We’ve been working like CrAzY recently in the studio getting all of this recording finished up before our month-long tour to Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas, and all of that work has culminated in 3 new releases:
SOLDIERS: The new tour has begun and the pre-release CD’s are now available. There are 12 new cuts on this CD (1 is a special “hidden” song), and they are getting an incredible response in concert.
The songs are: This Is Your Life, God Is Still God, Plastic People, Soldier, Stand Up, End Of Your Hope, I’ll Take Time For You, Follow Me, Live By The Sword, Barbarians At The Gate, Forgotten, Someone Who Watches Me.
* Note: The SOLDIERS TOUR is already booked up for 2006 and is quickly booking up for 2007. If you would like for your church to be one of our stops next year, email or call me (410-925-0687) right away!
GREATEST HITS (That Never Made It To Radio): This one was 13 years in the making, and so we chose 13 of our most requested songs and remixed, re-recorded, or re-mastered each of them for this brand-new compilation.
The songs are: Return Of The King, Thankful, Dead Man Walkin’, For Better Or Worse, When He Speaks, 2 Natures, The War, Beware Of The Dogs, Where’s The Beef?, It Mattered To This One (The Starfish Song), Be A Witness, Hard To Believe, The Lion’s Coming Back.
REJOICE: Rejoice is a new Christmas CD that includes 4 brand new songs as well as some of our older Christmas favorites. The recording on this CD will finish this week, and CD’s will be available by next week. The final listing of the songs is not finalized yet, but the 4 new tracks are: Good Christian Men Rejoice/Go Tell It, O Come All Ye Faithful/Let Us Adore Him, O Holy Night, No Room At All (Written by Karen’s Dad, Bobby Ayres)
September 13th, 2006
THIS IS YOUR LIFE
w/m Bill Itzel 3/16/06
Why didn’t God give me everything I asked for?
Why did these problems fall in my lap?
Could it be that God is somewhat mistaken?
Or could it be He meant to put me where I’m at?
Though we don’t always understand
Trust in God, He has a plan
Chorus
This is your life
This is your place
This is your world
This is your race
This is your sphere
Of influence
Now is the time
Here is your chance
It’s up to you
To make a difference
This is your life
Why does the world keep bringing me down?
And why do these people keep hanging around?
Could it be just a lesson God’s trying to teach?
Or could it be these are the ones I’m supposed to reach?
Though we don’t always understand
Trust in God, He has a plan
So when God gives opportunity
And it’s time to decide
Ask not what God can do for you
But what you can do for God
I’LL TAKE TIME FOR YOU
w/m Bill Itzel 3/16/06
Looking at my schedule I’m feeling kind of stressed
For I am simply overwhelmed by all of life’s excess
Start the day off right when I first get out of bed
I’ve got 57 seconds to whip through a daily bread
Take the kids to the park, every time they ask
But I won’t forget my lap top, cause I can multi-task
Gotta catch up on my emails, an inbox overload
Then stop to fill the tank with gas, we’re right back on the road
Get home to clean up all the mess the kids left on the floor
Catch a 30 second lunch, then it’s right back out the door
I’ve got to get a haircut and some stuff to make it soft
Some day I’ll take a razor and shave the whole thing off
The list keeps getting longer, don’t look at me and scoff
For this is just the stuff that I must do on my day off
I gotta do the budget, I gotta wash the car
I’ve got 3 weeks of shows I’ve taped on my VCR
Both the phones are ringing, there’s someone at the door
But first I’ve got to clean up what the dog did on the floor
I pass you in the hallway, your expression so alone
I’d like to stop and see what’s wrong, but now I’m in the zone
But stop, wait, my life’s under attack
It seems like every second something’s added to the stack
But maybe my priorities are slightly out of whack!
Chorus
I’ll take time for you
I will sit and listen and talk about your day
I’ll take time for you
I will look into your eyes and see into your heart
I’ll take time for you
BARBARIANS AT THE GATE
w/m Bill Itzel 3/17/06
You meet undercover in the darkness of night
Knowing death will await you if you shine forth the light
The satanic force that brought 2 towers down
Is the very same evil that indwells your whole town
You stand out as outcasts in your own foreign land
With boldness you take your own life in your hands
For loving your enemies is your daily fate
When your own families are… barbarians at the gate
Chorus
Love for a brother, love for a friend
Misguided religion is where it will end
Belief in another will seal your fate
They’re coming for you…barbarians at the gate
In a land of no conscience the massacred lives
Fuel this domain where intolerance thrives
But this culture where terror is everyday norm
Will cross over borders like a gathering storm
Political jargon spews from the west
So as not to offend this place of unrest
But you know the truth, that this culture of hate
Seeks world domination…barbarians at the gate
They fight devil’s cause with their dying breath
When they’re sowing the hate, the reaping is death
Holding out hope that God can save
Barbarians at the gate
SOLDIER
w/m Bill and Karen Itzel 3/17/06
I didn’t know you
But I read about you in a magazine
You left your family
To fight in a land you’ve never seen
Each day you risk your life
But you feel it’s worth the price
To defend our nation’s freedom
and protect my family
Chorus
Thank you soldier for your sacrifice
Thank you soldier for risking your own life
I know there is no way
That I could repay
But I hope that some day
Face to face, I’ll say thanks
May we all stand and remember
That freedom isn’t free
And be thankful for the ones who paid
The price of liberty
I didn’t know You
But I read about You in a book I found
You left your Father
To be born into a world where sin abounds
You were tortured, crucified
But in victory, now alive
And Your mission was accomplished
Earth now rings with freedom’s sound
Thank you Savior for your sacrifice
Thank you Savior for giving up Your life
I know there is no way
That I could repay
But I know that some day
Face to face, I’ll say thanks
I know there is no way that I could repay
But I know that some day, face to face, I’ll say thanks
GOD IS STILL GOD
w/m Bill Itzel 3/17/06
Will God’s man win the White House?
