Darlene Brock

Darlene, President of The Grit and Grace Project, is crazy enough to jump in the deep end then realize she may not have a clue where she’s landed. She has spent her adult life juggling careers in the music business, been an author, a video producer, and also cared for her family ... some days drowning, other days believing she’s capable of synchronized swimming.

How to Break up With Your Guy NEW

Is It Time to Break Up With Your Guy? This Is How to Do It

Haven’t we all looked for a way out of a bad relationship? Maybe you’re dating that guy who will never really commit or realizing that if he does commit, the thought of “til death do us part” with him makes you break out in a cold sweat. Maybe you’re not ready to sign on to the baggage he carries through your door. So, what’s a girl to do? In all things love, music makes an entrance even in this breakup scenario through the insightful lyrics of Paul Simon: The problem is all inside your head she said to me The answer is easy if you take it logically I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free There must be fifty ways […]

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What You Need to Know About Human Trafficking

What You Need to Know About Human Trafficking

Recently, the U.S. State Department released its current assessment of human trafficking entitled “2019 Trafficking in Persons Report.” I found the statistics to be horrifying as I glanced through the findings, reminding myself they represent real individuals, lives caught in a world of degradation. According to the accompanying letter from the Secretary of State, “Right now traffickers are robbing a staggering 24.9 million people of their freedom and basic human dignity—that’s roughly three times the population of New York City.” I have to repeat that: three times the population of New York City! Just envision the streets of New York—the bustle of those walking to work, the number of people in every high rise and workplace, and every apartment building and borough

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TobyMac's Son's Cause of Death Reminds Us That Faith Doesn't Protect Us From Pain

TobyMac’s Son’s Death Reminds Us That Faith Doesn’t Protect Us From Pain

I just read an article that made the cause of TobyMac’s son’s death public. Since his passing I have found myself torn, wondering, “Should the public know or not?” Toby’s career has made his life very public; it’s the nature of the music industry. When I worked with him as his personal manager in the early days, that was the goal. He was supposed to be on the stage sharing his heart and his songs. The way to do it well was to become a recognizable name.  When we were young and building the early stages of his music, we didn’t really think life would touch us. At least not in the ways that it has years later. I think we believed

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What I Learned About Grief from My Dad’s Death

Can We Be Grateful for the Tough Stuff?

The season of Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to pause from everyday life, reflect, and list the plentiful things for which we are thankful. Many of us can easily fill a piece of paper with items that deserve our gratitude: family, friends, faith, jobs, health, homes, kindness shown every day. I’m capable of getting on a thankful roll, adding a comfortable couch, a clean house, a new hair color, or a great pair of new boots. (In fact, we made an entire podcast episode about funny things women are thankful for… click here to give it a listen.) The reality is that we have much to be grateful for. But living life means going through the tough stuff too. There are seasons when

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TobyMac—Heartbreak to Hope, Healing Through Music

There is one thing I have begged God not to ask of me, a life heartbreak I have never felt capable of handling: that is to bury a child. The day I laid eyes on my firstborn my love was instantaneous, and I realized that I would do anything in my power to care for, nurture and protect this human God had placed in my life. Losing her was unfathomable to me. When my youngest was born, my emotions were equally as strong. To this day I am truly thankful He has not placed me in that heartbreaking place. Yet someone whom I walked a significant season of life with, Toby McKeehan, and his wife, Amanda, have found themselves facing the very

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Great Sex—What Is It New

Great Sex—What Is It?

There seems to be an unending list of articles on the subject of sex, from espousing general attitudes to detailing specific acts. Interesting though many of them are, I believe there is often one missing detail. The basis of great sex is not physical; it is relational. A satisfying sex life is based upon sharing your life and your heart, not just your bed. We have within us a quiet barometer, which, if listened to, will help us sort out truth from theory. There is an inner voice in all of us that speaks sometimes faintly, other times with urgency. It’s a voice we should listen to. When having sex for the first time, that voice will often speak to our fear,

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Are You Worried Your Prodigal Will Never Return

Are You Worried Your Prodigal Will Never Return?

Motherhood is complicated, and there are parts of the journey that we are often reticent to share. One of the most agonizing may not be the experience of all moms, but in today’s culture it is of the large majority. This world is busy making truth into lies and lies into the truth which, time and again, leaves a mother watching as her child becomes someone she wishes they weren’t. She is helplessly regimented to the sidelines as they adopt a lifestyle she wishes they wouldn’t. Childhood rebellion comes as early as the toddler tantrum and peaks at the middle school personality shift, often leading to teen rebellion. But the most pronounced may not show itself until choices are made by your college

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This Is What We Think About Sugar Daddies

This Is What We Think About Sugar Daddies

There are times when things you read make you crazy. At least that is true of me. Today was one of those days. I have a morning routine: pour my first cup of coffee then break open my Bible. After downing that first cup, I get the second one and scan through a few websites with the news of the day. It is mandatory that the first cup of coffee is ingested as well as a bit of God’s Word before I can face current affairs, current thinking, and human struggles. That invaluable second cup gives me the energy to react. Recently an article in Refinery 29 entitled, “Sugar Daddy Site CEO Offers to Pay for Abortions,” caught my attention. The first

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5 Tips for Mending Fences in Your Relationships

