B. J. York
Though harvested in last few years, the seeds were planted by my
mother. These songs are expressions of need and hope that I
see in myself and others. They walk the days and seasons,
finding the Spirit in a love that no word or wall can own or
contain.
CD available at Borders Books and Music
God is in the House – (Track One)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churton ~ Congas: B.J.York
Drumset: Jeremy J. Smith
Listen to me now, somethin’s comin’ over me, oh yeah.
It’s not a man or a new hair style, I know what you’re thinkin’.
It’s like the thunder and the rain all at once.
It wakes you up, and washes you clean through.
And I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
I got this feelin’, God is in the house.
I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
And miracles abound, and you don’t have to be afraid, ‘cause our God is in the house.
No, you don’t have to be afraid anymore, ‘cause our God is in the house.
Don’t ya , don’t ya know,
I was runnin’ down the sidewalk, wishin’ for somethin’ or someone to fill me,
to take away the sense of too much, too fast, too little.
Suddenly, I was caught, brought to a stand-still.
And I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
I got this feelin’, God is in the house.
I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
And miracles abound, and you don’t have to be alone, ‘cause our God is in the house.
No you don’t have to be alone anymore, ‘cause our God is in the house.
I looked around and you know what I saw?
I saw a man in a suit shakin’ hands and laughin’, with a man from the street.
I saw a boy with purple hair, you know he was givin’ up his seat
to a weary mama, with a cryin’ baby girl.
He took her in his arms, she stopped wailin’, and the light formed in his eyes.
And I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
I got this feelin’, God is in the house.
I got this feelin’, God is in the making.
And miracles abound all around, ‘cause our God is in the house.
No, you don’t have to feel sad anymore, ‘cause our God is in the house.
No doubt, God is in the making.
No doubt, God is in the house.
No doubt, God is in the making.
No doubt, God is in the house.
And miracles abound all around, ‘cause our God is in the house.
Now, my brothers and my sisters, you don’t have to worry no more.
All you got to do is look around, and you will see that God is in His house.
The Call – (Track Two)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churton ~ Congas: B.J.York
What would I do, who would I be,
if you were standing right before me?
Teacher, would I look down, as you called me from the boat,
and slip beneath the surface?
And then you ask of me, “Do you love Me?” Oh, yes, my Lord.
“Then feed my lambs.” Oh, yes my Lord.
“Do you truly love Me?” Oh, yes, my Lord.
“Then, tend my sheep.”
Full with hunger, rich with need,
I begin to see myself in the pain of those who would hurt me.
Your storm has washed the sand from beneath my feet.
And even as I’m drained and moorless and afraid, You give Your strength into me, oh, yes, my Lord.
“Do you love Me?” Oh, yes, my Lord.
“Then go out and heal their wounds.” Oh, yes, my Lord.
“Do you truly love Me?” Oh, yes, my Lord.
“Then give my love to him, who hates his own life…
And my life shifts, as Your light lifts the shadows from this room.
Sifted through, all that I thought I knew is redefined by You.
And, now I know what I will do. I will follow You.
And, now I know who I am. I am Yours.
Yes, my Lord.
What is This Love – (Track Three)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churton ~ Congas: B.J.York
These words, I have heard, spoken on this side of livin’,
“What is this love You have given?”
So I stand before the mirror and I wonder if I can find,
where You begin and I end.
And I land and I fall, before Your gifts, oh Lord.
And I wonder if I will break, or I will bend.
I wake up in the morning and I reach for the moment.
And people, that I’ve grown with, remain, riding in my breath.
They soak, with the day, into the soil of my soul,
and rise up on warm currents, with the sun.
And, though they may not always seem so near, sweet Father, You keep them here,
with Your promise, that, love is never gone.
And, Lord, I do know, that each day is a precious gift,
each smell, each sound, each touch.
I hear the voices, I see the faces You’ve planted in my life,
sweet resonance, pure song, saying, “What is this love You have given?
What is this this amazing thing, called Love
You have given us…”
Something More Than Perfect – (Track Four)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churton ~ Congas: B.J.York
Something more than perfect,
something more than the smell of the rich dirt,
and the wind on my back,
and the sun soaking my face,
and a voice beneath my ear,
when I hold someone close that I love.
Something more than perfect,
something, that if it were only told to me,
I would probably not believe it.
But, believe it, I do.
For it was You, who first believed in, believed in me,
believed me into being.
Oh something more,
something more than perfect.
Something more than the cool clay You have formed,
or the warm sand beneath my feet.
More than the heart-stopping breath of pure sight after sleep,
the sweet, juicy crispness in my thirsty mouth,
or laughter before I weep.
Something more than all the collected treasures of earth and sky.
This is where You are.
And, yet, because You are without end,
You are still here with us,
with each of us.
Oh something more,
something more than perfect.
Something more than perfect….
Right Beside You – (Track Five)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Cajon: B.J.York
Daily I’m reminded, of Your holy presence,
even if I fall into a sorrow, so heavily, I could feel broken.
And then I think I’m on the outside and no one else is with me.
But You take me back and You remind me that I was never gone
from Your loving arms.
Then I wake up in Your morning, and I find my secrets all done.
Still I keep thinkin’ I will have to lay quivering on the cold, cold stone.
Mea culpa, mea culpa my old friend.
And then You speak unto me, saying, “You are not the sacrifice. It is done.
