Sweet Inspirations

Sweet Inspirations is a Christian movie filmed in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 2018 and released on the Pure Flix streaming service and on DVD on February 1, 2019. Produced by Rockhill Studios of Fayetteville, the movie was directed by Brittany Yost, who was a producer on God’s Not Dead 2 and God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, and co-written by Tommy Blaze, who wrote God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness. Several actors from the God’s Not Dead series also appear in the film, such as Dean Cain and Arkansas native Natalie Canerday.

Ruth Deveraux (Katherine Forbes) runs the local battered women’s shelter in “Fayetteville County” (as one news personality later says) but is facing the possibility of her property being foreclosed (needing to pay $33,000 in twenty-nine days). She calls Maggie (Cassie Self), who, with her overbearing husband Greg (Dean Cain), runs a local accountancy firm, currently in the midst of tax season and negotiating the matter of a pizzeria that had been left to their church. Meanwhile, her friend Bonnie (Maria Canals-Barrera) is having trouble with menopausal mood swings and compulsively bakes. Her friends Dianna (Natalie Canerday) and Chonda (Verda Davenport) try to comfort her, but they realize that they all feel an emptiness in their lives. Maggie is suddenly inspired to turn the former pizzeria into a bakery, selling Bible-themed cupcakes to help fund the shelter, as part of the church outreach effort (although they cannot advertise the existence of the specific shelter). Sherry (Lauren Sweetser), who resides in the shelter with her daughter Vivian, joins to help.

With the assistance of contractor Hudson Briggs (Rodney Wilson) and additional volunteers from the church, they get the place fixed up, naming the business Sweet Inspirations, with twenty-one days to go. Maggie never told Greg that she was opening a business, causing yet more strife between them. The first day is a bust, and the bank shows up telling Ruth that she has only fifteen days to pay; too, Pastor Roberts (Bill Rogers), goaded by Rose (Candace Hynkle), who is head of the women’s outreach program, expresses skepticism about the project but comes around to supporting it. Maggie’s son Josh (Noah Chacon) helps set up a social media presence, and local television news figure Valerie (Vanessa Angel) of “Coffee with Valerie” does a story on the bakery. Maggie becomes a media figure in her own right, spending her time promoting the business, but this drives a wedge between her and the other women.

Ruth reminds Maggie, “God is the only one that’s ever in control.” Maggie apologizes to Rose for taking over the women’s outreach and then reconciles with her husband, who tells her, “You deserve to chase your dreams.” They pray together, and the next day—the last day to save the women’s shelter—she goes to the bakery alone. Her friends soon show up to comfort her, and they all pray together. A girl named Ruby (Kayleigh Calaway) arrives and reports that the church sent out an email, leading to a massive crowd assembling outside the bakery, largely women who had previously lived at the shelter, dropping off donations. The movie ends with Maggie now writing grants to support the shelter and all the women busy at the bakery.

Filming took place on a tight schedule of fourteen days during the summer of 2018 and heavily featured shots of Fayetteville’s town square. Other sites included St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the restaurant Mermaids. A screening of the film was hosted at the Fayetteville Town Center on January 22, 2019. The movie was not widely reviewed upon release.

For additional information:
Bartholomew, Dustin. “New Movie ‘Sweet Inspirations’ Filmed in Fayetteville to Debut Friday.” Fayetteville Flyer, January 31, 2019. https://fayettevilleflyer.com/2019/01/31/new-movie-sweet-inspirations-filmed-in-fayetteville-to-debut-friday/ (accessed June 10, 2026).

El-Shahawy, Summer. “Locally Produced Film Hosts Sweet Screening.” Idle Class, January 27, 2019. http://idleclassmag.com/locally-produced-film-hosts-sweet-screening/ (accessed June 10, 2026).

“Sweet Inspirations.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8839352/ (accessed June 10, 2026).

Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas