Stephen Simmons has been telling stories onstage, in front of a camera, and over a microphone for most of his life. He grew up in the church and always knew he wanted to use my skill set for the kingdom of God, but how exactly that would happen has transformed over the years. He currently lives in Columbia, SC, but is on a team preparing to plant a church in Charlotte, NC.Stephen and I talk about about his creative work, and how his faith informs his understanding of ambition.You can find Stephen’s YouTube channel at tinyurl.com/WatchSeven, and on social media @stephenjsimmons7. The Heavenly Spectrum is available on Apple, Spotify, and more.If you’re a single Christian creative looking for resources to help you thrive, head to marybsafrit.com.

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Kat Harris is a Brooklyn-based online educator, digital content creator, and female empowerment advocate. She loves God, a good Beyoncé dance party, and has an affinity for Ranch dressing.She has a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University and is Co-Founder of the online publication The Refined Woman and host of The Refined Collective Podcast. She has also been a full-time photographer for the last decade with her work being featured in: Vanity Fair, GQ, Forbes, People, Who What Wear, US Weekly, and Glamour UK.The vehicles for her message are: her podcast, online courses, written articles, hosted leadership development workshops, speaking at conferences, and more.In this episode, Kat and I talk about her incredible creative journey, and you’ll get a super practical, step by step process from her on how to overcome limiting narratives and choose freedom over fear.You can find Kat on social media @therefinedwoman. Her website is therefinedwoman.com, and her podcast, The Refined Collective, is available on Apple, Spotify, and more. And that link she mentioned with the free download is bit.ly/trwdatingtips.Enrollment for The Creative Refresh is open! It’s a six week group coaching program in which I help single Christians move from overwhelmed to empowered in their creative calling. For more information, and to sign up, head to marybsafrit.com/group.

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Obiekwe "or-Obi" Okolo is a Nigerian American Creative Director, Photographer, home chef, and plant dad. After a degree in Architecture, and a couple of years in the industry, Obi left the built environment to pursue a broader creative practice. Including design, branding and brand strategy, photography, writing, art direction, and hospitality. Get a pen and some paper because Obi drops serious knowledge about creative work, rest, learning to see, and identity.You can check out Obi’s work at stagcreative.co and on social media @obi.stg. If you want to check out Obi’s t-shirt company, that link was thehypeyeast.com.If you’re a single Christian creative who feels overwhelmed by and alone in your creative calling, NEXT WEEK, August 11, registration opens for The Creative Refresh. Check out marybsafrit.com/group for more info.

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Norma Hopcraft is a published author who recently took a creative writing sabbatical year in Paris, where she wrote The Paris Writers Circle. Then she lived in Barcelona. She now lives and writes in Brooklyn. She was a newspaper and corporate journalist, then a magna cum laude graduate of New York University’s undergrad creative writing and literature program. She's been published by the literary magazine South Dakota Review and won first prize from Deadly Ink for a mystery short story.In this episode, Norma talks about finding her why for writing and defining success and prosperity. Get excited, because Norma has a wealth of experience and insight on the creative life, particularly for those of you who are side-hustling.You can buy Norma’s books on Amazon by searching for Norma Hopcraft, and you can find her at https://njaegerhopcraft.blogspot.com/.For more information on The Creative Refresh, a six-week group coaching program for single Christian creatives, head to marybsafrit.com/group.

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Matt Lau is a graphic designer, video editor, and photographer from central New Jersey. He currently works as an e-commerce graphic designer, and volunteers as a Sunday School teacher for 11th graders. He also has a podcast called The Woes Podcast where he interviews high-school and college-aged students about their current lives and struggles. 5 things that help define his recreational life: pickup basketball, online shopping, video games, Star Wars, and the Miami Dolphins.In this episode, you’ll hear about finding work after college, changing fields, setting boundaries and appreciation and compensation. If you’ve ever been expected to work for free, you’ll want to hear what Matt and I have to say about it, particularly when the ask comes from your church.You can check out Matt’s work at matthewlauphotography.com and The Woes Podcast is available on Apple.Visit marybsafrit.com/group to learn more about The Creative Refresh, a six-week group coaching program for single Christian creatives.

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Ashley Hong is an editor and producer based in New York. She's an assistant editor at Random House, where she edits and acquires nonfiction in the faith space. In her spare time, she enjoys reading (duh), running, and producing audio storytelling.In this episode, you'll hear Ashley's practices for overcoming self-doubt, how to ask for feedback, and how to wrestle with creative identity at all stages of the journey. You can find Ashley at ashleysunghae.com and on all the socials @ashleysunghae.You can find more info on The Creative Refresh, my six-week croup coaching program for single Christian creatives, at marybsafrit.com/group

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Caroline Mayer is a NYC-based interior designer focused in the hospitality industry. She recently received a degree in interior design after making a career switch a few years ago. Previously, she worked for a public relations agency in Boston.In this episode, Caroline shares about her creative journey and how she overcomes perfectionism, comparison, and burn out. You can follow Caroline on Instagram @carolinermayer.

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Season 4 premieres July 7, and I want you to be ready and rearin to learn from these amazing single Christian creatives. This trailer tells you a bit about this podcast, and what you can expect in Season 4.Can't wait until next week? Check out previous episodes, or head over to marybsafrit.com to see the latest and greatest blogs for single Christian creatives.

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Welcome to the series wrap-up. The last four dynamite interviews from Ian, Amber, Nina, and Petra focused on work, but there were themes of story, communication, and connection running through all of them. They shared a ton of wisdom on how their faith informs their work, so go back and listen if you haven’t yet.I’m going to shake things up a bit for this wrap-up, so I’d love your thoughts and comments on what style you like better… or if you like the variety. Today, I’m going to posit and explore a question that ran through all four episodes of this series. At the end, I’ll tie in how all of this helps you in your everyday life, but for the first part, I’d love to take the opportunity to dig in together.The question: What is the role of story-telling in the age of information?References for this episode in order of appearance: Tell it Slant by Eugene Peterson; The Two Towers film; "Jesus Is a Jew" by David Brooks; "On Fairy Stories" by J.R.R. Tolkien, "Stir the Imagination, One Sermon at a Time" by Abraham Cho; The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman

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Welcome to your oh-so-special surprise interview, and the final interview of Season 3. Petra E. Lewis is a ghostwriter, ghostblogger, publishing specialist, author, and “Midwife to Visionaries” who works with CEOs, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers.Petra spent nearly two decades as a corporate communications writer and executive, primarily in financial services. After leaving Wall Street, Petra founded BookStar Business Ghostwriting + Development, a boutique consultancy that offers her clients a full suite of ghostwriting and (self-)publishing solutions. She has also continued her corporate communications work, as founder and principal of Stone Communications. To learn more, visit: www.petraelewis.comPetra and I talk about her writing journey, the joys and struggles of being an entrepreneur, and hope. Petra has a lot of wisdom and I can’t wait for y’all to hear our conversation.

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