Smart Living with Grit and Grace

Wish you had a playbook for life? Look no further! Each week, Darlene Brock and Julie Bender share 15 minutes of life lived, lessons learned, and wisdom gained to help you master this Grit and Grace Life. A podcast for strong women and those who want to be!

This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

How to Embrace Love in Every Season With Debra Fileta – 123

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreJust as nature cycles through seasons, so do our relationships. No matter what type of relationship you are in, there are four stages that it will cycle through that spiritually and psychologically mimic the four seasons we see in nature.  In This #GritandGraceLife podcast episode, hosts Darlene and Julie chat with Debra Fileta who dives into theses four stages and explains how each stage is vital for building a deeper relationship, how we can find hope in knowing we will never get stuck in one stage, or “season”, and how to successfully navigate through each one.  Debra Fileta is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in dating, marriage […]

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The Qualities That Make a Woman Strong – 122

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreWe are a podcast for strong women and those who want to be, right? But what does it mean to be a strong woman? What defines a woman as powerful, secure, tenacious? What are practical things strong women do? Here’s what we think… A strong woman knows she can’t do it all. A strong woman asks for help.  A strong woman doesn’t play games.  A strong woman says what she means.  A strong woman can be trusted.   What else do strong women do?    The best way to become a woman of strength is to understand these qualities. That’s why, in this This Grit and Grace

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Sex Trafficking: Why Kids are at Risk and What You Can Do to Protect Them with Christy Ivie – 121

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  We need to talk about sex trafficking. We assume it’s not a problem that is occurring in our backyard, or even in our country, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether you like it or not, it’s happening in every community across the United States—even in yours. It doesn’t always look the way we think it would. A victim could look like a middle-class teenager at your kids high school who is still living at home.  In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life podcast, hosts Darlene and Julie are joined by Christy Ivie, the founder of Christy’s Cause, a non-profit working to eradicate

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

What’s Stopping You From Loving Yourself? How to Grow Self-Love – 120

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Let’s talk about self–love. We all struggle to some extent with it, from doubting ourselves, to battling insecurities, and feeling unworthy. We know these are things we need to let go of, but the problem lies in the fact that we have no idea how. When we search for how to cultivate more self-love, the suggestions we find are just silly. Will getting a massage or buying ourselves another pair of shoes really help us love ourselves more? Let’s be real, those are just cover-ups. If those don’t work, then where do we find more of this thing called self–love?  In this episode of This Grit and

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Questions You’re Too Embarrassed to Ask Your OB-GYN Answered by Dr. Holly Miller – 119

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life, we chat with Dr. Holly Miller on women’s health issues you need to know about but are probably too embarrassed to ask. Dr. Miller is a board certified OB-GYN, wife of 20+ years, mother of four, and dedicated to ensuring you know everything you need to about your feminine health. This episode is filled with questions that women tend to run from… When do we see a gynecologist? Why do we see gynecologist? Do we have to see gynecologist? And the biggest question, why are we terrified of seeing a gynecologist? It’s our goal with this episode to

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Do You Expect More From Women Than Men? Should You? – 118

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More As women, have you ever noticed how we hold men and women to different standards? In This Grit and Grace Life podcast episode, hosts Darlene and Julie have an insightful and thought-provoking conversation on the different expectations we have for each gender.   When it comes to our relationships with women, we often tend to be way more “judgy” and condescending, are quick to hold grudges, and dwell on what they did or didn’t do. If they don’t stand by us, show up, and be the support system we would like them to be, we cut them off in a heartbeat without thinking twice.     But

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

What Do the Words “Grit” and “Grace” Actually Mean? – 117

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Is it just us or are the words “grit” and “grace” seen everywhere now? It feels like the two have turned into buzzwords that fail to hold any real meaning. But at This Grit and Grace Life, they are so much more than buzzwords, they bring vision and direction to our lives. They even extend beyond being just two simple words and are ultimately life choices. We must choose to live with grit and with grace. But what do grit and grace really mean? Sure they are seen everywhere and perhaps words we use regularly, but do we really know, or more importantly, understand, the deeper

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Answering the Question “Who Am I?” With Meaghan Dawson – 116

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More A question we continuously ask in various ways is, “Who am I?”  We have women constantly wondering if they are doing what they are meant to be doing and if what they’re doing right now even matters. And most of all, they’re wondering how to find their self worth (if they aren’t already trying to find it through the titles they hold, the roles they play, and things they do). While it’s impossible for anyone to answer these questions for you, we know this episode of This Grit and Grace Life will provide you with the guidance you need.    Hosts Darlene and Julie are joined

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4 Realistic Ways to Shift Your Mindset in 2020 – 115

