Artist Spotlight and Inspiration: Hannah Schaefer on Her Song All The Way
“Through my music I want people to experience the work of the Holy Spirit…I want to bring hope, faith and love with every song I sing/write and change lives.” 
– Hannah Schaefer
For this Artist Spotlight feature 19-year-old Hannah Schaefer introduces herself and the story and passion behind her music and the song “All the Way” which reminds us that we’re never alone no matter what we face in life and when living our purpose – I was so encouraged by the message! Take a listen to the song below and click here to get her EP on iTunes!
Hannah’s Story
I grew up in the small town of Columbia City, Indiana. My childhood memories consists of catching frogs on warm summer nights at my grandparents lake house and, in the winter time, pretending to be a professional snow boarder down the hill in my backyard. I’ve loved growing up in a flyover state where Jesus is frequently the center of it all.
In high school I was heavily involved in ANYTHING musical. I was apart of many things, but my main focus was show choir and youth activities at my church. I would sing and lead the congregation at church; loving every bit of it. I studied classically for a few years and after high school graduation, I planned on attending Indiana University with a scholarship to study Vocal Performance.
Even after I made my college decision, I could just feel the Lord calling me to do bigger and better things for Him. About two weeks after my graduation party, It really hit me that the calling was to pursue becoming a Christian Artist. I just knew that was what I was suppose to do. So, I took a great leap of faith and told my parents (which was pretty scary) then gave up my scholarship.
“I had gotten so caught up in the world that I had forgotten to relax and trust my God…”
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The Wait: DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good Interview on Waiting On God’s Timing for Love
For our first Dreaming of Love Inspiration Interview we hear from DeVon Franklin, who is Senior Vice President of Columbia Tristar Pictures and author of the bestselling book Produced by Faith, and his wife Meagan Good a talented actress. In the first part of their interview above they give advice to singles on preparing for a mate, and talk about the book they wrote together on waiting on God’s timing (click here to get their book The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love
Stay tuned for more from DeVon and Meagan and other inspiration and resources on relationships in the Dreaming of Love Series at DreaminSoul.com.
Last year DeVon and Meagan shared their story and advice to other couples and singles at a special service “Kingdom Love” at One Church International hosted by Pastor Touré Roberts (author of the book Purpose Awakening). Watch them share their hearts in a raw and real way below:
More from the Dreaming of Love Series Coming Soon! Be inspired by these posts on Love and Waiting:
(Real Love is Worth the Wait T-shirt from Dream in Soul Apparel: http://dreaminsoul.com/creative)
A Note from Dream in Soul Editor Julene
God writes the best #Love stories – you don’t have to strive, compare, or hold on to someone who doesn’t treat you how you’re worth. You are worthy not because of the physical or material, anything you did or didn’t but because of Whose you are…
You’re already affirmed by He who wonderfully made you in and for Love. When He desires to bring people together in & on purpose He will do it intricately, strikingly and beautifully beyond anything we can imagine or dream for reasons deeper than we realize. Keep your eyes on Him – He’s our true eternal prize. There is no greater Love. – Julene Fleurmond, Editor of Dream in Soul
More from the Editor’s Journal:
How He Loves…Always
He loves me?
Sometimes experiencing what we call romance in this world leaves us wondering what love truly is. You feel that happy pounding and patter in your chest when he reveals a bouquet of roses and candy. Getting hurt though can peel away the layers of our hearts, like someone plucking the petals from a flower…
Want some more inspiration on Dreams and Purpose? Check out these past Dream in Soul Interviews:
A Shining Living Miracle: Interview & Inspiration from Life Coach & Speaker Evelina Solis of Sol2Soul
Evelina inspires others to surrender to God and live with purpose in the darker places of life…
Art Lessons From God: Interview with Visual Artist Tony Snipes Founder of ALFG & Kreative Kingdom
Tony Snipes, a visual artist and founder of Kreative Kingdom, gives advice to other artists on discovering their creative purpose…
SOAR Interview With Jenna Lucado Bishop – Dreaming On In Life & Faith
Jenna Lucado Bishop talks about her role on the Revolve Tour and gives advice on God-given dreams and serving Him right where you are…
Charting Out the Master’s Plan: Interview with Kirk Franklin On His Book The Blueprint
Kirk Franklin speaks to Dream in Soul about The Blueprint for standing firm in life’s storms…
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The Pre View: An “Inner-view” with Music Artist and Producer t.Jay on Dreams, Faith and Trust
“God plants dreams in your heart and in your soul for a reason…” – t.Jay
Growing up, t.Jay (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 t.Jay’s song “Tomorrow” (ft. Corbett) about waiting on God’s timing for your life and dreams. It’s one of my personal faves from t.Jay’s album The Pre View that you can download here for free.
