The Shattered Fortress

(album: Black Clouds & Silver Linings - 2009)

[X. Restraint]

Freedom calls my name
Serenity keeps me sane
Happiness, it dulls the pain!
Honest to see my place
Open to other ways
Willingness to understand!

Justice, but do not judge
Courtesy for others flaws
Kindness, it's not that hard!
Self-restraint of tongue and pen
Inventory, my daily friend
Analysis, let down your guard!

Look in the mirror
What do you see?
The shattered fortress
That once bound me

Faithful ascent through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher

You're smart enough for me to trust
Go live your life now
Just keep these steps in your life
And you'll know how

If you're not sure, ask yourself
"Have I done to them
As I would have them do to me?"

Look in the mirror
What's that you see?
The shattered fortress
Fly now, be free!

Faithful ascent, through darkest fires
I've found the path to take me higher

I once thought it better to be right
But now I have finally seen the light
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn from mistakes
I live with serenity now
Not self-righteous hate

[XI. Receive]

Help me be a channel of Thy peace!
That where there is hatred, I may bring love
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony
That where there is error, I may bring truth
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith

Now that you can see all you have done
(That where there is despair, I may bring hope
That where there are shadows, I may bring light)
It's time to take that step into the kingdom
(That where there is sadness, I may bring joy)
All your sins will help to make you strong
(That I may seek to comfort, rather than to be comforted
That I may seek to understand rather than to be understood)
And help you break right through the prison wall
(That I may seek to love, rather than to be loved
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven)

Keep all of me
The desires that once burned me deep inside
Help me live today
And help to give me grace
To carry out your way
I am ready, help me be all I can be
I am ready, help guide me and keep me free

[XII. Responsible]

I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there!
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there!

Whoa
Whoa
Whoa
Whoa