Stanton Lanier / Sky Whisper Sound, LLC

Scripture inspired piano to refresh your spirit

Is Your Heart Set Free?

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July 4th, Independence Day, reminds us to give thanks for the freedom we enjoy in the United States. Fireworks shows across the country celebrated this freedom last night. In 2005 I composed Freedom, which is on The Voice CD. Following are the liner notes for this track, which share the inspiration behind the song…

Personal freedom has been a breakthrough experience in my life. For many years I thought I could achieve freedom through success and being in control. Then I discovered that the human spirit finds true freedom through serving others in love. Seeking to grow in a freedom that is centered on others has been an adventure filled with emotion and risk. This song almost became the title track because this truth has been so powerful for me. The notes represent running through life with a heart that is free, pausing to treasure this freedom, and discovering higher levels of giving oneself away. I trust that the music and texts that inspired it will help you experience a freedom that gives you hope . . . makes you come alive . . . sets your heart free . . . “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (Psalm 119:32; Galatians 5:13; John 8:32)

Where does your heart need to be set free in your life today? How can you serve others today to experience freedom?

What I Learned from Coldplay Last Night

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Even though I have played over 500 times for concerts, events and groups of all sizes, I haven’t been to that many concerts in my life. Last night I got to go with a friend to Coldplay in Atlanta. Below is an image of confetti that was blown in huge volume from the stage to the ceiling at the beginning of the second song for the show. Then it floated back down over the crowd in millions of pieces. It was magnificent. Here is what I learned…

Confetti = Beauty, Hope and Wonder

1) Humankind loves to behold beauty (eyes, heart and mind). The stage, the band members, the confetti, the stage lights, the sparkling light wristbands (that everyone in the audience was wearing), displayed rainbows of colors. The moments illustrated C.S. Lewis’ quote that our greatest moments of beauty, adventure and intimacy in this life are glimpses of heaven. Also, that God planted eternity in the human heart: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.”                        – Ecclesiastes 3:11

2) Humankind longs for hope. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “All joy…emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings.” Pleasure, comfort, safety, security, good health, provision, enjoyment, seeing the world, loving people. The list could go on and on. If there is a Creator, there must be a Creation. If there is a Storyteller, human life lived to the fullest must be part of a greater story (paraphrased from G.K. Chesterton).

3) Humankind loves moments of wonder / adventure. “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation” – C.S. Lewis. There is this “hard wiring” we are born with. One part says guard your life, another part says go for it, “it” being experiences of wonder and adventure. Life moments that make our heart race in a good way, like being mesmerized by nature, a roller coaster ride, serving others in love.

What beauty are you beholding today? What hope are you longing for? Do you have a memory, or something you are looking forward to that promises wonder and adventure?

Short Pants

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It was at least 98 degrees on my first day of sixth grade as a new Florida panhandle resident. The 100% humidity added bonus heat and sweat.

Within the first hour of arriving at my new school something was amiss. I realized that I was the only student in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades who was wearing short pants! “You can’t wear shorts!” was yelled at me from finger-pointing students. Even teachers looked at me funny and shook their heads.

The icing on the cake was being sent to the principal’s office. We had to call and ask my mom to bring me some long pants. She wasn’t home to answer the phone. I think she had gone to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries. It was a long day filled with embarrassment, ridicule, patience and endurance. Eventually I was able to “dig deep” and forgive my parents for overlooking the fine print in the school handbook. It took a little longer for me to restore my self-esteem in public.

This memory is symbolic of tender middle school years. One time I sneezed so hard that I couldn’t catch all of the “sneeze” in my hands. I came back from the rest room to a snickering room because “sneeze remains” were on my desk. Getting knocked unconscious on the soccer field earned another trip to the principal’s office. But the moment of all moments was the spelling bee.

