Recently I waited in the car for a few minutes on a rainy day at the end of my kids’ piano lessons. I closed my eyes briefly, and when I opened them the art in front of me was amazing. The raindrops were forming in very interesting ways on the windshield and the trees and sky behind were blurred. I started taking pictures focusing on the drops. This experience and attached image of four pine trees through windshield raindrops reminds me to live in the present (stay focused on everything closest), while being mindful of the future (vision, plans, goals, but don’t camp out there or worry about what is ahead).

April 2012 was a very full month and writing time was limited due to projects, travel and family time. There were many happenings and blessings, including a spring break trip to Yosemite National Park and San Francisco, exhibiting and sharing music at private events in Orlando, FL, Colorado Springs, CO and Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA. I was often reflecting on gratitude and remembrance during these days. There is much to be thankful for.

It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, the new album A Thousand Years had just been recorded with Will Ackerman in Vermont, and was beginning to make its way out into the world to be heard with its message of “peace and rest in a hurried world.” I finished April 2012 with my wife at a special conference on generosity, where I had the privilege of performing a concert. One of my favorite “write downs” from several of the stories that were shared was “I would rather grow toward increasing my standard of giving instead of my standard of living.” There is great need across the earth in so many areas. The following question was also posed: “Why do I have more than I need?” And the answer was, “So that I can help others in need.”

A new radio interview just broadcast today that shares more of my life and music story: http://www.empowerradio.net/podcasts/artasworship_032712_stantonlanier.mp3. The host decided to title it “Life is an Adventure to Live.” In 1999 I was profoundly moved by this phrase when I came across it in a book called “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge. It was posed as a question – “Is your life more of a problem to solve, or an adventure to live?” Wow. It really cut to the heart. I immediately realized I had been trying to “solve” life ever since my child-like faith and sense of wonder began to be pressed down and diminished after elementary school. There was evidence of it now and then, but I didn’t begin truly experiencing living life as an adventure until 2000-2001, which happened to be when I started composing instrumental music. I hope this interview audio and these written thoughts inspire you to embrace “the adventure.”