Tackling Life and Culture in Your Grit and Grace Life

little boy wearing homemade airplane wings made of cardboard as a halloween costume

Money Was Lean, But My Dad Pulled Off the Best Halloween Costume

When I was 6, the country was going through a recession that put my dad out of work. My mom, an oncology nurse, went back to work—and on night shift—for the shift differential that kept my brother and I happily going about our little lives. My dad found odd jobs that included selling vacuum cleaners at the local Price Club (think vintage Costco) and truck driving while he looked for “real” work. For my mom, this meant meeting up with her in the evenings in the nurse’s lounge for a quick dinner and recap of my day while she ran in and out between patients. I remember going into her room during the day to find her sleeping, with dark towels my […]

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fashionable woman in a dress with a blue coat over her shoulders and sunglasses and a hat embodies the art of dressing for yourself

The New Elements of Style: Dressing for Yourself

By Kristen Bailey / Life & Culture

In today’s fast-paced world, fashion trends come and go at lightning speed. But there’s a shift happening—a growing movement towards sustainability, individuality, and embracing what we already have in our closets. Y2K style is making a comeback with Gen Z, while millennials are sticking to their beloved skinny jeans. Amid these diverse trends, the truth about fashion lies in the power of adapting old elements into something new. The fashion world is evolving, forging new elements of style with the importance of quality basics, the ethical handling of fast fashion, the allure of secondhand shopping, and the empowering essence of dressing for ourselves. The New Elements of Style There is power in quality basics. Timeless and well-made basic pieces are the foundation

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What It’s Really Like to Have a Child With ADHD

By Author Anonymous / Life & Culture

I ran inside before the car even pulled away from the curb. Letting them see me cry was not an option. Whether they could tell by my anxious pace or the slope of my shoulders, I’m not sure. But I needed the space, the separation, to cry. Really cry. Looks Can Be Deceiving I am a tangled mess of emotions. I felt like a failure, my nerves frayed, and my ego constantly bruised. I needed the space to let it all out, in choking heaps of sobs. I needed to grieve the “normal life” and “normal child” fantasy that has been slowly eroding for 12 long years. My son looks “normal” on the outside. He’s very good-looking. He dresses nicely. There is

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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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10 of the Best Pumpkin Recipes to Taste Fall Now

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

Oh, fall, we just love you for so many reasons. After summer’s heat and humidity, your cool, crisp air is a glorious change of pace. Your colors are astounding, bringing perspective each day as you turn the leaves into gorgeous shades of crimson and gold. Bundling up in sweaters and boots is exciting and new after a season of sweating it out in swimsuits and shorts. But nowhere is our love for fall displayed greater than in the explosion of pumpkin everything in the past few years. Long gone are the days when pumpkin made a single appearance in the pie at Thanksgiving. Now, pumpkin is the marker by which we usher in the entire season, with the release of the Pumpkin

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Why Your Self-Talk Matters—Insights from a Therapist

By Dr. Zoe Shaw / Life & Culture

Most people get it wrong when they think about who their greatest influence is. It’s not your mom, your dad, your high school gym teacher, or your first boyfriend. It’s not your abuser or any of your exes, no matter how horrible or amazingly wonderful they were. It’s you. You already knew where I was going with this, right? You are the storehouse for all of the information ever given to you about life and yourself. Ultimately, you choose how to interpret past voices and feed them back to yourself as experience. You alone speak to yourself more than anyone speaks to you. You also speak to yourself more than you speak to anyone else, which makes you, my dear friend, your

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5 Truths About the Best Kind of Beauty

By Sharita Hanley / Life & Culture

I repeated the phrase to myself again and again. Think on things that are noble, pure, and true. Beautiful things I’d told myself as I tried and failed to will myself to think positively. Noble, pure, and true I reminded myself as the blinking LED light slowly but surely diminished my attention span. Positive. Noble. True. I whispered as though something magical was about to happen, but the pull of social media proved strong as the blinking blue light beckoned my focus. Not quite capable of 100% resistance, I checked the notification bar. Instagram was waiting, seemingly where the best kind of beauty resides. As if the blinking LED light gave me permission to move forward, I clicked the notification, diving headfirst into

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A Parent’s Guide to Halloween and How to Handle It

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

It was Halloween day, and this was the first year my daughter realized it might just be a great event in which she wanted to participate. She was barely four years old and until that time my husband and I had avoided stepping into the chaos of this holiday. My husband’s attitudes were born out of his complete distaste for many of the things that came with this particular evening. I didn’t necessarily disagree with him, but I circumvented it simply because I had enough to do without adding it to the list! But we couldn’t avoid it this year. We desperately needed a parent’s guide to Halloween, but there wasn’t one. Our daughter wanted to dress up; she wanted to grab

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Goodbye Skinny Jeans, This Is Why I’m Breaking up With You

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

Dear Skinny Jeans, I’m breaking up with you. Please don’t be mad. So many others still love you. You have devoted fans everywhere. It’s just, I’m no longer one of them. But today I’m saying goodbye Skinny Jeans. We had a good run, didn’t we? We partnered on so many different occasions, in so many different ways. We went casual-cool, with riding boots, flats, and tennies. We were sophisticated and classy, all dark denim and heels for our date nights and girls’ nights. We went from ripped and rocker to high-waisted and mom-jean-esque. We even had a very unfortunate foray into the Ugg-trend in the mid 2000s. We’ve done it all. But, see, things have changed. I’m different now. I’ve grown. No

