For years, I viewed life through the lens of competition.

Theatre was competitive. University admissions were competitive. Careers were competitive.

And somewhere along the way, I started believing that if someone else succeeded, there was somehow less room for me.

Less opportunity. Less purpose. Less possibility.

But looking back on my own life—from a devastating rejection from my dream university, to studying theatre, moving to Scotland, meeting my husband, and building a life I never could have planned for myself—I’ve come to realize something:

✨ God’s plan for my life is not threatened by someone else’s success.

In this solo episode of The Creative Catholics, I share the story of a closed door that changed everything and explore what Scripture teaches us about competition, calling, comparison, and God’s providence.

Together we discuss: 🌿 Why comparison is so exhausting 🌿 What John the Baptist teaches us about abundance and mission 🌿 How the Body of Christ challenges a competitive mindset 🌿 Why God’s providence is often easier to see in reverse 🌿 How to stop measuring your life against someone else’s

If you've ever felt like you've fallen behind, missed an opportunity, or watched someone else receive the thing you thought you wanted, I hope this episode encourages you.

Because perhaps the goal was never to become the best.

Perhaps the goal was to become who God created you to be.

✨ Resources mentioned:

• One L by Scott Turow
• John 3:23–30
• 1 Corinthians 12

Connect with The Creative Catholics: Instagram: @thecreativecatholics Website: thecreativecatholics.com

Intro/outro music by Marie Miller

This episode is sponsored by Riverside

Follow @TheCreativeCatholics on Instagram to share your creations and join the community.

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and subscribe to The Creative Catholics Podcast.

A Catholic podcast exploring creativity, faith, vocation, and the hidden life.

What if one of the most effective ways to help children grow in virtue isn't through rules or lectures—but through stories?

In this episode of The Creative Catholics, Alex sits down with Dr. John Wood—eye doctor, author, speaker, and founder of Extraordinary Mission—to explore the creative world behind his inspiring Seven Deadly Dragons series and the deeper truths hidden within fantasy, imagination, and storytelling.

Together they discuss why dragons resonate so deeply with children, how stories shape the moral imagination, and how families can use the language of "dragon slaying" to talk about sin, temptation, virtue, and God's grace in everyday life.

John also shares the unexpected journey that led him from medicine to ministry, the family collaboration behind the Seven Deadly Dragons books, and why creativity, storytelling, and wonder remain powerful tools for evangelization in today's world.

• The inspiration behind the Seven Deadly Dragons series
• Why stories help us remember, love, and live the truth
• The connection between imagination and spiritual formation
• Building a family mission through creativity
• Encouraging children to develop their God-given gifts
• Why fairy tales and fantasy matter
• The dragons families face most in modern culture
• Trusting God when He calls us somewhere unexpected

At its heart, this conversation is about more than dragons. It's about helping children—and ourselves—recognize the spiritual battles we face, grow in virtue, and become the saints God created us to be.

• The Seven Deadly Dragons: A seven-book fantasy series helping children understand virtue, vice, and the spiritual life through the metaphor of dragon slaying.
• Extraordinary Mission: Faith formation resources, retreats, books, games, and media for Catholic families.
• Dragon Slayers TV: Streaming platform featuring family-friendly Catholic content, podcasts, and educational resources.

Connect with Dr. Wood: extraordinarymission.com

Connect with The Creative Catholics: Instagram: @thecreativecatholics Website: thecreativecatholics.com

Until next time, stay creative and keep making what matters most.

What if creativity isn't something reserved for artists, entrepreneurs, or people with lots of free time? What if it can be found in a family meal, a garden bed, a bedtime song, or a simple act of hospitality?

In this episode of The Creative Catholics, Alex sits down with Adele Collins of Simple Life Musings to explore the hidden creativity woven throughout family life, motherhood, and the home. Together they discuss cultivating beauty in seasons of scarcity, building a strong family culture, finding joy in hospitality, and why the second decade of parenting may be one of the great untold gifts of family life.

Adele also shares insights from Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture, reflecting on the importance of Sabbath rest, presence, wonder, and the role of leisure in a world obsessed with productivity.

Whether you're a parent, artist, homemaker, gardener, or simply someone longing to live more intentionally, this conversation is a beautiful reminder that holiness is often found in the ordinary moments of daily life.

• How My Ántonia shaped Adele's vision of motherhood
• Creating beauty and hospitality on a tight budget
• Why family life becomes richer over time
• Homemaking as a deeply creative vocation
• Gardening, pruning, and spiritual growth
• The wisdom of Leisure: The Basis of Culture
• Building family culture around the table
• Why mothers are guardians of culture
• The role of books, music, and beauty in the spiritual life

• My Ántonia — Willa Cather
• Leisure: The Basis of Culture — Josef Pieper
• East of Eden — John Steinbeck
• The More-with-Less Cookbook — Doris Janzen Longacre

Follow Adele online: @simplelifemusings

This episode is sponsored by Riverside.fm — the platform used to record this episode.

