Stanton Lanier

Scripture inspired piano to refresh your spirit

Two Levels for a Dynamic Life

By Leave a Comment

How healthy are your “two levels” in living a dynamic life?

It is amazing how music and life are so deeply related. An idea came to me, and I encourage you to join me in this experiment. Earlier this year I filmed some short videos with helpful composing tips, as part of building toward a new Master Class video course. The first 2:45 of the video below are about the importance of dynamics (louds and softs) in piano performance and composing. The experiment is for you to watch the video, and to think on the “dynamics” of your life in the following ways:

  1. How healthy is my “soft level” to empower dynamic living (i.e. solitude, silence, quiet time, prayer life, etc.)?
  2. How healthy is my “loud level” to enrich dynamic living (i.e. relationships, interaction with people, reaching out, etc.)?
  3. What am I practicing in my private life that will make my public life more dynamic – spirited, energetic, passionate, magnetic?
  4. Have you ever thought of your life as a movie script? Like you are living out a “master class” to make a difference in the world?

Now, watch the video, listening to importance of dynamics in the song Awaken the Dawn. Write down your thoughts on the above as you take in the video. Look for the parallels between music and life. Notice the similarity between music dynamics and living a dynamic life. After the video, identify one or two action steps to help you make progress in dynamic living.

What “dynamic life” level needs your focus right now – the “soft” or the “loud?”

Here is the short description from when I created the video. Think of “life” instead of “piano” when you read the text…

I use Awaken the Dawn to demonstrate how dynamics help elevate emotion in the listener. Using different levels of soft, medium and loud expression in our playing helps melodies “speak” to the heart. Be flexible, experiment, and have fun with your creativity!

If by chance you would like to browse Piano Books and PDF Sheet Music click here. For Master Class details click here.

4 Questions to Refresh Your Work-Life Balance

By Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Spirit of Grace from my 8th album Open Spaces. If you enjoy, you can order the CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music directly or visit iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, and more.

Which of the questions down below refreshes you the most?

I recently was invited to speak on this pivotal issue of work-life balance. It was a good challenge to think through the best ideas I have learned over the years, but most importantly, to see how I have applied them to grow in my work-life balance.

IMG_9276
1. Is your life more of an argument or more of a story?

In looking back, I realized I spent my first thirty years (until 1994) viewing life as more of “a problem to solve” than “an adventure to live.” There had been moments of adventure, but the overarching theme of my life was more of an argument than a story. Over the past twenty-one years, by surrendering and asking God what He wants me to do, instead of striving to achieve and hoping to meet everyone’s expectations, I have experienced much greater clarity, purpose, contentment, and work-life balance. Think of your life as an inspiring story, an award-winning film, being lived out each day.

2. Are you more of a creator, or more of a consumer?

Starting about fifteen years ago, I dramatically reduced the amount of time I spent listening to the radio or watching television. This idea began a journey toward keeping a balance between creating and consuming. Having a “creator” mindset influenced my wife and I in our living, and in parenting our children, to spend more time “creating” and less time “consuming.” It became more fun to film a short movie, cook a meal together, or play an old-fashioned family game. Try applying this idea in your work, family time, hobbies, etc., using your unique, creative gifts.

3. Which way do you lean: scarcity mentality or abundance mentality?

The world sees everything as scarce — time, money, belongings, etc. Applying an abundance mentality to work-life balance can lead to amazing, unforgettable moments. Here are just a few examples: believing anything is possible in your career and trusting your calling, spending on a family dream vacation or special home project instead of saving too much, becoming a better saver if you have a history of overspending, or giving generously to charitable causes which align with your heart. From a faith perspective, Jesus promises abundant life (John 10:10) and eternal life (John 5:24) when we believe Him, overcoming the scarce and temporal.

