1. Claustrospelunker

If a stone holds you down – keep your head above ground
though the foothold can be merciless
in a world not your own – it's the weight of the stone
holding me, holding you – very fast – quite fast

It's not the weight of the stone that's holding you down
it's the way it fascinates your mind
and just because it causes you to fall
don't mean it tempts me very much at all
I can see that it feels like a millstone is tied around your neck
but if you come clean and say "I don't have it together"
you can still keep your faith in check

3,7,9,10,12,14 feet – no spineless fellow here
down below 100 more, and not a sign of fear
X marks the spot at 145, a stone dislodged held him fast
how could he know while now alive – 13th day would be his last
they tried and tried to bring him to the surface in vain
if a stone holds you down – keep your head above ground
though the foothold can be merciless

For 12 more days – the foothold was merciless
with no possible means of ingress or egress
in the end a paradox was found
the beast that held him was a 10 pound stone
are you afraid – are you afraid?
That where He takes you – is a cold dark lonely place
where it's hard to find his face – hard to find his face
in a world that is not your own

in a world not your own – it's not the weight of the stone

Hebrews 12:1
1 Corinth 10: 23-30
Psalm 73:2
Psalm 139: 23

2. Crawl To China

Is God asking you to crawl to China – or just to cross the street?
to trudge through the desert through Arabian heat
or to accomplish the impossible – an Herculean feat
or maybe just trade in bad thoughts obsolete

Is it the concentration camps at Dackow?
is it Joan of Arc revisited?
Niagara Falls in a barrel?
or to mend a broken relationship instead?

Crawl to China

He is faithful – it remains in His hands
from the cold barren Arctic to the war stricken lands
from the place in your heart where despair takes its hold
to the lairs of the demons where deceptions are told
is God asking you to crawl to China or just to cross the street?

Crawl to China

With emotional rigormortis freezing your step
you won't be going far at all
it feels pretty safe but the danger is real
you won't grow until you face the fear that you feel

Crawl to China

Micah 6:8
Matthew 17:20
Deuteronomy 7:9
Luke 16:10

3. Enveloped In Python

My pet, my pet-how fun you are
I trust you so much I even leave the cage door ajar
you'd never harm me, but just to be safe-I admire you from afar

The coiling is fast
this time it's your last
your soul asphyxiated
final chance for escape terminated

Enveloped in python
constriction complete

So harmless-me the master-you the slave
I reach out to touch you-I'm getting so brave
You affect me but little-I still haven't changed
and to those who find me abrasive-it's you that's deranged

The coiling is fast
this time it's your last
your soul asphyxiated
final chance for escape terminated

Enveloped in python
constriction complete

Indian recorder solo: Ted

Enveloped in python
constriction complete
where dreams become nightmares
of total defeat

Not just a white line or addiction of some kind
but entanglement with anger or to bitterness bind

Jeremiah 17:9
Matthew 12:34
1 Corinth 4:4-5
Proverbs 22:5

4. White Knucklin' The Rosary

Don't even try to tell me what prayer is for
my Genie in a bottle needs to give me some more
and when this mess is over-I don't need Him anymore
I'll put my God back on temporary ignore

If you will do what I need you to do
I'll find some time to praise you when this whole thing is through
If you get me out of this, Oh great Almighty
I promise I'll never do it again-well maybe...

I get along fine most of the time
no thought for thanks or blessings sublime
when turmoil breaks through the shell of my comfort
my lack of a prayer life abort

White knucklin the rosary
I know my God by what He does for me
open only in case of emergency
white knucklin the rosary

When turmoil breaks through the shell of my comfort
my lack of a prayer life abort

An acrostic for prayer that I learned as a kid
praise and repentance, ask for others, yourself
but now in my lackluster state of affairs
give me what I ask for-beyond that who cares?

White knucklin the rosary
I know my God by what He does for me
open only in case of emergency
white knucklin the rosary

Pray without ceasing-give thanks for all things
a prayer life that's missing the joy that can bring

1 Thess 5:17
Jonah 2:1
Proverbs 15:8
Phillipians 4:6

5. If I Was There

I close my eyes and think about Calvary
I see it happening right in front of me
the back that bore the whip, the head that held the crown of thorns
what if I was there
would I even care, would I even care
or would I only stare

What if I was there just a face in the crowd
would I hide in shame or would I laugh out loud
would I pity Him or think that He is just a fool
another criminal
or just the truth, or just the truth
He is heaven's jewel

