3 Ways to Find Hope in Sunrises

May 19, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Awaken the Dawn from my fifth album Unveiled as you read (also on December Peace and Treasures of Peace). If you enjoy, consider ordering a CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora and more).

What does a sunrise symbolize for you?

This week is “graduation week” for our family, with our son finishing 12th grade and daughter finishing 8th grade. This fall my wife and I will be in new territory with a college freshman and high school freshman. We will also celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. My desire is to find hope looking forward and looking back as 2015 unfolds.

Yet, with so many special memories from the past, and such great anticipation for the future, I can have trouble living in the moment. I catch myself thinking about tomorrow or the next day, or even something on my schedule for later today. My sense of hope can become misguided or even get lost in the busyness. How about you?

Ever since I composed Awaken the Dawn from Psalm 108:1-2 (also see Psalm 57:7-8), sunrises have been a richer symbol of hope for me. Somehow this music embraces a human longing we all share each and every day — a desire for hope in the midst of life’s circumstances.

For me, trying to fulfill this longing for hope with my own strength, my own plans, or my own common sense, always falls short. Below are three ways to connect hope with each day’s sunrise. As you read them, see which one speaks most to your heart right now, and try to practice it.

1. REST. We are in a place of rest when watching a sunrise, or rising from sleep to the sunrise and a new day. Resting moves us toward hope.

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” — Psalm 62:5

2. WAIT. We have to wait for the sun to rise. This is true whether we woke up early to get in position, to get the camera ready to capture a sunrise, or we have been resting through the night, waiting for the new day. Waiting moves us toward hope.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” — Psalm 27:14

“…but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

3. SURRENDER. We cannot control the sunrise. We cannot control our life circumstances. We can try to make wise decisions and then take action, but ultimately a posture of surrender is needed. Surrender moves us toward hope.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” — Psalm 32:8-10

Which will you use to connect hope with tomorrow’s sunrise?

The inspirational verses behind Awaken the Dawn…

“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” — Psalm 108:1-2

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul!Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” — Psalm 57:7-8

A 4-minute Tool to Refresh Your Spirit

May 14, 2015 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

Click above to listen to This Very Moment from the album Open Spaces as you read. If you enjoy, take time to watch the music video down below too, and consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music (also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora).

Does your spirit need refreshing?

If your answer is “yes,” I can relate. When I first began writing piano instrumentals, the creative process was (and still is) therapy for my soul. The music was refreshing my spirit without me describing it this way. Over time it began to touch other lives in a similar way.

About one year ago I was prompted to search “Scripture inspired piano” on Google. To my surprise, I learned that my music and Music to Light the World held the #1 position, with several other links also on the first page of Google. This is what I had been calling my piano compositions from the first melody in May 2000.

This revelation inspired me to create the new tag line “Scripture inspired piano to refresh your spirit” to support Music to Light the World’s vision and mission. To learn more, click here. If you have been blessed, I invite you to join our 2015 Vision as well.

Even though this is the heart behind all ninety-nine tracks I have recorded so far, This Very Moment is one of the best choices as a 4-minute tool to refresh your spirit. Whether listening to the track or watching the sunrise music video filmed beside a pond with birds singing, I hope you are refreshed, and would love to hear from you.

If your spirit was refreshed, how would you describe your experience?

This Very Moment was inspired by the idea of cherishing life’s moments, and this verse from John 5:24 — “The Son gives life . . . Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real and lasting life.

10 Ideas to Live Out Grace and Truth

May 12, 2015 By Stanton Lanier 6 Comments

Click above to listen to Grace and Truth, from my first album Walk in the Light. You can listen to and play the CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music or hear this song on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and more. What do the words “grace and truth” bring to mind? Fifteen years ago this month (in May 2000), I composed my first ever Scripture inspired piano melody. I had been meditating on John 1:14 which reads, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (NIV). Musically, this piano composition features a higher, simple section symbolizing the gentleness and patience of God’s grace, and a lower, big chord section representing the strength and power of God’s truth. I have thought a lot about this song and verse. The following ten ideas to live out grace and truth are from my journey since writing the music fifteen years ago. In the midst of corresponding lures of the world, perfection is unattainable, but little by little, progress is possible. I hope these inspire the story you are living out… Jesus’s Grace and Truth / Lures of the World 1. Love and listen to people first / Judge people without knowing their story 2. Offer grace and forgiveness / Seek to always be right 3. Create more to serve others / Consume more for me 4. Give generously / Store up selfishly 5. Spend strategically (family vacation) / Bank on the future (secure retirement) 6. Pursue childlike wonder and awe / Settle for more seriousness and less joy 7. Practice simplicity and silence / Overdose on busyness and noise 8. Work at solitude and surrender / Join the crowd and be self-reliant 9. Take one step toward God’s big dream / Predetermine big dreams will never work 10. Abide in God’s purpose to receive / Strive for success to achieve Which of these inspires you the most?