Dream In Soul – Creativity for the Kingdom:

Recently I got to meet Amy Noelck, a passionate singer/songwriter with a vision for impacting the world and am inspired by her heart for serving others and vibrant energy. Amy wrote “Marry Me,” a moving anthem of love and the perfect wedding song (from her new album Amy Noelck EP) created for “The Surprise Wedding” of Ryan & Amanda Leak that you may have seen featured on the news and social media in the past few months.

On June 7, 2013, Ryan Leak proposed to his girlfriend. Her dream was to get engaged and married on the same day, and so later on that night he cleverly delivered her surprise dream wedding after planning it for weeks with inspiration from Amanda’s wedding board on Pinterest.

I got to hear Ryan share the story behind the proposal at church a few months back and this music video/documentary shows a little bit of their story. To see the entire documentary of The Surprise Wedding, you can watch below:

Video Produced by Jeff Ray (jeffshootsyou.com)

Giving Back: Help Amy and the Leaks Fight Against Human Trafficking Through the A21 Campaign

Instead of receiving wedding gifts, “The Surprise Wedding” couple asked all of their wedding guests to give to the A21 Campaign (thea21campaign.org), an organization fighting against human trafficking all over the globe. Amy was so inspired by this that she started raising awareness for the cause herself.
You can purchase the song here to make a difference: http://bit.ly/1dFntwb

More About Amy Noelck

Amy Noelck is a talented singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas who wants to use her music to impact people all around the world. Through songs of love, heartbreak and hope, her folk/pop sound & charismatic personality have captured the hearts of everyone who hears her music. She is passionate about helping others, and using her gift in music to do so. All of the proceeds from her new album “Amy Noelck EP” will be given directly to organizations like the A21 Campaign, that are helping to end human trafficking world-wide.

“I try to write music with lyrics that reveal the transparency of life. I love God, and I love people. I write about brokenness so those that are hurting and longing for something to fulfill them, will see that they are not alone.

We are constantly searching for something that will give us peace and joy through the struggles of this life, but, I am confident that lasting peace and joy cannot be found in anything—unless first found in Jesus. It is my hope and prayer that not only my songs & lyrics would represent God’s character, but also every aspect of my life.” – Amy

To find out more about Amy and to connect with her, visit her site www.amynoelck.com.

“You call me out upon the waters – the great unknown where feet may fail…there I find You in the mystery, in oceans deep. My faith will stand…”

I love these two version of Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) live at the Colour Conference Sydney and the acoustic version. This song brings me to a place of surrendering and remembering who holds all in His hands…

Click here to get the album Zion featuring the song Oceans, and the latest Zion Acoustic Sessions album.

Oceans Acoustic Session

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

“I’m born to go where they tell me it’s impossible, fan the flame and walk on the water – I’ve got Heaven locked up in these bones…” – JOHNNYSWIM

JOHNNYSWIM is a soul-folk-pop duo composed of Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez, who create moving experiences through their unique passion-infused sound and poetic lyrical artistry that delves deep into the soul (think Lauryn Hill meets John Mayer as one Nashville newspaper put it) – if you haven’t heard of them yet you’re missing out!

“Heart Beats” is from their new EP of the same title which features more of my favorites including the inspiring “Make” and “Don’t Let It Get You Down,” which you can listen to below in live performances. Be sure to sample and get the EP at their site johnnyswim.com.

“God plants dreams in your heart and in your soul for a reason…” – TJ Pompeo

Growing up, TJ Pompeo had a devastating experience that could’ve permanently skewed his spiritual vision. Thankfully, through a myriad of circumstances he realized that the only way to truly see clearly was to keep his eyes focused on the Cross and to give his life and dreams to the One who set him free…

Editor’s Music Pick: Below take a listen to TJ’s song “Tomorrow” (ft. Corbett) about waiting on God’s timing for your life and dreams. It’s one of my personal faves from TJ’s album The Pre View that you can download here for free.

At age 15, TJ embraced his passion for music and started stepping into the rhythm and purpose God placed in his heart by producing and writing songs. As he matured and honed his craft doors started to open for him to share his music on a wider scale. During the summer of 2011, he was discipled by Cross Movement Records group Level 3:16 and embarked on a tour around the nation. Since then, TJ has traveled the world, touring in England, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Uruguay, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and many more, and he’s had the privilege of sharing stages with many incredible artists like Da T.R.U.T.H. (check out a video of them performing together below).

