The Quiet Yes has been growing slowly these last few months, and I realised something the other day — I haven't really introduced myself.
I'm Tina. I'm a wife, a mum, and Nanny T. I live on the road in Australia, in a bus, with my husband and a teacup that's always close.
I love to express creativity, and I've found it's one of the most powerful doorways into our hearts — where Pappa actually meets us.
How I got here.
I've always loved my journals. For years, I filled them with words.
But somewhere along the way, something inside me wanted more. Not just words. Paint. Pages with depth. Something the soul could pour into. I started searching for what that might look like — but I couldn't find anything that felt quite right.
Around 2020, I stumbled across junk journalling.
I love paper — the sound, the texture, the feel. I love giving used paper a second life. There's something about torn edges and coffee-stained pages that lights up my soul.
I had put all my paper creativity aside while raising our children. Given away nearly all my supplies. Forgotten that this part of me was here.
I'm not a true junk journaller — I make journals from scraps and bring mixed media to them. Mark making. Collaging. Gesso. Acrylics. Watercolours. Layered paper.
My soul started to come alive with colour.
I'm a learner. I love being inspired by others and shaping it into my own style. So I'm grateful to all the women whose work has taught me along the way.
For the woman who thinks she's not creative.
For most of my life, I didn't think I was creative. I think a lot of us carry that lie around.
And all the other voices that come with it.
"Are you crazy — you can't paint or draw."
"You're making a mess. Clean up everything."
"Who do you think you are? Your pages look like a kid's."
Some of us hear those voices early enough that we just give in. Never even start.
But here's what I've come to see, friend.
The childlikeness isn't the deficit. It's the gift. The voice that mocks the kid-like quality is mocking the very thing Pappa blesses.
We don't need a degree. We don't need to be a professional. We don't even need to be good. We just need curiosity to make marks.
A line. A wash of colour. A few torn scraps glued onto a page.
That's where it starts. That's where Pappa meets us.
The doorway I found.
Before I discovered junk journalling, I experienced an inner healing art retreat. It changed something in me.
I'd been trying to think my way into healing for years — understanding more, naming more, processing more. But on the page, something else happened.
Creativity carried me deeper than words alone could.
I accessed my heart by bypassing my head.
That's the gift of creativity, friend. We often think ourselves out of things so our heart never gets to explore what God put there.
Paint and paper give the heart somewhere to speak when the head won't get out of the way.
I had to deal with childhood things that surfaced once I started showing up to the page. But I found it so freeing — pouring my heart into my journals while Pappa quietly tended the places that had been hurting for years.
And I wondered then, as I'm sure many of you have wondered — are there others out there experiencing what I'm experiencing?
That's part of why The Quiet Yes exists.
What that opened up in me.
The page became a place where I could bring real life to God — not just the tidy words, but the grief, the gratitude, the questions, the praise — and let Him whisper back the truth of who I am.
Some days I'd come to the page exhausted, performing, carrying shame I couldn't quite put down. And He'd meet me there.
Pappa doesn't shame us. He sees us. He exchanges — honour for shame, righteousness for guilt, glory for disgrace. He runs to His daughters every time they turn home.
We are not slaves. We never were.
The Quiet Yes is the place where we learn to live this. Page by page. Yes by yes. Not by striving. By receiving.
If you're new here.
Here you'll find reflections, stories from the road, and what I'm learning as I walk with Him. Posts on meeting Pappa on the page, walking honestly, and taking up the abundant life He paid for. And occasional invitations to journal and create together.
And coming soon — The Gathering. A long table where kindred women come and stay. Our first offering is The Creative Pause, a 12-week seasonal art journaling gathering. It's still being prepared. If your heart is whispering yes, keep an eye on this space. You'll be the first to hear when the doors open.
If anything I share helps you say your own quiet yes to Pappa today, I'll be glad.
Welcome to The Quiet Yes.
Love,
Your creative friend Tina.
May you find your own quiet yes with Him today.
