What do you do when you're called to build something brand new, and there's no roadmap, no blueprint, and no one in your circle who's done it before?

You build anyway. By faith.

In this episode of Create By Faith, I'm pulling back the curtain on why I named my creative community R16 Creatives, and why Romans 16, the chapter most of us skip, is actually a love letter to every kingdom builder who's ever felt alone in the work.

I'm walking through the unsung heroes of the early church, Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, and the men and women who built something that had never existed before, with nothing but the teachings of Jesus and a community of people who refused to do it alone. Sound familiar?

I'm also getting personal. I'm sharing the day in 2024 the Lord pulled me out of corporate, the surrender that changed everything, and the truth I've learned about why God lets us walk through the fire before He lets us lead.

If you're building your brand, your business, your book, or your ministry, and the loneliness is loud right now, press play. You're not alone anymore. You've got me. And we've got each other.

What is covered:

• The R16 origin story and why Romans 16 is the foundation
• The early church builders nobody talks about
• My personal testimony of being let go and let loose
• Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 11:1, and 1 Corinthians 3:10 broken down for builders
• What it really means to come to the Lord like children
• Why community is the strategy (not the side effect) of kingdom building

🤍 Connect with Candice + R16 Creatives:

→ Website & Hub: https://www.r16creatives.com

→ Join the Creative Foundation Community: https://www.r16creatives.com/community

→ Monthly Email (real lessons from the build): https://www.r16creatives.com/newsletter

If this episode encouraged you, would you do me a favor? Leave a 5-star rating, share it with one friend who's building by faith, and tag me when you do. That's how this community grows, together.

We are building. We are not alone. And the Lord is going before us.

Sometimes the thing God is asking you to do lands right in the middle of your busiest week. This episode is an unscripted conversation about what happened when I dropped everything to attend two conferences on two weekdays, the provision that showed up the week of, and the clarity I walked away with after two years of preparation.

I'm also sharing a glimpse of what's ahead for Create by Faith and why everything I was trained to do in almost two decades of media and branding was never just for me. It was always for you.

If you've been holding back from stepping into something because the timing doesn't feel perfect, press play.

candicedmadrid.com

Your portfolio is your evidence. It's the proof of what you can do as a creative. But here's the thing most people get wrong: they build a portfolio that shows everything they've done instead of building one that positions them for where they want to go. In this episode, I'm sharing the real story of how one creative director's honest feedback completely shifted the way I approached my portfolio and ultimately helped me land my first industry job. I'm also breaking down the difference between a portfolio and a creative service website, why you might need more than one, and how to structure your work so the right people see the right things. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in the game for years and your portfolio needs a refresh, this one's for you.

Anchored in 1 Peter 4:10.

https://linkin.bio/candicedmadrid

In this final episode of the Psalm 33 series, we're diving into Psalm 33:18 through 22 and talking about what it really looks like to wait on God with confident hope. Spoiler: kingdom waiting is not passive. It's action. It's moving toward the vision even when you don't know how it's all going to work out.

I'm sharing some real, personal moments from my journey, including what happened when I was let go from my second corporate job, how I had to release my attachment to titles and career identity, and the moment I truly surrendered it all to the Lord. I'm also sharing a recent testimony about how God provided during my trip to speak at a university media conference when the expected funding didn't come through.

We're covering how God sees those who hope in Him, how He sustains even in famine, and why joy is connected to trust, not to breakthrough. If you've been in a dry season, a slow season, or an "I don't know how this is going to work out" season, this one is for you.

This episode also wraps up our full Psalm 33 series. If you missed Parts 1 through 3, go back and listen to those first: Part 1 on worship and excellence, Part 2 on the faithfulness of God's Word, and Part 3 on why our own plans and strength aren't enough.

People Pleasing Series

CandiceDMadrid.com

YouTube Channel with Candice D. Madrid

In part 3 of this Psalm 33 series, I'm talking about what happens when human plans, pressure, and strategy are not enough on their own. Walking through Psalm 33:10-17, this episode is a reminder that God is not against planning, but He does not want our plans to replace dependence on Him.

