Torrie Sorge | The Grit and Grace Project

5 kids sitting next to each other outdoors and reading children's Books Celebrating Diversity

5 Children’s Books Celebrating Our Beautiful Diversity

As a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, I loved listening to my mom read to me. As she would read, I would be inspired by a little engine that kept persevering up the hill. I loved the way Winnie the Pooh and his friends stuck together regardless of the mishaps that occurred along their adventures. I was inspired as Belle was able to look beyond the outward appearance of the Beast to see who he could become rather than who he currently was. The one thing I don’t remember seeing in the books my mom read to me was a little girl who looked like me, who had curly black hair and cinnamon-colored skin. I didn’t see families that […]

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Representation Matters: Searching for Mental Health Support for People of Color

By Torrie Sorge / Life & Culture

I was stunned when I read the news story. I remembered her winning Miss USA 2019, not because of her articulate answers or platform, but because her physical features mirrored my own. At the time, I was just beginning to embrace my curls and she proudly wore hers with confidence. As I read through the breaking news story, once again, I saw myself in Cheslie Kryst. Her struggle with anxiety and depression echoed my own. I rarely share about the time I sat, razor blade in hand, contemplating if I should live or die. Would anyone care if I were gone? Or the time I called my mom at 3 a.m. to pick up our infant son because I couldn’t have him

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Is My Halloween Costume Offensive?

By Torrie Sorge / Life & Culture

Halloween is a time of year when creativity abounds, especially when it comes to Halloween costumes. Whether it’s the perfect trick-or-treat outfit for our little ones or an elaborate design for ourselves, it’s important to ask the question: “Is my costume culturally appropriate? Or does it have the potential to be offensive?” While cultural appropriation has a long history in America, it’s gained a wider understanding in recent years as our society has become increasingly more aware of how our actions and attitudes toward racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity impact those around us. This is particularly true during Halloween when our costume(s) have the potential to hurt, disrespect, and offend members of the culture represented by the costume even when that’s not

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8 Steps to a Smooth College Transition for You and Your Teen

By Torrie Sorge / Motherhood

I sat in the passenger seat of our SUV in the parking garage, hot and exhausted. Sweat from the 112-degree Phoenix summer sun ran down my spine while my eyes stayed glued to the back of my six-foot-tall baby boy walking towards the garage stairs. Time stopped as I watched him pause on the top step. 18 years flew by so quickly. Didn’t we just bring him home from the hospital on a snowy March afternoon? He turned to wave, shooting us a quick smile, then disappearing down the staircase into a new life, a new adventure, a new chapter of his life. But where did that leave me? Some moms might have felt the sting of him walking away. Away from

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3 Ways to Correctly Ask Someone About Their Ethnicity

By Torrie Sorge / Life & Culture

“What are you?” my coworker asked. It was my first week on the job. I had been introduced to the office team a couple of days before as, “Torrie, our new office assistant. She will be working with Brad’s team.” Everyone welcomed me warmly and helped me get acclimated to my new work space. I didn’t need an explanation for her question. I knew what she was really asking. I’d heard this question my entire life. My pause gave way for her to ask the usual follow up question, “What are you? I mean like where are you from?” “Ohio,” I answered. “I grew up in Ohio and moved here to Los Angeles a few years ago when my husband got transferred.”

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7 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Embrace their Culture

By Torrie Sorge / Motherhood

As parents and guardians, we want our kids to thrive—socially, academically, and physically. But what about culturally? How often do we share our culture with our kids? Do we feel comfortable doing so? What if I wasn’t exposed to my culture growing up and know nothing about it? Research tells us that culture has a big impact on a child’s development. It gives them a sense of identity, provides a sense of belonging, and creates a connection to their history and heritage. Perhaps you grew up in a home that honored your culture by celebrating holidays, eating traditional foods, speaking the language, and learning history. So sharing your culture with your children and carrying on those traditions, is very important to you.

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I Thought He’d Propose on Valentine’s Day—He Broke Up Instead

By Torrie Sorge / Relationships

It was Valentine’s Day. We sat on my small, tan microfiber loveseat in my sparsely decorated apartment. The night had been perfect. Dinner at our favorite local restaurant. A bouquet of flowers along with gifts of chocolates and a stuffed animal. My heart swelled in anticipation of how I dreamed the night would end. A Change in Relationship Status I knew six months wasn’t very long, but for a girl in her senior year of college in a town where most of my friends had been engaged by now, I felt the clock ticking. At the perfect moment, just when I thought it wouldn’t happen, he would release my hand to retrieve one more gift from his pocket. He would slip from

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Do You Feel Abandoned by God?

By Torrie Sorge / Faith, Best Of

A cool breeze cuts through the layers of my favorite sweatshirt and long sleeve t-shirt, causing my shoulders to shiver. I pull the sherpa blanket closer to my chin as I sit on our back deck, surrounded by the fading images of fall. Only a few golden and scarlet leaves remain on naked branches. The green grass of summer is hidden beneath a blanket of leaves that beg to be raked into piles. My husband stokes the fire pit, adding a log as embers float into the dusk sky. The sounds of a college football game drift from the patio TV, but I barely notice, distracted by my own thoughts. We Were Never Abandoned It’s been a hard season. A hard year…or

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How Do I Trust My Heavenly Father When I Can’t Trust My Earthly One?

By Torrie Sorge / Faith

Sunlight radiated through my office window, but I barely noticed. My eyes stared at the computer monitor but saw nothing, the weight of my soul pulling my attention away from emails and to-do lists. Emotionally and spiritually, I was exhausted. Why Do I Have a Disconnect in My Faith? For months, I’d felt like God was a million miles away. Prayers met with silence. I knew God heard me. His Word said so. I knew He could intervene, so why did it seem like He didn’t want to? I felt like He was a distant dad who’d handed me an instruction manual to life and then disappeared, leaving me to figure out the details. My phone vibrated me back to reality with

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Why You Need to Let Go and Let Your Kids Spread Their Wings

By Torrie Sorge / Motherhood

As a parent, letting go can be one of the hardest parts of the job. God gives us our little ones to love, care for, protect, serve, guide, and prepare. But what are we preparing them for if we’re not willing to loosen our grip and give them some freedom along the way? This reality hit me hard when our son was in eighth grade. I think we can all agree some of life’s hardest years are during middle school. Trying to find your place amidst the hormones, acne, peer pressure, and academic expectations can be exhausting. Despite all of the challenges, Logan was a great student, making straight A’s and becoming a member of the National Junior Honors Society. He’d proven

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