SONG BY SONG

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01. POWER OF YOUR NAME
Words & Music by Jason Roy and Chris Eaton
Something about the name of the Lord brings peace. A simple prayer calms our greatest fear because we place our trust in the name of the almighty. This song is a declaration and signals part of a paradigm shift that Building429 has been sifting through the last few months. The hopes and dreams of a ministry that would be larger than the sum of its parts are held in this simple song that speaks of what we long to see come true. To see loneliness banished, brokenness healed, in its simplicity... people reunited with their God. That is a hope that by our power could never be... enter our heavenly Father. The power of His name is great enough to make mountains bow, oceans roar, and the permanent, momentary ... pain, anguish, and disillusion all disappear. It is our prayer that this song would be a cry to our God for the listener. GOD come down and hear the sound.... Jesus we are crying out to you.


02. MAJESTY
Words & Music by Jason Roy
After writing 20-30 songs I had hoped would be the basis for our third record, I came to a horrible conclusion. They were no good. It was that simple... they just weren't anything we hadn't done before, and they didn't say anything we hadn't said before. So I took two days off to pray and wait. The prayer was simple: "Lord what am I supposed to do now... what do you want me to sing about?" On the second day, my answer came in one of the most clearly audible messages I had ever heard from God. He said, "Jason ... just sing to Me." After spending about an hour trying to figure out if I had really heard that or if I was hallucinating... a song idea hit me... out came the pen and in walked a song called "Majesty." In half an hour, I had penned the first song that would make our latest record.... and the cry of a heart that had just heard the voice of God.


03. SINGING OVER ME
Words & Music by Jason Roy, Chris Eaton and Michael Anderson
Zephaniah 3:17. I've been trying to get this verse into a song for years. It's my wife's favorite, and because I've heard it so much over the years it has, by default, become one of my own. I couldn't get my favorite part of the verse in the song: "He will quiet you with his love." So, I figured that the implied peaceful slumber of a night when the Lord would be "singing over me with every star" would get close enough. What a thought, He will delight in YOU... yes YOU... HOW COOL IS THAT??? Not only that, but He sings over us... what an amazing picture for us to remember. I can't get around the thought process that tells me, even as I sing these songs on a nightly basis, my God is doing a concert of His own over me!!!


04. YOU CARRIED ME
Words & Music by Jason Roy
It's scary when you wake up and realize that you've nearly missed it all. You've been so numb that the scripture you quote becomes just a heartless answer to another dull question. So tired that your worship songs become a string of meaningless words that are hardly worship. And for me, it's always been because I lost sight of what mattered and began running a race that I could never win. Just as the corporate world begs for people who love to climb, so does the music business world. I am by nature a person who LOVES to climb. Funny, I've never found a place of rest on any ladder I've ever climbed, literally or figuratively. I think there is a good reason for that. The voice of God is a sweet whisper that begs us to stop climbing and find rest in the shelter of His wings. Take a few moments to look at your life. You will see, just as I did, that every good thing in your life was simply a blessing--not a reward, but a blessing. Another moment that God blessed you far beyond what you deserved. How did you get there?? He carried you.


05. AMAZED
Words & Music by Jason Roy
I've been asked by several people if this song is autobiographical. The simple answer is no. It's really about a friend. But, in fact, I have to admit that reading the lyrics reminds me of when I was 23, and no I'm not yet 33. I returned home after a LONG day at work and was semi-frustrated with a friend of mine who just never seemed to have any joy. He was constantly frustrated by his surroundings, and I just couldn't figure out how to say "don't forget the blessings in the middle of this pain... you've got to trust that Jesus has you exactly where He wants you and that his plan is perfect." My prayer is for you to remember that darkness doesn't change the truth. At night, when you turn the lights off in your room, everything is still the same. The same pictures are hanging a few feet away. Your house hasn't changed a bit. The same is true about our God. Tough times happen when we want to question everything, but remember our God is constant, and when the lights come back on... we will still be amazed!


