Ashley Johnson

The Grit and Grace Project is a place for strong women and those who want to be. We know that stories of women who display great strength help inspire more women to do the same. With that in mind, we love to highlight these women—women who do brave things, make hard decisions, keep going when they should collapse, and, more than any other quality, we love women who value life so very much that they are willing to risk their own for the sake of another. That is exactly what Antonina Zabinski did in Poland during the height of the Nazi Reich, and that is why we will be lining up at the box office to see The Zookeepers Wife. “A lovely story about the Holocaust might seem like

March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day set aside to acknowledge the political, economic, and social achievements of women around the world. With that in mind, we couldn’t help but take the opportunity to recognize a woman who so powerfully embodied grit and grace that she was nicknamed the “Iron Lady.” She left a legacy that extends far beyond her country, Great Britain, and the time in which she held power. She achieved things a woman had never achieved before, but that’s no surprise when she’s the one who said, “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” Margaret Thatcher was born to Alfred and Beatrice Roberts, who lived above the corner grocery

We all know that women impact the world every single day, but we love the fact that the United States has deemed the month of March Women’s History Month. Here at The Grit and Grace Project, we are eager and thankful for the opportunity to recognize, along with our country, the contributions women have made to culture, history, and society. Throughout the month, we will honor some of our favorite strong women of history by posting articles highlighting them and their achievements. Through The Grit and Grace Project, we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know women who have encountered life’s challenges and walked through them, not around them. Because they’ve chosen this brave path, they’ve done so much more than simply endure difficulty—they’ve transformed it into something

There’s a lot of bad news rolling in these days and quite honestly, it’s heavy. People hating one another, hurting one another, blaming one another… And worst of all, choosing “sides.” People are forming groups and setting up camp—ready to fight for a multitude of reasons. However, there is another group who have no claimed “side” other than humanity itself—they are the peacemakers. These people are hurting too, along with all of the other groups… But the peacemakers are not hating anyone, hurting anyone, or blaming. They are simply aching. But they’re also working… They’re fighting, but their flag is of every color, nation, and language. The peacemakers are doing the very thing that we all need to be doing—loving others. How?

Want to see what our contributors are reading this summer? Check out 5 more of their picks below: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Novel) Suggested by Ashley Johnson The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World’s Most Beloved Neighbor by Amy Hollingsworth (Biography) Suggested by Rachel Graham Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown (#1 New York Times bestseller) Suggested by Annie Leigh Edwards Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (#1 National Bestseller) Suggested by Phyllis Everette 100 Things I Wish I Knew in My Baby’s First Year: Keys to Making Parenting Easier

Want to see what our contributors are reading this summer?  Check out 5 of their picks below: Back In The Day Bakery—Made With Love by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day (Food/Cooking) Suggested by Linda Clements All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Derr (Novel; Pulitzer Prize Winner) Suggested by Renee Clifford and Teresa Morgan Christian Manning: A Father, His Sons, & a Football Legacy by Archie & Peyton Manning, with John Underwood (Memoir) Suggested by Teresa Morgan Christian For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards By Jen Hatmaker (Christian Literature) Suggested by Whitney Hsu and Annie Leigh Edwards And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (Mystery Novel) Suggested by Darlene Brock You can find 5 more suggestions here: Summer Reading List—Part 2. We know that not everyone has