Darlene Brock | The Grit and Grace Project

Moms-Be-Sure-to-Make-Memories-That-Will-Last-a-Lifetime

Mom, Be Sure to Make Memories That Will Last a Lifetime

I recently traveled through Northeastern Georgia as we headed to the mountains of North Carolina. We have the privilege of enjoying the autumn in the tranquil and beautiful land between the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Observing the burst of color in the month of October leaves one in awe of the beauty of creation. While heading to our final destination, we spotted a Fruit Stand – Corn Maze – Hayride – Bakery – Ice Cream Store and Pumpkin Patch. Yes, these were all there in one location. With fare like this, we had to stop and see which of these we couldn’t live without. Parking in an absolutely full lot, alongside another load of pumpkins being delivered from the […]

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5 Important Things to Discuss as a New Couple

5 Important Topics for New Couples to Discuss

By Darlene Brock / Relationships

Recently, I saw an article on a men’s website that shared what males thought they should talk about when they wanted to make a good impression on a date. There were four topics of conversation that these “Einsteins” believed worked best with women: pets, travel, movies, and food. Seriously, is that all some men think women are capable of discussing? Granted, they are trying to make a good impression, theoretically wanting a second date. But ladies, aren’t we a bit more interesting than that? Don’t we want more out of a relationship? Yes, most females have pets, enjoy travel, watch movies, and like to eat. But I think we need to come up with our own list. If it’s the first date,

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A Parent’s Guide to Halloween and How to Handle It

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

It was Halloween day, and this was the first year my daughter realized it might just be a great event in which she wanted to participate. She was barely four years old and until that time my husband and I had avoided stepping into the chaos of this holiday. My husband’s attitudes were born out of his complete distaste for many of the things that came with this particular evening. I didn’t necessarily disagree with him, but I circumvented it simply because I had enough to do without adding it to the list! But we couldn’t avoid it this year. We desperately needed a parent’s guide to Halloween, but there wasn’t one. Our daughter wanted to dress up; she wanted to grab

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My Dad’s Suicide and the Hole in My Heart

By Darlene Brock / HerStory, Life & Culture

I knew my father was having a difficult time in life. It was so very unlike this man, whose smile warmed the hearts of perfect strangers, to see that smile so infrequently. But at the age of 50, having left his position as an accountant, he could not find a job in his field. There were challenges he was facing that he kept to himself, and the depth of depression that descended upon him was not fully known to those who loved him. That is until the day my mother found him in the garage having taken his life. My father had committed suicide. I was a 23-year-old newlywed living in Nashville, Tennessee when I received the call. This was my daddy.

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5 Tips for Working in a Man’s World

By Darlene Brock / Work & Money, Life & Culture

In my careers, I have worked with many more men than women. It seemed I was always working in a man’s world. For the most part, I preferred that. It seemed as if it was frequently less complicated. What woman in the workplace has not dealt with the “mean girls” at some point in life? Whether in middle school or office cubicles, there is no doubt they exist. But unlike middle school, we are generally much more capable of handling our female co-workers. We know how they work. Yet to be successful in our jobs, working women have to learn how the male population works as well. We must also learn to successfully respond to the nuances of their nature. It was

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7 Essential Tips to Relieve Middle School Anxiety

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

Middle school is one of the most emotionally-charged seasons in every human’s life. Bringing up this rite of passage, from elementary age to high school, is always a good way to create lively conversation between adults. Although it’s a season of life that most of us are glad to leave behind, there’s just something about sharing those vivid, awkward memories of middle school anxiety that make us both laugh and cringe at the same time. However, the mother of a child in the midst of middle school anxiety needs every little bit of help available when she sends her “just yesterday they started school” child out the door…knowing full well that today might possibly be the day that her sweet baby is

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This Is My Letter to God

By Darlene Brock / Faith

Dear God, You, God, are my Father, my eternal heavenly Father. Because You asked me to be your child, sought me, and found me. I didn’t earn it. I have no qualifications to join Your royal family. I am here only because You sent Your Son. Through you, Jesus, Your birth, death, and resurrection, I have been adopted into Your family. That I now have the honor to be a child of the King. My faults, my sins, and shortcomings are covered by who You are and what You did. Your words, when You walked this earth, taught me how to live. Your death taught me how to love. As You left to return to heaven, You gave me more. You left

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Mom and son getting ready for indoor rock climbing a metaphor to get ready for the teen years

Moms, Get Ready for the Teen Years Now

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

Moms, are you dreading those teen years? You’ve gone from 2 to 6 to 10 years old at lightning speed, which makes you know those terrifying years in a child’s life will be on you before you finish fixing dinner. There are books on handling this age and podcasts that help parents navigate this season, and while those are helpful, the best way to deal with your teenager is what you do before they get there. What you’ve instilled before that season and the relationship you’ve built will see you through these wonderful, albeit challenging, years. Before I step into the list of things you must do now, I want to assure every parent of this: While ages 13-18 create many unique

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Anatomy of a Strong Woman

By Darlene Brock / Purpose

What makes a strong woman is touted in academia and social media; it’s displayed daily on almost every television network. The phrase is even currently awarded to those who are not biologically female. But I contend being born female is the only path to becoming a strong woman. Those are the women I admire and want to emulate. Today’s version of female strength is often exemplified by some of the angriest ladies I have ever encountered. I’m not sure that much of anything would make these women happy. They tell us we should demand respect, our rights, and equality (but oftentimes with an air of superiority). This is not to say that women cannot have a voice, that we are undeserving of respect,

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So, We Disagree—Can We Still Talk?