As He marched up that hill
I can picture Him still in my mind
all the blood and the sweat on His brow
as He passed me on by, I could see in His eyes
that His pain was a gift of His love

He was the sacrifice-the Lamb
and He is the great I AM
and He paid the price for me
the price for you and me-you and me

He made the deaf to hear again
He called the sinful man a friend
He walked that hill for me
so my blind soul could see-could see

As He marched up that hill
I can picture Him still in my mind
all the blood and the sweat on His brow
as He passed me on by, I could see in His eyes
that His pain was a gift of His love

I close my eyes and think about Calvary
I see it happening right in front of me
two criminals were there-with one on either side of Him
one hurled insults and one believed-and one believed
which one am I?
Solo: Ted
Isaiah 64:4
Luke 23-24
Isaiah 53: 2-4
John 1:29

6. The Tell-Tale Heart

I cut him up this evening
and when they came to check the scream
on the very spot I'd hidden him
I served a spot of tea

I'd left no evidence
that anything was wrong
but the unnerving sound beneath the floor boards
reminded me of what I'd done

I thought I'd committed
the perfect, fool-proof crime
I never knew how heavy
this would weigh upon my mind

Things done in secret
under cover of night
have a funny way
of being brought into the light

I admit the deed
can't you hear the beating
I admit the deed
I'm being driven mad by the Tell-Tale Heart

I Kings 8:39
I Samuel16:7
I Corinthians 14:25
Hebrews 4:13

7. Bats

bats, bats, bats

you think they'll hit you – but they won't
you think they nest in your hair – but they don't

bats, bats, bats

you think that feathers is what they got
you think they are a bird – but they are not
the old adage "blind as a bat" – the truth is they can see
but not as good as you and me

bats, bats, bats

i used to think that God was always serious
and i could walk the fence – i must have been delirious
i wonder if He laughs
i guess that i'm just curious

bats, bats

( Mexican free tail bats)

the God Jehovah is not feathers, wood, or stone
the Word became flesh – and ascended to the throne
He walked the earth like you and me
and dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
and dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be

bats, bats

Zechariah 8:16
John 8:32
John 14:6
John 3:33

8. Proprioception: The Line Knives Syndrome

When your life turns upside down
and it will some day
where is your proprioceptive sense?

Like the feline that finds the floor on all fours
is the house built on rock that the devil abhors
build your house on sand to find
a cat with one life instead of nine

Proprioception
balance correction
innate sense gives direction

Break your fall with daggers
as your focus staggers – the line knives syndrome

Ghinger, Abyssinian, Tsukahara, Skaukatt, Yurchenko, Korat

To "see" with that sixth sense
when there's no sign of the other five
3 Ѕ inward pike – the sense that keeps the diver alive

Proprioception
balance correction
innate sense gives direction

Proverbs 1:22-23
Proverbs 4: 26-27
Proverbs 3:5-6
Exodus 15:13

9. Tire Kicking

Car for sale – what a deal – I assure you it's a steal
come and check it out some night – can't I see it in the light?

Kick the tires if you wish – 32 psi?
that's not bondo – it's all stock – do you think that I would lie?
Has it been in any wrecks – my mechanic wants to check
oh no to the contrary – to check it is not necessary
I know many verses and have studied many years
can't you see how holy my exterior appears?

Armour all on all 4 tires – you sure are looking good
but you will be bent out of joint if I lift up that hood

I thought I knew you pretty well – but under stress you fell apart
you do just fine if you are driving up and down the block
but find a road with lots of curves – I see a sponge and not a rock
find a road with lots of curves – I see a sponge and not a rock
for all these years I've known the Lord
and each year means a higher score
If people tell me you're a horse you better saddle up

Have you noticed sin I lack? – odometer has been turned back
I exposite under toil – but that engine sure burns oil

I never miss a week of church – the transmission has a lurch
in our friendship you can trust – hey that frame is full of rust
I have some timely news for you
the car you sell is not so new
it isn't meant to run A1
so as a test or just for fun
for once let's see your real side
the humble side that doesn't lie
when pressures come that doesn't fly
for once let's see your real side

Proverbs 21:28
Proverbs 22:10
Leviticus 19:36
2 Peter 3:16

10. If Pigs Could Fly

Why does God refuse to move?