At age 15, t.Jay 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, t.Jay 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).
t.Jay joins in on Da T.R.U.T.H’s song “Hunger Games” at the Impact12 Conference:
I first came across t.Jay’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 t.Jay’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 t.Jay 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 t.Jay? How would you introduce yourself to us, where are you from, what moves you, etc.?
t.Jay: Right, so like you said, “t.Jay” 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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Artist Notes & Inspiration: Tiffany Stanley on Her Acoustic EP ‘Love Spoken’
A few months back we featured Tiffany Stanley in our Artist Snapshots and shared the inspiring music from her album ‘Revival.’ Tiffany is working on new music, and released a FREE EP called ‘Love, Spoken’ which brings glory to God in soothing acoustic worship. I asked Tiffany what the 
story and inspiration is behind the EP and here’s what she had to say:
Tiffany Stanley on ‘Love Spoken’
‘Love Spoken’ is simply about the love that the Lord speaks over our lives daily. How that love literally overtakes our worries, burdens and strife, and leaves us in a place of longing to exalt Him! I ask myself, ‘How does love speak, and what does it say when it does?’ That’s the question I wanted to write about in this EP. The answer is, God is love (1 John 4:8) and in that love there is a whole lot of peace, life, healing & comfort.
There is an immense amount of freedom in love, chains are broken, relationships are fortified, and lives are changed. These three songs derived from personal times of worship with the Lord, and I pray that you are deeply moved into worship with the creator of the universe through them.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9
I find myself at a loss for words, because there is a certain quality about God’s love, and I find it to be quite unexplainable.. the way He loves us. It is so beautiful. It leaves me in awe and takes my breath away. The fact is: He speaks love over us everyday and I wanted to cultivate that thought into these songs. I give all the credit to Jesus, because He is the author & writer of them. My heart was simply inspired by His love.
You can download ‘Love Spoken’ for free at www.noisetrade.com/tiffanystanley. Visit Tiffany’s website at http://tiffanystanley.com to learn more about her ministry and to purchase her music – stay tuned for new music coming soon. You can also connect with her on Twitter and Facebook for more inspiration from her ministry.
Below: Tiffany Stanley sings her original song “Mighty God, You Are” from her EP ‘Love Spoken.’
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Dreaming On In Life & Faith: Interview With Jenna Lucado Bishop On The Revolve Tour & Serving Where You Are
With realness and encouragement Jenna Lucado Bishop shares her heart with young women around the country, relating to their everyday questions and delving into the truth of God’s word with them. Whether speaking on stage at The Revolve Tour, a faith and fun-filled weekend for teen girls, or co-authoring books with her father, best-selling author and speaker Max Lucado, Jenna’s passion for God is apparent and inspiring, and her energy and the warmth of her personality are inviting. In this interview Jenna shares how she was led to get involved with The Revolve Tour and gives advice for dreaming on in God and serving Him right where we are, even in uncertain times:
Interview by SOAR’s Editor Julene Fleurmond (A special thank you to the Revolve Tour staff for the interview!)
SOAR: I wanted to start off by asking what led you to be involved with The Revolve Tour and having a heart especially for teen girls?
Jenna Lucado Bishop: My heart for teen girls can be traced back to college. I joined a little singing group that would travel to various girl’s events to lead worship. It was at these all-girl weekends that I realized I loved talking to, encouraging, and offering advice to teenage girls. I wasn’t much older than them, but I had just enough wisdom to offer since high school was finally in hindsight:) I knew that one day, I wanted to work with teen girls full-time. I just didn’t know what that would look like. And it DEFINITELY would not look like me speaking from a stage! Seriously. I never wanted to be a speaker.
Well fast-forward four years, and I hear about this new conference called Revolve. Revolve comes from a “mama” tour called Women of Faith. I knew Women of Faith through my dad, and they told me all about this new conference for girls that they were starting. I casually mentioned that I would love to serve at something like that. I was envisioning helping behind stage or on the concourse, selling product or joining the marketing team. I never knew Mary Graham (president of Women of Faith) would sit down with me a year later and ask me if I wanted to try teaching on stage.
SOAR: When and how did you realize that God was calling you to be a speaker and writer, (did your father’s work have a big influence)?
