I had the joy of sitting down with my son Bo for a special breakfast conversation—fresh from a morning swim—to talk about his new piano album, Still Seasons. What started as a simple idea turned into a beautiful collection of peaceful, reflective music. He even experimented with blending piano and guitar in a way you don’t often hear.

I call this special time “Breakfast on the Beach” based on the biblical passage when Jesus had breakfast on the beach with His disciples after His resurrection. It’s a quiet time to reflect and share with each other and the Lord about things goin on in our life. This week, that includes Bo’s special music, a special painting I’ve just finished, and talking about using our gifts—whether music, painting, writing, or everyday work—for God’s glory.

We close our time together with a prayer for each of us and for anyone who is looking for God’s peace today.

Here’s the link to watch the episode…

And here are some highlights from the transcript…

Good morning! This is Eric Elder, and I’m here with my son, Bo Elder. We’re just having breakfast on the beach—or at least, it feels like the beach since we both went for a swim this morning. We’re also listening to some of Bo’s beautiful piano music, which he just released last Thursday.

His album is called Still Seasons, and he wrote it to bring peace to troubled minds. Why did you write these songs, Bo?

Bo: I’m doing it to glorify God with my gifts—writing music. But actually, this album started with something you asked me to do. You asked if I could put my piano music to ocean waves, so I thought, “Okay, I’ll try it out.” Then, three songs came to me in one day, and I thought, “I should make an album out of this.” So I just kept adding more songs, incorporating ocean waves, rain sounds, and even crowd sounds. The project developed pretty quickly.

Eric: And it’s beautiful. We’re listening to it now, and you can listen to it on all streaming services. Just look for Bo Elder—B-O E-L-D-E-R—and Still Seasons wherever you listen to music, on Pandora, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.

Click here to listen to Still Seasons on YouTube

(The album has background nature sounds in the first half, and then it repeats all of the songs without the background sounds, so you can enjoy it either way.)

Lately, I’ve been using my artistic gifts, too, in the form of painting small prayer magnets. This week I painted one for a longtime subscriber from Addis Ababa who asked me to capture Nahum 1:3 in a picture. That verse says:

“The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays His power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”

The contrast between God’s peace and power captivated me. An image came to mind, so I sketched it out and began to paint.

I title the piece “God is in the Whirlwind.” Here’s a short video I captured while painting it, accompanied by Bo’s music.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSywOHxEdVw

We also played a song this week during our prayer time from a friend who helped create Bo’s album cover. Ethan Bliese is also a composer of ethereal music that’s calming and peaceful. Take a listen to his album Summertide at this link.

Click here to listen to Summertide on YouTube

Here’s a prayer for your week...

Father, thank You for this day. I pray that each of us would take time this week to spend some time with You. Thank You for the gifts You’ve given us, even if we don’t realize how powerful they may be to ourselves and others. May the work of our hands and minds bless You, bring joy to our hearts, and serve those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Hope you have a great week!

Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.