3 Steps to a Life of Adventure

May 12, 2016 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Call to Me from my third album Draw Near. If you enjoy, check out the CD or MP3 Album, Sheet Music, or visit iTunes, Amazon, or Spotify).

Do you view life more as a problem to solve or an adventure to live?

This question from John Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart entered and changed my life about fifteen years ago. I was composing some of my first Scripture inspired piano melodies, and was beginning to wonder if I should pursue music full-time. If yes, what an adventure that would be! The idea was both exhilarating and frightening at the same time.

Recently I took this photograph of a butterfly. The beauty captured in this moment reminds me that figuratively, we are “made to fly” like a butterfly. We were born for more than to “crawl through life” like a caterpillar. Below are three steps I have used to grow in living a “made to fly” life of adventure.

1. Be Still. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NIV). Being still is a difficult first step in a world full of noise and distraction. To experience this fully requires unplugging from news, email and mobile phone apps. My richest times of stillness come when I am meditating on Scripture, reading a devotion, or praying with a posture of listening for God’s voice. When my desire is to hear from Him, He is a faithful guide in my life decisions and circumstances. He also invites me into adventures which both stretch my faith, and bring a great sense of purpose.

2. Abide. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NASB). Abiding is a verb made up of other verbs — seeking, desiring, and drawing near to God (James 4:8). Psalm 37:4 describes what this looks like: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” A life of adventure with God comes when we join Him in the work He invites us into. Abiding is far more, and better, than coming up with our own good idea, and asking God to bless it.

3. Obey. “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track” (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message). “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV). “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own” (Jeremiah 33:3, The Message). These verses speak for themselves, and Jeremiah 33:3 inspired the song Call to Me. They have been so powerful in leading me into a faith filled adventure with God. He has special plans and purposes for each of us, which are beyond what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). I pray for God’s revelation and blessing over your journey with Him.

Which step toward adventure is most meaningful in your life right now?

Rembrandt’s Prodigal: A Life Lesson

April 27, 2016 By Stanton Lanier 6 Comments

Click above to listen to Spirit of Grace as you read (from my 8th album Open Spaces). If you enjoy, visit the online store to order the CD or MP3 Album or PDF Sheet Music. You can also download or stream on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora.

Can you find yourself in Rembrandt’s painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son?”

The three main characters in this renowned painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” are also found in The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) — the father, the younger brother, and the older brother. This story and painting have transformed my life, and are a deep source of inspiration behind my music and calling.

As I share how and why, look for yourself in the story. I believe this can be transforming for your story too… (please see the two excellent resources down at the bottom, which have spoken very powerfully into my story as well).

The Younger Brother (Kneeling). For much of my life this parable in Luke was a wonderful story. The father’s forgiveness of his youngest son was a beautiful symbol of God’s forgiveness of my sin. This picture of God’s grace spoke to me, but my wonder was limited. I couldn’t relate. This youngest son had taken his share of his father’s estate and squandered it all on reckless living. I am the oldest of three sons. I wanted to please my parents and follow the rules. However, I did envy people who seemed to be having so much fun with “reckless living” (I also quietly judged them). I have had my “prodigal son moments” in life, but I didn’t think this story applied so much to me, since it was really for those who had “lost it all.” Or was it?

The Older Brother (Standing). I can relate to the older brother. This is me, since I have two younger brothers. Because the “Prodigal Son” story doesn’t focus so much on the older brother, I thought I was safe. His story is in the last section of the parable, more of a footnote than the headline. He had stayed home, spending his life serving his father and taking care of his estate. He was prudent, not reckless. However, when his father held a great feast and party to celebrate his younger brother’s homecoming, the older brother was angry and refused to go in. It took many years for God to reveal this “aha” moment in my life. For too long, I had taken life too seriously, not having enough joy, and quietly holding a self-righteous pride in my heart. Now the story did apply to me. God was showing me I needed His love, grace, and forgiveness just as much as the younger brother.

