speaker-0: Welcome to Creative Chapel, a podcast exploring the vast landscape of Christian artistry. Across denominations and disciplinary mediums, Creative Chapel is building a space where saints can gather and celebrate their walk with Christ with their God-given gifting, encouraging each other in their faith and their craft. Creative Chapel is the place for inspiration, curation, and revelation. Hello and welcome to Creative Chapel. Today I'm joined by Venus Monique, an actor and entrepreneur who is helping other women follow their calling into film. Venus, thanks for being on the show.

speaker-1: Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you for asking me. This is exciting.

speaker-0: Yeah. And so we connected at Hard Faith Film Festival last year. ⁓ and you know, we it's such a a tight knit community at Hard Faith. You meet everyone pretty quickly. and so we hadn't had a lot of opportunities to connect, but we bumped into each other and and by the end of it, ⁓ you know, we were able just to to do like kind of a card exchange and and introduce each other a little bit more. ⁓ and then ⁓ you know, I kind of just like took your card, understood that you were an actress, and then was like, okay, cool, another actress friend. ⁓ and then I got to purpose. We both had films at Purpose ⁓ media and film conference. And you had your film Daisy shown at the festival. ⁓ and I I didn't realize upon our like initial meeting of like just the card exchange how just tapped into the Christian independent film network that you are. ⁓ I felt kind of embarrassed when like I I showed up to purpose and I like not only like saw you just being there, ⁓ but also like all of your connections, all of your like your work and your catalogue of work. ⁓ I was like, ⁓ man, I feel like I should have like known more about Venus heading into this festival. but

speaker-1: No. Yeah. No, that's really funny. No, I think I guess just being in it for a little while we tend to meet people. And I like to go to events like that. And I think going and attending live and meeting people in person, that has changed a lot for me. So that's that's why I'm connected mostly probably.

speaker-0: Yeah, and so ⁓ you know, just checking out your IMDB. You have a lot of great ⁓ films and shows on your resume. And so it was really cool to see Daisy originally at Purpose. ⁓ you brought in a big crowd for that. I wanna touch on that a little bit later. ⁓ but ⁓ just checking through your work on IMDb, ⁓ it's really cool to to see you as a a consistent member of the cast in the show ⁓ vindication. Right? ⁓ on Angel Studios, ⁓ which is, you know, the the hot platform right now for faith-based content. ⁓ I'd love to hear more about how you got involved with that project, what kind of led into it, ⁓ and just to tell those that are watching about the show that may not know.

speaker-1: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'll start with that part. So Vindication is a crime drama and I love how the writer did it because I think most crime dramas they have a certain format they follow and he hadn't actually watched crime dramas but something started spinning when his wife said it. So he created a crime drama that is unlike the others and still has so much mystery and wonder in it. But his also teach a lesson and that's probably one of the things that I love most about the series. ⁓ they teach a lesson and he touches on pretty rough topics, but he does it in a way that is very gentle. So it's things that need to be addressed, and he's addressing it, but in a very unique way. And then of course there's not the the sex stuff and the hardcore violence, but there's still just that really great message throughout and the story. So that's kind of what it is. And then the way that I got involved with it was totally God. I was a host at a Christian film festival because I was trying to like get into the Christian film space. I didn't know how, so this was like one of the opportunities that came up. And the writer of Vindication was showing his very first episode, which at that time was just a short film. So he showed it and ⁓ my gosh, it was wonderful. Everybody loved it. And he, I guess at that point at he it was at the end of the festival circuit. So he had been getting some feedback. And I think his brain was spinning, like maybe I'll continue and so he was building characters in his mind. So at that festival, he had already snooped on me prior to the festival because I guess he saw that I had won the best actress award the year before and I have a YouTube channel, so he had gone through all my YouTube. So by the time he got there, he said he felt like he knew me and he presented this recurring role to me of a detective. And, you know, as actors we get pitched to, like, hey, if I do this, do you want this role? And I don't expect any filmmaker to keep their word on that if they do amazing but he did. So he ended up like casting me for a short film that he did kind of as a trial. I don't think he told me that at the time, but he wanted to know am I dramatic on set? Am I easy to work with? You know, all these things. So ⁓ we did that together and then yeah, I'm a series regular now. So we're about to do we finished our fourth season and then we have a little special out right now and then we might potentially do a fifth season.

speaker-0: Nice. That's that's super cool and I'm excited. I have yet to invest into Angel Studios. but it's something on my to do list 'cause there's a lot of content on there that I want to see and and you know, we talked about Spencer's film, ⁓ Saint Nick ⁓ being on there as well. So it's a lot of great content on there. ⁓ so I think there's probably an assumption when they see when audiences see a show on a platform like Angel that has a ⁓ a faith basis that probably like all the cats and crew are Christians and they agree on everything ⁓ theologically and biblically. ⁓ do you find that to be true on set for a show like Vindication? Do you see a lot of yeah actors who are outside of Christianity as well?

speaker-1: Yeah, so ⁓ even the crew I think not all the they don't it's not like a requirement to be a Christian to work on vindication. It's just that tends to happen because we know each other. But we've had many like non believers, crew and cast who have commented on the feeling they get when they come to our set and how they notice a difference and there's just something weird, there's something special, you guys are different and the amount of testimonies that have come just from coming to a set that is primarily faith ba faith based, like primarily believers, they feel like the presence of God. They don't know that that's what it is, but that's what it is. And so there's just this peace there and it's really cool to see the lives that it touches without us preaching anything during filming.

speaker-0: That's awesome. And I think that's like so consistent after talking with most people on the show so far of just like the collaboration in artistic mediums and creative mediums is a necessary part of creating. ⁓ I think there's even even when looking at like more traditional lanes of of artistry like painting or or illustration or something like that, ⁓ those could be maybe viewed as a little less collaborative, but in kind of like the major areas of of media and music, these are super collaborative ⁓ ventures. And so across the people that I've talked to so far in this show, ⁓ it's been really cool to hear everyone's perspective on collaborating with those who are not Christians, ⁓ and seeing a a consistent shift in witnessing and like not really being like you said, like forthcoming about like or not necessarily forthcoming, but to be like, you know, you have to be a Christian, sign this line to make it like a covenant with the production or anything. But ⁓ to just come on the set and be like, ⁓ there's something different about being here. There's something different about these people and like a desire to work with them and a desire to come back and and run a set that way. have you come across any actors ⁓ who kind of like what you were saying about ⁓ you know your director trying to like catch your vibe on set and seeing if like you're kinda like dramatic or anything like that. ⁓ have you come across any talent or crew that, whether Christian or not, have been like a little rough around the edges with 'cause I don't know. We just hear in the industry a a lot about like ⁓ you know kind of either like breakdowns or or people who, you know have certain opinions about themselves ⁓ in films. Have you like run across anyone that's like you've had to really navigate ⁓ onset?

speaker-1: I have heard stories of others that have been difficult to work with, but I myself have not experienced that difficulty, whether it was fellow actors or producing, because we've produced one film together and I'm currently ⁓ producing another, but I have not experienced that not saying I never will, but I do know of very hefty stories on like taking mental notes, putting it in my back pocket.