We want no more burnt offering.
What we want is your need and your imperfect passion and loving.”
And You say, “Talk with me.”
And You say, “Walk with me.”
AndYou say, “Listen to me.
I am here.
Oh, I am here.
Oh, I am here, right beside you.”
And the Father says, “Talk with me.”
And the Son says, “Walk with me.”
And the Spirit says, “Listen to me.
I am here.
Oh, I am here.
Oh we are here right beside you.”
Only Before You – (Track Six)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churotn ~ Congas: B.J.York
Drumset: Jeremy J. Smith
Small mp3 sample
With changes in the air, in the seasons, and the century,
everywhere, people are scrambling for safety.
Yet, in crowded rooms and glassed displays,
glued to the monitor’s bright rolling, haze,
we forget the one true constant.
Oh, let me come before You.
Let me stand before You.
Let me kneel before You, oh, my Savior.
Let us kneel before You, only You.
Oh, let us kneel only before You.
Now, we’re livin’ MTV on the run,
pulled into traffic, tangled and spun,
in the crowd and all alone.
Words goin’ through us at blinding speeds,
storms of empty rhetoric, unanswered needs.
And there’s only one call left, on the phone.
Oh, let me come before You.
Let me stand before You.
Let me kneel before You, oh, my Savior.
Let us kneel before You, only You.
Oh, let us kneel only before You, now, yes.
So, what’s the answer?
You bring us, in the crystal morn,
to the mountain top, from those cities torn, by loneliness and fear.
Piercing our confusion as a shaft of sunlight breaks the clouds. (NOT A SENTENCE>>>))
Oh, fierce and beautiful is Your love.
Oh, let me come before You.
Let me stand before You.
Let me kneel before You, oh, my Savior.
Let us kneel before You, only You.
Let us, let us…
Let us come before You.
Let us stand before You.
Let us kneel before You, oh, our Savior.
Let us kneel before You, only You.
Let us kneel only before You.
Came to Earth – (Track Seven)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Djembe: Jeremy J. Smith
You came to earth, walked among us.
Saints and sinners,
believers and doubters,
we’re Yours.
And You knew temptation in the desert,
loneliness on the hilltops.
You took death on,
and You took it from.
Now, saints and sinners,
believers and doubters,
we are Yours.
And, You know the heart and the foot,
You are the body, blood and breath,
You are the bread,
and the fruit of the vine.
Now, saints and sinners,
believers and doubters,
we are Thine.
Oh, we are Thine.
We are all Thine.
The Perfect Gift – (Track Eight)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
In this season,
as the star seems to fade in the light,
And love is waiting,
as we hurry and fight,
in search of the perfect gift.
We run home to houses bejeweled.
Yet within ‘neath the smothered tree,
wrappings tossed,
emptied on a stormy sea,
in want of the perfect gift.
Yet I see a simple girl,
as she sits before the messenger,
and a simple man,
as he walks beside her,
and in the sweet hay,
beneath a bright star a baby sleeps,
the perfect gift…
The Perfect Gift.
Mercy – (Track Nine)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Djembe: Jeremy J. Smith ~ Cajon: B.J.York
Small mp3 sample
Open hand, there shall be mercy.
Wait upon, there shall be mercy.
Look to, there shall be mercy upon us,
Oh, mercy upon us, oh mercy upon us...Oh, mercy.
Mercy…
What is it? There shall be mercy.
Stepping through? There shall be mercy.
How many times shall there be mercy upon us?
Mercy upon us? Oh, mercy upon us..? Oh, mercy.
Done among us, we do,
Dwell among, we too must give mercy.
Hunger and thirst, there shall be mercy.
Fear and pain, there shall be mercy.
One, alone, does give such mercy upon us.
Yahweh is, Yahweh is mercy.
Separate in the mob, still there is mercy.
Unearned, unbound, there is mercy.
Mercy as we fall, mercy as we leave.
Mercy before and after, mercy within and without.
Oh, mercy,
forgiveness,
kindness,
hope…
Redemption.
He is grace.
He is love.
Oh, my Lord,
Oh, my sweet Lord,
Is Mercy.
Step Down – (Track Ten)
B. J. York
Vocals: B.J.York ~ Guitar: B.J.York
Bass: Jake Churton ~ Congas: B.J.York
Drumset: Jeremy J. Smith
Small mp3 sample
Now , is there a heart, a heart of forgiveness?
Is there a face, a face full of light?
Oh, yes, I want’a see, but I just can’t seem to do that,
with you standin’ over me.
Well, I’ve noticed in this human race,
people seem to want to put people in their place.
Brothers and sisters turn each other away.
There’s the in crowd and the out crowd,
gettiin’ down and round about, with the games they want’a play,
that’s why I got to say,
Oh yeah, yeah…
Now, is there a hand, a hand of kindness?
Oh, where are those arms, those arms full of grace?
Mmm, brother we want them. Sister we need them.
You say you’ve been lookin’ every place.
But, all you really got to do is,
listen to me now,
Step down, and there will be the heart of forgiveness.
Turn around, and there you will see a face full of light.
Reach out and yours will be the hand of kindness.
Open up, and you will feel His arms of grace.
Step down, from that judgment, to His forgiveness.
Turn around, from that crowd to see His face.
Reach out, in kindness and feel His upon you.
Open up and let in His grace.
Step down to Him…