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Young Artist Snapshots: Interview With Lauren & Lucas
On SOAR we feature young people (from those beginning their ministries to those more established) who are using their talents to bring glory to God. Check out our interview with brother/sister music duo Lauren & Lucas Gandy who began by posting creative videos on Youtube showcasing both their musical and production skills and their love for Jesus. By creating acoustic covers of songs by Christian artists, from Lecrae to Kirk Franklin and Skillet, Lauren and Lucas’ videos show you can have fun while bringing glory to God.
SOAR: Can you give us some background on yourselves; how old are you guys, what year in school? Where are you from, and how would you describe yourself for us to get to know you better?
Lauren: Age: 15, Education: 11th Grade, Would describe myself as: Sarcastic, Energetic
Lucas: Age: 22, Education: College, Would describe myself as: Relaxed, Easygoing
Lauren & Lucas: We are from a small town called Mize, The Watermelon Capitol of the World.
Lauren: HAHA- no. seriously, we have a festival every year.
SOAR: When did you start getting into music and what inspired you to start making videos?
Lauren & Lucas: We both remember hearing our mom sing in church. We would hear her practice all the time around the house. She’s pretty much where we got our rhythm. She would also have K-Love playing in the car when we would go somewhere. Then in 2005, a friend introduced us to new artists like Grits, KJ-52, and Toby Mac.
In early 2008 we noticed that some YouTube users were getting a decent amount of subscribers by covering and making acoustic versions of secular music. We noticed that there were hardly anybody covering Christian artists, especially Christian rap. Then in December of 2008 we decided to throw ourselves onto the World Wide Web, and here we are now. We’ve been doing our own video-ing and it has been less hassle with just being two of us.
Check Out Lauren & Lucas’s Video Introducing Their Youtube Channel
SOAR: How has the response been? Have you gotten any comments on your videos that have really touched you?
Lauren & Lucas: We’ve been getting tons of support. We even had a few people start their own music ministry on YouTube. The comments we get are so meaningful to us. It’s so wonderful to see what an impact we have on people.
SOAR: I heard Lecrae responded to the “Praying for You” cover you did; how did you react to that? Did it help spread the word about your other videos?
Lauren & Lucas Acoustic Cover of Lecrae’s “Praying For You”
Lauren: We were aware that all the Christian Rap ‘Acoustic’ covers were originally secular music (called ‘Apologetics’) but nobody had ever tried to cover a song that was Christian Rap to begin with. So we took a shot at it, but we had a feeling that Lecrae would never see it. With the billions of YouTube videos out there; we felt that it was pretty much impossible. Then sure enough, he found it. Lucas was up late one night and found out from our followers that Lecrae posted our cover on his Twitter and Facebook Page. I was asleep at the time till he came and woke me up. He was very loud and I was very annoyed. Ha ha but It finally hit me the next morning. It definitely helped us get some exposure, although, that’s not what we are doing this for. =)
SOAR: Who are some of your favorite music artists and influences?
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Interview with Kirk Franklin On His Book The Blueprint
Pursuing A Life Mapped By the Maker
His music and ministry spans generations. From producer, to musician, speaker and host, Kirk Franklin’s ability to be both light-hearted with humor and raw with realness and honesty draws in people of all ages and backgrounds. Adding a new level of transparency and spiritual insight, Kirk Franklin launches his first book The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms on May 18. In the book he charts a guide of personable wisdom speaking on everything from faith and marriage to race and life in the black community. “The Blueprint” aims to inspire anyone to view and plan his or her life from an unearthly perspective.
Kirk Franklin spoke to Dream in Soul about the vision of the book, his ministry expanding into the Twitterverse, his definition of success, and creating a bridge between contemporary Christian and gospel music. Tune into the conversation below:
Dream in Soul: Hi, thank you so much for talking to me today, it’s such an honor. I wanted to start out by asking you what inspired you to write this book at this point in your life and what was your vision in writing it?
Kirk Franklin: The book came about because I’ve been doing a lot of public speaking, and speaking at colleges, churches, and conferences, and so people thought that it would be good that I did a book. So a couple of publishers became interested in the idea, and now here we are with “The Blueprint.”
DS: What was your vision, did you have a specific age group in mind when writing the book or is it for everyone?
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Dream in Soul – Here I Am: Interview With Marvin Sapp
Marvin Sapp’s latest album “Here I Am” has reached No.2 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the highest debuting Gospel release ever.*
“Here I Am”
Within the resounding success of his latest album “Here I Am,” and the breakthrough his previous project “Thirsty,” Marvin Sapp is still down-to-earth, thankful and even surprised at how his music has been embraced. Among the accomplishments he stays continually grounded in the purpose of his mission to reach the masses. As the senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Michigan he stands firm in his creed “I am a preacher who happens to sing,” and presents both his messages and music with powerful, life-changing Word and truth.
