Dream In Soul

Here’s another way you can give hope this Christmas, to help nurture girls who may not always know the dreams God has for them…

Help Stellar & Dove Award-Nominated Music Artist Melinda Watts Give Girls the Chance to Shine and Dream

In partnership with EEW Magazine, Melinda Watts, Founder of the Dream Girlz Gathering Foundation, is launching a musical fundraising effort with all proceeds benefiting girls in foster care and underserved communities.

All the beauty of the Christmas season is made even more beautiful when, in the spirit of love, leaders use their platforms to give back to those less fortunate. Stellar and Dove Award-nominated gospel recording star and winner of Gospel Music Channel’s Gospel Dream talent search, Melinda Watts, is giving back in a big way.

On the heels of a successful European musical tour, Watts’ Dream Girlz Gathering Foundation, in partnership with EEW Magazine, the nation’s leading web publication for Christian women of color, is releasing a brand new Christmas charity single, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, to benefit at-risk tween and teen girls, ages 8-18, particularly girls in foster care.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of the song, now available for download on iTunes, will be seeded back into the Dream Girlz Gathering Foundation that also partners with the United Nations (UN) “Girl Up” Foundation (http://www.GirlUp.org) to equip girls to be the next generation of leaders.

Details on how you can donate and download Melinda Watts’ new Christmas charity single, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas are available at http://www.eewmagazine.com/dreamgirlzgathering. You can also see touching photos from the Dream Girlz Gathering G.L.A.M. Camp as you listen to the single below, it is a soothingly and beautifully woven rendition for your Christmas music collection:

Click here to find out more about the Dream Girlz Gathering in our Ministry Spotlight

Interview by Julene Fleurmond, Editor of DreaminSoul.com and SOAR

Society sometimes sets aside “teenhood” and the early twenties as those fun, carefree years – but what better opportunity to discover who you are and explore what you were made for when you don’t yet have responsibilities like paying rent. Everyone has purpose and we as young people can serve God right where we are, impacting our friends, using our gifts and serving others in our corner of the world. Many leaders throughout history and in the Bible started walking into their purpose in their teen years, so like 1 Timothy 4:12 says:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Leslie Denman is passionate about young people and helping them to find and pursue their purpose while they are young. She is a certified Life Purpose and Teen Empowerment Coach (in other words when it comes to purpose, she knows her stuff;) and the founder of the organization Girls Living Life On Purpose, Inc. based in Dallas, TX. In this Interview Coach Leslie gives pointers on pursuing God and purpose boldly right where you are…

Dream in Soul: Hi, can you tell us a little about you and what do you do?

Coach Leslie Denman: I am a believer passionate about empowering people for purpose. As a Christian Life Coach, I am a Missionary of Hope to the countless women and girls that God assigns to me. I partner with the Holy Spirit to bring about transformation to the lives of people through coaching, speaking and training. I have a wonderful husband of fourteen years and two beautiful daughters and my most recent accomplishment that brings me so much joy is answering the call to ministry as a licensed minister.

DS: What inspired you to work with teens, especially young women? What were your own teen years like and how did you get grounded in God into your own purpose?

Leslie Denman: My inspiration to work with teen girls and young women started with my own search for significance and purpose. The last thing I thought my calling was – was to work with teens especially girls. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29 and I asked God to reveal His purpose for my life. I declared to God that if He spared my life and revealed my purpose, I would spend the rest of my life fulfilling that purpose. I am happy to say that I am still here.

This journey has been remarkable. Looking back over my life and growing up in Omaha, TX, I remember standing in the mirror of my room hearing this small voice telling me that I was going to be great. I had no idea what I would be doing or how it was going to happen but I believed that voice. I carefully and secretly tucked that belief away in my heart. I had great parents and our life was pretty normal that is until I found myself pregnant at the tender age of fourteen and even then, I felt God’s hands of grace and mercy upon me. My parents made sure we were active in church and grew up hearing the word of God. God used that experience in my life to draw me closer to Him.