speaker-0: ⁓ And so like tapping into your expertise, ⁓ I think there is probably something inherently ⁓ organic about a Christian's approach to being on set and just being collaborative, friendly, welcoming. ⁓ but there's still a certain air of I think especially in the church, ⁓ there's this kind of mentality of like not wanting to perform, especially you know, in worship settings, even as a Christian. ⁓ but ⁓ I think there's times when people want to express themselves and get onto set and they still might worry about their ego or getting in into a ⁓ mindset as a character that could maybe stretch them beyond their convictions. And so I'm wondering if you could just kind of like, from your perspective, what are some ways that you have developed your craft to put guardrails around your faith so that like you are being consistent on set, you are you're leaning into your values ⁓ and you're not crossing any lines.

speaker-1: I do feel like that's important, probably for crew too, but definitely for talent because we're we tend to step into roles that are unlike us, which we wanna do as actors. Like that's part of the game is doing something that's unlike yourself. But I do think it's incredibly important for us to know what actually does cross a line with us internally and write that down, whether it's film or commercials or whichever. And I say that because I did the same thing when God told me to do acting, I immediately was like, Okay, I need to know what I will and won't do before I get tempted by money, by connections, by all these things. And those just writing them down, I think I had five or six, just writing them down, down helped guide me in all of my decisions, all of the offers. I've turned down many, many opportunities, but it's okay because it sits well with me. And I'm like, yeah, it's a bummer that my resume didn't build. I didn't meet any more people on set. But at the same time, I'm not having any regrets because I know what I will and won't do. And I along with that, sometimes I think we have to do something to know that we don't want to do it. Because I remember I got booked it was a direct offer for a ⁓ a medicine. Like I was the reader for it. So the People on the casting side where I was I was reading with every single actor that came in, so they saw my talent and were like, Hey, we'd like to just give her the other role. And I was like, Cool, direct offer, like this is a nice pay and gig. But then I realized later, ⁓ I actually don't like doing pharmaceutical commercials. Like I don't want to promote any kind of big pharma thing, but I had to do that to know that I didn't want to do it. So sometimes that happens, but knowing at least on the front end, hey, if I got this offer, I would say no. If my character had to do this, I would either address it and try to get around it or create something different, or I would turn it down. But knowing beforehand helps us so much when we're in the moment of that opportunity.

speaker-0: Nice. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's super helpful. Just like out the gate going into your creative process and being like d this is what this is the person that I want to live into being. Like there's something I've been meditating on recently in terms of like calling and ⁓ purpose and God's calling on our life is that typically we think of the like the the role that we're being called to, like, you know, some feel like being Called to be pastor, so I'm being called to be an actress or a filmmaker or a musician or anything. And we're so focused on to that title. ⁓ but we're not really considering the calling of who we're being, ⁓ and being ⁓ the attributes that the Holy Spirit is developing in us of of the fruits of the Spirit of gentleness, of kindness, of love, peace, joy. and so I think. going into any creative endeavor, it's like, yes, I want to get to an outcome and and be whatever title that I've I've attached myself to or feel like that God's calling me. But there's also a parallel calling of like just being ⁓ the likeness of Christ and and being like him. ⁓ and so you you kinda like mentioned in that ⁓ about feeling God's calling early on. ⁓ And I was in my research and and looking up your story a little bit. ⁓ it seems like you have a very interesting ⁓ perspective of of when God called you and and how it wasn't exactly ⁓ you weren't exactly positioning yourself to be an actress as ⁓ kind of a career path. And so I'd love to hear more about that process of like what you were planning on doing and how God kind of changed that.

speaker-1: Well, the first part I can tell you I can tell you I was not planning on doing anything. I had no clue. I was in college but I literally went to college to make friends. I was like, I don't wanna stay in my hometown. I don't know that I wanna go get a job anywhere. I don't know where to go. So I was like, Well I'll just go get my degree and I was in athletic like I was in athletics for my entire like from little dribblers, you like when you're a kid kidding all through college. So I thought, I don't know, maybe I'll do something with sports or whatever. So that's why I was getting my degree in and then God interrupted that, thank goodness, and basically told me to do acting. Like one day walking on the sidewalk dropped this heavy thought into my head and the the best way I know how to explain it is like what is a what is a vegetable that you hate? Like despise? Like what's something you would hate like make you gag if somebody made you eat it.

speaker-0: ⁓

speaker-1: Yeah, a lot of people don't like that 'cause of the texture. But it would be like you just immediately having this thought of, I want some cottage cheese. Man, that sounds good. Like that was the shift in my brain of I cannot I do not want to do acting because I had tried it enough to know that I didn't ever want to do it. So I had such a distaste in my mouth for that. So when that thought came in, I immediately knew it wasn't mine. And it was so interesting to have that feeling of a thought coming in here and my brain operating on this side and being like, No, you don't, you hate acting. And I knew this was me and this was not me. And it was just like, Wow, God, okay. I don't I think that might have been the first time he spoke to me, but at from that point forward, I was on a new career path and I was like, All right, let's write down those boundaries. Apparently this is gonna go far and I don't even know how it's gonna come about because I don't have any connections. I don't have any friends. Like I don't know how to do this thing. So it was just being obedient and move forward and then God's worked amazing things together.

speaker-0: Wow. And so in that process, ⁓ you were in college, correct? ⁓ and so did you like instantly like get into theater or like any film programs at the college?

speaker-1: Yeah, I declared my minor as theater, 'cause at that time when you told me that I didn't have a minor. So I declared my minor as theater or theater as my minor and just ⁓ did I like I went and auditioned for a play that I'm like, I don't know, God told me to do it, I'm gonna try it. So I went and auditioned for the lead role and I booked it. ⁓ my gosh, that was like what on earth? And I remember I'm in every single act, three acts I have so many lines. I've never done this before. My discipline isn't sharp. My word memorization isn't sharp. Like, I have not done this. And so I remember we were a few weeks out from like performing and this seasoned actor and I were sitting on the bench outside of the theater and he was complaining to me about how the newer actors weren't taking it seriously. They didn't even have their lines down, like all this stuff, and he was concerned and I was like, ⁓ my gosh, that's me. ⁓ my gosh. Okay, so that gave me the pet that I needed to go memorize my lines and it was I just I just can't believe that they gave me that. So I did that, I did a a couple more plays while I was there and then some big movie shot where I was going to college, so No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Nice. Those both shot out near where I was going to college and I somehow I got on both of those like in the background. And then after that I moved to a bigger town and then eventually to Austin and just kept kind of snowballing and trying to make things happen.

speaker-0: Nice. Yeah, and Austin's a great scene. I I haven't spent a lot of time there. and really as as a film professional, I haven't spent any time intentionally there for the sake of film. I've just kinda like passed through ⁓ and did the touristy thing of like peeping over Robert Rodriguez's fence to see the sets of Alita. ⁓ but it's such a great scene and and place to be for film. ⁓ and so for like this this first role, ⁓ landing the lead role, like that that is more than just, you know, kind of like than just getting up there and winging it. Like you you have to be intentional about carrying the show and and getting into character. And so at that point, and like had you taken any classes other than like maybe just like a few past experiences that you didn't like, but like, you know, people always go into like Stanislavsky and the method and things like that. Was that anywhere in your brain approaching that audition?

