Day 27, 31 Days of December Peace ~ Where Did All the Time Go?

December 27, 2014 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Thanksgiving as you read. This original, piano-English horn duet is from 2009 Best Holiday Album December Peace (ZMR Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma). If you enjoy, please consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen and download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

On the one hand it is just another month. Through the demands of other’s expectations and crowded calendars, the routine takes over and seems to direct us wherever it wants us to go. Each week is filled with days passing by and each increases in velocity. It can seem quite mundane in the routine busyness of it all. Or worse, it can be a blur of to dos that leave us feeling empty and worn out.

And yet, the fact that December is the final month of the year distinctly sets it apart. Regardless of the type of year we have experienced, it closes that chapter. As we begin turning this page, the ending comes with a new beginning. Something magical happens in us as we realize the passing of time that has occurred; the brevity of this life becomes clearer in our thoughts. We ask ourselves and each other, “Where did all the time go?” as we secretly hope that something meaningful was achieved.

But before we can see the shadow cast completely, December ushers us into in an overwhelming rush of joy, brilliance and awe. We learn again and again… that the world we live in, filled with the beauty and pain of our humanity, has been pierced with the invasion of a supernatural Savior. Rescue has come. Rescue is here. Love becomes real, for Love took on flesh. In the most amazing story in all of human history, God became one of us.

Turning an eye to a new starting line with hope of how we can live out the coming chapter with more vigor, more urgency and yet have greater Peace, we see the opportunity for redemption of time and we can live more contentedly.

So when we see this rightly, December leaves us grateful. Let us write the next year’s chapter well.

Day 26, 31 Days of December Peace ~ The Skyride

December 26, 2014 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Snow Angel as you read. This original, piano-cello duet is from 2009 Best Holiday Album December Peace (ZMR Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma). If you enjoy, please consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen and download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

Every December, high atop Georgia’s Stone Mountain, there are long strings of lights fashioned to a tall pole, arranged in such a way that from any part of the city of Atlanta, it looks like a giant Christmas tree.

Stone Mountain is just what it sounds like, an enormous mountain of granite that rises almost 900 feet into the suburban Atlanta sky. It’s got a carving of three confederate soldiers on its face, the largest carving of its kind in the world. And all around the mountain are tourist-friendly activities. A train, a riverboat, even a 3-D movie and mini-golf.

There’s also the Summit Skyride, high-speed Swiss cable cars that transport passengers from the base of the mountain to the top. Skyride operators collect tickets, load the cars, and press the buttons that put the whole process in motion. In college, this was one of my jobs. I was a Skyride operator for an entire summer, and when Winter Break hit, I went back for a few weeks to earn some extra money.

In December, the Skyride operator had an additional responsibility. One operator per day got the opportunity at dusk to flip the switch that powered the lights of the Christmas tree. With one motion light shined to an entire city. Nearing the end of my 3-week holiday stint, I finally got my chance to turn on the Christmas tree. I’m pretty sure Christmas day had already passed, but I didn’t care. I was excited about the privilege of powering it up. On that night, I brought the light of Christmas to an entire city. Never mind that it was a simple task and if I had not done it, any other minimum-wage-earning chump like me could have accomplished it.

I think that was part of the beauty of it. Becoming a source of light to others didn’t require a fancy job, expensive degrees, or full bank accounts. It just required a willingness to serve and a single touch.

Christmas is a reminder to all of us that God has brought light to the world. Without the birth of Jesus and the glory He carried into this broken planet, there would be no peace on earth in December or any other time. Through Jesus, God reached down and touched humanity. And that touch illuminated not just the city of Bethlehem, not just the world at that time, but it provided light for all cities, for all times, for every person, forevermore. Jesus didn’t have a fancy job, a college degree, or a lot of money. His parents didn’t even have a room to stay in upon his arrival. He was born and placed on hay in the rough rock of an animal feeding trough.

And that moment continues to be the pinpoint that opened a dark world up again to a flood of the brilliant and beautiful and breathtaking light of God.

May the Light of the world bring peace to you and your city this December.

Day 25, 31 Days of December Peace ~ Shepherds and Stars

December 25, 2014 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Shepherds and Stars as you read (inspired by Luke 2). This original song is from 2009 Best Holiday Album December Peace (ZMR Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma). If you enjoy, please consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen and download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

“The aim and final end of all music should be unto the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)

In arranging and composing for December Peace, my heart was to offer God’s peace and rest through a distinctive collection of traditional and original piano melodies. Johann Sebastian Bach, my all-time favorite composer, once said, “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” In tribute to him, the album opens with his timeless music known as Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.

When my parents didn’t let me quit piano lessons in 7th grade, I had no way of knowing that one day I would create my own arrangement of this world-renowned melody. Bach’s legacy of glorifying God and refreshing souls lives on, as Jesu is performed at weddings around the world nearly 300 years after its composition.

“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them… saying, “Today… a Savior has been born to you.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” – Luke, 60 A.D.

In the fullness and busyness of the Christmas season, these words taken from Luke 2:8-15 give me reason to pause on Christmas Day. They inspired one of my favorite original compositions titled Shepherds and Stars, which expresses the heart of December Peace. Close your eyes and visit the scene. See the moon and stars shining, hear the sounds of fields at night, smell the aroma of dew and sheep… Imagine seeing the angel, announcing the Savior’s birth, and then the night sky filling with countless angels speaking of glory to God, and peace to men.

As I reflected on this story, here are two things I noticed:

1. The shepherds decided the event described to them was worth a visit. As you listen for God’s gentle whisper, what activity is He inviting you into?

2. We are all “shepherds in the field” living out daily life. God wants us to have encounters with Him. He wants to speak into our lives. Will you be intentional to watch for Him?

During this stressful and busy time of year, remember to pause on Christmas Day. Listen for God’s gentle whisper. Watch for His activity. Behold His glory. Refresh in His presence.

Merry Christmas!