Addiction, addiction, oh won’t you go away
You’ve tried to take my life
You’ve tried to steal my soul
You’ve almost destroyed my family
Oh, won’t you go away

Addiction, addiction, how I wish you away
You try and tug my thoughts
You try and pull me back
You even try and fool me by saying it’s okay
One last time, oh won’t you just go away

Addiction, addiction, it’s time you go away
It’s time I take my life back day by day
Addiction, addiction, it’s time you go away
Just for today, I choose to stay away
Addiction, addiction, it’s time for you to flee
’Cause I finally see you aren’t the life for me

A second chance at life
A glorious gift
What a blessing to receive
Time for a paradigm shift
Lord, You’re my Savior; I live for You
You’re the source of everything I have
The Holy Spirit dwelling within
Your healing, Your love: a soothing salve
Forever grateful, I give You praise, honor and glory
because You deserve it.
There’s none like You; You’re the almighty,
all-powerful.
These truths are evident, this I must admit.
A second chance at life
I sit back and wonder . . . only if.

The best memories are also my heartaches most of the time. Before COVID, I used to get contact visits. The hard part was that, in our departure, my family
and I knew we were going to totally different worlds.

It’s not who I once was
Or who you want me to be.
It’s about the tenderness and love
That the naked eye can see.
Once everything gets taken away,
And you’re in a place you don’t want to be,
You realize your past life was a disgrace
And pray to be set free.
You don’t realize what you have
Until it gets taken away.
We pay for our crimes,
Hoping for a better day.
After so long since I’ve seen you,
I’m wishing you could stay.
My heart aches, feeling the coldness of these walls,
And the warmth of the sun fades . . .
As I see you walk away.

The eyes of God are everywhere,
We can’t escape His tender care.
No matter what we try to hide,
He’s always right there by our side.

There is no sin He does not see,
There is nowhere that we can flee.
We may deceive the eyes of men,
But we can never deceive Him.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
We all have turned to our own way.
But yet, our God, in His great love,
Sent us His Son from high above.

Into this weak and sad estate,
Come, O Lord, don’t hesitate!
Please search and know my heart, I pray,
And guide me in Your truth this day.

Reuben, Judah, Levi and Benjamin
Called into being at the beginning of creation
The roar, the whisper, the first, the last
The tribes from eternity and not the past

Joseph, Zebulun, Gad and Dan
He wrote the names of every woman and man
The blessed, the anointed, the nations, the kin
Scattered generations yet never shall dim

Naphtali, Asher, Simeon and Issachar
Through the bloodlines and here we are
The Word, the prophets, the Lord, the Spirit
Revelations over ages for those that inherit

The throne, the crown, the king, the decree
Made for the blind who are destined to see
Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin
The watchman weighs the oil jars in

Open fields and rolling hills
Fruit pies cooling on the windowsill
The smell of coffee and bacon frying
Laundry on the clothesline drying

Barking dogs and croaking frogs
The crickets chirp beneath the logs
Willow trees and honeybees
Desire whispered in the breeze

It was long ago and far away
Those memories from yesterday
But from them hope eternal springs
When I imagine what tomorrow brings

Can you compose
The notes of hope?
Do you know the lyrics to that song?
Can you tune your ear
To play
A 9th symphony sound?
Can you make the house
Come down
With
The notes
You wrote?
Is your song that strong?
Can your fingers
Untangle the strings
To resemble
My pain?
Can you play
The seven sorrows
Of
Mary
At the foot of the cross?
Can you unlearn
Everything
You were ever taught
And feel it from your soul?
That’s the song I want you
To write
Can you compose my darkest night?

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,”
That’s what I’ve always been told.

He’s always there when we need Him,
He wants to carry our heavy load.

Sometimes He will take us so low,
The only way we can look is up.

We then are able to see the little things,
How each is touched with His love.

He is always knocking at our door,
Wanting us to just let Him in.

So He may come into our hearts,
And keep us separated from sin.

If you’re in prison like me,
I pray you open that door.

Feel the Holy Spirit take control,
And see that there is so much more.

To walk out these prison gates,
It’ll feel great to be a free man.

The best feeling will be entering heaven’s gate,
And being held by the Father’s hands.

The sultry air lies heavy, still
The sun relentless presses till
The world sags beneath her ray
And yearns for ending of the day

From depths of towering cloudy peaks
The thunder groans, yawns and speaks
Bolts of lightning split the skies
Portending breezes sigh and rise

Treetops yield the right-of-way
To cooling gusts that make them sway
Thunder growls, it rumbles and claps
A silver jag of lightning snaps

The rain subsides, the lightning stops
The thunder dies, a cool breeze sighs
The clouds roll out, the sky is clear
And we know our God is near

I did not know what my choices would do
And how deeply they would affect both me and you
Conditioned to respond to my addictions
By compromising my convictions
I thought that I could handle it all
Through rose-colored glasses of alcohol
But then came along that fateful day
Where the sad truth came and the clouds rolled away
The devil left me alone on that road
Heavy with consequence, burden and load
I realized the sorrow too little too late
The scapegoat I’d become and I swallowed the bait
He left me the bill and tip to pay
He slipped out the door; he’d run away
So now I sit in a concrete cell
Wasting away and living in hell

But God rescued me!