speaker-1: No. No. Like not at all. I don't even know how I prepared for the audition for that play. I have no I no idea. But I I mean, that acting I did previously in high school, I did like a two week workshop thing in LA and did some classes and stuff and I didn't like any of them. So I didn't hold on to things hoping I get to use them. I just I have no idea how I auditioned for it. But it was confirmation for me. Like I know that God told me to do it, but then when I booked it it was like Just extra confirmation that I don't think I really needed, because I knew for sure that wasn't my thought. ⁓ but then when I told you I moved to that bigger town before Austin, I found a feature film there and ended up booking the lead role for that. And this is like no training, this is no connections. So it was like God saying, Keep going, like I got this for you, I'm gonna keep making things happen. And it's just like okay.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, that's so cool that ⁓ guy just like line those things up for you and you know, you're kinda like just perfecting your craft as you go, which I think it it really speaks to the accessibility to acting. ⁓ that's something that I love about being an actor. ⁓ you know, I'm I'm kinda like in a weird in-between place of like not exactly pursuing acting, but it's where I got my start ⁓ in in theater in high school and ⁓ I was even like the the president of the drama club my senior year ⁓ and my minor was in theater before I s transferred to a film school. Yeah. But ⁓ but it's like you get people who are auditioning for the first time. Like you you could be well into like a school year or even you know being like a a senior in college or something and like there's just a person who's trying out for the first time, their major is like science or something. And like they just have it. They have the the presence, they have the ⁓ the emotional recall, ⁓ and they're able to tap into that. And so it's really encouraging, like for any audience members that are listening that are like, I don't know, like maybe I'll try it out, or like I I would like to, but I'm scared. ⁓ I would say acting, you know, there's there's certain ⁓ creative endeavors that are a little bit more difficult to get into. ⁓ But the accessibility to acting is right there. Like all you need is your iPhone, a monologue that you got offline, ⁓ and just doing a scene. And of course we see this online, of course, with with content creation and doing skits and things like that. But ⁓ yeah, just to encourage anyone listening out there that ⁓ you don't need to be all in your head about the method or Daniel J. Lewis about stuff. Like you can just get into the ring ⁓ and and start performing. And see how God moves in it. Thanks for being an early listener of the Creative Chapel Podcast. As a new show, it means so much that you're here. Please like, subscribe, and download our episodes to keep the momentum going. And share it with a friend who could use encouragement in their creative journey. Alright, back to the show. And so to to get more of your expertise into this, ⁓ I think something that comes across people who who aren't necessarily in the film world, they obviously like media and stuff, but they'll they'll think about actors as like and I've even had this thought as a teenager and I've kinda like I've obviously matured and grown out of this. But it's like, ⁓ actors are just good liars. They're just good at like lying and so they're able to like tap into a character. But as I've grown to understand the craft more, there's way more to it. ⁓ and even something that I would say filters very well into ⁓ Christianity. And so I'd be curious if, you know, I'll kind of like share my thoughts on that a little bit later, but I'd love to get your perspective on that of just ⁓ h how we can elevate our thoughts about the craft of acting and ⁓ approach it from a Christian perspective.

speaker-1: Yeah. It's so funny because I partially I feel like that's true. Actors are good liars. But when it comes to the emotional depth that you have to bring to a character, that to me is where the real shift happens because training is so important. You can only get so far lying, but when you actually do the training, I know something that very much surprised me. When I moved to Austin, I did a bunch of workshops, found some ongoing coaches that I did for years, and one of the things that shocked me before acting, before training, I never really cried. I cried when it had to do with God. And like that moved my soul. But other than that, like pretty chill. But now because of my training, I am able to empathize because I'm I put myself in the shoes of other people more. And I've been I've learned to do that through my training. And so all these, you know, print characters that I bring to life I relate not relate but I feel the things because I've done the homework on them. So now I can be having a conversation with somebody in a grocery store and you know they tell me that they lost their husband or whatever it is. I feel that deeper. And so I my emotions it's almost like it unlocked my emotions. Cause they were all kind of just here. And then acting was like, nope, let's burst that up and let's bring your emotions. So now it's not I'm not a crybaby at all. Like I I don't just cry at the drop of a hat, but I can feel like pain and things more so and I did not expect that at all.

speaker-0: Yeah, I that's exactly where I was leading to is empathy and and that being something to connect with people with. ⁓ and I think, you know, in in the Christian space right now is a big movement of stoicism and that being ⁓ there's even like YouTube accounts of like the Stoic Christian and and ultimately I don't know where I'm at exactly with the philosophy. But ⁓ I just don't fully see that being embodied in Jesus and and not to say that Jesus is fully just leading with emotion. But I think there's this this tendency to think about Christianity as stoicism versus like actually dealing with the emotions. Like the the church has I feel like kind of attacked emotionalism and like I think there's good reason for that. There's you make decisions out of emotions, and sometimes those don't always result in good decisions. But at the same time, ⁓ locking off our emotions is locking off a piece where God has has designed us and ⁓ wants to be embodied in. Well I mean when we look at the fruits of the spirit, these are not exactly all of them quote unquote emotions, but there are things expressed through emotion, definitely. and so I think being an actor and and being able to tap into your emotions and actually like recognize them and know them. I mean like we're still I think fighting through some some stigmas around therapy, but there's so much work happening for mental health, for emotional health that I think actors are kind of already have been on the journey on. ⁓ and then when you when you pair that correctly with ⁓ with Christian values and Christian faith and Christian reason. ⁓ and you say, I'm gonna be in a a completely embodied person ⁓ that is in touch spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, ⁓ and I'm not going to like treat any of those as like inherently demonic. Jesus just has more and more of you, and you have more room to ⁓ to be like Christ. And so all this I know Venus, you've already know. I'm just kinda like saying it for the audience to grasp, but ⁓ yeah, is there anything within that that you wanted to to touch base on?

speaker-1: No, ⁓ it was interesting that you were saying that a lot of I guess churches feel this way or there's talk in the Christian space about certain things and I'm like, I didn't even know. Well I guess I must not be like running in those circles 'cause I did not know.

speaker-0: Yeah, I think ⁓ with just the the school that I went to for ⁓ my education was first I went to a Christian university, ⁓ and then transferred to a Christian film school, which was more they didn't integrate the two very well of faith and film, but ⁓ but at the university there's you know, so many debates of like Calvinism versus Armenianism and in Theological perspectives and ⁓ debates between denominations and debates between ⁓ theological perspectives that like as ⁓ Pentecostal and charismatic a lot of people would use emotionalism as a as a arguing point against certain certain areas. And so that's just something that I kinda ran up against both in my faith, ⁓ but ⁓ kind of like a side tangent. But ⁓ but something I came across in our emails and just like checking out your website and stuff was this kind of like mantra that I've seen and hashtag of pray and push. I'd love to learn more about pray and push and what that means to you and how you embody that.

speaker-1: I it's funny, I don't even know why where I know I was intentional about having like a I guess a message or like a something that I stood by, but I found my first pray and push that I ever did in my emails was like in twenty thirteen. So I've been I've had that for over a decade. But it just was a re my reminder to I maybe I was changing my email sign off and I was like, what message do I actually want to say here? And for me that's it. Like pray first and then push. Pray and make sure that it is what God has for you and that you are in line with his will. And then when you are, push. And I just feel like that's kind of what I have done up you know, up to this point in this whole acting thing is I'm in his will, I'm doing the thing he called me to do, and I'm pushing forward and I know that he's backing it 'cause I've already got confirmation through prayer. So it's just that pray and push. Like you can't just pray and then have God do all the work. You gotta put some eff you some skin in the game. So that's kind of my go to.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I think there was a a time when I was younger when I would feel like it's like, okay, I I I feel called to this. ⁓ you know, whether it was like starting a young adult ministry or even journey into film of feeling like, Okay, God, like you you called me to this, so like you'll make it happen and not realizing like the participation of of our co labor as like it's both me and God pursuing this and that It's funny that was kinda like a touching point with my call with ⁓ Chris Francis, ⁓ another guest in the past. But ⁓ yeah, the it's funny how in these conversations, I've been able to r to run into ⁓ similar talking points. And so I really love Pray and Push and it feels like such a great thing to keep in the back of my mind when like I'm facing hurdles or obstacles, which like of course in the film world and storytelling, you know, it's it's you're You don't have a story if you don't have obstacles. So when obstacles come, ⁓ you know, you can be like, ⁓ well, I just I guess this isn't it. I guess this isn't God's will because there's an obstacle before me. But ⁓ you know, keeping that in mind of being like, Okay, I've prayed to come at least this far, and now I just need to push through this obstacle and and God will see me through it. So I really love that.

