Stanton Lanier / Sky Whisper Sound, LLC

Scripture inspired piano to refresh your spirit

Podcast #1: Vive La Joye – The Sweetgum Tree

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I am very excited to share my very first podcast with through this blog post! I have wanted to do this for a long time. The idea is to provide you with an extended “concert moment,” with three ways to experience peace and rest, inspiration and creativity in your life today:

Part 1 – You will hear a short, personal life story to inspire your journey.
Part 2 – You will be able to listen to a full-length melody to help you pause and reflect on a specific aspect of your life.
Part 3 – You will be able to consider a few questions to encourage and challenge you to live a better story.

Stanton Lanier, The Sweetgum Tree

Sweet gum photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/14083893

I started piano lessons at age six, growing up in North Carolina. There was a giant sweet gum tree across the street from our house. It seemed a hundred feet high. I didn’t know it then, but climbing to the top was stirring a longing for wonder and adventure in life. This got pressed down as I got older and struggled to find safety, security and success.

I hope you will make the time to listen. It may stir up some great memories of your childhood. Maybe there is something it will encourage you to pursue. Something good and true you have thought about doing for a long time. I would love to hear your comments and will respond personally…

[buzzsprout episode=’56615′ player=’true’]

How a Faucet Almost Defeated Me

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Are you feeling defeated right now? Discouraged? Something got you down? Bear with me through this story that happened just the other day. I hope you are nudged closer to overcoming whatever is deflating you. “It” doesn’t have to win…

Last Friday morning was off to a great start. I was up early, had some quiet time, and got my thoughts together. After breakfast my wife said, “You could go ahead and fix the faucet this morning, before it gets hot.” I knew she was right. One of our outdoor faucets had a small leak, dripping about one gallon per day. I adjusted my plans, set my mind to checking this off my list, and thought, “replacing a washer shouldn’t take too long, but even if it does, I will still maintain a positive attitude.”

“Let’s get this done and finish a new blog post this morning too,” I thought. I borrowed some special tools from two neighbors and set to work. First, I turned off the water line to the house. Then, I removed the faucet. I quickly realized that none of the washers in the assortment package would fit. I was frustrated, but kept a good attitude. It meant a return trip to Home Depot. Maybe it would be easier to just get a new faucet. There wasn’t one. Our faucet was too old. My good attitude turned to groaning.

This led me to a plumbing supply store where there wasn’t a new faucet, but I was given a new washer at no charge. I smiled and might have felt a breeze on my face. But back home the washer seemed a little too thick. The faucet would not re-attach no matter how hard I pushed and turned. I began to talk to it, telling it who was boss. I went back to the plumbing supply store to get a different washer, and discovered they close from 11am to 12pm every day(!). My groaning turned to anger! “Why!” I cried in my head. “This is such a waste of time!” I was feeling hopeless and defeated.

I went back to Home Depot to find the correct washer. It only came in packs of ten. I came home, put one in place, and the faucet still would not re-attach. I stared at it, pushed it, hit it with a hammer, put my foot on it, anything I could think of to make it screw back on. My anger was on the verge of rage! I knew there had to be a way. I tried loosening another nut closer to the top. If this was the solution, it would create enough clearance to re-attach the back of the faucet, then I would have to re-tighten the smaller bolt to have everything good as new. It worked! Wow! Then, the final step. I turned the water line back on, and . . . no more leak! It was over! I had defeated the faucet. My positive attitude came out of hiding.

I would much rather be creating, practicing or sharing my music, but living in the present meant to fix this problem first (just so you know, sometimes I do call a plumber). Life’s interruptions somehow can be good for the soul, and can make room for greater things to happen. There is an ebb and flow, a pacing to each day. When I feel like time is being wasted, in fact good things can be happening. I just may not know what they are. It keeps things in perspective when every day doesn’t go my way. Perhaps tomorrow more will happen than seems humanly possible.

