Dream In Soul – Creativity for the Kingdom:

Overcoming the Odds

It’s not everyday you get to know a living miracle, someone who has overcome great odds and the clutches of the valley of death, and yet who shines even in the darkest of situations. I am blessed to have met and to be inspired by someone who fits that description, my mentor and friend Evelina Solis.

A few years back Evelina was in the hospital clinging to life after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (a near fatal blood-clot). After the long recovery process and when she thought the worst was over she was then diagnosed with lupus, another serious illness which left her in the hospital getting treatments for months, in the ICU for two weeks and even flat-lining at one point.

Contrast that near-death experience to the vibrant woman who is energetically living out her purpose as the founder of her motivational company Sol2Soul, a certified life coach, inspirational speaker and TV/radio personality. Instead of dwelling on her illness and what could have been, Evelina is living out her faith each day and holding on to God’s truth.

Evelina is traveling around the country telling her story of survival, and is supporting Dream in Soul Creative as a model and spokesperson, wearing T-Shirts from our collaborative clothing line when she speaks to students and other audiences. Recently she was on Macy’s Hispanic Heritage Month tour, sharing her story across the country. She’s also featured in the book Aim High: Extraordinary Stories of Hispanic and Latina Women by Laura Contreras-Rowe. She definitely lives out her motto of living life to the fullest, inspiring people to seek and follow their passion while leaving the world better then they found it.

I invite you to read Evelina’s inspiring story and the advice she gives on living out her purpose in the dark and bright places of life.

– Julene Fleurmond, Founder & Editor, Dream in Soul

Living with Passion and Purpose

Dream in Soul: Hi Evelina, Can you introduce yourself to Dream in Soul?

Evelina Solis: Hello Dream In Soul readers, I’m Evelina Solis, Certified Life Coach, Inspirational Speaker and TV/Radio Personality. I love to come into a room full of people and change the atmosphere when the energy is low, peers are unmotivated, or the membership in your organization is down. My purpose is to generate new energy and enthusiasm that will result in increased participation in projects and activities, inspire others to work hard and increase the organization membership. I have a passion for serving and educating people from all walks of life, volunteering at Shoreline Church and charities, bringing awareness to Lupus, traveling the world, playing and watching sports, writing about my adventures, participating in the arts, and spending quality time with my family and friends.

Surrender

Evelina was featured in a DVD devotional series entitled “The Fight of Your Life” for Shoreline Community Center Church in Austin, TX. She was one of three people who told their story of survival and recovery of serious trials in their lives. Evelina recounted her journey of surviving several life threatening illnesses, and overcoming physical and emotional trauma through her faith in God and the support of her family. Watch a preview of the series below entitled “Surrender”:

DS: Tell us about your journey with your health and where you are today?

ES: My journey with my health has been a roller coaster. Regardless of what my family saw or heard, we kept our faith in God and totally relied on Him for comfort, peace and healing. Back in 2006, I was at the prime of my health, or at least I thought, I was 26 years old working out 5 days a week, training for a marathon, and living the life in Miami, FL.

Then out of nowhere I woke up with a bruise on my left calf that ended up going from size of a dime to the size of a softball within a couple of weeks. After coming back from an awards ceremony at the University of Miami (my workplace), I had trouble climbing up the stairs to my office. I was out of breath and I was running a low grade fever. I ended up going to doctors a few times over the period of a month to find out what I had, but everyone seemed to think if I took some antibiotics that I would be ok. That same day I was rushed to the hospital by my roommate.

I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (PE), a condition that occurs when an artery in your lung becomes blocked by a blood clot that traveled from your left calf into your lungs causing extreme difficulty breathing and severe chest pains. According to Mayo Clinic, PE is the third most common cause of death in the US, with at least 650,000 cases occurring annually. It is the first most common cause of unexpected death in most age groups. It was a miracle to survive that near death experience…
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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.

Click here to join our mailing list and join the Facebook page for updates.

“When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with You, above the storm. Father, You are King over the flood; I will be still and know You are God…” – Lyrics from Still

This is what I would call Hillsong “back-in-the-day.” I remember singing this song in Creole at a Haitian church I used to attend in Miami and never realized that the song was originally by Hillsong until I saw a video on TV a few weeks ago. The words still inspire and comfort whatever language they are in. Below is another version of the song from a young Brazilian singer Jotta A., who has been amazing so many online with his moving and sincere voice (click here to be inspired by Jotta’s cover of the song “Angus Dei” in English):

Lyrics from Still

Hide me now, under your wings
Cover me, within Your mighty hands

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You, above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Find rest my soul, in Christ alone
Know His power, in quietness and trust

From the Hillsong Live Album “Hope”

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…

Author, speaker and ministry leader Tony Snipes helps today’s gifted artisans answer questions about their purpose and creative calling through his initiatives Art Lessons From God and Kreative Kingdom.

“What is it that you love doing that you wouldn’t even have to have anybody pay you for… That’s your passion…the beauty of it would be that if you’re pursuing that and you’re getting paid for it then it’s not even like work.” – Tony Snipes

Be sure to check out the resource links at the end of the interview including a free download of Tony’s audio resource “How To Identify Your Creative Calling: Your CALLING, Your CAREER, Your JOB…What’s The Difference?”

Most everyone has asked these questions:

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• What should I be doing?

Artists in particular, from painters to musicians, may ask these questions regarding their gifts:

• Who am I as an artist?
• Why do I have this talent?
• What does God want me to do with it?

Tony Snipes, a gifted artist himself and founder of Kreative Kingdom, Inc. a non-profit faith-based art initiative, began asking these questions and created a resource to help other artists discover their creative purpose.

Tony’s project, Art Lessons from God delves into these questions of gifting and calling. The blog, workshops, books and other resources were created with the goal of helping artists and designers discover God’s purpose and plan for their artistic talent. Watch Tony introduce the site below:

Though the site is targeted toward visual artists it has much insight that could inspire artists of any type from writers and performers to musicians and filmmakers. Many of the topics explored can apply to a variety of arts, like “Anointed versus Talented: What’s the Difference?” to “Discovering a “God” idea vs a “Good” idea.”

Often in our society we acknowledge the “how” regarding talents of individuals but may not always consider the deeper questions involved with “why”. In this interview Tony Snipes discusses his background in the visual arts and gives advice to other artists in figuring out their “why” and God’s purpose for them:

Dream in Soul: Hi Tony, thanks for speaking to me today. Can you tell us a little about who you are: What is your background in art and your profession?

Tony Snipes: Well prior to going into graphic design and illustration I have been drawing and painting all of my life but especially kind of training myself to draw and sketch from my comic books as a kid. So I did a lot of drawing back then, and am professionally trained as a graphic designer – graphic design and illustration…that’s pretty much my professional background with art.

Below is one of Tony Snipes’ pieces entitled “Endure.”

DS: What inspired you to start your website “Art Lessons From God”?

Tony Snipes: What really started challenging me is and kind of pushed me towards starting the site was based on a conversation that I had with a young man back in the late ‘90s. He was an artist as well and he was about to graduate from high school, and was contemplating going to art school or taking something else… We were talking in church and both of us started asking, where is the artist in the Bible?

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