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Day 10 for “31 Days of December Peace” ~ The Quest

December 10, 2017 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel as you read, from December Peace (Best Holiday Album, ZMR Awards). If you enjoy, consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen on Spotify, Pandora Holiday Channel, Apple Music and all other digital streaming services.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or PDF eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

The Quest ~ by Stanton Lanier (Copyright 2012, not to be re-published without permission)

I was twenty-one years old and had just graduated from Georgia Tech with a chemistry degree. I 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.

Silver Ornaments

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, drying and 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  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  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 event that made an even bigger impact 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, kneeling in a big pile of wet carpet, with more wet carpet coming down on 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 “3 a.m. carpet mill” moment? What chapters in your story have been part of your quest for life purpose and meaning? How did you find peace in the midst of the struggle?

Filed Under: Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: 31 Days of December Peace, December Peace, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, The Quest

December 10th ~ The Quest

December 10, 2015 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

https://www.stantonlanier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05-O-Come-O-Come-Emmanuel-StantonLanierc2009.mp3

Click above to listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel as you read. This is from 2009 Best Holiday Album December Peace (ZMR Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma). If you enjoy, please consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen and download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

The Quest ~ by Stanton Lanier (Copyright 2012, not to be re-published without permission)

I was twenty-one years old and had just graduated from Georgia Tech with a chemistry degree. I 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.

Silver Ornaments

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, drying and 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 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 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 event that made an even bigger impact 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, kneeling in a big pile of wet carpet, with more wet carpet coming down on 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 “3am carpet mill” moment? What chapters in your story have been part of your quest for life purpose and meaning? How did you find peace in the midst of the struggle?

Filed Under: Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: 31 Days of December Peace, December Peace, O Come Emmanuel, The Quest, Unveiled

Day 10, 31 Days of December Peace ~ The Quest

December 10, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

https://www.stantonlanier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/05-O-Come-O-Come-Emmanuel-StantonLanierc2009.mp3

Click above to listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel as you read. This is from 2009 Best Holiday Album December Peace (ZMR Awards, winning over Enya and Yo-Yo Ma). If you enjoy, please consider sampling and ordering the CD, MP3 Album or sheet music. You can also listen and download on iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This story is from 31 Days of December Peace (soft cover or eBook). Also available from Amazon Kindle, iTunes, and other e-Readers.

Where could you use some “December Peace” today?

The Quest ~ by Stanton Lanier (Copyright 2012, not to be re-published without permission)

I was twenty-one years old and had just graduated from Georgia Tech with a chemistry degree. I 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.

Silver Ornaments

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, drying and 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  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  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 event that made an even bigger impact 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, kneeling in a big pile of wet carpet, with more wet carpet coming down on 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 “3am carpet mill” moment? What chapters in your story have been part of your quest for life purpose and meaning? How did you find peace in the midst of the struggle?

Filed Under: Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: 31 Days of December Peace, December Peace, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, The Quest

The Quest – Taking Flight

April 25, 2014 By Stanton Lanier 2 Comments

https://www.stantonlanier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/09-The-Quest.mp3

Click above to listen to The Quest from album Unveiled. If you enjoy the music, please consider supporting by visiting stantonlanier.com, iTunes, or Amazon.

Are you on a quest to take flight with your dreams?

Recently my wife and I had the privilege of watching a female cardinal build her nest in a dogwood tree right outside our bedroom window (see the photo below). Soon there were three eggs, then three baby birds. We learned the male and female work together from nest building to feeding the baby cardinals, which stay in the nest for about 10 days after hatching. One by one the babies were soon gone, strong enough to fly on their own. The total time it took from when the mother cardinals laid the eggs until the babies flew away was about 4 weeks.

Cardinal Nest

Wouldn’t it be nice if “taking flight” were such a natural progression for us in living out our dreams, calling and life purpose? The Quest is a piano-violin duet symbolizing this journey, which is not so easy as birds learning to fly. My own career journey took me through being a shift manager in a carpet mill, to several other jobs that weren’t the right fit. At age thirty, this brought me to a point of surrender. Once I let go and began asking God what He wanted me to do, I sensed a calling to a new job. One step at at time I was able to stick with things, and I didn’t need to force my way. Surrender has played a central role in my quest to live out a fruitful life and story. Consider the passage below, which helped inspire the music for The Quest.

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” – Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message)

What is a next step you can take on your quest to live out a fruitful story?

Filed Under: Calling, Music Stories Tagged With: Cardinals, Galatians 5, Life Dreams, life purpose, Taking flight, The Quest

31 Days of December Peace: Day 10 ~ The Quest

December 10, 2012 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

The new 31 Days of December Peace eBook is available for only $4.99. Download at stantonlanier.com or the Amazon Kindle Store.

The Quest ~ by Stanton Lanier (Copyright 2012, not to be re-published without permission)

I was twenty-one years old and had just graduated from Georgia Tech with a chemistry degree. I 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.

Silver Ornaments

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, drying and 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  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  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 event that made an even bigger impact 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, kneeling in a big pile of wet carpet, with more wet carpet coming down on 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 “3am carpet mill” moment? What chapters in your story have been part of your quest for life purpose and meaning? How did you find peace in the midst of the struggle?

Filed Under: Life Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: December Peace, life purpose, surrender, The Quest

Podcast #3: The Quest

October 31, 2012 By Stanton Lanier 4 Comments

I am excited to finally share Episode #3 of the Pianist of Peace Podcast. To receive the greatest benefit, take 10 minutes to pause and listen without interruption. There are three elements to help you experience peace and rest, inspiration and creativity in your life today:

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

[buzzsprout episode=’64812′ player=’true’]

Stanton Lanier The Quest Live in Concert

The Quest, Live in Concert with Tracy Silverman on Violin

Filed Under: Life Stories, Music Stories, Spiritual Journey Tagged With: life purpose, Stanton Lanier, The Quest, Tracy Silverman, Unveiled

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