speaker-1: Yeah, and there are some times where where I'm like I find myself waiting and waiting and waiting, like, hey Lord, if you if you want me to do this, you know, open that door, open that door, open that door. And then other times I'm like, Alright Lord, I feel like this is what you called me to do. I'm gonna run forward. I'm just gonna do everything. And if you wanna if you don't want it to work out, shut the door. But instead of the whole like twiddle my thumbs until you do something, I'm just gonna run. And you just throw throw a mountain in the way whenever you want.

speaker-0: Yeah, that it reminds me of this time too that like I was I was just at In N Out around here in San Diego and there's a there's a a person that I had connected with before that's a musician and I wanted to connect with them more to try to do some work with them. and they just happened to be at the In N Out with ⁓ their pastor and so I was like, ⁓ like this is cool, like I could go up to them, but like, you it's a my Midwestern sensibilities kick in and I don't want to like intrude or anything. ⁓ so I'm kinda just like sitting there praying and being like, Okay God, like if he comes like this way, I'll like know like we're meant to connect. ⁓ and that never happened. And so both of us end up leaving ⁓ separately and and on my walk back to the car, I just feel like the Holy Spirit was like, I brought you to this point. Like, at least do the extra walk up to them to initiate. And and it wasn't like a harsh reality or like, you know, him being firm or anything. It was just the Holy Spirit like, I've already put you in a place to Be successful. I've already put you in the room with the person that you're trying to connect with. Yeah. You just gotta go do that connection. ⁓ and so yeah, I love it. Pray and push. ⁓ and so I'd love to hear about how you kind of like prayed and pushed your way into Daisy. And I'd love to talk about Daisy some more.

speaker-1: Yeah, ⁓ I'm so grateful for my producing partners. So the way that we got together was I have a basically a mentor group for Christian actresses and it started out with the younger ladies, but I didn't want just my opinion and my experience influencing these young girls. So I reached out to my actor friends and was like, Hey, would you want to be a mentor in this group that I'm starting so the girls can have reliable people in the industry to reach out to if they need. So I had think six or seven mentors in that group. And one of the mentors, Daisy, the story in that, actually happened to her nephew. And she was like, Y'all, I just, you know, would love to tell this story. I'd love to share it with you. If any of you guys want to help me tell it, that'd be amazing. And prior to that, my other producing partner had put something in the group about we should produce something together. Like we should all do a movie together or start a company. I forgot how she worded it. But it was just like the timing was there. So th the Stephanie who's Like the story happened to her nephew. She was like, I'm gonna show it, you guys watch it, let me know, and then we'll meet about it for anybody who wants to help bring it to life. Well, the three of us, we were the only ones that hopped on. And then we continued to hop on and we were like, you know what, let's do this whole production company and bring this beautiful story to life because it's not exactly what happened, but it is pretty much what happened to this young girl in a coffee shop and how Stephanie's nephew was put in the coffee shop that he never goes to at a ⁓ odd time of the day and was able to speak into this girl's life. Like God just used him to speak to her, but the message within it is for everybody. And it is a beautiful like only God can write stuff that beautiful that sticks to your heart. So we're so grateful that we got to bring it to life and tell it and now get it out there.

speaker-0: Yeah, and you know that ⁓ screen room was packed ⁓ at at purpose and it was so cool just to see everyone who came out to see it. ⁓ and like it's a great looking film. Cinema like the production value was stellar. ⁓ you know, sometimes there's a mixed bag of like just experience level at film festivals of like, you know, there's people who are just starting out and they're people a little bit more seasoned. ⁓ and to see across the board from production value to acting and performances, ⁓ Daisy was just so so good. And I think people like by just hearing us talk about it might assume that it might be just kinda like looking like your average Hallmark movie. But if I'm remembering it correctly, like it's kinda got a dark moody vibe to it, ⁓ which isn't very consistent across a lot of Christian media. And so would you be willing to talk a little bit more about ⁓ story? Like I don't want to do any like spoilers or anything like that. ⁓ but ⁓ would you be willing just to share like a little bit more of the story and like cast the cast the vibe of the film a little bit?

speaker-1: Yeah, so the way that we wrote it, because in the real story, we don't know the girl in the coffee shop that was in this moment with this woman who was helping her but was actually a witch, so kind of a spoiler, but ⁓

speaker-0: Yeah, I just like remembered all that part and like like got chills.

speaker-1: I know, I know. So we had to make up her story. Like what 'cause at first we were doing it from the perspective of the nephew, and just kind of telling like his story, his way to work and how God used him, but we realized it's really about her and why she was at the coffee shop and the change that happens within her. And so we just kind of made up this backstory of the girl in the coffee shop of what she was experiencing and it was very dark times, like very Troubled things that she was experiencing in life and was at the endpoint of her life, just wanted to give up, was at the bridge, ready to jump, and this woman comes to save her, and so we meet her in the coffee shop, and then this other guy comes in and God speaks to him, and we we see a totally different kind of help, even though we think this way is help, because it is good, and this woman is encouraging and she's giving her hope and letting her share. And so it seems It seems good. Like there doesn't seem there's like there's anything wrong with it, but a lot there's I don't wanna say it's white witchery or whatever, but ⁓ you know, there's witchcraft out there and even though it looks good and it doesn't seem harmful, it is not God's way. It is not it is not the truth truth. It's a a form of truth that seems like it will help, but it's not really going to. And so we we touch on that and the amazing part that we discovered through Daisy, our caterer She actually was a former high priestess for 31 years. Yes. So she made sure that our the way that our actors were behaving and the things that they were saying were honest. Like that that is what somebody who serves the dark side would do, would say. And we now want to tell her story because the things that she experienced and the way that she came to know Jesus is incredible. So it's like, wow, we started with this story, now we probably have another story we're gonna tell but exposing those lies that seem like they're good and they're not.

speaker-0: That's so cool. ⁓ that's I think that's been one of my favorite things about doing this show so far is just hearing the testimonies of like not only the the product, the the ultimate end result of the film, but the the process of making the film and ministering onset. ⁓ I think I I've probably said this ⁓ before on the show, but like the The process of making it is just as important as the final result. And I think that's that mirrors our lives. ⁓ that that when we are like, I'm trying to get to this goal, I'm trying to do this thing that God has called me to, and I can I can see the vision of me at the finish line of like I'm doing the thing that God called me to. ⁓ but in the season of preparation and walking through step by step ⁓ to get there, we don't really think of that as part of the final product. We just think of the final product. But the the story and the journey there is as important, if not more so, in terms of building your character and building you to be the person that God has called you to be. ⁓ and so I just love that. Like out of out of doing this film, you are connected with somebody who has like such a real ⁓ impersonal story connected to the one that you're telling and now you even have inspiration for another project. ⁓ I mean that's that's just like a total God move. Yeah.