5 Tips for Mending Fences in Your Relationships

It’s a great time to mend fences. Not the ones in the back 40 of the ranch where very few of us currently live; I’m talking about the fences that are in need of repair between us. The damaged or broken relationships we all experience. Admittedly, there are relationships that are beyond repair, but most of the time that’s not the case. So ask yourself, do you really want to be 90 years old, comfortable in your lift chair, remembering a relationship you once had? Pondering the friend you lost because of anger over something you can no longer recall? The sibling rivalry you never outgrew? Or, the parent you walked away from? Probably not. So how do you manage this repair process before the knees give out

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7 Ways to Save Money and Sanity When Moving

7 Ways to Save Money and Sanity When Moving

There is no better time to move than when the kids are on one of their school breaks. Whether it’s Christmas, spring break, or summer vacation, moving trucks are loaded, homes are cleaned out and ready for the next resident, and families are crammed into their cars to occupy their next home. Excited or full of angst, this is a stressful season for all. The physical and emotional task of moving from one home to another is daunting for even the very hardy among us. When you add the costs of a move to the stress this change already creates, even the most stable can be pushed to the point of no return. If you find yourself ready to undertake this task,

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Freedom from the Glass Ceiling and the Glass Slipper

Do You Have to Break the Glass Ceiling to Be Strong?

“This isn’t what we fought so hard for when we finally broke the glass ceiling, is it?” I heard this question posed while watching television. In this scene, a successful female lawyer and her law firm peer were confounded by the decision of a younger, promising female lawyer who just announced her intention to resign from her career in order to become a wife and mother. This was television’s attempt to be profound, reflecting what they considered a cultural phenomenon. The glass ceiling they were speaking of is the battle waged in the ’60s and ’70s to create opportunity for females in the workplace. Opportunity for advancement, for holding the leadership positions rather than the clerical. To become the company president, not the

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Unplanned Pregnancy The Tale of Two Girls

Unplanned Pregnancy—the Tale of Two Girls

I was a teen in the early years of Roe v. Wade when a significant cultural change began. I don’t think we realized then how much impact a decision made by seven Justices of the Supreme Court would have on our lives. Pregnancy wasn’t ever present in our minds, but it was something we were trying to avoid, often rather ineffectively, given this was also the era of “free love.” In those years, an unwanted pregnancy had even more impact on a female’s life than it does today. Girls were labeled, often looked down upon, which didn’t make a lot of sense since they were not alone in their activity. They merely experienced the possible consequences that many others risked. It was

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These Parenting Styles Will Make You Think (Or Cringe!)

These Parenting Styles Will Make You Think (Or Cringe!)

Parenting the next generation has become a competitive sport. Teams assemble with their parental philosophies—doing what they think they need to do to ensure their offspring get a win, whatever that win may be. Our current culture encourages parents to be the one responsible for making sure that their little one has all he or she needs to become a pro athlete, a Rhodes scholar, or a star of stage and screen. This thinking has become tantamount to achieving the goals, and expectations parents have set for their children. I know that parenting is a challenge. We want our children to succeed in life, to be afforded life’s opportunities, and to grow up to be productive individuals. There is nothing wrong with

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7 Tips for Life in Chewable Bites

7 Tips for Taking Life One Bite at a Time

I need to tell myself to get “back in the swing of things” about every two and a half months. I begin by being on target for what I need to do, goals created, focus established, all tools gathered, and I head off. Then, for some reason, I find myself off the rails… looking around, trying to figure out what I need to do, and how I got off track. When I get to this point, I know it’s time to gather the same “Here’s what I need to do” tasks that—when I do them (truth is, I don’t always)—work every time. Here’s what they are: 1. I stop and I shut down. Whether it’s a very long walk in the woods, a movie marathon day,

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Why-You-Should-Build-a-Powerful-Diverse-Team

Why You Should Build a Powerful Diverse Team

During my years in the music business, it became abundantly clear to me that to achieve what we wanted to accomplish, we had to have a diverse team to succeed. One would have thought the talent displayed in the musicians was all that was required. A great song easily found success, right? While it was true their abilities were the ones most evident to success, it was also the collection of all the team players that enabled us to flourish. When the individual talents were gathered and merged, it often reminded me of a big successful party. The end of the planning, execution, and delivery told all: either everyone had a good time, or if some part of the plan failed, the

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Hernan-Sanchez-Do-Strong-Women-Like-Masculine-Men

Do Strong Women Like Masculine Men?

Each week, Monday night finds women and their girlfriends stuck to the television, watching The Bachelor to see who gets the rose. Whether we attend an event with a room full of girls and food or frantically join our group text with opinions, we all hope for romance. The thoughts we share with one another seem to reflect upon what we are looking for in a man. The list often goes like this: one who will be strong, steady, loving, kind, sensitive, and a go-getter that knows what he wants. We also still wouldn’t mind if our man let us cry on his shoulder now and then, and brandish his weapon of choice to help us defeat our foe, even if we

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Homelessness Do We See the Person Behind the Problem

Homelessness: Do We See the Person Behind the Problem?

“Heart to God, hand to man” is a slogan first spoken by William Boothe, the founder of the Salvation Army. It was also the inspiration of a song written and recorded by one of the musicians I worked with, Geoff Moore. The concept captured his heart: an answer to the plight of humankind first introduced in the late 1800s for the homeless, the hurting, and those in need. Realizing that this same need had not changed, Moore wanted to reintroduce that passion to a new generation. Because of that, we partnered with the Salvation Army, and that relationship educated me in a way that I hadn’t expected. To understand what the Salvation Army did, we went to their facility in Nashville, Tennessee

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