The Father (Touching). As Tim Keller and Henri Nowen so eloquently illustrate, God can enable each of us to have the heart of the father in the story. He loved both of his boys, the youngest and the oldest. His love was filled with grace, acceptance, and forgiveness toward both, more than either son realized. This revelation is what transformed me. God wants me, wants us, to be like the father in the story — to love people well, to grow in seeing them through His eyes, from a heart of grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. The “heart of the father” has been breaking through in my life ever since. This is the heart behind my music — to meet people where they are, to express God’s peace, rest, hope and healing through Scripture inspired piano.

How does this speak to your story? What character are you? Who do you want to be?

The following are links to two of the very best books on this subject, which offer amazing insights into the deep meaning of Luke’s writing and Rembrandt’s painting: The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, by Tim Keller, and The Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, by Henri Nouwen.

Finding Life’s Open Doors

April 19, 2016 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

Click above to listen to The Voice, the title track from my 4th album The Voice, as you read. If you enjoy, visit the online store to order the CD or MP3 Album or PDF Sheet Music. You can also download or stream on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora.

What is an “open door” you are walking through or wishing for?

In this sense an open door is something filled with God’s goodness. It could be a new job, a creative project, a family vacation, some fresh joy in your marriage, finding your soulmate, or anything good your heart desires.

One of my “open door” wishes right now is new music. I am composing for a new album coming this fall. As I seek and meditate on verses to become Scripture inspired piano, the process can often seem very slow. Sometimes nothing comes. Sometimes portions of a song come quickly.

As I experience life’s ups and downs, instead of focusing on my frustrations, I am wanting to remember the blessings. It is not a perfect journey, but when I seek to hear God’s voice, and offer a heart of worship to Him, I see more clearly and He reveals more “open doors” of His goodness.

Below are some verses I lean into, whether I am walking through, or wishing for an open door. I hope these inspire your story today, and pray God reveals more of His goodness to you.

…but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. When Elijah heard the quiet voice… 1 Kings 19:11-13 (The Message)

“Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness.”
Psalm 34:8-9 (The Message)

Which of these verses moves you closer to your open door?

What is a “Pure Love” Song?

February 11, 2016 By Stanton Lanier 15 Comments

Click the play button above to listen to the love song Pure Fountain as you read…then pause it when you are ready to watch the video down below.

Have you ever thought about “true love” as “pure love?”

With the February 14th Valentine’s Day holiday approaching, I was thinking about how common the phrase “true love” is around the world. For example, “Yes, it must be true love” or “Have you found true love?” A phrase I have not heard used so much is “pure love.” Have you heard either of these before? “Yes, it must be pure love” or “Have you found pure love?”

Take a few moments to slowly read over the words below which express the depth and richness of the words “true” and “pure.”

TRUE: correct, accurate, right, verifiable, factual, what actually/really happened, genuine, authentic, real, actual, bona fide, proper; sincere, genuine, real, heartfelt, from the heart, loyal, faithful, constant, devoted, steadfast, unswerving, unwavering; trustworthy, trusty, reliable, dependable.

PURE: unadulterated, uncontaminated, unmixed, undiluted; sterling, solid, refined, one hundred percent; clarified, clear; flawless, perfect, genuine, real, clean, fresh, sparkling, unpolluted, untainted; wholesome, honorable, reputable, clean, honest, upright, upstanding, exemplary, worthy, noble, blameless, guiltless, spotless, unsullied, uncorrupted, undefiled.

Now, with these in mind, watch the Pure Fountain (Love Song) music video, and receive this as a love song from God to you personally. Listen to the music as a love song gift from Him to you. Meditate on the words from Him to you. Reflect on how much He loves you and believes in you — true, pure, paradise.

Words from the Lover to his Beloved (God to you) in Song of Solomon, Chapter 4:

“Dear lover and friend, you’re a secret garden, a private and PURE FOUNTAIN. A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing… You’ve captured my heart. I stay until dawn breathes its light and night slips away. Body and soul you are PARADISE. One look my way and…I was hopelessly in love!” (The Message)

Consider asking: God, would you reveal Your true and pure love to me more deeply?

