Your Favorite Open Space

March 19, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 6 Comments

Click above to listen to Open Spaces (title track from my 8th album) as you read. If you enjoy you can stream, download music, or find sheet music at the following links: Open Spaces CD, MP3 Album, Piano Book, Open Spaces PDF Sheet Music, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora.

What is your favorite open space?

Is it a mountain top, a valley, an ocean shore? Is it an open field, the desert, flying high in the sky, being in the middle of the ocean, or somewhere else? This music idea originated from Psalm 119:45 in The Message — “And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom.” Recently I ran across this as well, “We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory” (Romans 5:2). I have always loved a marvelous vista or panoramic view. The mountains are my favorite, but ocean shores and cliffs, canyons, gorges, and long range meadows are not far behind. For me, the incredible heart rush I get from a breathtaking sight is symbolic of the spiritual high and spiritual peace God offers when I press into His grace and truth. He reveals things worth “seeing.” The next time I see a favorite open space, will I ask God to give me a glimpse of His love and grace toward me?

Sacred Mountain Moments

March 17, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 1 Comment

Click above to listen to Sacred Mountain (from my 8th album Open Spaces) as you read. If you enjoy you can stream, download music, or find sheet music at the following links: Open Spaces CD, MP3 Album, Piano Book, Desert Thirsty for Rain PDF Sheet Music, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora.

Can you think of a recent experience you can connect with a childhood memory?

It was June 1974 when I first saw them. I was ten years old, and we were half way into our only cross country family vacation. North Carolina to Wyoming and back — by car. Our 1972 Buick Skylark was loaded to the brim. The trunk would barely close and the white carrier top held all our tent camping gear. I will always remember my first viewing of the Rocky Mountains. Driving west, watching them rise, and rise, and rise over the horizon left a mark. It was a sacred moment. There was a sense that only God could have created something so beautiful, so majestic. Being in the mountains always triggers a spiritual encounter for me.

These are things I reflected on as I was composing “Sacred Mountain,” inspired by 2 Peter 1:18. “We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” What a scene it must have been when Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain, and there was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, his clothes became as white as the light, and Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. I believe God wants to reveal “sacred mountain” moments in our day-to-day life, but we have to have our hearts, ears, and minds open to “see” them.

What is a childhood experience you had that was “sacred” in your memories? Have you had a “sacred mountain” moment lately?

31 Days of December Peace: Where Did All the Time Go?

December 27, 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.

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.