Darlene Brock | The Grit and Grace Project

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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Men and Women Are Equal, but Not Identical

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Best Of

From the first moment a little girl announces, “When I grow up I’m gonna be a…” her parents tell her that she certainly will be. She can do whatever she dreams, and that’s true. If she loves sports—they’re all available. Education? Any field of study is obtainable. Career path? There is none blocked. This generation has all the “equal rights” created by the resolute females of the 20th century. Courageous ladies desiring the privilege to vote, to pursue higher education, and to have careers that matched their talents fought this battle. They changed our world. It is them we should thank for giving our daughters a future without limitations. Yet, as each daughter enters her teen years, most realize that the level playing field of opportunity

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If Your Kid is Being Bad, Does That Make You a Bad Mom 2

Your Bad Kid Doesn’t Make You a Bad Mom

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood, Best Of

You have just received your first phone call, the one every mother dreads and hopes to never receive. The preschool wants you to know that your child is hitting or biting or kicking. That little guy or girl, who has never shown this behavior before, has apparently turned into the class tyrant. It was in kindergarten when my daughter demonstrated her prowess in tormenting others. I dropped this sweet, little dressed up diva at her elementary school and all was going relatively well for the first few months. Then I received my first phone call. She had kicked a little boy. This led to discussion, punishment, and resolution. A week went by and then I got the next call; she had hit another student.

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Sending Your Kids to College—Separation Anxiety or Blissful Freedom?

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

So you’ve just spent hours in the Target dorm room aisles… Shopping for color-coordinated linens and accessories for your daughter’s new dorm room. Or, if it’s your son, you were probably trying to convince him that he actually needs a bedspread to go along with his trunk full of technology (that will absolutely make it into his new “college student man cave”). Now you’ve delivered them, set up their new world, and driven or flown away. You feel the anxiety of their absence. Can they get along without you making sure the laundry is done, the curfew is adhered to, and the insurance is paid? Well, you’ve spent the last 18 years getting them to this point, so the assumption is that

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My God in the Darkness

By Darlene Brock / Faith

My almost two-year-old had quit walking. She wouldn’t stand without crying and was running a constant fever of 102. After three visits to the pediatrician and one full week of pain for her and sleeplessness for us we found ourselves filling out the paperwork to admit our sweet little girl into the hospital. No one knew what the cause of this illness was, as she continued to get worse. There’s nothing more painful than watching your child suffer. Not skin scrapes or even broken bones. But suffering from something that you see on every medical professional’s face that enters the room, is not just a mystery but is truly serious. As I look through my life challenges, I’ve lived long enough to

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In These Challenging Times, What if God Has a Purpose?

By Darlene Brock / Faith

It seems that every conversation I find myself in has this sentiment as part of the discussion: “It’s been another crazy year, hasn’t it?” We seem to be looking at one another with disbelief, uncertainty, and discomfort. What do we do when we meet? What should (or shouldn’t) we say? Are we wearing masks, shaking hands, bumping elbows? Do we skate around the issues of injustice, destruction, hopelessness, and mankind divided, seemingly forced to take sides? Even saying “mankind” is currently taking a side. Are we mumbling through conversations because there is fear on every front—fear of misunderstanding or even harm? I step back from these encounters and think, “What is God doing?” In my lifetime, there have never been challenging times

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Another School Shooting, We Must Prepare Our Kids

In the Wake of Another School Shooting, How to Prepare Our Kids

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood, Life & Culture

Another school shooting and our hearts clench. The image of another mother clinging to a photo of the child instantly taken from her while doing nothing more than attending school rips the hearts and strikes fear into every other parent. While the debate will continue on gun control, that’s not the discussion I want to have because I think there is something much more pressing that every mother needs to do. Prepare your kids. In every part of their lives, it is our job to prepare them. The thought of having this be a conversation required to raise children today seems almost outrageous. But we have to face our current reality, so it is one we unquestionably need to have. It’s time

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Happy Mother’s Day! Raising Great Girls, Free Now!

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

Moms, it’s almost Mother’s Day! As an act of solidarity with my fellow girl moms, I want to give you a gift. I didn’t have boys, so if you’re a boy mom, I can’t help you as much there. But from May 5-9, my Raising Great Girls Kindle eBook is absolutely free. If you’re anything like I was in my motherhood journey, you probably have times of feeling every insecurity, a bit of a failure, with a boatload of mom guilt mixed in. I’m sure you also have seasons you think “I’ve got this!” and you do! But no matter the season you find yourself in, I want to give you some of what hindsight taught me: hard-earned wisdom that I share

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True Purpose Is Found in How We Care for Others

By Darlene Brock / Purpose, Life & Culture

I watch as a woman I dearly treasure is overtaken by the stronghold of dementia, and I resign to the fact that none of us has control or the ability to change this course. Repeated stories and angry outbursts, followed by confusion—this has become the norm for this strong, kind, and loving lady. While these are not the actions of the aunt who has impacted my life so significantly, it’s where she finds herself in the twilight of her life. But my heart doesn’t stay where she is today. Instead, it leads me to the actions throughout her life. The deep and constant investment she made in mine. These will always be part of my treasured memories, keeping residence in my heart.