If pigs could fly they'd fly away and never grace the earth again
I wait and wait and wait and wait but nothing good happens for me

I pray to fly but when I die my feet are still flat on the ground
my brain is good, no legs of wood, but if you could, I think you should

He ain't standin in my way
cause I did nothin today
He ain"t standin in my way

Your ship has crashed no sign of shore-to sit in your lifeboat-you can do no
more
5 days at sea starved to the core-lifeboat is leaking-a rip in the floor

But wait-on the horizon-land-land hoe!
will you sit there and pray-or will you get up and row?
The next time you are quick to say "I'm just waitin' on the Lord"
just make sure that you remember where we all have been before

All things become one...

Proverbs 10:26
Proverbs 10:4
Proverbs 6:9-11
Eccl 2:24

11. Crank The Knife

Distance makes my heart to fester
in self-inflicted pain
If I can't face the consequences of my actions
I'll find somebody else to blame

I greet you with a brother's kiss
and crank the knife another...twist

Twisting facts to fit the fabrications of my mind
I find I've crossed the line
No matter what the cost I must be right

I greet you with a brother's kiss
and crank the knife another twist
pointing to things that don't exist
I crank the knife another...

Alone among the ashes of the things
which once defined my life
I hold the match that lit the fire
but you'll never see me take the blame

Proverbs 25:18
Ephesians 4:31
Ephesians 4:25
James 3: 5-6

12. Stumblefoot

Deep in that cranial psycho vault
the thought you are to be sans fault
it ain't meant to happen on our own
the consequence of diligence
without Him will show all the dents
that's why our eyes are always on the throne

What's wrong with me, what's wrong with you
how many times we've fallen through
the thin dev-ice of foolish thinking
all along our pride is sinking

The smoothness of another day
convice me that I'm on my way
at 3 pm it all falls flat
I realize I ain't all dat

Stumble foot foot stumble
as your ideals start to crumble
stumble soot foot fumble
just another chance to be humble
Stumble foot foot stumble
as your ideals start to crumble

The consequence of diligence
without Him will show all the dents
You point out others' sins overt
under the carpet, sweep your dirt

1 Peter 2:8
Psalm 19:12
Proverbs 3:21-23
Romans 3:23

13. Imaginary Friend

He's got a secret environment locked in his head
reality suspended
He's got a cast of characters cooped up in his mind
whenever he wants them

Sitting in a corner admiring the sunbeams
with an imaginary friend
he frolics and plays but he's forgotten the only one
who can take away the pain
trading in what's real for a figment
a cashed in life locked up in his brain
they don't give diplomas from catatonic state

He bears a ton of gruesome cargo, can't seem to equate
what is fact or fiction
gonna blow the escape hatch
from the miserable existence – find the Eden in his brain
the same cast fills his dreams and his nightmares
the horrors of night seem twice as harsh in the day
disconnected existence
pull the plug to ease the pain

Ephesians 4: 14
Ephesians 5:14
Hebrews 2:1
Romans 12: 21

14. Going, Going...Gone

Is it greed or ignorance or is it both?
as the bulldozer trashes a thousand years growth
clearcutting with a clear conscience-a burning desire to burn
if a tree falls and no ones around-the wildlife still hear it crashing down

You were gone before we even knew you
and there's no way to ever get you back

Gorilla seven days old ripped from his dead mother's arms
her hand-now an ashtray-souvenir for a tourist's charms

Will I join the ranks of the photo gallery?
It may be the only way left to ever see me

Thousand acres a day
burning it all away
extinction the price to pay

A ton of rhino, a pound of horn
the Javan one cursed-the wheels of greed are born
medicinal myth, smuggled to Hong Kong
ancient superstition-reality gone wrong

I joined the ranks of the photo gallery
it's the only way left to ever see me
You were gone before we even knew you
and there's no way to ever get you back

The greatest land animal killed for a foot of ivory
will your children live to see one-or witness decimation by tyranny

Passenger pigeons blackened the sky
never a chance we would say goodbye
oh how I wish I could see one fly

You were gone before we even knew you
and there's no way to ever get you back

American symbol of freedom and power
only for target practice by the hour
buffalo sat on the brink of no more

Will I join the ranks of the photo gallery?
It may be the only way left to ever see me

Gen 1:1-25
Eccl. 3:11
Psalm 150:6
Psalm 145:9

15. America

Between the years of 1861-1865, over 620,000 Americans died from gunshot,
disease, or sickness in the bloodiest battles of our nation's history– the
Civil War.
Through the instrument of prejudice, fear, and hate, a different battle rages
on to this day.
But in Christ, we are all one people– united in our commitment to God and each
other-
because it is He who first loved us...