Smart Living with Grit and Grace

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  Childhood memories stick with us for a long time, especially life-altering ones. Grammy-winning artist Mandisa joins Darlene Brock and Julie Bender to share how she recognized her worth after a traumatic experience at 16 shattered her self-image and darkened her outlook on life.  In this episode, Mandisa sheds light on issues that many Christians are hesitant to bring out into the open: things like depression, anxiety, and suicide. She unpacks the importance of therapy in her life, as well as how her faith and musical career strengthened her resolve and allowed her—and others—to find a path toward healing. If you’re trying to reconcile with your own […]

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreIf you don’t already know, Julie is having a baby! (A girl!)  At her recent baby shower, amid all the laughter and gifts from friends and family, there was a conversation about the fears people are feeling as a result of the daily circumstances occurring around the world—there was a general consensus that we’re heading into a scary future.  That juxtaposition prompted Darlene and Julie to sit down and talk about our collective uncertainty about the future. Between cultural tension and disagreements, economic hardships, lingering pandemic worries and more, it can be hard to look forward to the future with hope.  But Darlene and Julie remind us

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreAs women of faith, it’s not unusual or uncommon to have seasons where we question God. Whether we’re experiencing disappointment or grief or we feel utterly broken, the first words to escape us are “Why God?” and “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In this podcast episode, Darlene Brock and Julie Bender talk about the times we live with battered faith and a diminishing loss of hope in the God we serve. They draw countless examples of men and women from the Bible who doubted God, struggled with their faith, and yet still came out on the other end with a restored heart.  During the

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  Disappointment hurts! Especially when what disappointed you was something you’d been working towards or anticipating for a long time. So how can we come to terms with being let down? Country artist Baylor Wilson joins Darlene Brock and Julie Bender on This Grit and Grace Life podcast to share her own run-in with disappointment. After a door closed in her life, Baylor sat in the pain of rejection and grief before realizing her worth and the possibilities that awaited her after being redirected. A chance encounter following her disappointment led Baylor to a career she loves and opportunities she previously never would have expected.  When life