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5 Job Interview Tips to Help You Land the Position

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Work & Money

Through the years I have hired (and fired) a lot of different people for a bunch of different positions. I’ve hired accountants, truck drivers, radio promoters, executive assistants, and even band members. The good news is the firing part didn’t happen often because I quickly learned the qualities I wanted in any employee. Something I frequently noticed while interviewing for a position was the majority of people were not very good at this process. They didn’t interview well! But those that almost always rose to the top had a few of the same job interview approaches. They possessed many of the same character traits. They got my attention and inevitably landed on the top of the pile to pick from. If you’re

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Feeling Knocked Down? Lessons Learned When Bears Attacked My Trees

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

Several years ago, my husband and I built a home in the mountains of North Carolina. We made every effort to fit into the landscape with materials native to the terrain and kept other crucial vegetation from being knocked down. Maple and sweetgum trees fill the front yard, turning a magnificent red in the cool temperatures of autumn; oaks and chinquapins with tall branches where the squirrels do their daily dance. The back of our home sits atop a mountain cliff, having placed it as close to the edge as safety would allow. We Found Black Bears in Our Yard, and They Made a Statement We didn’t know when we chose the land and laid out the building site that we had

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i am not woke because i never fell asleep

I Am Not Woke, I Never Went to Sleep

By Darlene Brock / Faith

I am not woke because I never went to sleep. My faith wouldn’t allow me. As a follower of Christ, it is His principles that I try to follow. That is my desire. Imperfectly, yes, failing often. Sometimes distracted and caught up in the challenges of life, but it is my most passionate goal. My Faith Showed Me the Needs of Others One thing God has never allowed me to stay blind to is the needs of others. At least, not for long. Our eyes need to be open to see those who are hurting. To care for, defend, and honor one another without reservation or qualification. My teen years first ignited my passion for civil rights before my faith became the

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In a Changing World, We Can Rest Assured That God Remains the Same

By Darlene Brock / Faith

It feels like we have been thrown to the bottom of life’s ocean by the circumstances that surround us. Unrest, political conflict, shifting truth, and polarization on virtually every subject have been hitting us from all sides, as if we are in an emotional tsunami without end. The feelings of uncertainty, fear, and even hopelessness ebb and flow weekly, even daily. We didn’t know it when the shift began in the spring of 2020, but the world as we have known it has been altered. I don’t see that becoming any less true in the days ahead. How to Find Hope When the World Seems Crazy Yet, I am not without hope. I have lived long enough to recognize God’s presence in

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I’m Ditching Perfection Because My Best Is Enough

By Darlene Brock / Purpose

Once again, I grabbed a shopping cart to complete what seems to be my four-times-a-week run to Walmart. As I was rolling down the aisle, I passed one of those cardboard boxes that sits strategically in your path. You know—those big old things that you have to navigate your shopping cart around. The reason it’s placed there is so you will go slowly, pause, and purchase something that wasn’t on your list and that you didn’t know you needed until that very moment. This particular brightly-painted bit of corrugation had wall art in it, the kind that’s there to inspire us. I’m pretty sure the piece that caught my attention was targeted at women. It stated this: “You don’t have to be

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4 Ways to Build a Successful Relationship With Your Child

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood

There are a few things a mother needs to do to secure a successful relationship with her child. Perhaps I need to clarify—a relationship where you will win more than you lose. I have learned it is the most realistic and real definition of success. Because mom, you will win some and lose some. But that’s fine! It doesn’t matter your child’s age, nor whether you have a boy or girl. These 4 principles will apply to all. 1. Get to Know Your Child It seems like a mother should automatically know who her child is. At least, we have those expectations. But the truth is we don’t know. Whatever the day looks like, you are meeting this human for the first

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Grit and Grace After the Election

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

Election Day is over, and we are still awaiting the outcome, so what does a woman of grit and grace look like today, on this incredibly historic day in our seemingly divided country? Among our friends are tendered-hearted individuals who voted for every one of the candidates. Each friend made their decision based upon life experience with heartfelt pondering and a good conscience. We will not presume to judge any one person’s motives behind their vote when we can honestly say the whole of who they are speaks to their compassion, their hope for the future. What we know is this, our humanity will always have different life opinions and that is a good thing. We make each other better. But the

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7 Dating Tips for Successful Relationships

By Darlene Brock / Relationships

Looking for a man worth your time? Here are a few tips that will help you avoid wasting time on Mr. What-Was-I-Thinking. 1. Make a man list. Every woman has a few non-negotiables. Write them down as your top “not going to settle for less than these” traits. Also add character traits that are important; those that will complement yours. Remember no man will meet all your criteria, but if you don’t know what you’re shopping for then you just might buy the wrong thing. 2. Relax. Dating should be an enjoyable, relationship-building exercise, not a pressure cooker ready to explode. Enjoy getting to know someone, without constantly second-guessing and being filled with insecurity. 3. Don’t lose you. If you have to become someone

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