4. Are you pursuing more: grace-liberty-progress or truth-legalism-perfection?

In most life areas, including work-life balance, I used to see things through a lens of truth (always be right), legalism (follow a formula), and perfection (make no mistakes). The “Life Balance Wheel” set me up to fail when the “right formula” became the “perfect life wheel.” I have been very refreshed by pursuing work-life balance with grace (goodwill), liberty (freedom, flexibility) and progress (forward movement). I choose Grace over Grind, Refreshed over Exhausted, Progress over Perfection.

What is one idea you should act on to make progress with your work-life balance?
— Marriage, Family, Career, Financial, Spiritual, Health, Vacation, Other?

Lessons from a Modern Day Scribe

By 6 Comments

Click above to listen to Desire from my third album Draw Near as you read. If you enjoy, consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and more).

Have you ever thought of yourself as a scribe?

Of course, there is much depth, skill, history and training to the ancient art of scribing. I know very little, but recently had the privilege of being introduced to Paul Antonio, who is a modern day scribe in London, England. During a live presentation he taught the Q Boston audience how scribing involves pausing, stillness, deep breathing, as well as the beauty of this ancient (and modern) art form.

Then he offered a challenge…invest the time to write out one chapter of the Bible by hand, and see what happens. He said this would require a place of silence and no distractions, and to invite God and the Holy Spirit into the process. A friend and I decided to go for it and share our experience with each other. Here is my description to him of what happened for me this morning…

Scribing LessonsDear Bill,

Ever since we committed to scribe a chapter of the Bible by May 31st, God has brought this to mind. Well, this morning, I paused, took some deep breaths along the way, and wrote out 1 John 5 (included above next to photo of Paul Antonio).

It probably took about one hour, and I was inviting the Holy Spirit into the process, not sure what would happen, but anticipating something special. I was two-thirds of the way through and there was peace, joy and inspiration as I wrote. However, I had not had any breakthrough, or a strong sense of anything extra. Then when I got to verses 14 and 15, my heart was pierced, and tears began to flow…

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15

Writing these two verses out brought a flood of prayer memories and requests, when our children were in the womb, how God has shaped and is shaping His purposes for them now at ages eighteen and fourteen, my bride of almost twenty-five years, relationships, eleven years of Music to Light the World, etc., etc. I put the pen down and began praying for many people and things according to his will, holding onto the promise in these verses.

A few lessons I learned from this experience are 1) slow down and be still, 2) pause and breathe deep, 3) remember God’s plans and purposes in my story, 4) writing out Scripture can lead to a powerful encounter with Him.

Would you join me in some scribing and let me know what happens for you?

The song Desire was perfect for today’s post because it was inspired by the verses below, which combine beautifully with those found in 1 John 5:14-15.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Psalm 40:8 “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

The Powerful Message Inside “Number My Days”

By 4 Comments

Click above to listen to Number My Days from my first album Walk in the Light as you read. If you enjoy, consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and more).

What does the phrase “number my days” bring to mind?

For me, this question brings a flood of thoughts and memories. I wrote this piece of music almost fifteen years ago. It was the summer of 2000. I had been married almost ten years. Our son was three years old. We were expecting our second child in November (our daughter).

This year will be our 25th wedding anniversary. Our son just graduated from high school, and our daughter just finished eighth grade. This fall we will have a college freshman and a high school freshman. Where did the days go?

There is a powerful message inside this song Number My Days…

DSC02322The music has two main sections. The opening and primary theme expresses joy and hope, living in the moment, making the most of our days, having child-like faith. The answering theme is slower, more reflective, symbolizing the much needed pause to take all of life in, to recalibrate, to nourish our souls.

The message inside this song comes from Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (NIV). Said another way, “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!” (MSG).

All of these inspirations were on my mind with a toddler and baby on the way in the summer of 2000. All of them are still in my thoughts today in 2015, yet they are maturing. They are richer. They beckon me toward hope in knowing God more deeply, in being more grateful for His grace, in being a better husband, a better father, a better friend. Yes, there is a powerful message inside Number My Days.