Life can get me down. I can be anxious about the future. Can you relate? Are you feeling defeated or discouraged by something big or small? Live in the present, take one step at a time, and know the grace of a new day is coming with tomorrow morning’s sunrise.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. – Psalm 90:4

Lessons from Mangrove Trees

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Mangrove Tree

I had some family vacation time last week and got to kayak in some southwest Florida island waters, weaving through thousands of Mangrove trees. It reminded me of a few things I had learned in the past. Here is how the trees “spoke” to me:

  • My “roots” (private life – quiet time, solitude, surrender to God) are vital for my energy, impact and purpose in public life. Mangrove tree roots grow down from the branches, gradually expanding the tree’s base. This is how many coastal islands around the world were formed. It’s amazing to see this up close.
  • My “branches” (public life – relationships, serving others, making a difference) are dependent on nourishment from my “roots.” I can’t spend all my time on the branches, or else I will grow weary or burned out. I also can’t focus all my time on the roots, or I am only growing inwardly, without touching lives outwardly. It is a delicate balance much like the life of the mangrove tree.
  • My “progress” (growth in relationships, work, personal, health, etc.) takes place gradually over time. “Little by little” is one of my mottos. Life is more of a marathon than a sprint. There is a sense of urgency to do what I am called to do, but this is tempered with “active patience,” waiting, resting, trusting as I am doing. There is a greater sense of abiding (an open hands posture of receiving) than striving (a clenched fists, gritted teeth posture of achieving). Mangrove trees make progress over time.

How are you doing with your roots? How about with your branches, your progress?             I would love to hear your thoughts and comments about ways you nurture these in your life, or how this has challenged you to grow in this.

My 3am Carpet Mill Moment

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I was twenty-one years old and had just graduated from Georgia Tech with a chemistry degree. I had decided that I had memorized enough formulas and performed enough laboratory experiments for my lifetime. So, I drove my 1980 Oldsmobile Omega and all my possessions (clothes and a stereo) to LaGrange, Georgia to become a shift-manager in a carpet dyeing plant.

After a few weeks of orientation and training I began to work alongside other shift managers to learn from them. I had to get to know the jobs and the workers from front to back on the two hundred foot long “range.” There were four guys who ran the whole thing from sewing the carpet together, to dyeing it, to drying it, to inspecting it. It was a pretty amazing operation to observe.

Pretty soon my boss asked me to work on Saturdays. It wasn’t too long before I was only getting two Sundays off per month. I remember asking, “What about Labor Day?” regarding time off. An experienced shift manager answered, “It’s labor day.”  Thanksgiving week I worked seven days straight from 12 midnight to 9 a.m. Low on sleep, I followed through with plans to go with my dad to the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech football game in Athens, Georgia, about two hours northeast of LaGrange. It is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving and was an afternoon game that year. I sat there during the game watching the 80,000 plus crowd enjoying the game and their Saturday, knowing that at 12 midnight I would be back at the plant for another day’s work. This was a pivotal point in my decision to end my short carpet industry career.

The story that left the most significant mark though, happened one night when I was working third shift. It was pretty common for something to break down, but you never knew when it would happen. This time it was at 3 a.m.  The dryer broke, which meant the carpet would come out damp. The dryer had to be shut down for repair and all the dyed carpet in the queue had to be piled up in a big metal tray. So, there I was at 3 o’clock in the morning, twenty-one years old, B.S. in chemistry diploma back at the apartment, in a big pile of wet carpet, with more wet carpet coming down at me to be stacked in the tray.  It was at this moment when I thought to myself, “Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? Why did I major in chemistry? How am I making a difference? After all, it’s only carpet!!!” Somehow, by faith, I knew I was not alone in my struggle.

This was one of those “character building” experiences that is part of life’s quest for purpose and meaning. It would still be several years before I surrendered my career path, asking God what He wanted me to do, instead of trying to make my way into opportunities for financial success. Through a sense of hopelessness and failure a mark was left that was life changing.

Have you had a “carpet mill” moment? What are some chapters in your story that were part of your quest for purpose….for peace?

Psalm 127:2 “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.”

