Competing Voices
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Competing Voices

People often reference the voices in their heads when describing the creative process.

Read More
What Qualifies You?
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

What Qualifies You?

Are you waiting before taking on the project that God has been stirring in you? If so, what’s the reason behind your hesitation? There’s never a perfect time to do anything, but if you’re sensing God’s green light, why are you not moving forward?

Read More
Clues From Your Past
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Clues From Your Past

Getting unstuck feels so good. The immediate desire is to rush forward into whatever is next. That’s understandable, but it can cause us to quickly be on the wrong path.

Read More
Echo the Psalmist’s Cry
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Echo the Psalmist’s Cry

I hope you’re feeling less stuck. If so, may this be a new beginning for you. We could all use a fresh start. Some days, I need more than one!

Read More
Three Reasons We Get Stuck
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Three Reasons We Get Stuck

I regularly speak to—and coach—creatives from every industry. I’ve had thousands of these conversations over the decades. And as diverse as these creators are, many find themselves stuck in some of the same ways.  

Read More
Paranoia Will Destroy You
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Paranoia Will Destroy You

When we have an original idea, we often hesitate to share it until we can make it first. After all, what if someone steals it and all our efforts are lost?

Read More
Don't Avoid the Supernatural
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Don't Avoid the Supernatural

George Orwell and C. S. Lewis have such different—and definitive—worldviews. Orwell is the author of 1984 and Animal Farm, while Lewis wrote Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia series. Can you imagine either wandering through the other’s created universes? How would they have reacted? 

Read More
God Isn't Preachy
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

God Isn't Preachy

As we create in trueness and avoid the dangers of indoctrination, it’s essential we don’t water down our creativity out of a fear of being “preachy.”

Read More
Bent Creations
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Bent Creations

As we create with God, our goal isn’t to force a heavy-handed message on others. That’s indoctrination—not creativity.

Read More
On Auto-Repeat
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

On Auto-Repeat

When we find something that works for us, we want it to continue.

Read More
The Benefit of Boredom
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

The Benefit of Boredom

During an interview, best-selling author Neil Gaiman was asked where his ideas come from. He responded…

Read More
Risk is Required
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Risk is Required

The desire for a good, safe life is alluring. But are those traits the hallmark of epic biblical stories…or the stories from Hallmark movies?

Read More
Conditional Creators
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Conditional Creators

When God invites us to create, we have a choice. We can say yes and create it with God. Or we can be conditional creators, proceeding only if perceived limits are first removed.

Read More
Are You Replaceable?
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Are You Replaceable?

There’s a growing concern among many that generative AI will soon be able to duplicate, if not exceed, our creativity. It can certainly compile things faster than us. But can it also create better than us? And if so, what happens then?

Read More
Authentic Only
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Authentic Only

It’s always better to propose a solution rather than just oppose a problem.

Read More
nAIve
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

nAIve

So many creative people have ceded a part of their skill and confidence to AI. This is a self-inflicted glitch that will only grow worse over time.

Read More
Don’t Be Split in Two
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

Don’t Be Split in Two

It’s one thing to love what we do. It’s another to look to it for our validation and salvation. That’s really what an idol is—anything we look to for life or success.

Read More
The Goal of De-Creation
Amanda Dykes Amanda Dykes

The Goal of De-Creation

Just as God is an intentional Creator, the enemy is an intentional de-creator who comes at our creativity in a uniquely destructive way.

Read More