Smile.

VERSE I
GOD met me more than halfway
freed me from my anxious fears
Look at Him.

give your warmest smile
never hide your thoughts
Talk to Him.


CHORUS
He put a smile on my face.
He put a smile on my face.
He's my GOD.


VERSE II
guard your tongue from *profanity
no more lying through your teeth
Think like Him.

do some good with your life
embrace peace...
Be like Him.


BRIDGE
Is anyone crying for help?
Is anyone giving up?
GOD is listening.

If your heart's broken,
find Him right there;
if you're kicked in the gut
He'll help you catch your breath.

Here's a little more info on the song "Smile":

*when i use the term "profanity" i don't necessarily refer to "cussing", but more towards the root word of profane, meaning common. i want to encourage the listeners to avoid that which is considered "common talk and thought". this is reinforced with the action step at the end of the stanza, THINK like Him, which refers back to Romans 12, where we see a conscious decision to have a perspective on life that is rooted in heaven and not merely succumbed to the thoughts and actions of earth.

[for more thoughts and stories behind the song Smile, please visit here and here.]

Credits:

music & lyrics - .justin holzgrove, King David, Eugene Peterson, JESUS
a. guitars, e. guitars, bass, vocals - .justin holzgrove
drums - brandon hesher
additional e. guitars + mastering tips - gabe archer of the pale pacific
recording, engineering, mixing, mastering, and encouraging - bill archer

Finder

YOU are the Finder GOD
Searching the files deep in my mind
YOU are the Finder GOD
Out of nowhere YOU're by my side
YOU are the Finder GOD
YOU're the Finder; the Finder


It doesn't matter where it's gone.
Or how it got there; not even when.
It must be found. / It must be found.

It doesn't matter how many are left.
Or where it went; not even why.
It must be found. / It must be found.


I'm finding YOU,
Always finding me.
YOU're the Finder; the Finder
So Find me now, come Find me now


It doesn't matter why I've left.
YOU patiently await my return.
my faithful shadow is the SON.
YOU're following me back home
I must be found / I must be found
I must be found / I must be found

Here's a little more info on the song "FINDER":

[the following is an article .justin submitted to The Shelton-Mason County Journal for the Lent Message Section. it was printed on March 06, 2008.]

While reading my Bible the other day, I came across a collection of short stories that Jesus shared with the people he hung out with.

Jesus tells these stories:

One day, a shepherd, who had one hundred sheep in his flock, noticed that one was missing. He left all ninety-nine of the other sheep in the open country in order to FIND the one that went away. Then, when he found it, he slung it up on his shoulders and took it back to the rest of the flock. He then gathered all his friends and neighbors together and threw a party to celebrate the return of the one lost sheep!

A woman had 10 silver coins that were special to her. One evening, she noticed that one had gone missing. So she lit a lamp and swept all the floors of the house trying to FIND it. When it was finally found, she called together all her friends and neighbors and they celebrated the fact that she found her one missing coin!

A wealthy man had two sons. The younger of the two sons decided he wanted to try life on his own. He asked for his share of the farm in cash upfront, and took off to take on the world. He didn't make good choices, despite his father's best efforts at raising him. After foolishly wasting all of his money on frivolous things, he realized that he was hurting; things weren't going as he had planned when he set off on his adventure. He decided that it was best to return home and see if his father, who would probably be upset with him, would at least let him work for his food and let him earn a place to stay. When he was not far from his home, he saw that his father was out scanning the horizon, waiting by the road, and hoping he'd return. When the father saw his son, he raced towards him and embraced him with a huge welcoming hug! The he gathered all his friends and neighbors together and threw a party to celebrate the return of his lost son!

Jesus told these stories to his friends to paint for them a picture of GOD as "THE FINDER". THE FINDER GOD is continually looking and waiting and finding people that desire to find Him. What a beautiful picture described in that last story Jesus told!

Before the son returned home, and before the father even knew that his son was on his way back home, he was out looking and waiting for him! As the son returned home to his father, he was surprised to be met and found by the father, who was out looking and trying to find him! How safe that must have left him feeling! He must have felt so insecure, returning home with his tail between his legs, having failed on his own by his foolish mistakes and destructive life choices. He was probably waiting for his father to punish him, or not accept him back. But instead, he was met with the father waiting for him, and a party to celebrate his return!

As we contemplate this season of Lent, we are met with THE FINDER GOD. For before you and I have ever made an attempt at finding Him, he has already been here. And now He sits waiting, watching, seeking and finding us.

