SOAR Updates: Spensha Baker on Purpose, Heart to Heart Interview with Dr. Naima & Upside the Movie
A Leap of Faith Into Who You Are in Christ – Heart to Heart with Dr. Naima Johnston-Bush
Dr. Naima speaks about how she learned to trust in God as a young woman and gives advice on embracing your identity in Christ…
Author and singer Dr. Naima Johnston (now Dr. Naima Johnston-Bush after she got married a while back) spoke to us previously on Dream in Soul about how to find and follow your calling (click here for the two-part interview). In this Heart to Heart she speaks about how she learned to trust in God as a young woman and gives advice on embracing one’s identity in Christ…
Inspiration: Spensha Baker on Purpose
Spensha Baker reminds us that our purpose is to live for God, in this beautiful song…
It’s All About How You Look At It – UPSIDE the Movie
Upside is a movie about Solomon White, a teen athlete who seemed to have it all but whose vision is flipped after an accident…
Soul Dreamer Journey: Where Am I Called? – Post Grad Ponderings
It’s a question many of us ask at one point in our lives: What is my calling? Where does God want to use me right now; in ministry, in a certain career? For me the question was most urgent after I graduated from college (which I wrote about earlier on Dream in Soul). It was the typical post graduation anxiety – “uh oh – I’ve got be an adult and face the ‘real world’? What do I do now?”
I was confused as to where God was leading me, if I should pursue studying in a certain area of ministry (in my case I felt it might be youth ministry) and I searched my heart and prayed to God to show me which direction He wanted me to go. After a campus ministry conference a few months after graduation I asked one of the leaders Pastor Sample, a youth pastor at a local church, what his advice was to someone who felt they might be called into youth ministry. His answer and how he broke it all down was a blessing to me, especially how he explained how you have to hear clearly from God where He is specifically leading you. I thought his advice was fitting for anyone who was questioning the path of their calling so I wanted to share:
Question: How Do I Know if I Am Called To A Certain Ministry?
A: Special training for ministry is great and so is Bible college or a ministry school…but the main thing is that you really hear from the LORD.
He will call you (it sounds like He is) He will give you specific instructions. Do not run out ahead of Him and do not be behind Him. Go at the pace He wants you to go.
You do not need a special degree or anything…you need a confirmed word of the LORD. He never calls the qualified, He only qualifies the called.
When the Lord calls there are usually 5 steps:
1. Calling – divinely dissatisfied with what you are doing – you know you are being called to a specific direction.
2. Training – this is usually done by man…ie..bible school, training school…
Soul Dreamer Resource: From Dream To Destiny Video Message Series from Gateway Church
From Dream To Destiny is a current message series from Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church, on living out God’s dream for your life, based on the biblical story of Joseph:
Do your dreams seem out of reach?
God has given each of us a dream—an idea that sets our hearts racing at the mere thought of it.
Unfortunately, most people never see their dreams come to pass, so they never fulfill God’s destiny for their lives…
SOAR Updates: Music Picks from Group 1 Crew, Jamie Grace, Britt Nicole and More
1. Music Pick: Group 1 Crew – “Wait” from the Album Outta Space Love
Relating back to the theme of love and waiting for the real thing here is one of my favorites, “Wait” from Group 1 Crew’s latest album OuttaSpace Love… Read More
2. Music Picks: Hold Me – Jamie Grace feat. tobyMac, & Holding On
It’s awesome to see new young artists coming to the music scene and using their talents for His glory (though you might have heard of this one already since she’s been posting videos on Youtube for years!) Gotee Records and tobyMac recently announced the signing of their newest artist Jamie Grace… Read More
3. Video Pick & Inspiration: Headphones from Britt Nicole & Update From the Revolve Tour in TX
Britt Nicole sings about the ups and downs of life, and reminds us that God’s love is always in reach in this colorful, inspiring and playful video for her song “Headphones”…
… Read More
4. Music Pick: Love Song, Canton Jones & New Album Dominionaire
Canton Jones sings “Love Song” (from the album Access Granted: The Password) on the show Check the Sound, reminding us that we can’t sing about love without first remembering the One who created it…
5. Hear Their Stories: Testimonies From Young Believer’s Broadcast
If you are looking for something on TV both intriguing to watch and that portrays truth, the Young Believer’s Broadcast is the show for you…
SOAR Updates: What Does Love Mean to You?
We asked Dream in Soul & SOAR readers to share what love means to them. Here’s the winning entry of the “Real Love” T-Shirt contest. Our winner E.A. said:
What does real love mean to you?
Sacrifice! Love is not a feeling. Real love is continous selfless actions towards others!
Why have you decided to wait?
I decided to wait because God’s will is perfect. Anything else outside of that is settling for nonsense! God’s will is worth waiting for.
Click here for more answers from other Dream in Soul readers
Why I’m Waiting – by Dream in Soul’s Founder & SOAR’s Editor Julene
For me waiting for love means being intentional with my time as a single and the plans God has for me now. It is also about trusting that God knows what’s best for me and that though it’s up to me to be open to what opportunities He brings, it is not for me to “chase” them relentlessly.
I made a post about “Real Love” on my Tumblr blog a few weeks and loved seeing how many young people responded and have a passion for waiting on a real love story written by God. 70 people reposted and liked the post, which shows that society isn’t necessarily right in portraying young people as the microwave generation – “those who don’t want to wait.”
I truly believe that God wants to use love on earth not only for our pleasure but to teach us lessons beyond what we can see, and to let us more fully understand God’s love for us and sacrifice on the cross. If we are worth it in the eyes of the God of the universe, then our hearts are worth the wait for true love that resembles His, and a love story written by Him. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
In His sacrifice we are washed, cleansed and showered in love. It is patient, it kind, it never fails. That’s the kind of love God lavishes upon us and that He wants us to wait for. Though unworthy as we feel and imperfect as we are on this Earth, He wants us to trust Him to shape that type of love in us and for us. Waiting for God’s direction, rather then settling for being “unequally yoked,” is worth it.
I shared this piece on SOAR last year but wanted to do so again in case you missed it and for new readers:
He loves me?
I guess it’s almost every girl’s dream, cliché as it seems, to have Prince Charming sweep them off of their feet. Then real life happens and they interact with guys their own age and the daydream of the prince quickly fades. That’s when settling comes in, lowering our standards just so we can experience “love” and be accepted by someone – anyone…
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, candy and tickets to “that thing you love”. Getting hurt though can peel away the layers of our hearts, like someone plucking the petals from a flower.
He loves me not…
When we’re young, and throughout our lives, we want to feel loved but sometimes we rush out too blindly looking for a person to fill us, and feel the eventual impact and pang of disappointment. I’ve been there and so have so many others – what we thought was sweet sometimes turns sour in the end. With our heart still tender we search for healing – looking for someone, something to mend the torn pieces back together. God is always there, before, now and always waiting for us to give Him our all. Before looking for that type of love from man He wants us to let Him satisfy our every need and want, to fall deeply in love with the One who knows us best…
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