The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

Have you ever uncovered a dream you’ve had since you were a kid and realized it was still alive? Often the passions you had, what you’re afraid to do and the pain you endured are purpose pointers of how God wants you to bring hope to others… weed out fear and dare to unbury and nurture those dormant dreams today…

“On the Outside” is the first song I attempted to write as a teen girl more than 12 years ago about struggling with years of loneliness, shyness, insecurity and the fear of being myself. I was too afraid to pursue my dream of singing for fear of not measuring up and being rejected. This year I’m going to finish this song for the girl I was and other girls like me to tell them that they have great purpose and about what set me free. Here’s a raw songwriting sneak peek…

Below are some of the latest updates from my youth website DreamerENT.com:

Awesomely Active & Catching the Waves of Her Dreams: Interview with Bethany Hamilton

Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton doesn’t let obstacles slow her down from taking action towards her dreams – will you?

Her strength, resilience and vibrant energy have captured the attention of the world – and she’s not stopping anytime soon. After she lost her arm in a shark attack Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton was out catching waves again not long after the accident. Though she faced obstacles she didn’t let them keep her from following her dream of being a pro surfer. Ten years later she’s still in action and wants to inspire other girls to stay fit and active too…

In this interview Bethany talks about what keeps her encouraged, why staying fit is important and how other girls can win a prize by submitting a picture of themselves being “Awesomely Active.” She also tells us about her fiancé Adam and why he’s so special to her. Watch the video below to hear her share her story, see pictures of the beautiful couple and to watch Bethany in action – we hope you’re inspired to also get awesomely active and follow your dreams!

Tune Into the Interview with Bethany Hamilton Below!

Interview by Valder Beebe of the Valder Beebe Show, Media Partner of DreamerENT

Inspiring ENT Video Pick: Britt Nicole – GOLD

Britt Nicole’s energetic video for her song Gold is so inspiring and is a reminder of just how much worth and beauty is in YOU… – one of my favorite songs that I play for the girls that I lead at church

The Making of a Young Entrepreneur: Gabrielle Jordan Williams Founder of Jewelz of Jordan Shines and Inspires at TEDx

“I have to rememeber even when my business doesn’t flourish it’s not failing – failing is when I give up.” – Gabrielle Jordan Williams

This inspiring TEDx talk from a young entrepreneur and jewelry designer encourages us to Dream BIG! Gabrielle Jordan Williams, now age 13, is an author, entrepreneur, jewelry designer, inspirational speaker and philanthropist. She began her business, Jewelz of Jordan, at the age of 9. At 11, Gabrielle discovered her inspirational talents and received national recognition for her #1 Amazon Bestselling book, The Making of a Young Entrepreneur: The Kids Guide to Developing The Mind-Set for Success. With a portion of the profits, Gabrielle gives to organization in her community such as her local food pantry and charities that care for youth such as Smile Train and the Children’s National Medical Center.

Gabrielle’s “Dream Big” message has inspired countless youth and adults and reminds the entire population that you are never too young to live your dreams. Gabrielle’s favorite activities include spending quality time with her family and supporting her friends with their business ideas.

“We’ll only grow as big as we dream. That’s why we have to DREAM BIG.” – Gabrielle

Visit Gabrielle’s website at www.gabriellejwilliams.com to find out more about her and the Jewelz of Jordan line.

Creative Clean Up: Kellin Makes Neatness His Business

Kellin is a teen and my fellow NFTE alum who decided to meet a need by creating a business called King’s Cleanup where he cleans houses that are under foreclosure so that the owners can sell them. A tip he gives on starting your business is to plan and to figure out how you’re going to fund your start up costs.

Is there a dream that you’ve buried because it’s seemed impossible or impractical? For the longest time I have done just this but as I encourage you to pursue your dreams even while you are afraid, I have to muster up the courage to do the same myself.

A while back I shared how I have been pursuing my dream of inspiring others through music. In the past few months I’ve been taking vocal lessons, doing songwriting sessions, setting up meetings with mentors, working on recordings and music video concepts and following this dream little by little, bit by bit.

Above is an animation showing a snippet of a lyric video for my first song “Arise and Shine (Dare Dreamer)” and a little venturing into stop-motion (I love trying new things this idea was sparked after I saw Moriah Peters’ music video for her song “Bloom.”) The lyrics in the clip above say:

“Arise and Shine, Dare Dreamer can’t you see you’re full of purpose and possibility! So arise and shine O Sleeper, don’t give up now dare, Dreamer, arise and shine Dear Dreamer come alive!” That’s my message to YOU today and everyday!

Stay tuned as I further share the journey of making this dream a reality, I’d love to hear how you are daring to live the life you’ve always dreamed!

We all suffer if you keep your dreams buried inside – Arise and Shine!

You can get various Arise and Shine T-shirt designs and more in my clothing Envibrance Dream Apparel by clicking here:

“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…

There could be that one decision that changes our life and makes us realize the importance of trusting our Father’s Dream for us…

Here’s a special Dream in Soul Creative Project, part of the I Am Second Spoken Word Challenge – maybe you can relate to my story of finding my true Identity, watch the video below: