Big Picture

Words & music: michael w. smith and wayne kirkpatrick

Follow the footsteps
Or travel down your own road
Designing your fate
Hear what your heart says
Still you decide which way to go
Your life's an open gate
Chorus:
'le bon et 'le mal
These are the voices
We nous somme liberti'
We make the choices

Echoes of laughter
Dancing in distant corridors
With the tears of hearts undone
Dreams we chase after
Give us the key to any door
We are what we become

Chorus

Holding and reaching
We face the calm, we face the fear
As we learn to win and lose
Voices are speaking
Still we hear what we want to hear
Our life is ours to choose

Chorus

Words & music:michael w. smith, wayne kirkpatrick, and chris rodrigues

You're alright
You take a look inside
But you don't like what you see
And so you choose to look away
It doesn't coincide
With how you'd like to be
And each glimpse of hope can easily fade

Chorus:
Down on your confidence
It's a fight that won't let go
(but) you've got to realize
That you're alright
('cause) under your rubble
Lies a heart the father holds
And when you see your life
Thru his eyes
You're alright

To learn how he loves you
Is to learn to love yourself
To live the life he's livin' in you
(and) what others think of you
Could never measure to the wealth
Of what he's paid and given to you

Chorus

Words & music: michael w. smith and wayne kirkpatrick

Sitting alone up in your empty room
In the stillness of the night
Where all the many dreams that used to carry you
Are no longer in sight
You put your feelings down in black and white
A sad, disturbing reply
That you don't really want to face another night
So you're saying goodbye
But do you know that you're saying goodbye
To a lifetime

Chorus:
Well, i've got to tell you there's another way
To be free to be complete
But, you've got to make it thru another day
And deny your own defeat (don't give in)
And i'm here to tell you there's another way
To consume a hungry heart
All the love you need is just a prayer away
Let it in to where you are

You've made it to the edge of seventeen
Thinking now you've reached the end of the line
But there's so much of life that you have never seen
Now you won't have the time
You say that you don't hear the music play
So you're ready to give up the dance
Now that nothing really matters anyway
Oh, you give up your chance
But do you know that you give up your chance
At a lifetime

Chorus:
Well, i've got to tell you there's another way
To be free--to be complete
But you've got to make it thru another day
And deny your own defeat (don't give in)
And i'm here to tell you there's another way
To consume a hungry heart
Jesus is waiting just a prayer away
Let him in to where you are

You put your feelings down in black and white
A sad, disturbing reply
That you don't really want to face another night
So you're saying goodbye
But do you know that you're saying goodbye
To a lifetime

Chorus

Words & music: michael w. smith, wayne kirkpatrick, and amy grant

Here we are on a boat out on the sea
Off the coast of africa
Heading for peaceful shores
With a cast of strangers
To an island hideaway
I hear you telling me
Of the place we soon will be
A rebirth from life's demise
Where the world is still--it's ideal
Anything you dream is real
It's hotel paradise
And you say it's nice
(when you run to)
Lamu--far away
Leave the pain far behind you
Hoping it won't find you in
Lamu--far away
You say it's there that you can run
From the one inside of you

La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

So here we are on an island in the sea
Near the coast of africa
And when it's right--lamu nights,
They can be so inviting
Heaven here on earth
But i hear you telling me
This is everything you need
Well, i don't think it's true
'cause the way you feel isn't real
You attempt to try and fill
The void that's digging thru
And it's killing you (when you run to)

Lamu--far away
Tho' that pain was behind you
It can even find you in
Lamu--far away
Because you never can run
From the one inside of you

I hear you telling me
Of the place we soon will be
A rebirth from life's demise
Where the world is still--it's ideal
Anything you dream is real
It's hotel paradise
And you say it's nice
(when you run to)

Lamu--far away
Leave the pain far behind you
Hoping it won't find you in
Lamu--far away
Tho' that pain was behind you
It can even find you in
Lamu--far away
Because you never can run
From the one inside of you

Words & music: michael w. smith and wayne kirkpatrick

Wake up and dream about
The plans you have in store for you
But keep in mind
It's not just what you do
But what you do it for-and who
There are roads to discover
There are stories yet to be told
As you see the big picture
Just beginning to unfold (so)

Chorus:
Break down the barriers but
Don't bend the rules
Never forget your roots
As you head for something new
Ride thru the shades of desire
Letting the light be seen
And he'll steer the heart in the
Pursuit of the dream

It's alright to find yourself
Thinking now and then
About the way you want your life to be
Anticipating what lies
Just around the bend
Can't wait to see

Comes the time of decision
Some you dodge and some you should face
As you see the big picture
There will be some dues to pay (so)

Chorus

Wake up and dream about
The plans you have in store for you
But keep in mind
It's not just what you do
But what you do it for-and who

There are choices that build you
Choices that will make you fall
All part of the big picture
One day you will see it all

Chorus