A Paint Party, a Promise, and Four Women Who Showed Up to Create 📍 Story Moment: A Saturday evening in the studio — brushes in hand, blue paint on the palette, and something sacred quietly filling the room. There's something that happens when women gather around a table with paintbrushes in their hands. The walls go quiet. The busyness falls away. Somewhere between the first brushstroke and the last — something opens. Last Saturday, four of us gathered for a "Hope Anchors My

How Nine Women, One Year Ago, Left the Plan Behind — and Found Something More Beautiful   📍 Story Moment: Trixi's Creations' Studio, 29 March 2025 — nine women arrived with brushes in hand, a sunflower to paint, and a canvas full of possibility.   There's something holy about a blank canvas.   It stands waiting — white, wide, and full of promise — like an unopened morning, like a held breath before the first word of a song. Nine canvases lined the table in Trixi's Creations'

How paint, prayer, and honest conversation became a sanctuary for every woman in the room 📍 Story Moment: A sunny Saturday morning in Auckland, 28 March 2026 — women gathering in a studio that holds more than paint, discovering they're holding more than brushes. 📖 "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  — Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) My studio is a sanctuary. I don't use that word lightly. It's t

Learning to grieve, to be carried, and to trust God in the limbo There are seasons that do not arrive with clear edges. They do not announce themselves as beginnings or endings. They simply settle in, quietly, heavily, like a mist that lingers over everything. This is one of those seasons. Grief has a way of entering not only through loss, but through timing. Just when something in the heart has softened, just when forgiveness has been released, something shifts again. It can

The physical and emotional healing power of writing, revealed through science and Scripture There are moments when the heart is full, yet the mouth cannot speak. Thoughts circle endlessly. Emotions press against the chest with nowhere to go. In these moments, the simple act of writing becomes more than expression. It becomes relief. It becomes regulation. It becomes healing. For decades I've used poetry, journaling, and blogging as a means to process pain. Ink carried what my

The physical and emotional benefits of painting, and why creativity restores what life has worn thin There are seasons when the soul carries more than words can bear. Thoughts circle endlessly, emotions feel tangled, and the body holds tension it cannot name. In those moments, God often invites us not into explanation, but into expression. Painting offers such an invitation. Not as performance.Not as productivity.But as presence. When we paint, something gentle yet profound t

A gentle relocation of words, healing, and holy remembrance There are moments in life when a shift feels small on the outside, yet deeply significant within. This is one of those moments. For some time now, This Is My Story has lived under Trixi’s Creations. It has been a beautiful home, a place where creativity and testimony met on the same page. Yet as the journey has unfolded, it has become clear that these reflections carry something even more personal. They hold memory.

How healing reshaped my understanding of success and influence 🕯️ There are books you read for insight, and there are books that read you. In May 2024, when I first read Leading from the Stop  by Elias Kanaris, I expected leadership wisdom. I did not expect holy unravelling. Yet by the time I reached the final pages, three simple statements had reached far deeper than strategy or performance: You’re not in trouble. We believe in you. We’re here to help. They were not loud. T

How drawing gently restores the body, steadies the emotions, and creates space for God to meet us There are moments when words feel too heavy, too clumsy, or simply unavailable. In those moments, the hand often knows what the heart cannot yet say. Drawing becomes a quiet invitation to slow down, to listen inwardly, and to allow healing to unfold without pressure. This is not about talent or technique. It is about presence. Science is increasingly affirming what many of us hav

How singing gently restores the body, steadies the emotions, and awakens the soul There are moments when words feel too heavy, too fragile, or simply not enough. In those moments, the voice often finds another way. A melody rises. A hum escapes. A song carries what the heart cannot yet explain. Singing has always been more than just music. Long before science named its benefits, the human soul already knew. Across Scripture, generations lifted their voices in joy, lament, gra

Have you ever felt like your heart was carrying a weight too heavy to bear? 🤔 Like the noise of the world drowns out the quiet voice inside you that longs for healing? 🤔 I’ve been there, and I want to share something that changed everything for me — a space where creativity meets faith, where brokenness is met with hope, and where healing begins through art. This is the story of the faith-based creativity that transformed my life, and it might just do the same for you. Why

A reflection on how belief steadies the mind, strengthens the body, and shelters the heart Faith holds a mysterious power over the human experience. It reaches deeper than optimism and stretches further than mere positive thinking. Faith anchors the soul to Someone greater, and in doing so, it steadies the body and quiets the mind. Scientists have spent decades studying what believers have always sensed intuitively: faith heals in ways both seen and unseen. Faith brings emoti

A personal testimony of walking in victory over depression, held by faith, truth, and gentle restoration I went from surviving in silence to walking in quiet, anchored victory.   Seven years on, I stand as living testimony to God’s gentle intervention and sustaining grace.   Depression is something I speak about with tenderness, because it is not theoretical for me. It is a valley I have walked through slowly and honestly, and by the grace of God, I no longer live there.   Fo

Uncovering the hidden narratives that shape your reactions, relationships, and sense of self Have you ever felt like you’re fighting an invisible enemy in your own mind?🤔 Or notice how a single careless word can unravel your entire day?🤔 Many of us find that certain truths we know intellectually just don’t seem to “stick” in our hearts. The reality is that our lives are often shaped by hidden beliefs and past wounds we aren't even aware of. They act as an unseen architect,

An evening invitation to clarity, courage, and faithful perseverance There are moments when the Lord gently calls us to pause, look again, and ask not how fast we are running, but whether we are running the right race and how far can we go. On Thursday, 29 January at 18h30, we start gathering at Trixi’s Creations, Mairangi Bay, to begin Run Your Race Well, an advanced Encounter Group journey designed for those longing to walk with intention, wisdom, and endurance in the seaso

How personal story art becomes a sacred place of healing, faith, and becoming Art has always carried a quiet authority in my life. It reaches into places words cannot always touch, giving shape to emotions that feel too heavy, too tangled, or too tender to explain. When life feels overwhelming and the heart is crowded with unspoken grief, art becomes a gentle anchor, holding space for truth, healing, and peace. Personal story art is not about producing something impressive. I

Receiving what God gives without striving 📖 " Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honour, when you embrace her. " — Proverbs 4:8 (NKJV) Overview Wisdom is not loud. She does not jostle for attention, nor does she parade herself through hurried lives. Wisdom waits to be honoured, cherished, and embraced. In the Hebrew, the word for exalt  is sālal , meaning to lift up, to value highly, to make room for. Wisdom rises in response to reverence, not ambition.

A reflection on how what some call weakness, others see as a gift We live in a world quick to label. Too quiet. Too sensitive. Too weird. Too confident.  These words echo in our hearts and often leave us wondering if we are somehow broken. Yet the truth is, God never once made a mistake in how He designed us. For every person who says you are too quiet,  there is another who treasures your gift of listening. Where some see too sensitive,  others see the courage to feel deeply

Walking paths that settle the soul instead of stirring anxiety 📖 " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. " — Proverbs 3:17 (NKJV) Overview Author:  Solomon Purpose:  Practical wisdom for living rightly with God and others Proverbs is not abstract philosophy. It is lived wisdom, shaped by reverence for the Lord and expressed through daily choices. Chapter 3 invites the reader to trust the Lord with the whole heart, not leaning on personal understandi

The unseen protection woven into obedient choices 📖 " Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. " — Proverbs 4:6 (NKJV) 📖 " Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. " — Proverbs 4:6 (NKJV) Overview Author:  King Solomon   Context:  Proverbs 4 is a father’s tender exhortation to his children, urging them to treasure wisdom not as information, but as a companion for life. This chapter contrasts two p