going to listen and hear
Until it's finally clear and it changes our lives

There are so many ways to hide
There are so many ways not to feel
There are so many ways to deny what is real
And I just showed up for my own life
And I'm standing here taking it in, and it sure looks bright

The glory of God is man fully alive
The glory of God is man fully alive

Painting Pictures of Egypt

by Sara Groves

I don't want to leave here
I don't want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
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
The place I was wasn't perfect
But I had found a way to live
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 seems so hard, and I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And 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 and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?