Or the devil in disguise?
Does the news report the truth?
Or just a pack of lies?
Do the courts uphold the laws?
Or legislate their own?
In the end there will be justice
For the King is on His throne
Chorus
God is still God
And God’s still in control
And God can still be working
In hearts and minds and souls
Regardless who’s in power
And what may be their goal
God is still God
And God’s still in control
Do we protect our borders?
Or let terror walk on in?
Are perversions taught as normalcy?
Or looked upon as sin?
Whether leaders deal through strength
Or run away and cower
We must never feel defeated
For we know Who has the power
It’s God who puts the kings on their thrones
So no matter what the future brings
His power will be shown
FOLLOW ME
w/m Karen, Jessica, & Bill Itzel 3/18/06
I want to be the kind of mother you can admire
Lifting you up so you can reach higher
And if you should stumble along the way
I’ll be there to listen, won’t turn you away
Chorus
Follow me
I’ll follow you
And glorify Jesus in all that we do
You know I’ve been there
So you’ll see me through
Follow me
Yes I’ll follow you
I want to be the kind of daughter who’ll make you proud
And make right decisions, not follow the crowd
Some day when I have kids of my own
I want to replant the seeds of love that you’ve sown
When we’re together I’m always surprised
By the joy of each moment seen through your eyes – up ½ step
FORGOTTEN
w/m Karen and Bill Itzel 3/18/06
I heard of a man
Who was living in a foreign land
And he journeyed many miles
Just to hear the message of your plan
He would risk his own life
Just to carry the message back home
It was then in my mind
That I questioned if I’m measured
Would I give up
All the things that I have treasured
Then ashamed I bow my head
And I turn my affections back home
Chorus
I’m so sorry I’ve forgotten
The joy of my salvation
And I’m sorry I’ve forgotten
The price of my redemption
Lord, You brought me to this place
So I won’t forget
The wonder of Your grace
I’m forever in Your debt
I’m so thankful that You’re mine
And you took the time
To remind me that You love me
END OF YOUR HOPE
w/m Karen Itzel 4/27/06
When you look at your life
And don’t like what you see
It’s not what you hoped for
And dreamed it would be
And you know that He’s asked you
To wait patiently
But as time passes by
It’s hard to trust patiently
Chorus
When you’re at the end of your hope
If you listen, you’ll hear Him calling you home
If you’re at the end of your hope
You can trust Him to be your refuge
If you’re at the end
Just lean on Him
If you’re at the end of your hope
Trust Him, just trust Him
To do what He has promised to do
He will be faithful
To finish what He’s started in you
PLASTIC PEOPLE
W/M Bill Itzel 4/3/98
Everywhere I look, I see,
Plastic faces smiling at me
Though content in hardened shells,
Their eyes another story tells
And though they never show within,
They’re more than just the mannequin
Behind their confident facade
Lies a heart that needs the love of God
CHORUS
Jesus loves the plastic people
He can see through their disguise
Jesus died for the plastic people
He listens to their lonely cries
Yes, He listens to their lonely cries
I know a girl who tries to be different
She’s unique, like all the rest
She doesn’t know that on the inside
Is where she should strive to look her best
And there’s a man who’s made his money
He’s living life free and fast
He’s got it all, but he’s got nothing
He’s put his stock in what will not last
LIVE BY THE SWORD
w/m Bill Itzel - 1992
Choose you this day which power you will serve
The God of all creation or the man-made gods of earth?
Will you walk with Him in battle? Will you do what He says do?
Will you use the holy armor and the sword He’s given you?
But as for me…
Chorus
I will not stand down I will stand and fight
I will quench the fiery darts by the power of God’s might
I will die if I must die in the service of my Lord
But as long as I shall live, I will live by the sword
We serve the King of Kings who has given us His sword
To defend the faith and honor and life is our reward
The blade is in the pages we’ll find power when we read
And the truths will pierce the spirit and lead us to victory
For if one day I shall stand at the edge of a knife
Then I shall defend my Master and in death defend my life (shorten how long I hold this note by half!)
Someone who watches me
w/m Karen Itzel 8/05
When I go to sleep in my bed at night
There’s someone who watches me
And He’ll keep me safe ‘till the morning light
There’s someone who watches me
Chorus
And I love Him, I love Him
And Jesus loves me
And I love Him, I love Him
And Jesus loves me
September 13th, 2006