Productivity

Click the player above to stream Beloved (Lullaby) from Walk in the Light as your background reading music. If you enjoy, consider supporting through iTunes, Amazon, or stantonlanier.com (where sheet music is also available).

Do you sometimes wish your work could get done while you sleep?

If you are like me and answer “yes,” I have an idea for you. Before I share it, here are two practices that will help this idea take root. First, I try to practice “sunset remembrance.” When the sun goes down, I focus on being thankful for all that DID get done that day, versus all that DID NOT get done. Second, I try to practice “sunrise gratitude.” I give thanks to God for waking me up another day, for the gift of life, and I reflect on His many blessings. Then, I try to focus on abiding and surrender, while giving my best, since I cannot pull off each day’s productivity and accomplishments in my own strength alone. With these sunset and sunrise practices, I have a mindset of aiming for progress, instead of trying to be perfect.

Now, for the idea. The song Beloved (A Lullaby) was one of my earliest works, inspired in the year 2000. It came from two verses rich in meaning and life application, which point to an increase in the amount of work that gets done while you sleep. Psalm 127:1-2 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep (some versions say “provides for” His beloved, even while they sleep).

When I discovered this and began to take it to heart, it was incredible to think that God is at work on my behalf through the night, as I sleep. What a relief! I am reminded of this when amazing things happen at a future time, following prayers or seeds of action I have planted. Sometimes it takes only days, sometimes it can be years, and sometimes God is silent, but I rest in this powerful truth. What an encouragement that good works can actually happen for me while I sleep, whether they be physical, relational, emotional, spiritual, or financial.

What is one thing you can surrender and wait for in expectation as you go to sleep tonight?

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

Could you use a little more time, like me?

Recently I composed a new song in about one hour, which is not typical. It was as though time stood still, or at least slowed down. Can you find the bumble bee in the image below? As I observed, I noticed the bee was not in a hurry. What if “A thousand years in your sight are like a day or a watch in the night” is true, as written in Psalm 90:4? If this was taken literally, if 1 day (24 hours) was like 1,000 years of time, then…

Half a day (12 hours) = 500 years
6 hours = 250 years
3 hours = 125 years
1 hour = 42 years
1 minute = 8 months
1 second = 4 days

Which of those is your favorite? As you begin your next one-hour project, think about this being the same as forty-two years from God’s point of view. This helps me maintain a long-term perspective regarding my daily to do list, big projects, relationships, and more. It means sometimes a whole lot of progress can happen in much less time than I expect. It also helps me keep things in perspective when they don’t seem to be moving along as quickly as I would like. Have you ever had “a thousand years are like a day” experience?

Working While I Sleep

Gaining A Thousand Years