12/19/13 – 31 Days of December Peace

December 18, 2013 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

The 31 Days of December Peace eBook is available for only $4.99. Download at stantonlanier.com or the Amazon Kindle Store.

Peace took on new meaning for my family in 2004. That December found us holding our first and then only daughter, Hayley, close in our arms, day after day, as we awaited her final breath. Years of faith, prayers of loved ones, and Scripture-inspired music surrounded us daily and reminded us of the eternity we one day would share together; the knowledge of Hayley’s imminent death, though, remained wrenching. I remember constantly kissing her forehead, as I had a lifetime of love to fit into an unknown, but certainly short, number of days. I wanted the warmth of her cheek on mine and the memory of holding this cherished gift from God to be etched on my heart forever.

Hayley would pass away from an aggressive form of leukemia on December 19, 2004, having been home under hospice care for several weeks. A year filled with hospital rooms, intense chemotherapy, more than 60 blood and platelet transfusions, full-body irradiation, and a cord blood transplant would come to an end that evening with our daughter taking her last breath…six weeks before her second birthday.
December Peace is His Peace. His Peace brought tears of joy to my eyes and compelled my heart to sing praise as my precious daughter smiled, took her last breath, and left this world forever. His Peace was joy amidst anguish.

His Peace continues to turn my fear, anger and confusion into faith, love and compassion, and helps me look forward for comfort rather than backward for explanations. And it is His Peace that now fills my Decembers with visions of my baby girl running into His arms.

This life is full of difficult, sometimes nearly impossible-to-bear circumstances. His Peace reminds me that there is an eternity beyond what we can imagine. His Peace reminds me that all that is ahead is so much greater than anything we will leave behind. His Peace reminds me that He is in control AND that I am loved.

His Peace frees me. His Peace brings me to contentment, even when my heart aches… especially in December.

Singing in the Ocean Deeps

October 29, 2013 By Stanton Lanier 4 Comments

You can listen to Singing in the Ocean Deeps from the new album Open Spaces at stantonlanier.com, iTunes, Amazon MP3 and many other outlets. I can remember visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as a young boy growing up in North Carolina. There were no condos or tall buildings on the beach. It was just sand and camp grounds. That was my first time to hear the ocean waves. The sights and sounds of beach and ocean invited me into their wonder and adventure through the whispers of gentle breeze. Then we moved to the Florida panhandle just before my eleventh birthday, and I was introduced to another new world — the Gulf of Mexico, with the finest white sands, sea oats swaying, and gorgeous shades of blue and green waters, sending smaller waves on shore than the Atlantic. Little did I know that Psalm 8, which entered my life about twenty years ago (and happened to be twenty years after those boyhood memories), would tie together the wonder and mystery of the ocean with a piano melody expressing the marvelous ocean deeps, with its whales symbolized by French horn (my new friend Richard “Gus” Sebring, Principal French Horn for the Boston Pops Orchestra joins me on the recording, as piano and horn dance like oceans and whales). Psalm 8 (NIV) opens “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Then, a little ways down, in the words of The Message Bible…”You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps. God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.” What is your favorite ocean animal which symbolizes peace, rest, and beauty to you? Think about this as you view this new music video. Enjoy!

Open Spaces and Psalm 119

October 12, 2013 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

Did you know that the Open Spaces CD cover image was what I saw out an airplane window? Yes, it was January 2013 and I was flying home from Boston to Atlanta after recording six piano melodies, when 20 minutes into the flight I saw the ocean, the sand, the horizon of the sea, a mountain view, the “open spaces” from 20,000 feet. I was captivated and took 40 photos. This is my first post sharing the inspiration behind the album and the title track Open Spaces…

This morning I was having quiet time and reading through my “underlines” from Psalm 119 in The Message Bible. Here is the context behind the new music:

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily, on the road revealed by God…when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set. Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I’m going to do what you tell me to do. I’m single minded in pursuit of you. Be generous with me and I’ll have a full life. I’ll run the course you lay out for me if you’ll just show me how. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me — my whole life one long, obedient response. Invigorate me on the pilgrim way. And I’ll stride freely in wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I’ll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. Your promises rejuvenate me. I set your instructions to music and sing them as I walk in this pilgrim way. I meditate on your name all night, God, treasuring your revelation, O God. Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to. In your great love revive me so I can alertly obey your every word. Your words are so choice, so tasty; I prefer them to the best home cooking. By your words I can see where I am going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your Word to renew me. Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well.

I encourage you to meditate on these words while listening to Open Spaces. You can hear samples on the website or on iTunes. May your spirit be refreshed!