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Life is good. Actually, life is really good! However, for many us, we are more negative in the way we view things and struggle to see how great this life really is. We think we can’t help it–focusing on the negative is just the way we are. And when people around us try to help us see more of the positives, we think they just don’t understand the difficulties we are facing, right? The reality is, no one’s life is perfect. Each and every one of us has stress, struggles, obstacles and hardships. No matter how hard we try to control our lives, it’s impossible for

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New Year, Strong You! How to Reflect on Your Year in a Helpful Way – 114

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More That’s a wrap! 2019 is almost over, so let’s talk about… When the year starts coming to a close, it brings up so many emotional feelings. For many of you, it has you over-processing and reminiscing about everything that has happened in the past year–the good, the bad, and the ugly. And, you want to learn and glean as much as possible before you move on. But on the other hand, there are so many of you who just want this year to end now so you can move on and have a fresh start in the new year. Neither one are good or bad. But

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Maintaining a Healthy and Happy Marriage When the World Is Working Against It With Kristi Hendriks – 113

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  We are living in a culture where everything is way too fast paced, where we somehow always over-schedule ourselves, and where we are constantly comparing ourselves to everyone else’s highlight reels in our social media feeds. It’s a hard culture to navigate! And when you add marriage into the mix, it can become extremely difficult to maintain one that is both happy and healthy. Sometimes it feels like all these things that make up today’s world are eroding the foundation and stability of our marriages. So how do we thrive in our marriage, or simply keep it in tact, when it feels like everyone and everything

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

How to Handle Real-Life Struggles That Challenge Your Faith – 112

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  Having faith does not mean we have an easy life. The bible is not a vaccination against real-life struggles. No matter how strong our faith might be, we are not immune to life’s hurts and heartaches. In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life, hosts Darlene and Julie speak to the women who may be discouraged in their singleness, dealing with a prodigal child or are facing some other struggle that is causing them to be frustrated with their faith. They speak the hard truths that many of us women desperately need to hear.  The two discuss how we often believe our faith should make our

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

How to Avoid Relationship Conflict Over the Holidays – 111

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreThe holiday season is full of wonder, hope, and love. But, it can also be a season full of stress, pain and emotional agony. The holidays bring so much “togetherness”. Yes, this “togetherness” can be an amazing opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones and create meaningful memories, but it can also cause conflict and become way too stressful to actually enjoy.  In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life podcast, hosts Darlene and Julie have a much-needed chat about this topic.  They discuss how to avoid relationship conflict during the holiday season. This can apply to  any important relationship in your life, whether

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

What I Learned From Making the Hardest Choice with Shannon Barbosa – 110

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  Hard choices are part of life. Regardless of being strong women, when we are faced with a big decision, many of us just want to take the easiest way out. We try our best to avoid facing the difficulties that come with making the harder choice. Why should we, couldn’t we just take the easy way out? In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life, hosts Darlene and Julie chat with Shannon Barbosa, a friend and writer for The Grit and Grace Project. Through sharing HerStory, Shannon shines light on the miracles that come from making the hardest choice. HerStory is a brand-new category on

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Darlene and Julie Chat Balancing Adulting, Barbells and Booties – 109

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreYour co-hosts bust out their booties (we mean boots, because yay, fall temps!) for an honest chat about their grit and grace lives. Is adulting overrated? What are the benefits of multi-tasking, or should we buy into the new trend of mono-tasking (yes, that’s a thing)? Darlene takes a little time to get an update on how Julie finished her recent training and what she learned from her journey through her first fitness competition. You may be surprised at what this strong woman gleaned about herself as she took on this challenge, even one as ridiculous as strutting her stuff on the stage in glittery shoes. Grab

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Step Into Your Confidence Now – 108

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More  Do you ever find yourself second-guessing your worth, questioning your decisions, or doubting your purpose? Do you generally struggle with confidence? You’re not alone; we’ve all felt that way! But here’s the good news, we don’t have to live there! We genuinely believe every one of us has the grit, grace, and strength we need to overcome that doubt within us. On this episode, co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Graham have an honest conversation about what confidence means to them, where they have it, and when they lack it. Most importantly, they offer real, practical ways to grow out of our second-guessing so we can all

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

3 Real Struggles Women Face With Dr. Zoe Shaw – 107

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreBecause the Ask Dr. Zoe column has given us so many great answers to life’s questions, we decided to bring Dr. Zoe back to the podcast to discuss some of those a little deeper. We have received a lot of questions from women dealing with three specific issues, so we tackled each of those on this episode. How do we handle anxiety or worry and what is “normal?” How do you get your “forever fiancé” to follow through on his commitment? Can you leave hurt or trauma from your past behind? Co-hosts, Darlene Brock and Julie Graham, will tell you that every discussion they have with Dr. Zoe

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