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Stanton Lanier

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To and Fro

April 23, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

https://www.stantonlanier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/02-To-And-Fro.mp3

Click above to listen to “To and Fro” from album “Unveiled” as you read. If you enjoy the music, please consider supporting by visiting stantonlanier.com, iTunes, or Amazon.

Does the phrase “To and Fro” have a positive, negative, or neutral meaning to you?

It depends on the context of course, but I would say I have a leaning toward the negative. In this case, “to and fro” can mean wandering aimlessly, not being on a firm path, wasting time, like branches blowing “to and fro” in the wind, etc. This was what would come to my mind when I heard “to and fro” for most of my life, but in 2006 my perspective changed when I started composing the melody “To and Fro” for my 5th album “Unveiled.”

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I had heard about the verse down below before, but it started to go deeper into my heart that year, and “to and fro” began to take on a positive light. What if, instead of viewing “to and fro” as my wandering, I could see it as God’s directing and supporting my path. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time I photographed the above train at night, but this image can represent my journey down a “track” that represents God’s guidance one step, one railroad tie at a time. God lights my path (i.e. I am in the dark without Him). He equips me and helps me fulfill His calling, plans and purposes for my life. I encourage you to consider this take on “to and fro” as you listen to the music and meditate on the verse below.

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB).

Another version says, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (NIV)

What are your main heart commitments? Are you ready to embrace a new kind of “to and fro?”

Filed Under: Calling, Music Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: calling, purpose, surrender, To and Fro, Trains, Unveiled

Lessons from Mangrove Trees

August 9, 2012 By Stanton Lanier 9 Comments

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.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: calling, mangrove trees, purpose, Spiritual Journey

My 3am Carpet Mill Moment

July 24, 2012 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

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.”

Filed Under: Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: life purpose, purpose, quest, soul searching, surrender

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