finding joy

Today is release day for Each Light-Filled Hour. You can stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and all services, or click below to listen as you read the story behind this new song. I hope the melodies and rhythms bring you joy and peace.

This piece has a happy, uplifting mood, as it celebrates the gift of each new day. As I composed Each Light-Filled Hour I was reflecting on all the things I have to be thankful for, instead of allowing negative thoughts to frustrate me. Even when things are not going my way, if I step back and shift my perspective, I realize there are many blessings to notice when I pause and look for them. Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 reads, “Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour, Remembering that there will also be many dark days And that most of what comes your way is smoke.” (MSG) These words of wisdom help my thinking shift from concerns over the past or future to cherishing the present moment. They help me set my heart on things above instead of earthly things (Colossians 3:2), and remind me to be grateful to God for His faithfulness. He is with me in each hour, each day, each week, each month, and each year, even when it may not feel like it. This is part of living by faith, to have faith even when I have fear and doubt. “…the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” (Psalm 32:10, NIV)

Musically, I wanted to challenge myself to have several elements that were the same, symbolizing God’s constant presence, strength, and care for us in each light-filled hour. This happens with the long undertones of low strings, as well as the time signature and chord pattern remaining the same. All of these repeat underneath throughout the song. The melodies and rhythms were born from a second challenge, which was to express joy and wonder, with a sense of happy, child-like faith. My natural tendency is to take things seriously, and to ask “Why?” when a decision requires faith and risk. Each Light-Filled Hour is evidence of God restoring His joy, peace, and hope in my heart, and inspiring me to ask “Why not?” when He is prompting me toward an exciting possibility or opportunity which requires me to depend on Him. The piano, choir, horn, strings, and percussion all work together to create and uplifting, energizing experience.

I hope this piece makes you smile, reminds you to make the most of your life today, and resurrects a memory from the past which filled your heart with joy. God’s blessings to you, and wishing you His grace and peace. – Stanton

How does Each Light-Filled Hour speak to you, and “sing” over you life today?

“Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour…” (Ecclesiastes 11:7-8, MSG)

Click above to listen to Rejoicing from Open Spaces as you read (in this post I suggest a way to listen down below). If you enjoy the music, please consider supporting by visiting stantonlanier.com, iTunes, or Amazon.

Can you think of something that reminds you to rejoice?

One of these for me is the azalea flower. Azaleas are flowering shrubs native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. They are planted abundantly as ornamentals in the southeastern United States, southern Asia, and parts of southwest Europe. This global presence of azaleas gave me an idea. This beautiful flower that reminds me to rejoice, also represents a oneness all of humanity shares — a longing for rejoicing and true joy. Azaleas come in many varieties and colors. Every April we have several blooming around our house, as seen in this just-taken photo collage.

Life’s roller coaster ride brings both joy and struggle. Azaleas remind me to find rejoicing during the ups and the downs. When I composed the song Rejoicing, I created a more open space in the middle to represent seasons of waiting, moments of uncertainty, and times of conflict, when I wonder if and when rejoicing will come. Listen to the music of Rejoicing, and meditate on the music of life. Try letting the piano illustrate the journey, and the cello symbolize God’s grace along the way.

During Easter yesterday my heart and soul were stirred with rejoicing in Jesus’s resurrection, which is filled with the promise of new and eternal life. Oswald Chambers has a great reflection rooted in the following verse: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

“The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father — the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do. Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed.” (from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 31st reading).

Have you seen anything today that reminded you to rejoice?