Send us a text

The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk has shaken many to their core, leaving artists wondering about their role in a world where truth-tellers face violent opposition. This watershed moment demands a response from those called to create in God's kingdom.

When darkness descends and voices are silenced, our natural instinct might be to retreat into safety and silence. Yet throughout history, persecution has never diminished the gospel—it has amplified it. As Acts 8:4 reminds us, "those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." The early church didn't hunker down in fear but scattered boldly, carrying truth into new territories.

Your creative expression isn't merely a hobby or pastime—it's a strategic weapon in God's hands against the powers of darkness. When the enemy targets truth-tellers, seeking to silence their voice, our response must be to multiply that voice through our own creative gifts. Your art matters profoundly in this moment, whether it speaks truth explicitly or embeds it within beauty and mystery.

This isn't a call to belligerence or confrontation for its own sake, but to stand firm in five essential ways: First, recognize your art as a weapon in God's hands, not a trivial pastime. Second, reject fear as a lie—create boldly as an act of defiance against the spirit of fear. Third, understand that pushback proves your assignment—if you're facing resistance, your light is making a difference. Fourth, remember that truth wrapped in love is never hate, regardless of how culture labels it. Finally, take heart knowing Christ is with you in the battle—rejection isn't failure but confirmation you're advancing the kingdom.

The world needs Christian artists who respond to radical violence not with more violence, but with radical love expressed through radical creativity. As darkness deepens, light becomes more visible and powerful. This is our moment to link arms with each other and with the Holy Spirit, lifting the creative candle of our lives to illuminate a path toward God's kingdom.

What will you create today that brings heaven to earth? The world is waiting for your voice.

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

In this heartfelt episode of The Thriving Christian Artist Podcast, I sit down with Tucson-based artist Debbie Gallerani, whose work spans whimsical sculpture, mixed media, and a rich background as a professional cartoonist. From her charming bed and breakfast, La Casa Del Artista, to art shows across the country, Debbie’s life is a colorful blend of creativity, hospitality, and ministry.

Debbie opens up about her early dreams of becoming a syndicated cartoonist, the setbacks and detours she faced along the way, and how God’s faithfulness has carried her through seasons of challenge and change. We talk about the power of perseverance, the joy of creating art that brings delight, and the importance of sharing your faith through your creative life.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How Debbie’s early passion for cartooning shaped her unique style
• Finding joy in whimsical, hope-filled artwork
• Building creative community through hospitality and art
• Trusting God’s timing through life’s setbacks
• Ways to naturally share your faith with those who encounter your art

🌟 Favorite Quotes from This Episode:

🌐 Connect with Debbie Gallerani: https://www.debbiegalleraniart.com/

✅ Stay Connected & Grow as a Thriving Christian Artist:

• 📬 Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly: https://thrive.matttommeymentoring.com/tca-weekly
• 📚 Find My Best-Selling Books: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/resources
• 🎓 Explore Artist Mentoring Programs: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/mentoring

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

That burning desire for artistic community you've been feeling? It might be more than just a personal longing—it could be a divine calling on your life.

In this heart-stirring episode, Matt Tommey challenges listeners to consider a revolutionary idea: the very community you've been searching for might be the one God is calling you to create. Rather than waiting for an invitation or disqualifying yourself with excuses about lack of expertise or resources, what if your burden for connection is actually evidence of a calling?

Drawing from powerful biblical examples like David, Nehemiah, and Esther, Matt illustrates how God consistently works through people who recognize a burden and respond with a simple "yes." He vulnerably shares his own journey, beginning with a 3:09 AM divine wake-up call in 2009 that seemed impossible at the time. Starting with just a few couples gathering in his basement, that humble beginning has now grown into a global movement impacting thousands of artists.

The beauty of starting a creative community lies in its simplicity. You don't need specialized training or perfect circumstances—just a willingness to open your home, studio, or meet at a local café. These gatherings create sacred spaces where healing happens, calling is discovered, and transformation occurs. What if your living room could be where someone reconnects with their divine purpose or even encounters God for the first time?

