The Band Director's Lessons About Life: 50 Parables on Life's Performance Cycle (paperback)

“The stories made me laugh. The reflections made me think. These lessons are for everyone.” Joanne Byfield, Journalist, Radio/TV Producer

This popular book is a cross between Chicken Soup for the Soul, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, and Conversations with God. If you liked any of those books, you’ll love this one.

Do you want a happier, more joy-filled life? Are you in a spiritual rut but don’t have time to read a book? Are you wondering where to go next on your spiritual journey? Not sure how to look at your life with spiritual eyes? This book’s for you!

In The Band Director’s Lessons About Life, author Donald Lee draws on his decades as a band director, a religion teacher, and a life-long spiritual seeker to create authentic modern-day parables from the classroom. It’s a novel approach to spiritual growth. Maybe you’ve been reading the Bible for years but don’t feel like you are growing spiritually. This book will help you discover the simple secrets of spiritual growth, move off your spiritual plateau, and get real results in spiritual progress—regardless of what religion you follow.

People of any religious persuasion—or none—will be delighted and inspired by how these band-room vignettes shine a spiritual light on everyday experiences. The parables are short enough to read in the bathroom yet deep enough to ponder for days. Put the book beside your bed and fill your mind with a 5-minute spiritual lesson before you fall asleep.

Jesus is famous for his parables. But nowadays most of us don’t relate to searching for lost sheep in the hills or sowing wheat seeds by hand. This book has parables about kids in school. Every little event has a spiritual dimension—tuning the flute section, a terrible performance, a broken clarinet, hallway bullying, cell phones, test anxiety, and even the ugly band uniforms. If you’ve ever been to school, you’ll recognize the characters, chuckle at their misadventures, and maybe even learn something about yourself. If you’ve been a kid, if you love music, this book’s for you.

You will learn how to:

• Find your path in life so you can be at peace
• Be yourself, your best self!
• Persevere through struggles to arrive at success
• Learn from failure, and become a better version of yourself
• Love the process, the good and the bad

“We used each parable in this book as a devotional with our kids in the evening and it sparked great conversations. Give it a try!” Angie

The book is organized to reflect the typical performance cycle of a band program. It’s a metaphor for our cycle of spiritual growth in life. At the start of the school year, there’s lots of preparation to be done: getting class lists, checking instruments, picking music, and setting goals for the various levels of bands. Then we get down to practicing: learning the skills, new notes, and all the things the kids will need to master before our first concert. All too soon the performance comes. It’s a mixture of success and failure. Some things go well, some poorly. Afterward, we reflect on the performance and redirect our efforts to prepare better for the next concert. This is the performance cycle in band—preparation, practice, performance, followed by reflection and redirection. The parables in this book follow the same four-step pattern and apply it to our spiritual growth.

Whether you’ve just accepted that we have a spirit, or have a PhD in Religion, or talk to angels every day – wherever you fit in—this book is for you. Whether you're a Sunday pew-warmer, a hermit monk, or a high-mileage astral traveler, you'll find something to love, cherish, and chuckle at in these fascinating stories and insightful reflections. Pick up your copy today!

“The way Donald weaves the stories in his book, you feel like you’ve sat in his classes to hear these parables.” Archbishop Gerard Pettipas

The author says, “The characters might be your kids, or you as a kid. My wish for you is that you’ll be drawn into these stories and, through them, see your own spiritual journey in a new light. I hope you gain some insight into your own spiritual growth—how you can live your life more successfully, happily, and bring peace to those around you. At the very least, I think you’ll enjoy the stories.” – Donald Lee

Buy “The Band Director’s Lessons About Life” and fill your life with joy!

“If you want some inspiration to live a better life, pickup this amazing book.”  Aaron