TJ joins in on Da T.R.U.T.H’s song “Hunger Games” at the Impact12 Conference:

I first came across TJ’s music through the Impact Movement (an amazing organization we’ve been supporting for the past few years on Dream in Soul) and we’ve previously posted TJ’s song with Level 3:16, LOVE. The fresh vibe he brings (he describes as a mixture of hip hop pop, soul and R&B that can’t be put in a box) and sound messages in his music will impact people of all ages. In this candid interview TJ tells us about his journey, overcoming a tough experience in his childhood and how he’s learned to trust God with his life and dreams. Here’s just a preview into what makes his heart – and music – beat…

Dream in Soul: We know you do music, but music isn’t who you are- so let’s start off with who is TJ? How would you introduce yourself to us, where are you from, what moves you, etc.?

TJ: Right, so like you said, “TJ” is my artist name and that’s what fans know me by. Everybody who’s known me for a while just calls me TEEJ. TJ is my real name, and it IS short for something, but you’ll only know what the “T” stands for if you’re friends with me on Facebook. =D I’m 22 years young. I’ve got roots in Long Island, NY, but I was raised in the small city of Harrisonburg, VA. I’m all about family, and the one that I have is absolutely amazing. They’ve all been so key in getting me to where I am as a young man and as an artist. I’m also big on family because I’m very Italian. It’s just who we are. One big happy (and loud) family. Along with my family, my friends and my mentors are equally as incredible. They’ve without a doubt been my motivation through life, music and all. They encourage me consistently, and I’m so grateful for them. What else??? Hmmm. I love cheese sticks, having slap-boxing fights with my friends, and collecting rainbow colored gumballs (JUST kidding… Kind of). My favorite show is the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Denzel is by far my favorite actor. One of my goals in life is to visit all 7 continents. Oh, and I’m a sucker for romantic comedies. Sorry fellas.

Dream in Soul: Can you give some background about your story and how you came to know Christ, how you got started in making music then transitioned to dedicating it to God? Did you start out writing music & producing on your own or were there people instrumental in mentoring you? (Can you also share the significance of the way you write your artist name?).

That’s a long one, but I’ll try to not write a novel. As far as my artist name goes, like you said, there is a story behind the way I’ve decided to spell it. When you think of a capitalized letter, it typically symbolizes something of importance, or something that has significance. Someone’s name, celebrities, the name of a city or state, a type of car, a notable product brand, etc. I decided to make the “t” in my artist name lowercase and the “J” uppercase because I wanted it to symbolize that I have no significance without Jesus. TJ is nothing without Jesus. The “J” in my artist name represents Jesus Christ in me. It’s the only letter capitalized in my artist name because of what I stated above… His name is and always will be more significant than ANY other name to ever exist. My own obviously included. To put it simply… I suck without Jesus.

My story has a very common beginning though. I grew up in church, but never fully understood the concept of actually “walking with” or “following” Christ until I was 18. My life prior to 18 was full of bitterness and anger towards God, mainly due to things that occurred in my upbringing as a little boy.

When I was 8 years old, I was sexually molested by someone who I knew very well. It was absolutely devastating… That event would prove to shape who I would be for the next 10 years of my life. From the ages of 8-13, every single day was a Christian version of Halloween for me. I would wear the mask of Christianity on the exterior to appear like a “good kid,” but on the interior I was angry and I could have cared less about God or Jesus. When I was 14, I decided that I was sick of wearing the mask.. I wanted to live “my” life the way I wanted to live it and ultimately do what I wanted to do. This is also the age where I started experimenting with the typical peer pressures: Party scene, alcohol, drugs, chasing girls, etc. At this time, I also noticed that I really enjoyed the musical genres of Hip-Hop and R&B. All of my family was/is musically inclined (my dad, all three of my older siblings, and all six of my older cousins). They all played a significant role in getting me started with writing music…

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“I serve a God who actually qualifies the called, and since He has called me to do it, nothing is impossible to Him…God is the same yesterday, today and forever…”
– Nicole C. Mullen

In this interview with SeedsTV , Nicole candidly shares stories about her life, childhood and the lessons learned along the journey of living her purpose…

“The moment you step out of your shoes you leave something extremely priceless vacant. Nobody can be you, no one can see the world like you…”

“Take whatever you have, your pain, your shame…your broken-heartedness, your misunderstandings and people’s misunderstandings of you, take them and give them to Him and watch Him make a masterpiece out of it…” – Nicole C. Mullen