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and subscribe to The Creative Catholics Podcast.

A Catholic podcast exploring creativity, faith, vocation, and the hidden life.

Until next time, stay creative and keep making what matters most.

What happens to the soul when we stop making things?

In this episode of The Creative Catholics Podcast, Alex reflects on creativity, craftsmanship, embodiment, and the hidden spiritual cost of becoming passive consumers instead of active participants in creation.

From social media performance culture to the deeply incarnational nature of Catholicism, this episode explores why so many people today feel mentally exhausted, creatively numb, spiritually restless, and disconnected from their own lives — not necessarily because we are overworked, but because we have slowly stopped creating.

Alex reflects on:

• the difference between performance and transformation
• why modern life trains us to consume instead of participate
• creativity as a path to holiness
• the hidden life of Christ
• Catholic craftsmanship and slow formation
• Ephesians 2:10 and the idea of being God’s poema — His workmanship
• bread, wine, and the spirituality of patience
• why gardening, knitting, baking, painting, and making things with our hands can feel deeply healing
• God as the master craftsman shaping each human soul

The episode also explores how Catholicism has always been rooted in beauty, embodiment, craftsmanship, and faithful participation in the physical world — from cathedrals and illuminated manuscripts to the Eucharist itself.

Ultimately, this episode is a quiet invitation: to slow down, to participate again, to create beauty faithfully, and to remember that hidden work still matters deeply.

Whether you are an artist, homemaker, parent, teacher, writer, gardener, or simply someone longing to live more attentively and meaningfully, this episode is an encouragement to keep making what matters most.

#CatholicPodcast #CatholicCreatives #CreativityAndFaith #OrdinaryHoliness #HiddenLife #CatholicLiving #FaithAndCreativity #CatholicSlowLiving #CreativeLiving

Intro/outro music by Marie Miller

This episode is sponsored by Riverside

Enter the Launch Giveaway 25 May – 1 June 2026

Follow @TheCreativeCatholics on Instagram to share your creations and join the community.

What if discernment isn’t about finding the single “perfect” path… but about committing deeply enough to create something beautiful with God?

In this episode of The Creative Catholics Podcast, Alex sits down with Jesuit priest, author, theologian, and creator Fr. Michael Rossmann, SJ, for a thoughtful conversation about creativity, vocation, discernment, and the hidden spiritual life.

Together, they explore what it means to create a life with God in a culture shaped by endless options, comparison, distraction, and fear of commitment. Fr. Michael shares the powerful idea of “creating the best option” instead of constantly looking over our shoulder wondering if there is something better somewhere else.

The conversation dives deeply into:

• Ignatian imagination and praying with Scripture
• creativity as a path to holiness
• vocation and discernment
• creating with God in ordinary life
• God as relationship
• social media evangelisation
• Catholic creativity and the digital age
• pre-evangelisation and reaching people before theology
• young adults returning to the Catholic faith
• masculinity, identity, and meaning in modern culture

Fr. Michael also shares insights from his books The Freedom of Missing Out and Online Pre-Evangelization, reflecting on how Catholics can live more rooted, meaningful, and faithful lives in an age of distraction and endless consumption.

Whether you are an artist, homemaker, writer, teacher, entrepreneur, parent, or simply someone trying to live more intentionally and faithfully, this episode is an encouragement to stop endlessly optimizing your life — and instead begin co-creating something meaningful with God.

This episode explores:

• Catholic creativity
• creativity and faith
• the hidden life
• ordinary holiness
• Catholic creative living
• faith-filled creativity
• creativity in ordinary life
• Catholic vocation and discernment
• meaningful Catholic living

Connect with Fr. Michael: Substack: The Ruckus Instagram: @rossmannsj

Fr Michael Rossmann's Books

The Freedom of Missing Out

Online Pre-Evangelization

Intro/outro music by Marie Miller

This episode is sponsored by Riverside

Enter the Launch Giveaway 25 May – 1 June 2026

Follow @TheCreativeCatholics on Instagram to share your creations and join the community.

#CatholicPodcast #CatholicCreatives #CreativityAndFaith #OrdinaryHoliness #CatholicLife #FaithAndCreativity #CreativeLiving #HiddenLife

Discover The Creative Catholics, a new Catholic podcast about creativity, faith, vocation, and purpose in everyday life. Explore how creativity connects with spiritual growth, family life, meaningful work, and the hidden seasons of life. If you’re searching for a Catholic podcast on vocation, creative living, faith-filled productivity, and beauty in ordinary life, this is for you.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/synod/simple-life

License code: RBW5GGUUTKNYNK6C