You see, pleasing people – being thought well of by my parents, teachers and peers – had subtly become one of life’s goals since that first day of 6th grade. I had become a good student too, so the pressure was on for me to win the big 8th grade spelling bee. Silence filled the room full of teachers and students after my first word was called out – “Execute.” I shakily spelled E – X – I – C – U – T – E.  “I’m sorry. That is incorrect,” was the gut wrenching response from my favorite English teacher. It was another “short pants” fiasco.  Maybe pleasing people wasn’t life’s goal.

What was one of your “short pant” moments? How did this shape your character? Do you seek to please others too much, or are you not worried about what others think?

Seizing Your Divine Moment

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These are my notes from 2004 that I kept from Seizing Your Divine Moment (retitled Chasing Daylight) by Erwin McManus. They had a powerful impact in my life then, and they still do now. I hope these thoughts and questions inspire your journey today…

When we play it safe, we squeeze God out of the formula.  If we go only where we know and do what we’re certain will succeed, we remove our need for God.  Whenever we take on a God-sized challenge, self-sufficiency is no longer an option.

This is the challenge that is set before us – that we not only take initiative, that we not only move with confidence into the reality of uncertainty, but also that we maximize our sphere of influence as we grow in depth of character.

The Christian cliché “the safest place to be is the center of God’s will” has eliminated the place for risk and insulated us with a comfort-and-security theology. This view runs counter to what is found in the Scriptures. The center of God’s will is not a safe place, but the most dangerous place in the world. God fears nothing and no one.  God moves with intentionality and power. To live outside God’s will puts us in danger, but to live in His will makes us dangerous. When we begin to seize our divine moments, we do not begin to live risk-free, but instead become free to risk.

You have already been authorized to move forward, so advance (Phil. 3:12-14).  Impact your world by fighting the battles that are on God’s heart.  Move with an urgency that creates a movement. Engage in an adventure so compelling that it causes the awakening of the dead in spirit. In this moment, each of us will have to choose. Will you seize your divine moment or let it slip away? Will you choose to go to the left, or will you go to the right?

Vote for Abnormality

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Inspiring words from Chasing Daylight (originally titled Seizing Your Divine Moment), by Erwin McManus. What is one area you can focus on taking more initiative?

I must resolve not only to leave the path of doing evil, but also to passionately pursue a life of doing good.  Maybe there is a touch of insanity to think that you or I could really make a difference, knowing who we are, that we could somehow change the course of human history.  If it’s normal to wake up in the morning and just try to make it through the day, then I vote for abnormality.  I choose insanity.  Wake up tomorrow morning asking the dangerous question, “What can I do today to make a difference in the world?”

What Will I Choose?

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A few thoughts about the choices we make each day, from Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. These words crossed my path in the early 2000s when I was a financial planner, and my heart was being stirred to compose new music. They are just as special and profound in my life today…

In my moment of truth what will I choose?  Will I choose the wilderness or the adventure?  Have I confused the blessing of God with wealth, comfort, and security?  Have I considered that His greatest blessing comes when He calls us to be pioneers, explorers, and even conquerors?  Will I dare to live a life of adventure?  When I do, I will live in the epicenter of God’s activity.

Adventures Unlimited – Part 2

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Over the years I have grown in embracing life as an adventure. I grew up loving basketball and piano, but was also good at math, science and numbers, so my approach to life was overly practical for a long time. Yesterday’s blog, “Adventures Unlimited – Part 1,” spoke to adventure sometimes being embarrassing, noisy or crowded.

Working at Adventures Unlimited also included moments of silence and solitude (by the way http://www.adventuresunlimited.com is still operating today in the Florida panhandle. It is a fantastic escape from life’s hectic pace). My favorite job at Adventures was called “the top.” Whoever worked “the top” would get dropped off around 7am on a weekend morning. A sunrise caravan of vehicles would leave at least 100 canoes to be unloaded by one guy for the most popular “day trip.”

