Jessica Harris | The Grit and Grace Project

The Good Christian Girl Who Struggled With Porn

I was 13 when I found pornography. Understand my family was super conservative. I was raised in the church. My mom and I never had the talk. I’m almost 32, and we still haven’t had the talk. The most I knew about sex was that it was something my public school classmates were starting to do, it was all boys thought about, and God didn’t want me to have it. That was the extent of my knowledge, until the day I was researching for school and came upon a porn video. I’ve always been a learner. I like exploring new things and learning new information. Finding the porn video, as graphic as it was, felt like a clue in my life’s quest to […]

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3 Things to Do When You Feel Broken and Unlovable

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

How many of us can honestly say we’ve made it through life with no regrets? It seems almost inevitable that we’ll make some poor decision, say something wrong, or choose the wrong door at some point. But what do you do when it feels like your choices make you unlovable? Years ago, I sat on a hilltop in North Dakota with my then-boyfriend. I knew within hours of my plane landing that this relationship wasn’t going to work out. We weren’t connecting, and I had followed him all over his rain-soaked farm more like a lost duckling than an endearing girlfriend. As the wind whipped against the side of the truck, he stared out the windshield, tears welling in his eyes. I

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For the Girl That’s Single During the Holidays

By Jessica Harris / Life & Culture

November through February marks perhaps the most dreaded season in the life of a woman who is single during the holidays. We kick off with family gatherings at Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, and, without fail, as we go around the table listing what we’re thankful for some doey-eyed friend gazes lovingly at her new groom and says, “I’m thankful for my husband. He’s so amazing.” Then there’s the “plus one” you never have for the office Christmas party. The week spanning Christmas and New Year’s might as well be dubbed National Engagement Week as the social media feeds from countless friends will be filled with romantic carriage rides, kisses under the mistletoe, smooches at midnight, and shiny new rings. The new year brings

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Here Are 5 Ways to Protect Your Child Online

By Jessica Harris / Motherhood

As a mom, you know it’s your job to keep your little ones safe. From the moment you first held them, whether you birthed them or adopted them, you probably felt a fierce desire to make sure nothing bad ever happened to your children. Then, life happens and, of course, they fall, scrape, bleed, and cry. Shy of wrapping your kids in bubble wrap and grounding them for life, it may not feel like there is much you can do to protect them. In this technological age, it’s no longer just the stranger on the playground you have to be watching out for. There are seedy characters and questionable content all over the internet, tucked away in apps, messaging through social media,

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Can You Forgive When There’s No Apology?

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

It can be hard to forgive sometimes, especially when the hurt is great or when the offender doesn’t even say they are sorry. But there is a power that comes in being able to forgive, even when we never get an apology. Most of us are taught to apologize from a young age. We bite a sibling, pull the cat’s tail, or push down a classmate, and some well-meaning adult intervenes and tells us, “Now, say you’re sorry.” Half-hearted apologies ensue along with forced hugs and all is right in the world. But something changes as we age. Apologies are harder to come by and pain cuts deeper than a tug on the tail of the family pet. What are you supposed

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3 Phrases That Will Strengthen Your New Marriage

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

Every girl dreams of that happily ever after, but unlike fairy tales, your dream-wedding day isn’t the end of your story. It’s only the beginning. That day starts a lifelong journey of friendship, intimacy, and teamwork. A true happily ever after requires work, intention, and strength. When the confetti falls, and the cake’s all gone, it’s just you and your new husband. And it’s different from dating. Your communication is not limited to phone calls and dinner dates. Now, you see each other every day and talk all the time. You’re under the same roof, eating the same food, and sharing the same bed every night. With that sort of frequency, even the little things can wear on you, like a pebble

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5 Life Skills You Can and Should Master to be a Strong Woman

By Jessica Harris / Purpose

I almost titled this article “Single? Here are five things you can do now to make marriage better,” but let’s be honest, it’s not all about marriage. So often, we promote skill sets as if life is a college program. Take these classes, learn these things, and this is how you will use them. We act like marriage, career, and school are all degrees for different women. If you want to get married, you do x, y, z, but if you’re going to be career-minded, you need to do j, k, l. Here’s the catch, though: that’s not how this works. The only thing that separates a great wife from a great woman is the fact that she’s married. Nothing else is

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5 Ways You Need to Protect Yourself on Social Media

5 Things You Need to Know to Stay Safe on Social Media

By Jessica Harris / Life & Culture

Social media is the new street. It’s the “mall” for Generation Z, the “park” for Millennials. It’s the new place where people go to connect, consume content, and build community. Connecting online gives us a sense of security. We can experience the world while never leaving the safety of our homes. But do you realize that while you might be snuggled up safely in your bed, your online presence can actually be putting you in danger? That’s not to say social media is bad, but we fail to realize the effect some of our actions may have. We still feel safe, so it doesn’t seem like anything could be wrong. You may remember when you were younger, all the rules you had

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This Is How to Stay Sane in the Wedding Planning Process

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

Planning a wedding can be stressful for many women. In years gone by, I’ve worked as an event manager for a venue, coordinating several weddings and managing an entire staff, making sure the bride’s special day went off without a hitch. From there, I worked as a planner and coordinator with an all-inclusive wedding company in the D.C. area. I’ve helped countless friends as their day-of coordinator, managing rehearsals, running to Wal-Mart for safety pins, grabbing donuts the morning of, and even escorting a flower girl down the aisle. So, when I got engaged, I had no worries. I am a planner, after all. Details are in my blood. I wasn’t going to be one of those brides who stressed about the

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Did You Know That Women Struggle with Porn Too?

By Jessica Harris / Life & Culture

I was 13 years old when I was exposed to pornography—this was back in 1999, in the land of dial-up and dinosaurs. While researching for school one day, I found a website with small clips from videos and TV shows. As I clicked through the different videos, one thumbnail caught my eye. I clicked on it. It was a porn video. I wish someone could have warned me about how the next few minutes would change my life, and not for the better. I woke up that morning a teenager whose only knowledge of sex was sex ed classes in school and whatever my classmates were whispering about. Within seconds, that all changed. No adult content warning. No age verification. Just straight

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