speaker-1: Gosh, yeah, in in line with what you were saying about the process of is just as important not only for ourselves, but also the people that are connected to us on that journey because we've had whenever Stephanie was scouting, I remember she was scouting out this restaurant that we were considering using, we ended up not using it, but what did happen is she ran into two women who were there while it was closed and was able to pray with them and hear about their story, both like drug addicted I think. But she was able to share Jesus with them just because she was scouting. And so we made sure that as we were bringing it to life that we realized it was also about the people that we were gonna encounter on the pursuit of. And even while we were filming, there was we were filming overnights because of the mood like you were talking about earlier. We wanted like a darker tone. So there was this one guy in and we were in a sketchy neighborhood for our restaurant. Like you could hear the guns fire. This this area was very not good. But there was this random guy in the dark that kind of walked up and was just watching everything. And I don't know what anybody else was thinking. I feel like a lot of times people get concerned, like, ⁓ there's somebody who looks a little sketchy, they're hanging out over here, we need to keep our eye on them. But in my mind I'm like, maybe it's just curious about a film set. I think a lot of people are curious about film sets. So I went over to the street poll where he was kind of hiding and ⁓ just watching and just started talking to him and found out like he works the night shift because of XYZ and he'd always wanted to be in movies but he'd never been around one and and we're Facebook friends now and he was such a cool dude and he came back the next day and he just felt invited and welcomed and I think our who we were being and the love of Jesus exuding regardless of where we were but I think that really impacted him and he got to you know get to know people on set and just experience different people. So those you know, those impactful things along the journey are so important.

speaker-0: Yeah. That's so cool. And that that I know you mentioned earlier that like you didn't, you know, cry a whole lot ⁓ before acting. ⁓ I think even before acting I was kind of a crybaby. ⁓ and just that story like is making me emotional and like kinda in me to like brush away a a tear. But ⁓ 'cause it's so cool just to think about I I feel like before the film festivals I attended last year with with hard faith, with purpose, ⁓ I was a a bit insecure of being like out loud about being a Christian. Like for Sons of Thunder, I was intentional to be like, okay, this is this is who we are, this is what we're making, this is the purpose. If you're not on board with the whole the purpose behind the film, that's fine. You know, you're you're here to do a job and hopefully you do a great job ⁓ and you have a good experience. But after going through hard faith and purpose and hearing stories like that, it it really inspires me to be more like just unconcerned about sharing faith and being just a Christian out loud, basically. And I don't think I like restricted it or hit it with Sons of Thunder, but I think it was just like I'm you know, you hear stories about like a film is a is a business vehicle. And so y there's there's anti discrimination laws and there's ⁓ you know, the arts tend to bring in a a very diverse group of people, regardless of faith, race, religion, sexuality, sexual orientation. ⁓ and so, you know, there's this kind of like you wanna be like very nuanced and navigating things, but ⁓ it's stories like that. That's like it's like, man, I really want to be tuned into the Holy Spirit when on set. So that I can just be Jesus to a dude who's not even part of the production that is just like wandering by. and so I'd I'd love that and thank you for sharing that.

speaker-1: Well and I think a lot of times, at least for me, I know w what works, I guess. I don't know if that's a proper term, but one of the things that I consider maybe, or one of the things I just naturally do with any opportunity, is I already prepare mentally to not be a part of a thing. If you direct offer me something, if you invite me to something, if you if whatever I'm gonna join something. I'm already prepared for somebody to not like my faith and be like, ⁓ we can't have that there and then I'm like, Cool, I'm out. Like I don't I don't allow myself to get attached to something prematurely because I know that I'm gonna bring my faith into it. And so I'm just like, okay, this is what's gonna happen and if I can't be here or share that, then I don't need to be a part. And I think that I've ra I've realized I do that with bookings as well. Whenever I get a direct offer for a role. Yeah, I'm excited, like that would be wonderful, let me read the script. But even before I read the script, I'm mentally preparing myself to turn it down. Like I'm waiting for the thing in the script that makes me go sorry, I can't like I'm not gonna be a part of that. And that way, maybe it's just a protection thing or maybe it's just preparing in advance, but I don't allow myself to get attached to the thing because I don't want that more than I want to share my faith in it or like ⁓ I don't I'm not always sharing my faith in a film set, but you know what I mean. So I just prepare myself to not be a part of a thing.

speaker-0: Yeah, that's good. ⁓ there's so many threads that I want to pull on that we've kind of like skimmed over. ⁓ but I I especially want to pull on ⁓ just your ⁓ your network of of actresses that you're developing ⁓ and help mentoring with ⁓ the Powerhouse Sisterhood. and the the full title of that is the Powerhouse Sisterhood Suite. ⁓ And so I'd love for you to to talk about that a little bit more. We've kinda like danced around it a little bit, ⁓ but I'd love to hear more about how that came about and just some of the fruit that you're seeing about that and just encouraging any ⁓ women in the audience to basically just take the leap of faith and join you.

speaker-1: Gosh, yeah. It's been life giving for me, which is shocking, because I grew up with a lot of dude friends just because girls were drama. So me doing this is like God. But it started from mentoring those young actresses I mentioned in the beginning, and then I would have women my age who were actresses who wanted to join that group. And I was like, no, this is just for them. You know, maybe eventually I'll create something for the women, but right now it's for them. But I got so many actresses asking me to join that I thought, all right, Lord, like my plate is full. But if you want me to do this, I will do this. And so it was just kinda one of those things we talked about earlier where I'm gonna run forward. And if you don't want it, just stop it. So I opened the doors for ⁓ like launched it, and I got flooded with over a hundred and sixty ladies, I think, wanting to join the group. And I have like a little vetting process because I I care about the quality, not just the quantity. But I realized How many of us out there wanted community and connection and somebody understanding the journey? And that has really been what it is, is the girls that come in, I I like to ask ⁓ like, what made you join? And one of the main things is I felt like I was doing it by myself. I felt like I was on an island by myself. I couldn't find people who were both in the industry but also Christians. I would find industry people that weren't, or like church people that weren't into film. So they didn't understand my struggles. And so having this community of ladies who not only understand the struggles but also celebrate you. Like the ladies in this group are so supportive and encouraging. I s I said a while ago that I don't I used to not have girlfriends because they were, you know, drama. But the ladies in here are not. We totally celebrate and I I realized when I look at a girl, one of our members, posting something online, like a big deal, something happened good for her, and she posts about it. It's my other sweet ladies that are leaving the comments of you you're awesome, way to go, like super supportive. And it has changed the game for so many. And now in there I don't teach acting classes like how to develop a character because there are loads of coaches out there. But I do teach the business side of acting. Because I don't I haven't found many people that actually teach the business of how to do this. How to get an agent. I bring in guest speakers to talk on different topics. How do you XYZ? How can I build this? What's the next step to doing this? And so we really talk about the the process and the business of acting.