Ready to join this global movement of creative communities? Visit https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/smallgroup to register your group and access resources to help you get started. Take that courageous first step—the artists in your area have been waiting for someone just like you to say yes.

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

In this inspiring episode of The Thriving Christian Artist Podcast, I sit down with Texas-based artist Wendy Michelle Davis, whose creativity flows from her deep faith and her love for building authentic community among artists. From her booth at the Cottonwood Festival to the vibrant art scene in Waco, Wendy shares her journey of discovering her artistic voice, overcoming challenges, and stepping into her God-given calling.

We explore how she integrates her walk with the Lord into every piece she creates, why she’s passionate about helping other artists thrive, and the ways community can become a powerful catalyst for creativity and Kingdom impact. If you’ve ever felt alone in your art journey or wondered how to blend faith, artistry, and community, Wendy’s story will deeply encourage you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How Wendy found her unique artistic style and voice
• The role of community in an artist’s growth and success
• Integrating faith naturally into your creative practice
• Practical encouragement for artists navigating seasons of change

🌟 Favorite Quotes from This Episode:

• “We’re creators because we’re made in His image. God wants us to be creative—it’s part of who He is, and it’s a beautiful gift we get to explore with Him.” — Wendy Michelle Davis
• “Community is such a catalyst for creativity. When artists come together, something powerful happens.” — Matt Tommey

🌐 Connect with Wendy Michelle Davis: https://www.wendymichelledavis.com/

✅ Stay Connected & Grow as a Thriving Christian Artist:

• 📬 Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly: https://thrive.matttommeymentoring.com/tca-weekly
• 📚 Find My Best-Selling Books: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/resources
• 🎓 Explore Artist Mentoring Programs: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/mentoring

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

Do you feel like you've missed your window to pursue the creative calling God placed in your heart? That nagging voice suggesting you're too old, too inexperienced, or that you've simply missed your chance might be louder than ever. But what if everything you believe about creative timing is fundamentally wrong?

This episode tackles the pervasive lie that artistic callings come with an expiration date. Drawing from Romans 11:29, we explore how "the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" – meaning the creative purpose God designed for you remains intact regardless of your age or life circumstances. Through powerful examples like Moses who led Israel at 80, Sarah who gave birth at 90, and Grandma Moses who began painting in her late 70s, we see how God's timeline often defies conventional wisdom.

Your past experiences haven't disqualified you – they've prepared you. Every career path, relationship, hardship, and triumph has contributed to the unique perspective you bring to your art. What feels like delayed timing might actually be divine preparation for a creative expression only possible through the lens of your lived experience.

Using the practical framework of the five R's (Recognize, Repent, Replace, Reinforce, and Rejoice), you'll learn how to dismantle the lies that have framed your thinking and replace them with God's truth about your creative identity. Each morning becomes an opportunity to declare your creative calling is alive and your best days are ahead.

Whether you're 35 or 85, this message will rekindle hope that your artistic journey isn't over – it might just be beginning. The world needs the creative expression only you can offer, and God's gifts don't come with an expiration date. Are you ready to say yes to the creative calling that's always been yours?

The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly Newsletter → https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/blog/category/tcaweekly

Core4 Focus Planner → https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/core4

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

Ready to transform your creative process? Discover the counterintuitive truth that boundaries—far from stifling your artistry—actually amplify and accelerate your creative anointing. As artists, we often resist structure, clinging to the romantic notion that true creativity requires absolute freedom. Yet this episode reveals how sacred guardrails around your creative practice can channel your artistic energy into its most powerful expression.

Matt Tommey draws from 30+ years of artistic experience and scriptural wisdom to explain how boundaries concentrate rather than constrain your creative potential. "If your creative calling was important enough for God to give it to you," he explains, "it's important enough for you to set boundaries around it." This perspective shifts boundaries from burdens to blessings—protecting spaces where your creative anointing can thrive.

