Pointers on the Pursuit of Purpose: Interview 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 all of the responsibilities that come later in life. 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…
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Inspiration: Set the World on Fire from Britt Nicole & Kathryn McCormick’s Revolve Tour Dance
One of my favorite Britt Nicole songs is “Set the World on Fire” from her album “Say It” and her Acoustic EP. The lyrics talk about despite how small and weak we may be on our own, with God we can pursue His dreams for us and set the world on fire:
I wanna set the world on fire
Until it’s burning bright for You
It’s everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
Nothing I can not do
Kathryn McCormick is a 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:
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Inspiration: Restless – Switchfoot
The song Restless from Switchfoot is so honest about our journey continually looking for something more to quench our spiritual thirst; from their latest album Vice Verses:
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Casting Crowns – Courageous Music Video
Casting Crowns sings Courageous, the song created for the movie Courageous now in theaters. The song, on the album Come To The Well, and video both have a great message for fathers to rise up and be present in their families.
Watch Mark Hall talk about the message of the song below:
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Tenth Avenue North – Deck The Halls
October is over, you know what that means right…Christmas of course (sorry Thanksgiving turkey;). Tenth Avenue North gets us in the Christmas mood with this fun take of Deck The Halls, you’ll be sure to smile:
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What’s Your Dream? T-Shirt Giveaway Contest Coming Soon
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.
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Inspiration: We Are (Acoustic Version) From Kari Jobe
Kari Jobe’s new single “We Are” is inspired by 1 Thess. 5 and God’s call for us to be light in the darkness. You can get the single now on iTunes.
Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that’s not who we are
We are children of the day
So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
– Lyrics from We Are
Watch Kari talk about the story behind the song below:
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Discovering Your Creative Calling: Interview with Visual Artist Tony Snipes Founder of Art Lessons From God
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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Gungor Releases New Album “Ghosts Upon The Earth”
Gungor recently released their new album “Ghosts Upon The Earth,” which they described as an evolution from their last album “Beautiful Things.” I’ve always loved the air of artistic expression and ethereal eccentricity that Gungor presents in their music, writing, videos as well as album artwork- it is definitely refreshing. Watch the video below describing the concept behind the album and title, also watch the acoustic performance video of the song “When Death Dies” from the album. Click here to order the album from iTunes.
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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