Which of the above themes is most relevant for you right now?

3 Ways to Find Hope in Sunrises

By Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Awaken the Dawn from my fifth album Unveiled as you read (also on December Peace and Treasures of Peace). If you enjoy, consider ordering a CD or MP3 Album or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora and more).

What does a sunrise symbolize for you?

This week is “graduation week” for our family, with our son finishing 12th grade and daughter finishing 8th grade. This fall my wife and I will be in new territory with a college freshman and high school freshman. We will also celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. My desire is to find hope looking forward and looking back as 2015 unfolds.

Yet, with so many special memories from the past, and such great anticipation for the future, I can have trouble living in the moment. I catch myself thinking about tomorrow or the next day, or even something on my schedule for later today. My sense of hope can become misguided or even get lost in the busyness. How about you?

Awaken the Dawn

Ever since I composed Awaken the Dawn from Psalm 108:1-2 (also see Psalm 57:7-8), sunrises have been a richer symbol of hope for me. Somehow this music embraces a human longing we all share each and every day — a desire for hope in the midst of life’s circumstances.

For me, trying to fulfill this longing for hope with my own strength, my own plans, or my own common sense, always falls short. Below are three ways to connect hope with each day’s sunrise. As you read them, see which one speaks most to your heart right now, and try to practice it.

1. REST. We are in a place of rest when watching a sunrise, or rising from sleep to the sunrise and a new day. Resting moves us toward hope.

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” — Psalm 62:5

2. WAIT. We have to wait for the sun to rise. This is true whether we woke up early to get in position, to get the camera ready to capture a sunrise, or we have been resting through the night, waiting for the new day. Waiting moves us toward hope.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” — Psalm 27:14

“…but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

3. SURRENDER. We cannot control the sunrise. We cannot control our life circumstances. We can try to make wise decisions and then take action, but ultimately a posture of surrender is needed. Surrender moves us toward hope.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” — Psalm 32:8-10

Which will you use to connect hope with tomorrow’s sunrise?

The inspirational verses behind Awaken the Dawn…

“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” — Psalm 108:1-2

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul!Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” — Psalm 57:7-8

Mozart’s Twinkle, Twinkle Meets It Is Well with My Soul

By Leave a Comment

 Click above to listen to the title track A Thousand Years from my 7th album as you read (featuring original, Mozart’s Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and It Is Well with My Soul melodies). If you enjoy, consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album, or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, and more).

What is one of your favorite childhood memories that filled you with wonder and awe?

As you listen to the music stream and read this post, I want you to think of a favorite childhood memory filled with beauty, then recall something recently that stirred this same child-like faith, wonder and awe. I can remember climbing to the top of a 100-foot tall sweet gum tree in North Carolina at age nine, the first time I saw the Rocky Mountains when I was ten, or trying to outrun the ocean waves washing up on the beach at age eleven. Just a few years ago I got to visit northern Minnesota for a week of canoeing and camping. I awoke at 3 a.m. several mornings to gaze at night skies filled with more stars than I had ever seen.

FAFH-Thumbnail no text

For me, these kinds of moments are breathtaking. They remind me that creation has a Creator, and the story I am living has a Storyteller. They point me toward God’s beauty, adventure, and intimacy he reveals to me, and his incredible gift of grace and forgiveness. Connecting physical and spiritual wonder and awe is so powerful and reviving.

This was all contained in my heart as I created the song A Thousand Years, combining original composing from Psalm 90:4 with Mozart’s famous melody best known as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and the famous 1871 hymn It Is Well with My Soul. Musically I wanted to interweave the wonder and awe of child-like faith with the peace and hope of spiritual peace with God through Jesus in my soul.

If this music and topic inspires you, please take time to watch or bookmark the newest music video Far Away from Home, from my 9th album Treasures of Peace. The music and story are a visual illustration of Isaiah 41:10 child-like faith and living life without fear.

