By Mark Schultz

Posted Friday, October 10, 2003

This record seems to have a theme... A theme that asks, "What will you do with the time that¹ s left?" I have spent so much of my time, like most people, living as the main character of my own small story. Through the struggles of growing and maturing over the last two years, God has allowed me to see that He is inviting me to take part in His larger story. One where He is the main character and the focus and where I play a smaller, yet crucial role that He wrote specifically for me. I hope that through these songs you will hear a quiet voice

inside calling you to the larger story.

~ Mark Schultz

You Are A Child Of Mine (Mark Schultz and Chris Eaton)

Galatians 4: 6-7

Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into our

hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no

longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has

made you also an heir.

THE STORY: There have been many times in my life when I

have heard voices saying you'll never be good enough, you

don¹ t really matter, you are nobody special, if people really

knew you they wouldn¹ t find you worthy of their time. The evil

one has a way of distorting and down playing the story and

the role that God has imprinted on your heart. This is a song

about the voice of God breaking through and defeating the

other voices reminding us that we are His Children and that

He made us in His image and that He rejoices in us.

Everywhere (Mark Schultz and Brown Bannister)

Psalm 139: 7-10

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your

presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; If I make

my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of

the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your

hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

THE STORY: I wrote this song one night before getting on

the tour bus last spring. I had just come from the chapel where

I write all my songs, and it just hit me all at once. I drove

around the parking lot for about a half hour circling the bus

because every time I tried to stop I would come up with

another line. Everyone was watching me pull into a parking

spot and then drive off again. Pull up and then drive off again.

You have to take them when you get them.

Do You Even Know Me Anymore (Mark Schultz)

Ephesians 5: 25

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church

and gave himself up for her"

THE STORY: I have a friend who outwardly seemed to have

it all... family, good job, car, nice house, etc... However, he

could not see that the most important things in his life were

slipping away right in front of his eyes. He, like so many men,

had allowed society to tell him that his self-worth was in what

he did or what he could buy. It was almost to late before he

saw that all his wife and children really wanted was his heart.

Letters From War (Mark Schultz and Cindy Morgan)

THE STORY: My Great Grandma, Ebba Forsberg, lived to

be nearly 100 years old. When she had passed away Great

Aunt Dolly and my cousin, Ed put together a scrapbook of her

life. In it I found a letter that her son wrote her while he was

away in World War II. That letter and her diary became the

inspiration for this song.

Time That Is Left (Mark Schultz and James Isaac Elliott)

Psalm 90: 12

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart

of wisdom.

THE STORY: This is a song that was inspired by the life of

Vann Webb. Although his life ended too soon, it was filled

with the most important things: laughter, love, friends and

family. We never know the day or the hour when God will call

us. So we live fully, letting go of the past and straining

towards the ultimate goal in which Christ Jesus has called us.

Running Just To Catch Myself (Mark Schultz)

Psalm 46: 10

"Be still, and know that I am God"

THE STORY: I¹ m in a small group for men called "The

Man¹ s Group." I played this song for them and after they all

stopped laughing my friend Don and said "You know, that

sounds a little too much like my life." We talked about how we

stay busy and do lots of things but are we really using our

lives to do God¹ s best work? Are we slowing down enough so

that we can take part in life instead of life taking us apart?

Ironically, I have been in the studio and really busy these last

three months and would like to take the opportunity to tell my

small group hello and that I plan on coming back when I don¹ t

have so much going on.

It's Been A Long Time (Mark Schultz)

Galatians 1: 10

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am

I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I

would not be a servant of Christ.

THE STORY: I¹ ve spent 32 years of my life looking for my

validation in everything from winning awards, performing

well in front of other people, and staying away from things

that I couldn¹ t do without being successful. I stopped getting

my worth from others and started getting it from God and took

a look and discovered something for the very first time.

He Will Carry Me (Dennis Kurttila and Sampson Brueher)

He Will Carry Me: Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my

cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;

He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our God.

THE STORY: This song was not originally going to be on

this record. It was meant for another project but I never

forgot about it because I listened to it one night about a year

ago over and over and over again when I had been so

discouraged. I was holding on to it like a life raft in a storm

in the middle of the ocean. I really believe in this song and

believe in what it says.

Just To Know You (Mark Schultz)

Philippians 3: 7-11

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider a loss for the

sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss

compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus

my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things"

THE STORY: I love the first line of the second verse. "I will

live like a Man who will love with abandon." I guess I want

my whole life to look like this verse. To pursue God and His

purpose for my life so much that He will say well done when I

finally see Him face to face.

Closer To You (Mark Schultz)

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are

wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an

eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes

not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is

temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

THE STORY: This song was inspired and written to

celebrate the life of my friend Lacy Yowell Ould who passed

away this year at the age of 31 after an intense struggle with

cancer. This song came into my head as I was jogging the

morning of her funeral and my eyes just started filling up with

tears. I still have a voice mail on my phone that I left myself

that morning as I was singing the song so that I wouldn¹ t

forget it. Lacy walked through her cancer with her eyes

focused on the promise of Heaven knowing that she could

withstand each day of the trial because it lead her one day

closer to God.

I would also like to dedicate this song to Cheri Alford. and her

family. Cheri was an incredible mother and wife and a great

example of faithfulness on her journey home. It was an honor

and a privilege to share in the life of someone who had such a

rich aroma of Christ.