This conversation covers the difference between human counsel and God’s counsel, why false foundations eventually fail, and how pressure can reveal what we are truly trusting in. I also shares real reflection from her own business journey, what it looks like to seek God in building, and why stronger dependence matters more than a better plan.

If you have been carrying pressure, trying to force results, or questioning what to do next in your brand or calling, this episode will encourage you to pause, refocus, and come back to the true foundation.

In this episode:

• Psalm 33:10-17
• Human plans vs. God’s counsel
• False foundations and misplaced trust
• Why pressure reveals foundation
• Depending on God in business and life
• Encouragement for brand builders and creators

website: https://www.candicedmadrid.com

If your foundation is built on whatever is trending, it will always feel unstable. So what do you build on when every voice online is promising you the next big strategy?

In this episode, we are continuing the Psalms 33 Series and breaking down why God's Word is not advice... it is authority. And the same Word that spoke everything into existence is the same Word you are building on.

Here is what we are getting into:

• Why God's Word is the standard, not an option
• How faithfulness is already attached to what He has called you to build
• Discernment in business and knowing when partnerships are not aligned
• The difference between a pyramid mindset and a Kingdom mindset
• How to stop letting Monday at 3:30 steal your perspective

If you are ready to build on something that will not shift, this one is for you.

Part 3 is coming next week: When Your Best Strategy Is Not Enough.

Find community, resources, and support at www.candicedmadrid.com

Have you ever poured everything into a brand launch, a partnership, or a strategy and watched it fall apart? Before you rebrand for the third time or overhaul your entire plan, the real question might be simpler than you think: what's the foundation underneath it?

In this episode, Candice breaks down what it actually looks like to build a brand with excellence and integrity using Psalms 33 as the foundation. This is Part 1 of a four-part series walking through what Scripture reveals about the way we create, build, and show up in our businesses.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

Why most brand failures trace back to a foundation problem, not a strategy problem

What it means to treat your creative work as worship, even in the exhausting seasons

Why God calls us to play skillfully, and what that means for investing in your actual craft

How to stop building your brand from a collage of other people's highlights and start creating something original

What old-school marketing like classified ads and infomercials can teach you about building something that lasts today

This one is for the creative entrepreneur who feels stuck between copying what's working and trusting what's calling them. Your brand was meant to be a new song, not a cover of someone else's.

Resources mentioned: www.candicedmadrid.com Design with Confidence course Creative Director Consult Free Creative Foundation Blueprint: candicedmadrid.com/encourage

Connect with Candice: Instagram: @candicedmadrid

How is AI showing up in creative workflows right now? In this episode, I'm getting real about how I use AI as a creative director and agency owner. I walk you through the three tools I use and why I use each one differently, what AI cannot replace no matter how good it gets, and why output without foundation is just noise with speed. If you've been feeling the tension between staying current and protecting your craft, this one's for you.

Visit candicedmadrid.com to join the Creative Foundation Community.

You know it is there. But knowing it and breaking free from it are two completely different things.

In Part 2 of the People Pleasing series, Candice gets honest about what it actually took to walk out of people pleasing and start building from alignment. She shares how the Word of God transformed this in her without years of sitting in it, the two scriptures that stopped feeling like advice and started feeling like confrontation, and the three practical things that shifted how she runs her business and shows up in every room.

If Part 1 was the mirror, this is the road.

Grab the free Encouragement Series at candicedmadrid.com/encourage

We think the thing holding us back is fear. But sometimes it is people pleasing. And in leadership and business, people pleasing is not kindness. It is misalignment.

In this episode, Candice gets real about how people pleasing disguised itself as grace in her career and how it was quietly producing overextension, burnout, and blurred boundaries. She shares two scriptures that shifted everything: Colossians 3:23 through 24 that got her through a heated corporate moment, and Jeremiah 17:5 through 8, the one that actually broke it off.

If you have ever needed someone's approval to feel settled, if you have been calling it service when it was really fear, this one is for you.

Grab the free Encouragement Series at candicedmadrid.com/encourage and send Candice a note at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you.