“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

On this weeks episode…

I sat down with Noah Fontana to talk about how a homeschooled kid with a love for comics and creativity grew up to work in animation—and ultimately found deeper meaning in art therapy and teaching. From drawing on Converse shoes to working at DreamWorks and now teaching kindergarten, Noah’s story is packed with imagination, insight, and some real talk about the power of self-expression.

In this episode, we covered:

• Comic books, crayons, and creativity – How Noah’s parents leaned into his artistic passion while homeschooling

• The creative brain at work – Why switching mediums and playful routines are key to his process

• Code-switching, people-pleasing & public speaking – The realities of growing up in a controlled homeschool bubble

• From DreamWorks to the classroom – How art therapy opened a door to a more human-centered career

• Self-expression as healing – Using creativity to connect, teach, and transform emotional experiences

If you haven’t enjoyed this week episode, you can find it here:

If you’d rather listen, check it out on Spotify or Apple

Did you suffer from Purity Culture?

Because, I sure did. I dove into Part 2 of I Kissed Dating Goodbye to unpack the deeper messages that shaped an entire generation of Christian homeschoolers. From purity culture's warped definitions of love to the emotional shame wrapped around sex and self-worth, I took a hard look at Joshua Harris’ arguments—and how they still impact us today.

In this episode, I covered:

• Christian love vs. worldly love – And why that binary misses the mark

• Emotional repression – How purity culture teaches us to ignore our bodies

• Self-love = sin? – The messaging that made basic self-care feel shameful

• Gender roles & sexual accountability – Why guys got a pass and girls got blamed

• The “gift” of singleness – And the danger of framing relationships as spiritual failure

If you’d rather listen, check it out on Spotify or Apple

What I’m reading…

The thrift gods have chosen to bless me this year because I keep finding books from my read bucket list. And this week, they looked down in all their goodness and sent me Keep Going by Austin Kleon.

If you are a creative, (or want to be a creative) this is the book for you. Austin breaks down “10 ways to stay creative in good times and bad”. So far I’m only 3 ways in and here’s my takeaways.

• Stop waiting for creativity to kick in and schedule time to be creative

• Creativity keeps us young, it keeps us alive

• Shut off the outside and allow your brain to breathe

• Creative is not a noun…it’s a verb

I’ve got a challenge for you this week. Take 5 minutes and be creative. Grab a piece of paper and a crayon and doodle. Grab a musical instrument and craft a little song. Grab a notebook and a pen and write a poem. It doesn’t have to be perfect, nobody even has to see it, it’s just to get you outside of your norm.

Until Next Time…

Thanks for the support!

Peace & Love

Jacob G