Geinene Carson | The Grit and Grace Project

How to Make Relationships More Important in Your Life

I consider myself a rather ambitious person. One who loves feeling efficient and admits an obsession for maximizing the hours of my day to accomplish the most humanly possible. Though I may revel in my to-do list, accomplishments, and victories in getting things done at the end of the day, too often I have found myself unable to recall any authentic interactions had with other individuals. This gradual realization has caused me to see that there is so much more to life than the achievement of my daily tasks, and provoked my asking where and how people fit in. After what seemed like years on a hamster wheel, my husband and I recognized that we didn’t have many deep friendships, even though […]

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Using the Halloween Season to Teach Life Lessons

By Geinene Carson / Motherhood

I love October, but admit I don’t get into all the spooky and haunted hype around Halloween. When my husband and I first had our children, we discussed what level, if any, our involvement would be in the holiday. He grew up the son of a pastor who did not take any part in it. I grew up having the fun of dressing up, trick-or-treating, and going to parties, even though I was never attracted to the darker side of the celebrations. Our solution? We landed on the choice to allow our family to take part, but with a certain perspective and set of guidelines in place. Many houses in our neighborhood go above and beyond with Halloween décor, incorporating gory scenes,

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The Discipline of Choosing to Rest

By Geinene Carson / Faith

With the ante of life’s busyness increasing on our family of four every year, my husband and I decided to implement the discipline of incorporating a day of rest into our week. This desire not only originates from our faith but also the awareness that if we don’t really put this into practice, we will cease to thrive as a family. Work, school, and extracurricular activities keep us ever moving in a variety of directions Monday through Friday. Then, adding the demands not foreseen, we are left with little to no time for recovery, inevitably crashing by the time the weekend rolls around. The Bible teaches that even God chose to rest after His work of creation, and we are foolish to

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Simple Ways to Build Small Town Community in the Big City

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture

When living in the big city, we are likely to rub shoulders and dwell in close quarters with people who seem to have no time for us and are also nothing like us. My husband and I faced this challenge when we took the plunge and bought a house in downtown Atlanta. Living in an area where thousands of very different people are going in all directions every hour of the day and night does not naturally lend itself to building any sense of community. With there being so many places to hang out in a big city, one’s path will rarely, if ever, cross twice with the same individual. In response to that reality, we began to intentionally seek out how our lives could overlap

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Practicing the Grace of Offering Forgiveness, Every Day

By Geinene Carson / Relationships

I don’t think there is a day that goes by in which I manage to escape extending or asking for forgiveness. I used to think forgiveness was something required of us only a few times in our life for those deepest of offenses, that the smallest of daily altercations were somehow excused from the necessity. But, the more my life becomes intertwined with others, I’m realizing that even seemingly insignificant wrongdoings can accumulate and cultivate bitterness in my heart without my awareness. Whether it is the driver who cut me off during rush hour, the dinner guest who showed up an hour late, or that person who shares their unfiltered opinion on social media all too often, I’m coming to the realization

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Tips Are Plentiful, Graces Are Few

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture

We have a wealth of information like no other generation of women preceding us. With a swipe of a finger, I can have a solution for that stubborn stain on the couch or read a thousand reviews on the best mascara. I can meal plan like a boss and melt inches from my waistline in just weeks. There seems to be this goal for streamlining life, doing more things in less time, by maximizing schedules, budget, resources, and even appearances. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good tip just like the next girl, and there is a beauty in sharing such knowledge of helpful remedies and solutions. But, I have also discovered that the pursuit of making life more efficient can

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Shaking it Off

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture

If you have ever suffered through a hard, hopeless season in life, you will know where I am coming from. It is that season when just getting out of bed in the morning seems near impossible and beyond your capabilities. The season where you walk around throughout the day on auto pilot, emotionally numb to the world around you; yet, still unable to stop an endless flow of tears. And then, there is the guilt so heavy on your shoulders for a person of “so-called” faith such as yourself to be giving in this way when you should be a person of abundant joy. Yes, that is the season I am talking about. I have been there. In looking back with a

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When There Are No Words: My Child’s Special Needs Diagnosis

By Geinene Carson / Motherhood

Other than an early arrival, our daughter’s birth came without major complication. After four short months, however, we began to notice she wasn’t meeting basic developmental milestones. Doctors began to show growing concern and recommended further testing. After extensive poking, prodding, and scanning, results returned to us with devastating news. Our daughter showed signs of mysterious brain damage of which doctors could not identify a cause. After ruling out anything life threatening, the best prognosis they could give was the likelihood of her never being able to walk or talk and the reality of living with this uncertain condition until future testing could identify the reason. As word about our daughter spread, it seemed that people began avoiding us for fear of

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Pursuing Dreams While Rearing Children

By Geinene Carson / Motherhood, Purpose

People often ask how I have time to pursue any personal endeavors while rearing small children. Certainly there is the feeling that becoming a mom means postponing, if not completely forfeiting, any personal ambitions. I attribute my pursuit of being a practicing artist and present parent to appropriate doses of tenacity, perseverance, improvisation and intentionality with the cherry on top of a supportive spouse. Honestly, some days are a wash and require me coming to terms temporarily with letting any personal ambitions go. Other days present themselves more manageable if I just take the effort to proactively switch some things around in the schedule, humbly ask for help from my family and be disciplined enough to follow through. Being that it is

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Creative Dating—No Money, No Problem

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture, Work & Money

In our current season of raising young children, my husband and I have accepted that for the time being date nights may not look like they used to. Daily fatigue, along with the constraints of bedtimes, a tight budget and the availability of trusted sitters, are all factors to be overcome if we wish to successfully leave the house for a night on the town. Pursuing anything even vaguely resembling a date these days, calls for creativity and flexibility in how and when to make it happen. We like to think that we are perfecting the art of “dating in.” Though the location remains the same, after the children go to bed the time is ours to do with what we want.

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How to Have Friends and Kids

By Geinene Carson / Relationships

It can be really hard for moms of small children to not feel isolated. The difficulties of getting out the door with babies and toddlers in tow often makes moms just hunker down inside. Even there, finding time for phone conversations can be daunting. Here are a few tips of how to build friendships in this season of life: • Learn the art of short phone conversations. Plan them for times when you know you’ll actually have 10 or 15 minutes to yourself. • Invite other women into your home without expectations. That means you don’t expect yourself to be the perfect hostess! Other moms won’t be bothered by toys on the floor or a breast pump on the coffee table. Keep

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Artist and Mother, the Perfect Storm

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture, Work & Money

I would be lying if I said being an artist and a mother doesn’t often feel like the perfect storm. My selfish artist side took a hit in the gut when little people started to invade my studio space. What? I have to share? Not only my physical space, but my precious paints and brushes…and time? I don’t hear a lot of people talking about being a mother AND a practicing artist. I guess because it’s just plain hard to do. How popular is the general topic of ‘sacrifice’ anyway in our culture? Maybe some of you have seen the documentary, Who Does She Think She Is, featuring five women who navigate the sea of choosing to pursue having a family and

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Urban Gardens: a Much Needed Respite

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture

My husband and I were introduced to the world of urban gardening long before it was all the rage. Rather than trying to stay on top of the newest trend in city living, we were seeking to nurse our depleted spirits. We had hit a rough patch in life which had left us both weathered and emotionally spent. Stress was high and burn out was knocking on our door. It was a wise counselor who listened to our sad state and suggested that in order to renew our joy, we should find a life-giving hobby to share in together. As we brainstormed about activities we were interested in pursuing, oddly enough gardening ended up making the final cut. Living downtown in a

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Keeping a Marriage Strong When Hardship Strikes

By Geinene Carson / Relationships

Our daughter’s birth was a joyous occasion as she was ushered into this world without any complications. As far as we knew, we had a healthy second baby with a bright future ahead. Yet, at four months, she wasn’t meeting the milestones she should have been and doctors began to show growing concern. After recommended testing, we were told crushing news. Our daughter showed signs of mysterious brain damage that must have happened while in the womb. There was immediate medical concern for her life as doctors were in the dark as to any specific cause. The best they could offer was a prognosis that she would likely never walk or talk and we would have to continue living with the uncertainty

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