The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

I originally posted about Marlo Adelle Hair Accessories a handmade and fashionable feathered hairclip line created by a young entrepreneur, on my youth website Dreamer ENT. I love her colorful & intricate plummette designs and how they can liven up an outfit with a cute, whimsical touch.

You can find out more about the business and how to order at www.marloadelle.com

The Story Behind Marlo Adelle Hair Accessories

Marlo started making hair accessories to go with her outfits at age 14. Her friends requested personalized hair clips for themselves. Her mother helped her sew them and eventually they introduced them to local businesses in downtown Austin.

As demand increased, Marlo turned to Craig’s List for potential hairclip helpers. The helpers came to the family home, were trained and Marlo provided them patterns to trace. By the third year, Marlo was selling in 12 boutiques in Austin and in California, as well as online. In 2008 Whole Foods Market ordered her new line of romanticized feather hairclips with a vintage flare.

Giving Back

As Marlo continued to grow her business, she was involved in giving back to her community through volunteer efforts in PALS and teaching art at Laguna Gloria Art School. She traveled to the Dominican Republic to teach art to impoverished children. With three employees, Marlo plans to continue her business while in college and to expand the online business.

Source: TCU Texas Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards

One of the few artists of whom I own almost every single one of his CDs (physical copies not mP3s – yes, I know, dedication) is Kirk Franklin. To say I was excited for his latest album Hello Fear (which debuted in March) is an understatement! The album hasn’t disappointed, with uplifting tracks and collaborations with Marvin Sapp, John P. Kee & Mali Music.

In an interview with Essence Magazine Kirk Franklin spoke on the story behind the album:

It is wanting to address this thing that’s knocking on everybody’s door right now. There’s a great sense of worry and uncertainty that is making people anxious. My statement in the album is we don’t have to run away from that emotion. It’s not something that has to keep us knocked out of life’s game and crippled. We can face it head on and hopefully there’ll e some messages that give people the power and confidence to do that.

Listen to three of the songs “I Smile,” “I Am” and the title track “Hello Fear” from the album below:

A new show called Secret Millionaire premiered on ABC recently, with a wonderful premise: millionaires go into impoverished communities to find unsung community heroes who serve others, and reward them with hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money. The first episode with Dani Johnson, a successful entrepreneur who was once homeless and on welfare, was inspiring, you can watch the full episode below. You can really see Dani’s heart for giving and how her real desire was to serve and give in secret in the second video below, the post show webcast (one word, WOW):

Most everyone has dreams, and I’ve been thinking lately about how there are different kinds of aspirations people may have – those that may depend on outside circumstances and people to ultimately bring about (like winning an award, becoming a renown singer, etc.). You present your best work into the world hoping for more and to reach many, but it’s not always in our power to orchestrate what happens next or who responds and how.

Then there are those dreams you are responsible for bringing to fruition in a sense; things you want to create, experience and learn how to do. “I want to (insert activity here)… someday.” Why not now, why not today? Time goes by and we never make time to do the things we really have a passion for, or we do have the time and we spend it on other routine activities (and sometimes time-wasting ones – Facebook anyone?;), all while being inspired by others living out their own dreams. It’s one thing to wait on God to move forward, but what happens when He’s given the go ahead and we are still sitting on our hands waiting for another sign to appear in the clouds? Nothing.

It’s almost as if we don’t really know if we have the permission to do what we like – it might not seem “practical,” or we have so many other important things to do or people relying on us to support and help them that we push our inner yearnings aside. It may be that the thought that we are actions away from being able to delve into a dream we’ve considered for so long seems too good to be true that we’re internally paralyzed from moving forward…

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Above: Britt Nicole at the Revolve Tour in Dallas, TX. Check out more pics and my coverage from Revolve on my youth website SOAR.

I first heard the song below “Have Your Way” by Britt Nicole live at the Revolve Tour in Dallas this year, and just had to get her album “The Lost Get Found” afterwards. The lyrics brought tears to my eyes and really speak to the heart. I’m sure we’ve all had those experiences where we feel lost, burdened and alone, and where we can turn nowhere except into the arms of God to bring us through. I love how Britt has poured her heart to create music that is so personal, relatable and real!

After volunteering at the Revolve Tour event I got to meet Britt briefly and was inspired by her ministry and how she took the time to encourage each girl who was in her signing line. Before she had to leave for the airport she took the time to take a picture with me and gave me some words of encouragement. Thank you Britt for letting His light shine through you!

If you haven’t already gotten the album “The Lost Get Found”, definitely check it out! Some other favorites of mine are the songs “Walk On Water,” which has really encouraged me to start following the dreams in my heart that I have felt fearful and unqualified for. “Lost Get Found” and “Headphones,” which I’ve posted the creative video for on my website for youth, SOAR (click here), are two of my other favorites. I also loved this interview that I posted on my other site Dream in Soul about how Britt began in her ministry, the video is an inspiration to anyone following their God-given dreams, check it out.

Britt Nicole – Have Your Way lyrics
Feels like I’ve been here forever,
Why can’t you just intervene?
Do you see the tears keep falling?
And i’m falling apart at the seams.
But you never said the road would be easy,
But you said that you would never leave.
And you never promised that this life wasn’t hard,
But you promised you’d take care of me.

So I’ll stop searching for the answers,
I’ll stop praying for an escape,
And I’ll trust you, God, with where I am,
And believe that you will have your way.
Just have your way.
Just have your way.

When my friends and my family have left me,
And I feel so ashamed and so cold.
Remind me that you take broken things
And turn them into beautiful.
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