“Here I Am” his eighth album, recorded live last October, is filled with heartfelt encouragement and a mix of musical arrangements from more traditional gospel to the more contemporary. The project and messages within are sure to be enjoyed by a range of people, clearly shown by the album’s surge to the No.1 position on Billboard’s Gospel and Christian charts and No.2 on the Billboard 200.
Marvin Sapp chatted with Dream in Soul about the vision behind the album, and also shared some Soul Dreamer Inspiration about ministry, industry, talent and calling. Read and listen in to the conversation below:
Dream in Soul: Hi Pastor Sapp, thank you for taking the time to speak to me today. Can you talk about where you are now since your last project “Thirsty” and what inspired you to create this new project “Here I Am”?
Marvin Sapp: Well this record “Here I Am” is just a tad bit different than “Thirsty.” “Thirsty” is a little more worshipful than this record. There’s worship on it, but this one is not only worship but is also a record that really strives to encourage and enrich, and to talk about personal identity, as pertaining to personal identity in Christ.
So many times we feel as if we are inadequate and that we don’t possess any abilities and skills to be able to accomplish the goals that God has set for us to accomplish and go after. “Here I Am” just speaks to that whole concept of people really understanding that man looks at the outward appearance but it’s God who looks at the heart, and how we don’t need people to define us.
DS: Definitely, the song “Never Would Have Made It,” touched a lot of lives and had great success. Did you come into this new project with any type of expectations, fears or hopes?
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Shining in Godlywood: Interview With Filmmaker Stephanie Rodnez, Take 1
The music is blaring, the lights are low and hundreds of young people are on the move, filling their nights – and cups – with crazy, “harmless” fun. It’s a typical night in the life of a college student… right?
Not for everyone. Stephanie Rodnez saw scenes like these when she entered college six years ago and felt a stirring in her heart when witnessing many of her friends falling away from their relationships with God. So many students who had been committed to Him gradually took their hearts back to engage in “college life”- consisting of everything from getting drunk and partying hard to being promiscuous – and anything else movies and TV deem is normal.
Nearing graduation Stephanie felt God telling her to change her career plans and use her talents to glorify Him. Despite initial hesitation she heeded the call, and her independent film company Christ Effect Entertainment was born. The company presents Christian media for young adults that encourages them to stay firm in their faith no matter what the culture and media throws at them. There are two films already in distribution and plans to expand into television, books, and even a nightclub.
Now finishing up her graduate degree in business at Nova South Eastern University in Miami, FL, Stephanie is rallying up other young people with a passion for God to battle the messages and lifestyles bombarding young adults today. With her warm, joyful personality and creative, youthful productions Stephanie draws others in to see the truth of God’s love, and she’s striving to make a mark for “Godlywood” one young audience at a time.
In Take 1 of the interview Stephanie chatted with Dream in Soul about how and why she got started with Christ Effect Entertainment, the growth of the Christian film industry, and about the work she hopes has a powerful effect for Christ in this generation:
Dream in Soul: Hi Stephanie, thanks for speaking with me today. I wanted to first ask you when did you feel the calling to make films?
SR: Ah, well it’s actually really cool. I was 14 or 15 and was in love with journalism, in love, in love, in love… I didn’t want to do anything else. I did this internship at the Sun Sentinel (a local Florida newspaper) for six weeks, and I fell even more in love with it. So I’m like alright Lord, this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life, I’m going to write stories for newspapers.
One day I’m sitting in front of my TV screen at home in the summer, and I was just flipping through the channels and I was like wow, there’s not a lot of stuff here for young adult Christians. I heard the Holy Sprit telling me – that’s what I want you to do.
I was like, I am not doing movies. I already have a job lined up at the Sun Sentinel and I don’t even like making movies that much. I was like no way, Lord if you want me to do this, you have to make me love it. So when I got back to school in the fall I started working on my own film and I fell in love with the whole process. And the rest is history (laughs)! He put me on the path, He taught me what I needed to know, and now, praise God it’s everything I’m passionate about, and I love doing it.
Watch Stephanie in action as she’s planning her upcoming movie “Youth of Christ,” in this webisode from her day-in-the-life of an indie filmmaker series:
DS: So how did it go from making the film to starting your own business? Tell me about Christ Effect Entertainment.
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Dream in Soul is a new media site for the young-at-heart and purpose-full, inspiring you to live and use your talents passionately for God. To learn more, 