speaker-0: If you're someone who loves apparel that shows your creative side while sharing your faith, I've just the thing for you. Our sponsor, the Printing Ox, has hooked us up with some t-shirts I designed that we're planning to launch later this summer. If you want to support the show, go ahead and pre-order one of the shirts. It has the Creative Chapel logo on the front, and on the back it says you were made to create, with the scripture of Revelation 4.11 underneath. You might even recognize the design from our backdrop here at the studio. If you'd like to pre-order a shirt, visit the link in our description. And if you have any t-shirt needs for your church, business, or event, make sure to hit up my buddy Forrest at the PrintingOx. He does everything with quality and exemplifies the Creative Chapel spirit. Visit his link in the description as well. Alright, back to the show. Being a collaborative medium, but even within that, it can feel lonely. and feel like you know, thing the weight is all on your shoulders and trying to figure out like who is who are my people, who can I go to ⁓ with my creative meditations, my spiritual meditations, where they overlap. ⁓ and so it's so cool that that you've built a community for women to to just walk with each other and to grow with each other. ⁓ and so we'll make sure to leave a link in the description for anyone that is looking to to get involved with that. ⁓ and so You mentioned like the business side and you're very passionate about entrepreneurship and so I'd love to get just like general thoughts on on entrepreneurship of profiting from God given gifts. ⁓ but could you drop like a little bit of game for like the the actors out there to just like think about in their their acting business? Like is there some tips and tricks that ⁓ you're willing to to like Put people on top.

speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ oof. For sure for actors, classes. A lot of actors think, ⁓ I can show up on set, I can get a small role and I can learn on set and I can just kind of develop over time and meet people who are putting me in their movie, but no, those classes are more impactful than you think, because it's not just about learning the craft of being able to develop a character. There are other benefits that come from being in classes and one of those is your acting coach. has connections in the industry with other filmmakers and with casting directors and with talent agencies. So whenever you're attending class and you're really amping up your ability, your acting coach can put you in contact with people that you didn't have access to. But you wouldn't have gotten that if you hadn't been in there and shown that you were trustworthy in doing the work. And then the other thing is attending classes, you actually build this network of other actors who can recommend you to projects. But if they don't know who you are and they don't know the kind of work that you do, then whenever they have a friend who's creating a film who's needing to cast something, they're not gonna think of you because you haven't been showing up to classes. You're not showing what you can do. Nobody knows if you're a joy to work with or not. So there are so many benefits to actually getting into classes. Like that is one of the top things I would tell actors is don't overlook that. Don't think that doing a weekend workshop with casting director is enough, because it's not.

speaker-0: Yeah. And just to get real quick like a quick story on that of like when I was casting for Sons of Thunder, we had casted the kind of like main antagonist character, Alex is the character's name, and the actor's name is Evan. And we were just meeting talking about character, talking about his interpretation of the script and his thoughts on it. And at the time, like we were pretty a few weeks out from production and we still hadn't cast the lead. And so I was like, hey man, like have you just worked with anyone that's cool that you would recommend for this role? Like I'm having a really hard time casting this role. And he was like, Yeah, I worked with like this one guy on a set, he was pretty cool, and he seems like to fit the bill. and and that ended up being who we cast in the role and and the actor Josh Mullins, ⁓ just a terrific actor who it's got a great work ethic, ⁓ and somebody that I want to collaborate again and again with. So, you know, the just the touch base on the The network of like connecting with other actors and being each other's cheerleaders. ⁓ you know, things like that happen where like somebody gets cast and they're like, Hey, do you know anyone who else who could fill a role? And you're like, Well, I got, you know, all these friends from class. So I just wanted to throw that story out there before kind of going back into just the entrepreneur entrepreneurship side.

speaker-1: Yes, and it's funny because well it's not funny, but that wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been in connection with him. Like there's a something you can't just show up to something once and then be remembered and be ⁓ promoted for something in the future because people truly do need to know, are you easy to work with? Are you good to work with? Are you gonna bring your a game? Are you what kind of person are you? And people get to know you through constant interaction, not through one time interaction. So it really does make a difference when you're in Continuous connection with other people.

speaker-0: Hm. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, so could you ⁓ kind of go back now transitioning from kind of like actor business to just entrepreneurship in general and and kind of like lessons that you've learned and where you want to go?

speaker-1: Yeah, I have come to love entrepreneurship and it's interesting because I I guess I've known for a while what do they say? Like I'm not employable. If I'm if I have a job and I have a boss, I am going to do great work there. Like I that's just who I am. I want I know my potential and I want to work up to that. So I do try to do things that make me stand out and also be a wonderful employee, but I don't enjoy building somebody else's dream. Like I a hundred percent don't. When I think like I am coming to work and I'm using my hours to build this thing that you want, not what I want, but what you want, that just drives me crazy. So being able to have something on my own where there's this vision and this desire in me to create something that I enjoy doing and help somebody else, that's where I've landed. So I'm like, anything I can do to stay in the entrepreneurial space, I will do. Because I've also found that I enjoy talking about business strategy and CRMs and marketing and sales. Like I enjoy all of these things. So am I like we were talking before, before this started, was the amount of ideas in my brain that I want to do, but I can't. I have to stay focused. But it doesn't mean they're not there. It just means I've putting them on the shelf for a moment while I focus on building this one thing. And then when it's time or when I can, then I'll focus on those other things. But it just it's like it doesn't stop.

speaker-0: Yeah, and I mean there's navigating like the freelance side of filmmaking, like just to sta sustain my life, ⁓ you know, having take on client work, ⁓ has really generated my mind more towards entrepreneurship and even doing a show like this, thinking about the entrepreneurship side of of marketing it, inviting collaborators, inviting potential sponsors and things like that. I think there's this kind of growing movement of Christian entrepreneurship and accepting that like you know, the what scripture says is like for the love of money is the root of all evil. ⁓ and I think that has really taken a ⁓ a certain mindset to just like erase kind of the front part of it and just be like, Money is the root of all evil. ⁓ but it it's the love of money. That's the root of all evil. And so with business, there needs to be profit, or else there just won't be business. There won't be people to employ to sustain a lifestyle, to sustain a society. And ⁓ and so I I think there definitely needs to be like a little bit of refinement in terms of like how Christians approach business that we're taking a lot of notes from. ⁓ secular society that might not always be the practical application for for Christian businesses. ⁓ like I I think we're both fans of the Hor Hormoses. and I really like Alex Hermosy's content and like I've saved so much of it. But there's also a part of it that's like, ⁓ I don't s I think this doesn't this specific thing doesn't really jive with some of my other values that are rooted in in biblical ⁓ ethics and and morals and so ⁓ or just like or just work philosophy. ⁓ and so but I do think it's cool to see a lot of entrepreneurs coming into the spotlight of like, ⁓ I am a Christian, I'm a face forward ⁓ a faith forward business. and that profits aren't bad. Profits are great. Profits allow us to be generous to give to others, to give to nonprofits who aren't worried about the profits. ⁓ like we need we need profitable businesses in order to fund the nonprofits. ⁓ And so yeah, I I feel like I could really pick your brain more on like going into detail about like some of the things that I don't love, like C RMs and and stuff like that. ⁓ so we might have to to talk ⁓ just catch up and do a little bit of maybe I can get a little bit of coaching from you on some of your experience as an entrepreneur. But

speaker-1: But I think you're totally right on that because I at even myself, so it's really funny I say that it's funny, it's not funny because I could be so much farther than I am. Probably seven years ago I remember learning things about your mindset and you know, if you're trying to build a business, you need to work on your mindset. I'm like, no, I'm good. Give me strategy and I'll run with it. Like just tell me the steps and I will do the steps. ⁓ gosh, well now I'm realizing like this many years later, ⁓ my gosh, I gotta work on my mindset. It's terrible 'cause I I realize that the the way that I think about earning money has been ⁓ has been poorly influenced by something in my past. Like the way that I think about charging and the way that I think about earning and just the the guilt that comes with ⁓ gosh, who am I to charge more? Who am I to do this? Like why would anybody buy this? Or I have I've realized I do have those thoughts. And mindset is such an important part of entrepreneurship and I For anybody who is listening and getting on this journey and you think you don't have mindset work to do, you do. You do.

speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I I can definitely even link to that of just thinking about my pricing for video packages and social media packages and things like that. Cause my wife and I, we started a a boutique ⁓ kind of like content creation and social media marketing business here in San Diego. ⁓ so that's kinda like the how we sustained our our first year of life here in San Diego. ⁓ because just no one was hiring, so we were kinda like forced to to go into that and it was really good ⁓ for the first year. And so and so kind of like touching base on for Mosey, who I think is a a really big influence right now into the business space. you have mentioned kind of like ⁓ one of his teaching points on like the lonely years and your own experience with that. Would you mind kinda like talking about that a little bit and and helping some people out of maybe some some lonely times?

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, he ⁓ the first time he said it, ⁓ he calls it the lonely chapter. And it's where you are on your way up, so you've kind of broken away from the people who you you started with. Like they're not doing what you're doing, they're you you guys are all s on similar journeys, but then you break away and you're trying to build this thing or do this thing and they don't understand it, but you've also not met the people over here that get it, that are on their the the good side of entrepreneurship. So there's this whole area where you're grinding, you're working, you're figuring things out, you're crying, like all of this and I have been through that. And I it's interesting because God had me in twenty seventeen, he had me pause acting. I didn't know why I was living in Austin, but I just felt this like pause it. Like and I was like, okay, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but we're gonna leave Austin 'cause my husband's also in the film industry. And so we ended up moving back to West Texas. We were there for seven months. It was I d did not have a good time. Like I had gotten used to everything over here, so we came back, but I still was like not in the acting world. I wasn't auditioning. At the same time that God had me pause acting, my agency dissolved. So I was like, Okay, that's confirmation. You you want me to pause it and give it up. I don't know how long that's gonna last, but I did it. And so when then I we came back and we moved to this little town where I didn't have any connections 'cause I had left Austin, but I was building and I was building like a blog and then I was building a course, like a mini course for life skills and I was just building these different things on this entrepreneur journey and there are a lot of times like I don't have the finances at that time like anything I pay for, I pay for my business account. And I didn't have the finances to hire a mentor or to hire somebody else. So I'm like, I've got my platform that I'm paying for. I've got this software and this software and this like these things and so I can't invest anymore. So I have to lean on myself to figure things out and Whenever Alex said the hor the lonely chapter, I was like, You are not kidding, brother. Like you are not joking. It is it's discouraging. It can be really discouraging because you try and then you're teaching yourself and then you run into another roadblock and you have to teach yourself and there's nobody around you and I wasn't connecting with a lot of people at that time and really I was head down in it because I wanted to be doing it anyway. So it wasn't like it wasn't like I didn't have opportunities to go do other things. It was just I wanna build this thing and I want it to To become something, but there's a struggle of the learning and the doing. And I remember launching my first thing, and I think my cousin bought it, and I had one other buy like I put so much work into launching it, and I got very few buyers, and I just remember crying. Like it is very discouraging. You put so much work into something, and then it feels like, why did I even do all of that? And so eventually I think that. Part comes. I still haven't met my people over here that are head down building want to talk business, wanna like strategize and get together. Like I have looked for those people because I don't want to talk about celebrity gossip. I don't watch TV. I don't want to talk about movies. Like I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about the people who have big visions and big dreams and they're executing and they're trying to figure out how to go after and chase that. So I still sometimes feel like I'm in the lonely chapter. Even though I have a lot of friends and people in the industry. There still fills like this void of I'm doing it on my own. So yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah, I I relate to that. We so our first year was really good as a business, as as freelancers doing social media marketing and content creation. Very, very good. ⁓ at least for our standards and what we needed to sustain ourselves as first time freelancers. And then the second year, which is last year, was like a complete desert when it came to trying to find clients. The people that we had relied on were now not in the picture for client work. And so, like for the first six months, it was just a dry desert. We were doing like task rabbit gigs. My my wife was just working so hard doing like cleaning gigs, and and various things just to get us buying. It got to the point of like I just had to get a full time job. and that doesn't mean like the entrepreneurship goals ever ceased. It just is like, okay, this is the season, like I'm about to have a baby, I need income, this is what we're gonna do. ⁓ but ⁓ And and now I'm like kinda coming out of those years a little bit and and planning to hop back into freelancing and doing that doing those gigs. But those those years well, I hopefully it's not years, but like the months that we had of just loneliness of being like, Where's the clients? We're trying things, no one's biting. ⁓ it's super hard, but I think something that I always try to to remember is just endurance that that God does call us to endure, endure the hardships, endure the trials, because again, he's developing character in you and trying to weed out ⁓ weed out character from you, that there might be things that are part of your character that God is trying to reveal to you and and bringing you through hard times so that you can see that and bring it to him and repent of it and and just offer it up. ⁓ and so if you're struggling out there ⁓ and you're in this period, you know, just know that God hasn't left you, he hasn't forsaken you, he's still with you. and I I know I'm kinda like going a a track right now, Venus, but it's ⁓ it's a kind of a season that I'm exiting and so ⁓ and and just restoring faith in God's promises. And so ⁓ so again, just to to to bring you back into the conversation after that. sorry, Venus. ⁓

speaker-1: No, you're fine, you're good.

speaker-0: ⁓ to the person who Yeah, go ahead.

speaker-1: So in that process of developing to the outcome, there is something God did so good for me. So I I went to whenever we moved, so we were in that town and then we moved again. And I knew whenever we moved to this new town that God was like saying, Get a workforce job because prior to that he had not had me do a workforce job and that made no sense to me because I had my degree, I enjoyed people, I work really well. It would help us financially, like Who wouldn't it help to have a dual, you know, income? But it was like God was having me not work and it I was just being obedient. Well, when we moved, I felt him open the door, like do the workforce thing. And I applied to this great opportunity that came up, was shocked, but it was exactly what I wanted to do. And ⁓ or it kind of fit my character, like my personality. And I interviewed they had over three hundred and sixty applicants, and I got the job. And I worked there for three and a half years. And I can tell you, Chris, like if I hadn't worked there, I wouldn't be the type of boss that I am right now. Cause I have an intern and I have ⁓ an assistant, a virtual assistant. And I learned things, not just being a boss, but also strategy and running a business. And I'm grateful for all of that. But I am mm I can be a go hard person.

speaker-0: Right.

speaker-1: Like I have standards, I have expectations, I want to execute this way, I want to execute well. what is the word? ⁓ I'm trying to work on grace. So being at being at that job for three years and having the boss that I did and the way that she handled things where she was just things would roll off her back. Things weren't that big a deal. She wouldn't make you feel bad if you forgot to do something. I just learned so much from her that carried over into my business now. And I'm incredibly thankful that God showed me that because it is a refining that I needed before he could put me in this position. So there are there is a purpose in the journey that God can instill within us so that we are better on the other side of it.