By Darlene Brock / Faith

I grew up in a church that led their spiritual conversation by giving you rules—what you can’t do as a Christian. There was a lot for this teen girl in northern Indiana. We weren’t supposed to dance, play cards, wear miniskirts, smoke, drink, or cuss. And soon to make the list—drugs, because they were relatively new to the American culture. It was a season of darkness, both in the church and the culture that surrounded it. So, every weekend, I parked the rules at the door as I left my home to be with my friends. My mother’s Bible verse of choice for me as I walked out the door, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” When putting my key

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10 Packing Tips when You Need to Travel Light

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

I have taken two extended European trips, one with a band that I managed and the second with my two daughters. The first was work getting to each city where concerts were to be performed. The other is a promise I made to my daughters when they were small that we would do when grown. On both trips, we traversed the European landscape on the Eurail, an exercise that taught me a crucial lesson: always travel light. This rail system is amazing yet waits for no one, whether it is creatives or young women, complicating getting on and off with belongings in tow. I learned this from traveling with musicians on the first trip; it is insane to lug two suitcases each.

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How Do I Know What Defines Me?

By Darlene Brock / Purpose, Best Of

I am single. I am widowed. I am married. I am divorced. I am a mom. I have no children. I am a career woman. I stay at home. I am an artist. I am a cancer survivor. I have a doctorate. I finished high school. Are these really who we are? Or are they merely part of our journey, a title, or life experience that will demonstrate what we are made of? I, my friend, will passionately argue for the latter. In my 20s, I was a booking agent for musicians when I married my boss. No, it was not one of those torrid affairs in the workplace that you would read or hear about over your lunch break. He was

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Are Women Being Marginalized—Again?

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

What is a woman? It’s a simple question, but our culture tells us that an irrefutable definition no longer exists. Common responses to this question are currently broad, often changing, and entirely confusing. When the definition of a woman is skewed by those who wish to replicate our gender, all the strides women have achieved suddenly become meaningless. The beauty of God’s creation is diminished. Women are being forced to the sidelines, marginalized, and asked to accept a caricature of who we are. Are Women Being Marginalized? It’s not only the adult women who have fought for equal opportunity who experience harm. Our daughters will suffer as well. Our original battles—career opportunities and sports competitions—allowed us to pursue a place in life

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5 Colors Every Woman Can Look Great In

By Darlene Brock / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

I’m sure you have landed in the dressing room with a handful of clothes that you think might just work. As you slip that really cute top over your head then look into the mirror the shriek you emit is audible five stalls down. Is it the lighting in this dressing room (which shall we all say is the dumbest thing a retailer ever installed?) or does this color just make me look horrible? It could be the yellow/blue/gray light that shines down on the top of your head, but it’s often the color of the clothing. I know if I put that tan khaki tone anywhere near my face the next step is to take that shovel and dig a 6-foot deep

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Mary Bethune, an Educator Living a Life of Grit

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

Mary McLeod Bethune was born in Mayesville, South Carolina two years before the end of the Reconstruction (the time after the Civil War that slaves were adjusting to their new lives) to parents who had been slaves.1 Even though Mary and her family were free, they still lived in poverty. When she was nine years old, Mary tagged along with her mother to take a basket of freshly washed and ironed clothes to her former master’s house. They had to go around the home to the entrance in the rear, the one through which the blacks could enter. In 1884 in Mayesville, South Carolina, there was absolute segregation between the races. Her mother went inside to take the family their clothes and receive

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Who’s the Boss? 5 Ways to Be the One in Charge

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood, Best Of

Whether you have a two-year-old or a 10-year-old there are some days you may wonder who is in charge. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s you. You won’t win every battle nor should you expect to. You can’t put it upon yourself to effectively crack the whip, so to speak, impeccably correcting each and every transgression any child is capable of. But there are a few absolutes you need to incorporate into your life just to keep peace on the home front, guide your kids toward acceptable behavior, and some days, to simply maintain your sanity. 1. Know your child. There may come a time when you find your child disassembling the new toy that you spent an hour on just successfully

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The Reality of STDs: Hard Conversations You Need to Have

By Darlene Brock / Health & Beauty, Best Of, Relationships

There truly are some conversations we would much rather avoid. The ones that create angst in both the discussion starter and the recipient, whose terrified expression is begging you not to continue! An honest talk about STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) has to be in life’s top five! This is definitely not sunny chatter over the dinner table, or light banter with the store clerk like you’re talking about the fair weather. But the reality is that our current societal statistics require us to have these talks. We absolutely must have them with our children. We absolutely must have them with our dating partner. Today’s studies tell us 1 in 4 females between the age of 15 and 24 have an STD*, currently a full

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