Jesus sees us long before we see Him. He knows us. He brings to us His true and pure love. He brings to us His grace and forgiveness of our sin. Based on everything I know about Him, He believes in you (and in me). His is a “pure love” song.

December 31st ~ Confetti Moments

December 31, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as you read. This unique arrangement 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?

Even though I have played the piano or keyboard over 500 times for concerts, events and groups of all sizes, I haven’t been to that many concerts in my life. On July 2, 2012 I got to go with a friend to see Coldplay live in Atlanta. The audience was captivated from the opening moments. Confetti was blown in huge volume from the stage to the ceiling throughout the second song. Then, it floated back down over the crowd in millions of pieces. This was followed by huge, colorful, air-filled balls being hit into the air across the arena. All kinds of celebration symbols were lavished on everyone like it was New Year’s Eve. It was magnificent.

Here is what I learned…

1. Humankind Loves to Behold Beauty. Rainbows of colors and lighting illuminated the stage, the band members, the confetti, and the computer programmed sparkling wristbands (that everyone in the audience was wearing). These experiences illustrated C. S. Lewis’s words that our greatest moments of beauty, adventure and intimacy in this life are glimpses of heaven. Also, that God planted eternity in the human heart. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

2. Humankind Longs for Hope. C. S. Lewis once wrote, “All joy… emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings.” Pleasure, comfort, safety, security, good health, provision, enjoyment, seeing the world, loving people… these are some of the ways in which we look for and long for hope. The list could go on and on. G. K. Chesterton adds, “I had always felt life first as a story; and if there is a story there is a storyteller.” The idea that my life is part of a greater story gives me hope.

3. Humankind Loves Moments of Wonder and Adventure. C. S. Lewis also said, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” There is this hard wiring we are born with. One part says guard your life, another part says go for it – “it” being experiences of wonder and adventure. Life moments that make our heart race – like being mesmerized by nature, taking a faith risk, or serving others in love – are worthy pursuits.

What beauty are you beholding today? What hope are you longing for? Where are you feeling nudged toward wonder and adventure in the New Year? Watch for life’s confetti moments…

December 30th ~ Don’t Wait

December 30, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Silence as you read. This piano solo 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?

“If you’re waiting to do something with your spouse, don’t wait.” These words rocked my world in the final hour of a men’s weekend retreat in May 2008. Even if you’re not married, read on. All of us are waiting to do something. Maybe you’ve waited long enough.

The Souly Business retreat had brought several powerful moments. I thought I had experienced all that God was going to do. Then, during a talk titled Finishing Well these words cut straight to my heart. The speaker told a story about a very successful Texas chicken farmer, who had died suddenly from a heart attack. At his funeral service, his wife said, “If your waiting to do something with your spouse, don’t wait.”

Ever since 1995, for thirteen years, my wife and I had received a newsletter twice each year inviting us to consider a trip to Greece and Turkey. They were always mailed from the same couple who had led a group of twenty people, including us, on a spring 1995 pilgrimage to Israel. That experience was unforgettable. We had never seen the Bible come so alive and be confirmed so incredibly – geographically, archaeologically, and spiritually.

We knew Greece and Turkey would be just as amazing. It was called The Journey’s of Paul. The itinerary included Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, the island of Patmos where John wrote Revelation, Instanbul and much more. It just wasn’t practical. In the 1990s we both worked and it was just us. No kids. But from 1995 to 2005 our two children were born and an unexpected career curve ball was pitched to us. In 2004 I left a ten-year financial planning job to found Music to Light the World and become a full-time pianist and composer. Since then, our finances had been “just in time” with no surplus.

When the “don’t wait” words stirred my heart with such clarity, I sensed God whispering, “Take a leap of faith. Trust me. You’ve waited long enough. It’s time to do this thing with your wife. Go on the Greece-Turkey trip.” It was crazy from a worldly perspective. I would have to make a withdrawal from my IRA, paying a 10% penalty and income taxes on the entire amount. Yet, there I stood. After each talk there was a space for a few men to speak their mind. For the first time during the weekend I was telling eighty guys what had just happened. Apparently we were supposed to take this trip and not wait. But we were living month-to-month, and our only savings was in retirement accounts. And, I was a former financial planner and would be withdrawing the cost of the trip from my IRA (the room erupted with laughter at this point). Yes, God does have a sense of humor!