Where is a place you could go to nurture your child-like wonder and awe?

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

Isaiah 41:10 (MSG) “Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.”

Pachelbel’s Canon in D Meets Psalm 19

By Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Across the Skies (featuring Canon in D) from the album A Thousand Years as you read. If you enjoy, consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album, or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, and more).

What is your favorite classical or hymn melody?

This question was my challenge in creating my 7th album A Thousand Years, which features original composing interwoven with six world renown classical melodies and seven great hymn melodies. One of these is Johann Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D. Since this is so often included in wedding ceremonies, it an interesting that when Pachelbel wrote this in 1694 it may have been for Johann Christoph Bach’s wedding, who was Johann Sebastian Bach’s oldest brother.

Since I was a little boy I have marveled at the skies. Maybe this is why I loved climbing trees so much in my childhood. Maybe this is why Psalm 19 is one of my favorites. Across the Skies opens with two phrases of my simple arrangement of Canon in D, then here is what happens…

MarchSky

An original melody appears for a new variation. The piano is “singing” word for word, “In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun” (verse 4). Then the Pachelbel arrangement expands with new variations, answered by some new variations on the original melody. This “meeting” of classical and original continues to build, then concludes with the simplest Pachelbel to take us off into the sunset after these moments of musical “sky gazing.”

What is your favorite memory of a beautiful sky?

Psalm 19 (NIV) for Meditation while Listening…

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

A Valentine Love Song Just for You

By 8 Comments

Instead of the typical free music stream, for this post I am providing you with the Pure Fountain love song music video down below. If you enjoy, check out the CD or MP3 Album, or Sheet Music (or visit iTunes, Amazon , Spotify, Pandora, etc.).

Have you ever had a love song written just for you?

With one week until February 14th, this question came to mind: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had a love song written just for us? I’ve got some good news — I think we do.

My worst Valentine memory was the year I forgot my wife was preparing a candle lit dinner for two. Ouch. That one really hurt. Sometimes I can still feel like I am making up for this mistake that happened twenty years ago (my wife has forgiven me, and yes, she still loves me!). One of our family’s best in recent years was cooking a gourmet dinner to enjoy together. There are many sweet Valentine memories filled with love and smiles.

In my brokenness, I frequently feel like I need to “earn” my wife’s love. It becomes conditional. If I “do this” or “don’t do that” then she will love me more. If I am not careful, I can also begin thinking incorrectly that God will love me more based on what I do or don’t do.

Pure Fountain is probably my favorite of three instrumental love songs I have composed (Captivating and More Precious are the other two). When these Scripture inspired piano melodies were born, I was writing them for my wife, but I was inspired by God’s unconditional love for me. His forgiveness, love and acceptance are not based on my performance, but on His grace.

So, read the few phrases below from Song of Solomon Chapter 4 (taken from The Message). Then, watch for them in the Pure Fountain love song video. Receive this as your love song — God’s love song, music, and words written just for you.

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!

How did this speak to your heart?

Four Essential Tools to Stay Inspired

By 4 Comments

Click above to listen to Streams from the album Draw Near. If you enjoy, consider ordering the CD or MP3 Album, or Sheet Music (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon , Spotify, Pandora, and more).

How do you navigate life’s ups and downs?

If you feel like you are more in a valley or desert right now, instead of a mountain top or sanctuary, this happens to me too. When we are feeling down, there is a way to climb upward.

It wasn’t obvious then, but in the early 1980s four practices were planted in my heart. They happened working summers at Adventures Unlimited canoe rental in the Florida panhandle. Each one is an essential tool I can remember and apply to rise up from life’s “downs,” or when celebrating life’s “ups.”

Canoes 1

Maybe all four, or at least one, can inspire your journey. Here is how each seed took root at the canoe rental, and then blossomed into fruit when I learned verses to apply (thanks to Charles Swindoll and his powerful little book Intimacy with the Almighty). All four of them became song titles in my early years of composing Scripture inspired piano.