I began to learn the importance of including times of solitude in my life as I would work to unload all the canoes, then rest in the river listening to the breeze, the birds and the flowing water. Solitude plays a vital role in pausing to listen for God’s voice in my life and in the creative process. Remembering Adventures Unlimited reminds me that life’s adventures can involve hard work and activity, as well as times of rest and solitude.

How about you? Are you nurturing the “adventure” part of your heart? Are you overly “practical” when you have opportunities to embrace adventure?

Adventures Unlimited – Part 1

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My first real job in high school was at a canoe rental called Adventures Unlimited.  It was the summer of 1981 after my junior year.  Somehow I didn’t end up bagging groceries, waiting tables, or flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant.  I had my new driver’s license and I was going to drive old trucks and vans full of people going canoeing or tubing on the Coldwater River near Milton, Florida.

Canoeing down the Coldwater River with my son’s Boy Scout troop brought back wonderful summer job memories.

One of the first things I learned was that there are a lot of vehicles in the world that do not have an automatic transmission.  My boss was assigning vehicles for one Saturday and asked, “Who wants to drive the bread truck?”  Picture a UPS truck, make it about forty years old, retrieve it out of a river with a crane, beat dents into it with a baseball bat, spray paint it sky blue, and feel the tremor of an old engine with a three foot long stick shift and you will have some idea of the bread truck.  As you may have guessed, I volunteered to drive it for that day.  So, I went over, put the keys in and cranked it up.  It started rocking like a giant amusement park ride.  I didn’t know I was supposed to hold down that third pedal (the clutch) with my left foot and at the same time turn the key and give it gas with my right foot.  You should have seen the guys laughing.  I thought I was going to show them I could do anything.  I ended up discovering I had a lot to learn.

After driving every van and truck that summer, including the bread truck, the next summer I graduated to the old school buses.  Driving a 1960 five-speed school bus is good training for life.  Especially when it has forty people on it with paddles, life jackets, coolers, beer, cigarettes, and occasionally some kind of cigarette that didn’t smell like a regular cigarette.  I was growing in responsibility, confidence, and the realization that the world is made up of all kinds of people, including some that really like to party. To be continued…

What was your favorite summer job growing up? Did you have an embarrassing moment? Did these experiences influence your spiritual journey?

Solitude Refreshes

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You will often see themes of simplicity, silence, solitude and surrender interwoven in my music and life stories. Solitude makes me think of the saying about how the quality of our private life produces the quality of our public life. Solitude refreshes, renews and revives. A few memories of solitude and current practices of solitude for me are:

  • Sitting all alone at the top of my favorite tree when I was ten years old
  • Going on a childhood bicycle ride to a friend’s house
  • Working at a canoe rental and being outdoors in the river all alone
  • Driving or camping all alone in open spaces, like northern Minnesota in grad school
  • Going for a run and listening to peaceful music
  • Waking up early for quiet time while most of the world is still sleeping

What are your favorite memories of solitude? What are your favorite practices of solitude?

Striving or Abiding?

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I met with a great friend this morning. We were talking about the many areas in our lives where we are striving and wanting to succeed – spiritual, family, work, relationships, etc. Striving involves hard work and faith. Resting involves hard work and faith too. I was reminded about a time several years ago when I shifted my focus from “Striving to Succeed” to “Abiding to Receive.” This is a delicate balance, but it helps me remember that God’s definition of success is different than mine, other people’s, and the world’s. Instead of striving in my own strength, by abiding in God’s strength my perspective shifts off of depending on myself to depending on Him. The results of hard work can be the same whether I “strive” or “abide,” but there is a healthy dynamic when I am grateful for receiving results versus celebrating achieving results. Striving is a great word and attribute, so if you still like this word, maybe you can add “striving to abide” to your mindset. Check out John 15:5 if this subject stirs you.

Where are you striving or abiding? Where are you achieving or receiving?

Beautiful vistas = reminders of receiving vs achieving