Music Pick: Beautiful Day from Jamie Grace
Jamie Grace recently shared her new single Beautiful Day that is already a favorite! The song is an uplifting and infectious declaration of love for God (and has references to two of her previous songs, can you catch them?). I found myself putting it on reply and sharing it with the teen girls I lead at church – it’s definitely an awesomely unique tune of worship to the One who loves us the most and who makes everyday beautiful! Be sure to get the song on iTunes and take a listen to the upbeat lyric video below:
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Soul Dreamer Journey Editor’s Diary: Be Free From Fear & The People-Pleasing Snare, Sharing My Story
“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.” – Maya Angelou
Imagine being stuck in a constricting cage – then realizing that you have placed those bars of boundary around yourself. People pleasing & fear of man are two snares I have found release from in this season (sometimes in painful and uncomfortable ways) – but it’s amazing how much freedom there is in seeking to please One…
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
My struggle with anxiety and insecurity started when I was a shy little girl caged in fear that grew as I did. Not knowing where my identity truly originates from I tried to place it anywhere or in anyone elses’ affirmation other than the one that matters most.
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25(NIV)
Being bound to the opinions and expectations of others is like a disease that squeezes the life out of your heart and keeps you from being free – the real you that God created. …Rejection and isolation hurt but sometimes He uses just that to break the chains of anxiety and imprisonment that held you, and shakes the places where you placed your identity so you can have a firm foundation in Him.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Approval addiction may go undetected when we long to belong & be accepted, but the condition’s only cure is affirmation from the Creator of the Universe. There is no greater way of being known and loved then having true validation from above. Look to Him to know who you truly are…
But now, this is what the Lord says—
He who created you, Jacob,
He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 (NIV)
Maybe you can relate to my journey to finding my true Identity, watch the video below for a creative summary of my story:
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Teen Sisters Lauren and Victoria Dare You To Make a Difference
Lauren and Victoria are Christian teens and founders of an amazing anti-cyberbullying and positive self-esteem campaign, Think Before You Type. TBYT is aimed to raise awareness about cyber-bullying and to inspire other young people to use the internet for good.
This summer they’ve started a contest through their blog and YouTube channel where every Sunday they post a “TBYT Dares of the Week” video that challenges their viewers to do something that will have a positive impact on those around them. Watch the video above and follow the directions below to enter their most recent summer dare that can be found on their YouTube channel:
Enter the Summer Dare!
To enter you just have to watch the video for each dare and then do something to complete it. When you’re done, you can either send us a picture or write about it. You can post the entry on our FB page, facebook.com/thinkbeforeyoutype or email it to us at tbytsummerdares@gmail.com. We would really love to see what positive things you decided to do this summer!
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Word: Do Not Lose Heart 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
However dark your situation may look, hold on to Hope and don’t lose heart…
“Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day after day…
For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]
Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.”
2 Cor4:16-18 AMP
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Inspiration & Video Pick: Through My Father’s Eyes from Holly Starr
He changed my life by changing my mind, He healed all that was broken inside…I’m loving what I can see with His spirit alive in me, I’m finding beauty for the first time looking through my Father’s eyes…” Holly Starr
This inspiring video from Holly Starr “Through My Father’s Eyes” from her album Focus, is a soothing reminder to look at our lives and selves through our Father’s eyes… This song and the video are truly beautiful and moving and I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to the message as I did. – Julene, Editor of DreaminSoul.com
Below in a video blog and an interview on FOX News Holly talks a little about the message of song and why she wrote it, to give hope to anyone who may be wavering in their identity and confidence:
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Chivalry Is Not Dead: Zach Hunter Sparks New Book and Movement
As a teen Zach Hunter published his first book Be the Change and started an organization called Loose Change to Loosen Chains, helping to raise awareness and money as well as freeing people around the world imprisoned in human trafficking. Now Zach is launching his newest book Chivalry: The Quest for a Personal Code of Honor in an Unjust World to share how we all can live with more honor and valor no matter who we are. Watch Zach talk about the story behind his book below. You can get a copy of the book and find out more about Zach and his Chivalry Camp events at his site www.zachhunter.me.
More About Chivalry: The Quest for a Personal Code of Honor in an Unjust World
Chivalry is alive and well— it’s just not what you expected…
It’s not a list of rules teaching guys how to treat girls. It’s a way for young men and women—all of us—to live justly in an unjust world. As a generation rising up to care for the hurting and oppressed, we are passionate about justice and willing to fight for it. But as we reach out to help those who are hungry, sick, or poor . . . we’re also seeing less civil and kind behavior in our daily lives. Less honor, mercy, selflessness, and love.
Enter the cause of chivalry. Turning traditional notions of chivalry upside down, Zach Hunter draws from ten principles of the ancient knights and unites them with the teachings of Jesus, resulting in a code of personal justice that—if we live it out today—will transform us.
Embark on the quest for chivalry…and every day will be an adventure as you discover how to defend others, act with integrity, and live with courage and significance.
A generation is rising up to care for the hurting and oppressed. Committed to changing the world, they are passionate about justice and willing to fight for it. But what would that same justice look like if we lived it in our private lives—close to home, with our family and friends?
In Chivalry, Zach Hunter dares young men and women to view their lives as a quest, challenging them to develop their own personal code that will prepare them to defend others and live with civility and integrity.
Zach reframes chivalry in a modern context. He looks at everyday life as a grand adventure and shares ancient wisdom from the Bible, insightful stories, and practical examples to help you develop your own code of honor—and live a life of significance.
Zach Hunter was a teenage abolitionist and activist, spending much of his time working to end modern-day slavery around the world and fighting other problems in the world today. When he was twelve, he started a campaign called Loose Change to Loosen Chains, helping to raise awareness and money to free people from slavery. The author of Be the Change, Zach speaks to hundreds of thousands of people each year, inspiring them to find their passion and make a change in the world.
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Goin Down – Group 1 Crew (Official Music Video)
Check out Group 1 Crew’s new video for the song “Goin Down” (from their album Fearless). (P.S. As you’re jammin to it pay attention, you might recognize some people along the way;)
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H.O.P.E. ♥ {Hold On Pain Ends}
If you are feeling down and your life seems dark, know that the Light in you is stronger and Joy comes in the morning. Watch this beautiful, encouraging video by inspirational Youtuber Shirley (FarAwayDistance) who says H.O.P.E. ♥ {Hold On Pain Ends}…
Below Shirley describes a time when she was feeling down ans says “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay”…
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Grace Unplugged Movie Trailer
Grace Unplugged – Official Movie Trailer and Sneak Peeks! from gracehillmedia on GodTube.
GRACE UNPLUGGED is an inspirational movie starring Amanda “AJ” Michalka as 18-year-old Christian singer/songwriter, Grace Rose Trey. Beautiful, highly talented and restless, Grace is undiscovered outside church, where she performs each Sunday with her gifted father, Johnny. A former rock star, Johnny Trey charted a Billboard number one single 20 years ago. When the hits stopped coming, he crash-landed hard before finding Christ and starting a new life for his family, far from the Hollywood Hills.
One day without warning, Grace leaves for Los Angeles. She has landed a record deal with the help of Johnny’s ruthless former manager and producer, “Mossy” Mostin. Mossy sees in Grace a potential pop superstar. Cutting off contact with her parents, Grace seems prepared to walk away from her Christian faith and music to achieve her long-suppressed fantasy of Hollywood superstardom. Will the experience cause her to reject her faith, or rediscover it? IN THEATERS OCTOBER 4, 2013
Check out the trailer for the film above, also starring music artitst Jamie Grace as Grace’s friend Rachel. You can find out more about the movie at http://www.graceunplugged.com.
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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, 
Click Here for our Interview with Music Artist & Producer TJ Pompeo on Dreams, Faith & Trust