06. INCREDIBLE
Words & Music by Jason Roy and Chris Eaton
This song was actually a secondary thought that came about after writing "Power of Your Name." I was about to walk out the door when Chris (Eaton) began playing this hook on the piano. It was everything you look for in a hook for a great pop song. On the piano it was pretty tame, but nonetheless "incredible." We were both still so in awe that God had given us "Power of Your Name," that we began singing about how amazing the love of God is. Before we knew it, we were both singing out proclamations of our devotion... and the chorus was born. This song was so easy to write that the only question was how to record it. Piano pop or guitar rock?? When Chris would sing along to the demo he would always stand up, arms spread wide with his eyes to the sky and say, "we've got to sing it as if we were in a stadium full of 100,000 people singing along." So, of course, we had to pull the big guitars!!!!!!


07. WAITING TO SHINE
Words & Music by Jason Roy and Jesse Garcia
It's a rare thing to have a song like this one come along ... pure, honest, truthful, heartfelt, poured out for all to hear. I remember sitting in my basement with Jesse as it began to come together and distinctly feeling like the Lord was truly laying a blessing in our lap. Lyrically, we've never been more proud of a song, so it was only natural that we would take the record's title from it. This song bears the impression of nearly every other song on the record; it is truly the heartbeat of this album--to see the skies open wide and be able to stare into the eyes of God, iris to iris.


08. TAKEN
Words & Music by Jason Roy
"Taken" was an early write for this record. Somehow, amidst all the other songs we wrote for Iris to Iris, people kept coming back to it. We had high hopes for this song, mostly because it speaks about a place we've all been at some point-- clouded, broken, and confused. It also speaks to the hope of this record on a more personal level. The album's entire focus is seeing the face of God, and this song speaks about His beauty. Perfect and unchanging ... His love forever spoken over us, how could we not be "taken" by the beauty of our Lord and Savior?? The flame of salvation still burns the same as it ever has, and we somehow miss it day after day. My hope for the listener is that they would fall in love all over again, remembering life before grace... and life abundant and free enveloped in grace!!


09. NEW SEASON
Words & Music by Jason Roy and Jesse Garcia
I was staring blankly at the TV while the day's news was flying across the bottom of the screen. I remember thinking, this stuff isn't made up, this is actually the state of our world today. Then I started thinking a little closer to home. Maybe I wasn't so different from the people that I was gawking about on TV. The worst people on TV were only a few shades of grey away from me... and it really freaked me out. I realized that I had a history no one out there knew about. You know, a history in my mind that was pretty different from the censored version I show people with my actions. But the beauty of the Lord is that He has freed us from being slaves to our past... freedom comes when Jesus enters. Burdens that have hurt for so long, no longer sting. And even though we still fall, the simple act of reaching for Grace when everything says that it shouldn't be extended is an exercise of faith that will stretch our doubts, making them so thin that they have no power. Blessings on your new season... may it begin today.


10. CONSTANT
Words & Music by Jason Roy, Jesse Garcia, Michael Anderson, Scotty Beshears
This song was a band co-write that went through several different phases. It really didn't come together completely until we got to the studio. The one thing that we always loved was the chorus. On the third day of tracking, I was driving to the studio when something hit me for a verse, so I flipped open my phone and sang it. When I got to the studio I turned it on speaker phone and showed Brown. His eyes lit up, and the song went from a "maybe" to a "definite" on the record!!


11. GRACE THAT IS GREATER
Arranged by Jason Roy and Matt Blair
Early last winter, we were told that we had been selected to be part of the WOW ?07 Hymns project. Of course, we were thrilled for several reasons. One, because any time you are selected to be on a WOW record you find yourself among an elite group of artists, all of which we are huge fans. Two, because hymns have always been a huge part of our lives. From northeast Texas to Coastal Carolina, we have grown up immersed in the tradition of hymns that move the soul. By far, the coolest part was being able to write new verses and melodies for an old favorite hymn. After hearing the finished product, we all felt very strongly that it should be included on a Building 429 project as well. While it seems a bit different from the others songs on this record, we hoped it would serve as a great "destination" for the listener, reminding us all of home.