You'll learn practical strategies for establishing three essential types of boundaries: time boundaries that protect dedicated creative hours, energy boundaries that recognize when your creative potential peaks, and content boundaries that prevent "creative dabbling" and develop artistic mastery. These aren't arbitrary restrictions but intentional decisions that honor the creative calling God has placed on your life.

The most fulfilled and effective seasons in your creative journey will come when you understand that, like a river needs banks to channel its power, your creativity needs boundaries to focus its impact. As Psalm 16:6 reminds us, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." Stop being an "every now and then" artist and start establishing the sacred guardrails that will amplify your creative anointing.

Ready to transform your creative practice? Purchase you Core4 Focus Planner at https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/core4 and join our global community of thriving Christian artists who are discovering the freedom that comes through focused, intentional creativity.

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

Have you found yourself caught in an endless cycle of creative hustle and disappointment? That relentless pressure to produce more art, gain more followers, and achieve greater success can leave even the most passionate artist feeling depleted and inadequate. But what if your greatest artistic achievements don't come from working harder but from learning to walk at God's pace?

This episode challenges the cultural narrative that equates success with constant productivity and instead offers a revolutionary alternative: grace-paced creativity. Drawing from Matthew 11:28-30, you'll discover why Jesus invites us to "learn the unforced rhythms of grace" and how this profoundly impacts your creative practice. Rather than allowing external pressures to drive your internal creative process, you'll learn how to operate from the inside out, guided by God's truth and the Holy Spirit's leading.

Just as nature operates in seasons—sowing, growing, harvesting, and resting—your creative life follows similar patterns. There's immense freedom in recognizing the season you're in and honoring it, rather than feeling inadequate because you're not constantly producing. This isn't about becoming unproductive; it's about the transformative shift from striving in your own strength to co-laboring with God.

Through practical frameworks like the Core Four Focus (Connect with God, Clarify your priorities, Create, and Cultivate relationships), you'll discover how to maintain this grace-paced creativity daily. The fruit is profound: peace in your studio, joy in the process, fulfillment in your journey, and experiencing God's favor. Instead of quick success followed by burnout, you'll develop depth, groundedness, and longevity in your creative calling.

Ready to stop feeling rushed, anxious, and inadequate in your art practice? Join us as we explore how slowing down might be your greatest creative advantage. Your art matters—and so does your soul's rest.

GET THE CORE4 Focus Planner today at https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/core4.html

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.

Send us a text

What if the creative breakthrough you've been searching for isn't found in more techniques or strategies, but in learning to be still? In this soul-stirring episode, we explore how sacred stillness unlocks divine creativity in ways that constant striving never can.

The tension between worldly pressure and spiritual flow creates a fascinating paradox for Christian artists. While culture pushes us to create faster, stay visible, and constantly perform, God whispers an invitation into stillness. "Cease striving and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) becomes our creative manifesto, challenging us to trust that God has already given us everything we need for inspired artistry.

Drawing from personal experiences and biblical wisdom, this episode offers practical guidance for transforming your creative process. Learn how beginning each studio session with intentional quiet time, eliminating digital distractions, and releasing the pressure to make everything "content" can dramatically shift your artistic flow. Discover when to push through creative blocks and when to trust that stepping away might actually be the most productive choice.

At its heart, this conversation reveals that the most profound art comes not from straining or performing, but from positioning our hearts to receive. When we approach creativity as co-creation with the divine—receiving gifts of inspiration rather than manufacturing them through willpower—we access a flow that's both deeply fulfilling and spiritually transformative.

Ready to experience the difference that sacred stillness can make in your creativity? Subscribe now, share with fellow artists, and join our community of creatives who are discovering how to thrive spiritually and artistically by embracing God's creative rhythms rather than the world's demanding pace.

Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course

Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.

Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.

👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.