The Sled

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Why am I writing about a sled in the middle of July? Is it because cold weather thoughts can help cool us off on a hot summer day? Maybe. But I really wanted to share this childhood story because it always stirs up good thoughts and questions in my heart…

Cypress Road was packed with fresh fallen snow in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I could see it through the big living room window of my childhood home. The temperature was just below freezing. School was closed. I had just finished a vitamin fortified Kaboom cereal breakfast. All my “Mt. Everest” gear was in place. It was another dream winter morning for a nine-year old. Cypress Road. One hundred yards long with a perfect twenty degree slope. Another downhill sledding adventure was about to begin.

This unforgettable scene happened many times during my elementary school years. It was a treasured experience. So much so that a full body length sled was at the top of my wish list for Christmas 1974. The gift appeared and was all I had hoped for. A Gladding Champion Fastback. Sixty inches long, three strips of polished hardwood, painted for speed (including speedometer) and shiny red runners.

Every day after Christmas I waited. . . January. . . February. . . March. . . April. . . no snow.  I couldn’t believe it! My sled dream had been realized, but the snow never came that winter. The following summer my dad took a new job in Pensacola, Florida. As my eleventh birthday approached, I wondered “Is this really happening?!” My new sled and I were moving to the Florida panhandle! That was thirty-seven years ago. The Gladding Champion Fastback is now stored in the basement, still gliding through life with me.  The glamorous adventure he was born for has ended up being a humdrum existence. An historic two inch snow at our house in Milton, Florida only resulted in “drags” across the flat front yard. A few times “Champ” has coasted down some small slopes around Atlanta and north Georgia where I have lived most of my life. My heart has never raced with the joy that I know he can deliver. Not yet.

Where was your “Cypress Road?” What was your “sled?” Have you ever received a special gift that is now in “storage” or that has never fully realized its potential? Does the sled symbolize any life gifts you need to restore? Physically, relationally, spiritually?

Don't Wait

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“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 SoulyBusiness.com 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 the Greece-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 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 over wait. 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. Just do it.

Don’t Wait

How to Live an Unforgettable Life

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“Who has had the most influence in you life? For me, it was my dad and Frank Stanton Bondurant, my mother’s father. My mom called him “Daddy,” but to his grandsons he was known as “Daddy B.” He was born in 1905 and died in 2002, just shy of his 97th birthday. As I reflect on his influence in my life, I am amazed at how many lasting impressions he made. He was quite a storyteller.

Daddy B was an only child. His parents both died before their 42nd birthday, so he didn’t think he would live past that age. They both played piano, but he was a gifted violinist.  He played high school football when there were no face masks, just a thin leather helmet. He broke both eyebrow bones and both collar bones. He loved to play games and tell jokes. If you said, “Please pass the cereal,” he would throw you the box! He introduced me to fig preserves and Mama B’s blackberry cobbler. He threw baseball with me for hours when I was a little league pitcher, teaching me how to grip the threads to throw a curve ball, drop ball, fast ball and slider. He played his violin with me when I was playing piano in middle and high school.  When I learned to drive he always reminded me that if an animal ever ran in front of me that I should “go through it,” and not swerve to miss it. He had wrecked his car one time avoiding a dog. His advice probably saved my and my family’s life when I hit a deer in June 2002 driving sixty miles per hour.  Incredibly, we were on the way to his funeral when this happened.

“Lord, make us thankful for these and all our blessings. Pardon our sins for Christ’s sake.  Amen.” This was Daddy B’s prayer before every meal whenever we saw him. These are only a few of my memories of this beloved man of character, passion and faith. I loved Daddy B and will never forget him.

I think what made Daddy B’s life unforgettable to me is how he lived life to the fullest, and how he was fully engaged in life’s moments. Who was (or is) a “Daddy B” for you?  For whom can you be a “Daddy B” as you go through life?

Short Pants

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It was at least 98 degrees on my first day of sixth grade as a new Florida panhandle resident. The 100% humidity added bonus heat and sweat.

Within the first hour of arriving at my new school something was amiss. I realized that I was the only student in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades who was wearing short pants! “You can’t wear shorts!” was yelled at me from finger-pointing students. Even teachers looked at me funny and shook their heads.

The icing on the cake was being sent to the principal’s office. We had to call and ask my mom to bring me some long pants. She wasn’t home to answer the phone. I think she had gone to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries. It was a long day filled with embarrassment, ridicule, patience and endurance. Eventually I was able to “dig deep” and forgive my parents for overlooking the fine print in the school handbook. It took a little longer for me to restore my self-esteem in public.

This memory is symbolic of tender middle school years. One time I sneezed so hard that I couldn’t catch all of the “sneeze” in my hands. I came back from the rest room to a snickering room because “sneeze remains” were on my desk. Getting knocked unconscious on the soccer field earned another trip to the principal’s office. But the moment of all moments was the spelling bee.

You see, pleasing people – being thought well of by my parents, teachers and peers – had subtly become one of life’s goals since that first day of 6th grade. I had become a good student too, so the pressure was on for me to win the big 8th grade spelling bee. Silence filled the room full of teachers and students after my first word was called out – “Execute.” I shakily spelled E – X – I – C – U – T – E.  “I’m sorry. That is incorrect,” was the gut wrenching response from my favorite English teacher. It was another “short pants” fiasco.  Maybe pleasing people wasn’t life’s goal.

What was one of your “short pant” moments? How did this shape your character? Do you seek to please others too much, or are you not worried about what others think?

Adventures Unlimited – Part 2

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Over the years I have grown in embracing life as an adventure. I grew up loving basketball and piano, but was also good at math, science and numbers, so my approach to life was overly practical for a long time. Yesterday’s blog, “Adventures Unlimited – Part 1,” spoke to adventure sometimes being embarrassing, noisy or crowded.

Working at Adventures Unlimited also included moments of silence and solitude (by the way http://www.adventuresunlimited.com is still operating today in the Florida panhandle. It is a fantastic escape from life’s hectic pace). My favorite job at Adventures was called “the top.” Whoever worked “the top” would get dropped off around 7am on a weekend morning. A sunrise caravan of vehicles would leave at least 100 canoes to be unloaded by one guy for the most popular “day trip.”

I began to learn the importance of including times of solitude in my life as I would work to unload all the canoes, then rest in the river listening to the breeze, the birds and the flowing water. Solitude plays a vital role in pausing to listen for God’s voice in my life and in the creative process. Remembering Adventures Unlimited reminds me that life’s adventures can involve hard work and activity, as well as times of rest and solitude.

How about you? Are you nurturing the “adventure” part of your heart? Are you overly “practical” when you have opportunities to embrace adventure?

Adventures Unlimited – Part 1

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My first real job in high school was at a canoe rental called Adventures Unlimited.  It was the summer of 1981 after my junior year.  Somehow I didn’t end up bagging groceries, waiting tables, or flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant.  I had my new driver’s license and I was going to drive old trucks and vans full of people going canoeing or tubing on the Coldwater River near Milton, Florida.

Canoeing down the Coldwater River with my son’s Boy Scout troop brought back wonderful summer job memories.

One of the first things I learned was that there are a lot of vehicles in the world that do not have an automatic transmission.  My boss was assigning vehicles for one Saturday and asked, “Who wants to drive the bread truck?”  Picture a UPS truck, make it about forty years old, retrieve it out of a river with a crane, beat dents into it with a baseball bat, spray paint it sky blue, and feel the tremor of an old engine with a three foot long stick shift and you will have some idea of the bread truck.  As you may have guessed, I volunteered to drive it for that day.  So, I went over, put the keys in and cranked it up.  It started rocking like a giant amusement park ride.  I didn’t know I was supposed to hold down that third pedal (the clutch) with my left foot and at the same time turn the key and give it gas with my right foot.  You should have seen the guys laughing.  I thought I was going to show them I could do anything.  I ended up discovering I had a lot to learn.

After driving every van and truck that summer, including the bread truck, the next summer I graduated to the old school buses.  Driving a 1960 five-speed school bus is good training for life.  Especially when it has forty people on it with paddles, life jackets, coolers, beer, cigarettes, and occasionally some kind of cigarette that didn’t smell like a regular cigarette.  I was growing in responsibility, confidence, and the realization that the world is made up of all kinds of people, including some that really like to party. To be continued…

What was your favorite summer job growing up? Did you have an embarrassing moment? Did these experiences influence your spiritual journey?