I have found when we move forward by faith, things start to line up. They don’t line up in advance. All the steps are not clear if we wait too long. But when we follow God’s nudges, He reveals things little by little. Like the $1,000 down payment toward our trip that was a gift from a complete stranger at the retreat, who heard my story and just “happened” to have been assigned the job of praying for me in secret the entire weekend. Like the fact that our parents’ schedules were open so they could stay at our house with the kids. It was stunning to witness all that took place. This story alone is one reason I live by faith in a God who loves us more than we can imagine. Even when life doesn’t make sense. Even when I have my doubts. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

What are you waiting to do? Don’t wait too long. Take a leap of faith.

December 27th ~ Where Did All the Time Go?

December 27, 2015 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.

December 26th ~ The Skyride

December 26, 2015 By Stanton Lanier 1 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.

December 24th ~ Christmas 1914

December 24, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Awaken the Dawn as you read. This track 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?

Approximately 7 million soldiers lost their lives in World War 1. Much of the war took place in the mud in central Europe where Germans, French and British soldiers lived in trenches for years at a time, their feet wet and their bodies chilled. It was a war of inches. The Germans would advance 100 ft. and many lives would be lost. Then the French and British would advance 125 ft, reclaiming 25 feet of real estate, and again many lives would be lost.

It was Christmas Eve, 1914 when the Germans began singing Christmas Carols. The British and French soldiers answered with many of the same carols in English and French. On Christmas Day a German soldier hesitantly came out of his trench with one of the many Christmas trees which had been brought to the front to cheer up the German soldiers. Other trees were added. A few, and then many British and French soldiers joined the Germans. They shook hands. Some embraced. Someone produced a soccer ball and they spent Christmas Day playing soccer together. They exchanged chocolate, champagne and cognac, cakes, candy and tobacco. They showed each other photos of their families.

This spontaneous display of man’s desire for peace, and for the meaning of Christmas for all of them, is one of the great testaments to the potential goodness of humanity. The armies did not approve and many men were disciplined, but it was an act of love, charity and peace even in war. It was Christmas.

December 23rd ~ God is not Silent

December 23, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Away in a Manger as you read. This piano solo 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 Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Meditation
Despite what anyone may think or feel, despite what you may have felt at times, God is not silent. Throughout history, he has used whatever it took to reach the ears of the people whom he loved. He spoke to Moses on a mountain so people would know how to live. He spoke to Elijah in a still small voice to tell him that he was not alone and that his mission was not completed. He spoke to Ezekiel through a vision so that Ezekiel would not fail to tell his exiled people that God could go anywhere. He spoke through dreams and visions and visitations, through angels, through a donkey, through his law. He spoke volumes through the prophets, who each received a certain measure of the revelation of God. But their revelation was incomplete. So God, himself, in the flesh, came down. God’s final word to mankind was Jesus Christ, Son of God, the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15), “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus did not just speak about God or for God (as the prophets had). He spoke as God. The entire universe belonged to a tiny baby in a manger who would grow up and speak the most important words we would ever hear. No wonder we failed to understand. But now that we do, we must do as Moses commanded: when the one God sends comes, we must listen to everything he tells us.

Prayer
Holy Son of the living God, all the Scripture that was written prior to your incarnation pointed directly to you and anticipated your person and work. You are the perfect fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies that spoke of your redeeming work as the Savior of the world, and of the prophecies that remain to be fulfilled when you come to judge the world and rule in righteousness. It is clear to me that I cannot fully understand your great story without the witness of inspired Scripture prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus. Remind me to regularly expose myself to the whole counsel of your Word by drinking deeply from the well of both Testaments. Grant me the time to read, meditate, pray and trust in your promises found there, and allow me to see Jesus in every page. In your life-giving name I pray. Amen.

« Previous Page
1
…
8
9
10
11
12
…
22
Next Page »