Jesus, through his humble sacrificial death [remembered near the end of the Lenten season on Good Friday], has paved a way for us to allow ourselves to be found by THE FINDER GOD. Even when we were still too weak and rebellious to choose to find GOD on our own, GOD-the-Father had sent GOD-the-Son on a mission in this world to teach us who THE FINDER GOD truly is. He did so by telling stories like the ones shared above about the character of GOD, by healing the wounded and restoring the broken, and by sacrificially submitting to an unjust execution of death by crucifixion. Unjust because we believe he lived without sin and selfishness, while that same sin and selfishness completely permeates our lives today. This act of sacrifice on our behalf has made us clean, allowed us to be forgiven and renewed, and has enabled us to be found by THE FINDER GOD.

Jesus' stories tell of GOD pursuing us. We are the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Sometimes He comes and grabs us like the lost sheep and carries us back to where we need to be on His strong shoulders. Sometimes He pursues us thoroughly and diligently as the woman who lost the coin in her house. And sometimes He may be sitting and waiting patiently for our return, looking to see us coming from a long way off, then running to greet us once we make steps towards Him. But always, when we are found by Him, friends and neighbors are gathered and a party is had with much rejoicing and celebrating, for His sons and daughters have returned home!

During this Season of Lent, may you spend time evaluating your relationship with the LORD JESUS. May you see the character of THE FINDER GOD looking for you, pursuing you, and waiting for you to respond to Him. May you answer that pursuit by resurrendering areas of your life you've held Jesus out of, or by welcoming Him in to be a part of who you are for the very first time.

May you be found by THE FINDER GOD.

Here is my personal Leneten Prayer:
I am finding YOU always finding me.
YOU are the FINDER GOD.

Credits:

music: Small Town Charm
lyrics: .justin holzgrove
vocals + guitars: .justin holzgrove
bass: Jeremy Cleveland
drums: Brandon Hesher
engineering, recording, mixing: Mr. Bill Archer

a simple song.

I sing a simple song of love
To my Savior, to my Jesus
I'm grateful for the things you've done
My loving Savior, my precious Jesus


My heart is glad that you've called me your own
There's no place I'd rather be


In your arms of love
In your arms of love


You're holding me still
You're holding me near
In your arms

Here's a little more info on the song "a simple song.":

this is a song that we play on a regular basis. the words of a simple love song to Jesus, and our gratitude for His Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Redemption in our lives really get down deep in our hearts.

it's actually a cover of a classic Vineyard musical corporate worship song from 1991 by Craig Musseau. we drop-kicked his low-and-slow arrangement and took it up a notch.
we call the result: "a simple song."

Credits:

music: Small Town Charm
lyrics: Craig Musseau / c.1991 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing
vocals + guitars: .justin holzgrove
bass: Jeremy Cleveland
drums: Brandon Hesher
engineering, recording, mixing: Mr. Bill Archer

This is the Body (or, The One Two One To)

We run, We stall, We walk, We crawl
To the water we go down
Under waves of Grace we drown

The one who has two, gives one to
The one who has none now he has some
The one who has two, gives one to
The one who has none now he has some
This is the Body of Christ


This is love
that we should live our lives
to bandage those who bleed
This is love –
the hungry we would
spend ourselves to feed


This is the Body of Christ
Broken and shed for our lives
This is the Body of Christ
Broken so we can give our lives.

Here's a little more info on the song "This is the Body":

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
"How then shall we live?" the crowd asked.
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely- be content with your pay."
"If you have two coats, give one away," he said. "Do the same with your food."
Tax men also came to be baptized and said, "Teacher, what should we do?"
He told them, "No more extortion- collect only what is required by law."
Soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He told them; "No shakedowns, no blackmail- and be content with your rations."
-Luke 3:3-18

This song comes out of John the Baptizer's message to the people coming to be baptized by him in the Jordan River, just before Jesus goes public with his ministry. In Luke 3, John does a great job helping the people define what "the baptized life" looks like. Often we forget that continuing in our faith can cost so much.

The song sort of takes on two of the Sacraments that Jesus commands us to celebrate: Baptism and Communion and how we are to do these IN RESPONSE to His love for us.

Credits:

music: Small Town Charm
lyrics: .justin holzgrove + Graydon Holden of Lower Lights Burning
vocals + guitars: .justin holzgrove
bass: Jeremy Cleveland
drums: Brandon Hesher
tone organ + background vocals: Graydon Holden
engineering, recording, mixing: Mr. Bill Archer