I remember going to church and watching people sing, shout and praise God and I would think “What is that all about.” I was a young girl with a heavy burden and I wanted to feel what those people were feeling. I wanted to be free. I would ask God in my own lil’ way to help me know Him like that. Soon I would find myself angry and frustrated for many years to come. At the time I did not know that God was answering my prayer.

DS: What is the first thing you would say to someone about pursuing their purpose? How does s/he discern what it is and move forward to pursuing it?

Leslie Denman: Great question. The first thing I would say is “WHY? Why are you pursuing your purpose?” May seem like a simple question, even strange to some but it is the answering of this question, you hear the heart and motive of the individual. Luke 6:45 says “for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Discovering your purpose is just the tip of the iceberg. Walking it out is like an award-winning drama complete with plots, schemes and twists. An individual clear about their WHY will not only discover their purpose but they will walk it out in a spirit of excellence. Discerning one’s purpose can be both exciting and yet frustrating. It’s exciting in that you will discover that you are gifted and passionate about so many things; frustrating in that you don’t know what to pursue…

SOAR Interview: Pointers on the Pursuit of Purpose with Life Coach Leslie Denman

Interview by Julene Fleurmond, Editor of DreaminSoul.com and SOAR

Society sometimes sets aside “teenhood” and the early twenties as those fun, carefree years – but what better opportunity to discover who you are and explore what you were made for when you don’t yet have responsibilities like paying rent. Everyone has purpose and we as young people can serve God right where we are, impacting our friends, using our gifts and serving others in our corner of the world. Many leaders throughout history and in the Bible started walking into their purpose in their teen years, so like 1 Timothy 4:12 says:

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Leslie Denman is passionate about young people and helping them to find and pursue their purpose while they are young. She is a certified Life Purpose and Teen Empowerment Coach (in other words when it comes to purpose, she knows her stuff;) and the founder of the organization Girls Living Life On Purpose, Inc. based in Dallas, TX. In this Interview Coach Leslie gives pointers on pursuing God and purpose boldly right where you are…

Photo Source: kathryn-mccormick.com

Dance is one of those art forms I’m always in awe of, how the body is the instrument/voice/canvas that can express so much passion and tell stories where words aren’t necessarily needed. Kathryn McCormick is one such passionate dancer you may recognize from Season 6 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” I got to see her in action last year at the Revolve Tour in Texas, and was inspired by both her moving performances and the story she shared about trusting in God’s plan and purpose for her life, especially in her journey of trying out for the show.

Kathryn on Facing the Seemingly Impossible

“How different would our lives be if we erased the word impossible? In fact, impossible is more than just a word, it’s a mindset. How many times a day do we doubt our potential? If we took a second to let go and allow ourselves to face the uncertainty of “impossible” events we may surprise ourselves. Uncertainty WELCOMES opportunity.” – Kathryn McCormick

Here is Kathryn McCormick at the 2011 Revolve Tour dancing to the song “Set the World on Fire” while Britt Nicole sings:

Kathryn also danced to the song “Who You Are” by Jessi J at Revolve. Here’s an in-studio clip that gives a closer look at her intensity and emotion:

More About Kathryn McCormick

Dedicated wholly to her craft, Kathryn McCormick is a dancer who passionately seeks and desires to perform with purpose and meaning. She throws herself into choreography with reckless abandonment, becoming humbly submitted as a vessel for artistic expression, so that each performance may allow every movement to offer significance and translate emotion. Aside from dance, Kathryn invests herself into others lives, building relationships with anyone who may cross her path. She also has a compassionate heart that seeks to use her own blessings to provide for the less fortunate…

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What’s your dream? How do you feel God is calling you to use your gifts?

If you’re not sure where God is calling you, we’ll be listing resources on how you can get help on discovering it – don’t worry, you’ll still be able to enter this contest…

Stay tuned for more info on how you can win a T-Shirt from Dream in Soul Creative.

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1 I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.

4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

Read more in context…