ISSUE #031
Have you ever felt like God hit the pause button on your creative journey? Maybe the doors you were praying for didn’t open, or opportunities you thought were certain slipped through your fingers. If so, I want to remind you of a powerful truth today: you’re not behind—you’re being refined.
What we often mistake as God’s delays are actually His divine training ground. He’s not punishing you; He’s preparing you. In these “slow” seasons, God is expanding your capacity—your endurance, your faith, and your readiness—to carry more of what He has planned for your future.
Remember, James 1:2-4 (NLT) says “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
In this week’s issue, we’ll explore how to trust God’s timing, see His purpose in the waiting, and discover peace right in the middle of process.
May this week be filled with intentional reflection, creative breakthroughs, and meaningful connection with the Creator who put that beautiful imagination inside you.
Cheering you on,
Matt Tommey
PS – Don’t miss all the great artist mentoring resources we have available for you. Click here to find out more.
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Quilting the Word: Stories of Faith in Fabric
This week, meet Kristy Moeller Ottinger, a folk-art quilter whose intricate, prayer-filled works bring Bible stories to life. Each bead and button she stitches carries a prayer, turning her creative process into an act of worship. From local shows to museum exhibitions, Kristy’s art quilts are not just works of fabric—they’re woven testimonies of faith, prayer, and perseverance. READ MORE
CONNECT
Scripture: Galatians 6:9 (NIV) — “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Waiting seasons can feel lonely, but they’re never wasted. God uses delay to deepen trust, not discourage it. What looks like a stall in progress is often a setup for strength. Like a seed growing underground, He’s forming your character in hidden places before bringing the fruit into view.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for loving me enough to slow me down. Teach me to see delay as development and waiting as worship. Help me trust Your timing, even when I don’t understand it. Let endurance have its full work in me so I can walk faithfully in all You’ve prepared. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Action Step:
Spend 10 quiet minutes reflecting on a past “delay” that turned into blessing. Write it down and thank God for how He used it to prepare you.
CLARIFY
Delays can feel like dead ends when we’re focused on results instead of relationship. But every closed door, postponed opportunity, and quiet season has a reason behind it. Sometimes God withholds a “good” thing to protect you from something that’s not His best thing.
Ask yourself this week: What is God protecting or preparing me for right now? His timing isn’t slow—it’s strategic. The goal isn’t to reach your destination faster, but to arrive stronger, wiser, and ready to stay in the place He’s called you to.
Action Step:
Look at your current season and identify one area where you sense God saying, “Not yet.” Choose to trust Him there. Write out your prayer of surrender in your journal.
CREATE
When life slows down, your studio becomes sacred ground. God often uses creative time to align your heart with His. Maybe He’s teaching you to release control, to wait for fresh inspiration, or to trust that He’s guiding your next idea.
Even when progress feels invisible, keep showing up. Like spiritual “weight training,” each day of obedience builds strength in your creative soul. The art you create in hidden seasons carries a depth that can’t be faked—it’s formed in fire and faith.
Studio Action Step:
Before you create this week, pray: “Holy Spirit, align my heart with Yours. Help me c
CULTIVATE
God’s delays often expand not just your art, but your ability to influence others. As He refines you, He also refines how you show up for your audience. Authentic stories of waiting, faith, and perseverance connect deeply with people who need hope.
Share your process honestly. Tell your collectors, followers, or creative friends what God is teaching you in the “in-between.” Vulnerability builds bridges faster than perfection ever could.
Outreach Action Step:
Write one short social post or email to your audience this week titled, “What I’m Learning in the Waiting.” Let your story encourage someone else who feels delayed but is actually right on time.
The Core4 Focus Planner™
A 90-Day Undated Planner to Help You Stay Focused, Grow Spiritually, and Make Measurable Progress in Your Art
“This planner is my “tool of intentionality” and sits next to my Bible and journal. It’s also the perfect size to hang on to as a way to go back and celebrate the work that I’ve done. Thanks so much!” – Debby
WATCH & LISTEN
In this week’s podcast, we dive into one of the most freeing truths for Christian artists: you’re not behind in God’s plan. What feels like delay is actually design. You’ll learn four powerful ways God uses waiting seasons to grow your endurance, protect you from wrong opportunities, align your heart with His, and weave your story into His bigger Kingdom narrative.
Key Takeaway: Delays are not detours—they’re divine development. God’s timing is always on time.
TECH TIP FOR THRIVING
Ever wish you had a mentor to talk through your creative struggles anytime, day or night? Now you do. UncleMatt.ai is your 24/7 creative companion—built from decades of my teaching and Kingdom insight to help artists like you thrive spiritually, creatively, and professionally.
Ask UncleMatt about finding peace in delay, renewing your mind, setting artistic goals, or overcoming creative blocks—it’s all there, personalized for your journey.
WORSHIP
If you’ve ever questioned God’s timing, this song will speak straight to your heart. “Always On Time” is a powerful reminder that even when we can’t see what God is doing, He’s never late and never distant. Every lyric carries the assurance that His delays are not denials—they’re divine precision. As you listen this week, let the melody quiet your striving and fill your studio with renewed trust that the One who called you is faithful to complete what He began.
FEATURED ARTIST: Kristy Moeller Ottinger
Quilting the Word: Stories of Faith in Fabric
🌐 www.ottingerquilts.com
For Kristy Moeller Ottinger, every stitch is an act of prayer and every quilt a living sermon. Her folk-art quilts tell the timeless stories of Scripture—the prophets, the parables, and the tree of life—through color, texture, and symbolic design.
“I use the vocabulary of color and texture to express Bible stories in a simple manner,” Kristy explains. “As I make folk art quilts, each button and bead sewn on comes with a prayer. Quilting is my form of worship.”
Kristy’s process is deeply spiritual. Before sketching or choosing fabrics, she prays for divine guidance—not only in her artistic direction but also in discovering the “found objects” that make each piece unique.
“I pray before each work of art that God would lead me to the many found objects that I include on my quilts. The preliminary sketches are arrived at through prayer.”
Her work recently caught the attention of a local university that was curating a museum exhibition on Religion in Appalachia. They invited her to display several of her art quilts as examples of faith expressed through craft.
“The community could see how my faith was reflected in my art quilts,” she shares.
As a long-time member of the Created to Thrive Artist Mentoring Program, Kristy has found encouragement, connection, and strength among fellow Christian artists.
“Created to Thrive keeps me going in the path the Lord has laid out for me. I have met so many like-minded artists and have joined in the community of Christian artists. Joining other Christian artists strengthens my resolve that my hands are the tools God uses to promote His Word.”
Her advice to other artists is as wise as it is freeing:
“Let God give the process and don’t push toward a preconceived end. The process of listening to God and being in the ‘flow’ is what making art is all about.”
As Kristy continues to faithfully “keep on keeping on,” her quilts are finding their way into more exhibitions, shows, and museums—each one a testimony sewn in fabric and faith.
“By keeping on keeping on, I am becoming known for my work and I am being asked to share my art quilts in shows and museums.”
Apply to Be a Featured Artist
Would you like to be considered for one of our artist features? We love sharing the work from our friends around the world who create unique, beautiful and inspired art, regardless of creative medium. And just a reminder, your work does NOT have to be overtly faith-based to be considered. Interested? Just complete this application: https://forms.gle/vmtyk6wg3hSuUAhi9
Resources for Christian Artists
If you’re ready to grow as an artist in your faith, art and even business, then check out these affordable resources for artists just like you.