1. SIMPLICITY. Take time to do simple things, to see life and the world through a child’s eyes. Unload the canoes in the morning, drive customers to the starting point, show them how to canoe, load up the canoes in the afternoon. The work day was simple. Give the customer a great experience, and stir their child-like simplicity. This song on the album Draw Near was inspired by Ecclesiastes 7:29 — “God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.”

2. SILENCE. Take time to unplug, be silent, pray, and listen for God’s voice. I loved the job of unloading one hundred canoes on the sandbar to be ready for customers (see the photo above). I worked in silence and it was silent when the work was done. So silent I could only hear the water, the wind, and the birds. This song on the album Still Waters and re-recorded on December Peace was inspired by Habakkuk 2:20 — “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

3. SOLITUDE. Take time to be alone. Working outdoors along a river provided lots of alone time. Many special moments come from solitude…working hard, resting well, creating calmly, listening closely. This song on the album Walk in the Light was inspired by Mark 1:35 — “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

4. SURRENDER. Take a position of surrendering control with relationships, work and play. This took the longest and is the hardest for me. Sometimes life’s worst moments offer the best possibility for responding with surrender. This song on the album Draw Near was inspired by Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

What can you do to practice more simplicity, silence, solitude and surrender?

The song Streams also reminds me of the Coldwater River (in the photo) and was inspired by Psalm 42:1-2 — “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

Do You Need a “Small” Miracle? A True Story

By 4 Comments

Click above to listen to the love song Captivating from the album The Voice. If you enjoy, consider purchasing the CD, MP3 Album, or Sheet Music at stantonlanier.com (the song is also on iTunes, Amazon , Spotify, Pandora, and more).

How would you describe your greatest point of need right now?

Would it be physical (health), relational (spouse/family), financial (debt), emotional (ups and downs), spiritual (faith), or something else? If you need a “miracle” there is no such thing as a small one.

It was a Monday night in March 2005. We had founded Music to Light the World as a non-profit 501(c)(3) ministry the previous year, and through this I had become a full-time pianist and composer of “Scripture inspired piano” in August 2004. We were only six months into this adventure, and my wife came to me in tears. She couldn’t take it any more. Not knowing where our income would come from was too unsettling (I was afraid too). We cried together and I told her I had such a strong sense in my heart that we were doing the right thing. I didn’t know how it would all work, but I just knew we should keep going by faith. We prayed and surrendered, asking God to watch over us and to direct our steps. Then the miracle happened…

Response Card 4x6 Postcard Front Low Res

The very next morning — 12 hours later —  there was a donation check for $20,000 in the PO Box from an anonymous donor (still the largest one-time gift to this day). I was speechless. Tears of joy and amazement flowed. I called my wife to celebrate in disbelief. Then a few minutes later it struck me — there must have been a mistake. Nope. Everything was correct. Through some research it was confirmed. I learned the source was a 104-year old lady in Iowa (I never got to meet her). I called it a “small” miracle, but I have learned that there is no such thing as a small miracle with Jesus.

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes He amazes us. Sometimes He doesn’t answer our prayer the way we would like, or the way that seems best. Sometimes He is quiet and doesn’t seem to be moving at all. The twelve months following the “$20,000 donation miracle” included an emergency ambulance and hospital stay for my wife, and our house being robbed of everything small and valuable during the middle of the day. Prayer and surrender are hard for me sometimes, but the Lord meets me where I am and gently encourages me by His grace and power.

I chose the love song Captivating as today’s listening track because God loves you and me more than we can imagine. He is captivated by us, like the lover is with his beloved in Song of Solomon or Proverbs. There is no such thing as a “small” miracle with Him. He knows our every need. He loves for us to share them with Him, and ask for His help. It is a life long process, but I have found He keeps His promise “if you seek me you will find me.”

What step can you take toward seeking and surrendering?