speaker-0: Yeah, definitely. ⁓ I have s some like closing questions I always ask all my guests. ⁓ and I'll get to those after this question. But I wanted to kind of like wrap up our time with with this question for you. ⁓ could you speak to the the actor or the filmmaker or the artist out there who is just in the mindset of like, I don't want to run a business, I just wanna do art. I just wanna do acting, I just want to be the crafts person, I don't want to be the business person. I feel like I was in that mindset early on and ⁓ I'd love your perspective on that of just encouraging people of, you know, maybe considering it more of hopping into entrepreneurship.

speaker-1: Yeah, well I think that is dependent upon the outcome you want. If you do want to only do that art or only do that thing, then yes, adopting the mindset of an o of an entrepreneur is going to be very valuable. But if you're just wanting to do it as a side thing and you enjoy doing it for a couple of hours a week and you don't have the desire to do it full time, don't worry about it. You know, make your money another way. But if you truly are wanting to make it your thing where you get to do that full time and it supports your family, there I mean Call whatever you want, but it is entrepreneur entrepreneurship. You will have to figure out how to market yourself. You will have to figure out how to email people and let them know you have a special coming. You will have to, you know, collaborate with other people on whatever it may be, learning certain tactics. Like it's all going to help you do this full time. And I know that a lot of times creatives have that creative brain. They're very right-brained. And so the the left brain, the logical side is like, I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna crunch numbers, I don't wanna develop an email list, I don't wanna do this. And I get it, but find somebody who maybe does. Like find a friend who wants to help you in that area. They're not creative, but they're very logical. Maybe that you guys would be a good partnership. But if you truly do want to, if your outcome and your goal is to do it full time, you will have to put on the entrepreneurial hat and do things that you don't love doing.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, I think that's super helpful, especially in the framing of like if you want to do it full time, you do have to consider entrepreneurship. If you want to do it just as a hobby and part time, like you can you can certainly, you know, do other work and and just focus on the art. ⁓ 'cause I think that's a big part of just creative people in general, whether Christian or not is like there's the type of person who's like, I just wanna be an artist and give away my art for free. ⁓ and that's their prerogative, like that you could totally do that. ⁓ there's nothing wrong with that. And I think that's honorable. I think the Lord honors that and that's very generous. But at the same time when you step further into life where it's like you have responsibilities, you have debt, you have, you know, a family to care for, ⁓ and you want to do your art and you want to ⁓ be ⁓ consistently doing it, then you do have to start thinking about entrepreneurship and and pursuing putting on the business hat and taking off the the craftsman hat. ⁓ and it was a really hard transition for me, so ⁓ I don't maybe you were a little bit more passionate and go getter for it, Venus, but it took me a long time for for me to be like, I can I can put on the business hat too.

speaker-1: Yeah. Well I think so 'cause remember God told me to do acting. I'm not doing this because I just wanted to go into the arts. Like I no. I just to me it's a duty to do the acting and then I enjoy the business. So I will do this to the best of my ability, but I enjoy this.

speaker-0: Yeah, I'll have to pray on that and try to adapt that as well. ⁓ adopt that. ⁓ all right, well there's ⁓ there's two questions I like to end the show with. ⁓ the first question is what are ⁓ some things inspiring you right now? What are you reading, watching, listening to? What is inspiring you that ⁓ is giving you life?

speaker-1: Hmm kinda makes me sad because I told you like we were gonna move, so everything is packed up. All of my books are packed up and I love my books. I love my business books and whatever I'm reading and applying I love. So I don't have a book that I'm reading right now, unfortunately. But what I do have, what I enjoy doing, is walking on my treadmill and watching my telenovellas. Like that's my soaps is when I turn on my YouTube mentors. And I like I watch them while I walk and I learn so much, like so many business ideas of how to think about this, how to reframe that, or you know, whatever it is. So I just watch business on YouTube and and that's like my fuel to continue going and continue building. And then I will say that there are a few people on social media that inspire me because they're younger than me and they're doing way more than me. And I'm like, dude, if you can do it, so can I. I just need to figure it out. I need to get past whatever hurdle there is. So That kind of stuff inspires me. When I see people doing big things, it doesn't discourage me in any way. I'm just like, how can I do the same? 'Cause if you can do it, it can be done. And if why not me? Like, you know? So that inspires me.

speaker-0: Great. Yeah. Yeah, definitely like a a YouTube junkie over here. So lots of entrepreneurship and business ⁓ strategy stuff comes onto my feed a lot. and ⁓ mostly right now it's I was looking up high yield savings accounts, ⁓ is what I was researching this week. So gotten a lot of like ⁓ stuff on my feed for that. ⁓ And then ⁓ the last question I like to ask all my guests, which is a little bit hit or miss, is ⁓ if you were a vegetable on Veggie Tales, what vegetable would you be? ⁓ you could either be a character or just be a vegetable. I don't know if you like Veggie Tales or watched it, ⁓ but that's kind of like the levity I like to leave on. Fair enough. We don't have to do it.

speaker-1: I don't know the names. I don't even know. I I think is there's a tomato and a cucumber?

speaker-0: Yeah. Bob and Larry there. Yeah. That's great. We'll take it. It's I'm I'm workshopping that question. I say that basically in every single episode, so maybe it's just gonna get dropped. I don't know, but ⁓ maybe I'll start front loading that question of like I'll put that in my intake forum of like, Do you know Veggie Tales? ⁓ would you have a reply to this? But

speaker-1: That's all I know. That's a good question if I'd know like if I'd have watched it. I'm trying to think of something else that maybe I would have watched. I don't know though.

speaker-0: Did you grow up without like any Christian media? ⁓ any like films or straight to DHS stuff?

speaker-1: Yeah. Salty the Magic School Bus or the Singing Song b yeah, Salty the ⁓ Singing Song, but I don't remember it. Like that's all I remember. Salty School. I might even be combining two cartoons, I don't know.

speaker-0: I'll do some research and see. It it kinda sounds familiar like a singing songbook. That sounds like a puppet ⁓ that I might have seen before. ⁓

speaker-1: Yeah. He has a blue book and it was a Christian show.

speaker-0: I'll have to research that. Yeah. There was like a an Instagram reel that came across my feed the other day that was like nineties Christian media of like just all the like the stuff that like some of it predated me and some of it I grew up with as a as a pastor's kid. So ⁓ but yeah. ⁓ Venus, thank you so much for being on the show. I really appreciate your input and your encouragement. where can people find you? ⁓ socials and links and any Any information that you wanna leave the the audience with for getting a hold of you?

speaker-1: Yeah, if you are an actor, go to personalpowerhouse dot com. I've got free resources there that you can download. If you're an actress, I've got community and a conference that you can join. and then Facebook is Venus Monique and Instagram is Hi Five Venus.

speaker-0: Awesome. Well Venus, thank you so much for being on Creative Chapel. ⁓ I'm really looking forward to our blossoming friendship. ⁓ definitely want to collaborate in the future ⁓ and see what see what we can do and and get together on. ⁓ but ⁓ for now, ⁓ we'll see you in the ⁓ next episode.

speaker-1: Thanks for this, Chris.

speaker-0: Thanks for watching this episode of the Creative Chapel Podcast. If you enjoyed it, make sure to like, subscribe, and follow along to stay up to date on more episodes. We're shooting out of Communion Church in San Diego, California. If you're looking for a great church to be a part of, this is the place to be. Stay faithful, stay creative, and I'll see you in the next episode.