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drinking excessively 8 healthier coping strategies for women

Drinking Excessively? Here Are 8 Healthier Coping Strategies for Women

By The Grit and Grace Team / Life & Culture

This article was written collaboratively by Caroline Beidler and Lindsey Encinias. Did you know that one alcoholic beverage per day (five ounces—yes, that’s right, not even the size of a measuring cup) is considered “moderate drinking” for women? We didn’t either. Is cocktail hour coming a little early—like noon? Does “Momma social club” always offer drink options? Regular morning cocktails with brunch? Nightly wine (in that oversized glass) and Netflix? Is that drinking excessively? Maybe you can relate. Are Women Drinking Excessively These Days? Recent statistics show women are reaching for the bottle more than ever.1 According to researchers, women have increased their heavy drinking days by 41% in the last year.2 But the increase hasn’t just been since the pandemic. Since the early 2000s,

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Wanting to Take a Fall Vacation? Check Out These 5 Spots

By Sharita Hanley / Life & Culture

As much as I enjoy summer’s arrival, there’s just something about autumn that seems to calm my soul. Like an open invitation to relax, fall swoops in after summer’s high-intensity fun, like a hero in the night. Calm and comforting. An enchanting reminder of what it means to slow… down. So, after the sand castles are washed away, and the back-to-school transition ends, here are five beautiful places to visit for a fall vacation. 1. Asheville, North Carolina Nestled in the western part of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is a popular fall destination. A festival haven, this mountain town hosts celebrations of all kinds including the The Lovely Asheville Annual Fall Festival, Carolina CiderFest and Greek Festival. Homebodies can find

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Problem at Work? 5 Tips to Work It Out!

By Teresa Christian / Work & Money, Life & Culture

We have a “Go Direct” principle at my office. Here’s what that means: if you have a problem at work involving an issue with someone, go directly to that person and work it out. Don’t spend time talking behind his or her back, sharing your grievance with other people, or “getting advice.” Don’t mull over it; don’t hold onto it. Simply “Go Direct.” Problem at Work? Follow these 5 successful problem-solving tips: 1. Consider a kind, but clear way to address the issue. Think before you speak. 2. Don’t bring other people into the conflict. Doing so may cause your co-worker to feel attacked. 3. Try your best to find a moment of privacy, reducing the risk of other people overhearing the conversation and thus embarrassing your co-worker. This will

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My Dad’s Suicide and the Hole in My Heart

By Darlene Brock / HerStory, Life & Culture

I knew my father was having a difficult time in life. It was so very unlike this man, whose smile warmed the hearts of perfect strangers, to see that smile so infrequently. But at the age of 50, having left his position as an accountant, he could not find a job in his field. There were challenges he was facing that he kept to himself, and the depth of depression that descended upon him was not fully known to those who loved him. That is until the day my mother found him in the garage having taken his life. My father had committed suicide. I was a 23-year-old newlywed living in Nashville, Tennessee when I received the call. This was my daddy.

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How to Ask Great Questions and Why It’s Life-Giving for All

By Michelle Hurst / Life & Culture

Ever have 43 things on your to-do list, and instead of getting them done, you fill out one of those silly internet/Facebook questionnaires that ask great questions? You know, the kind where you check off books you’ve read, movies you’ve watched, states you have visited, favorite breakfast cereal, etc. I am a sucker for them. I mostly don’t even post them, I just read and answer them. I have taken almost every personality test out there. (Enneagram 7 here with a strong 8 wing, ENFJ). I read somewhere that people take personality tests, even the bad ones, in hopes of learning something new about ourselves. Figuring Out Who We Are We are all trying to figure out who we are… and maybe

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Remembering September 11: Overcoming Anxiety as an Aircrew

By Kristen Bailey / Life & Culture

When I first started flying as a flight attendant, I was sent to New York as the last batch of attendants hired as JFK crew. My first day of flying? September 11, 2015. Joining one of the major airlines used during the terror attacks on that fateful day, my first day of work was to be a lesson in the necessary skill of overcoming anxiety as a flight attendant. When faithfulness triumphs over fear, true bravery is born. The flight crews who kept working in the air after those tragic crashes told us something with their lives: We must remain faithful to whatever it is we’re doing, despite our fears, or we might freeze. A Lasting Impact I was a new hire,

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When Desperation Comes, Why Choose Suicide?

By Ashley Johnson / Life & Culture

Did you know that one of the most influential pastors and preachers of the Christian faith struggled with depression and even suicidal thoughts? Known as the “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Spurgeon’s work has provided an intangible, yet very real hope for people over the last 100+ years. The same mind that dwelt in dungeons of darkness also created quotes reflecting glimpses of a brilliant light… “Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” “By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” “Our infirmities become the black velvet on which the diamond of God’s love glitters all the more brightly.” Sounds like a man who is able to find and focus on the good no matter how hard the bad.

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My Secret to a Long-Lasting DIY Manicure

By Ashley Johnson / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

I’m a girly-girl, but I’m also practical… So I’ve always aspired to have an enviable set of nails. However, when I paint them myself, it seems to only last a day or two (at best) without chipping. When I loosen my money pouch and go to the salon, they look lovely—but it’s time-consuming and expensive to maintain. Then I met Cayly. Cayly is a friend of mine who happens to be a hairstylist at Ulta. She always had great-looking digits and finally told me her secret… CND’s Stickey Base Coat and Super Shiney Top Coat. Each bottle is about $12.50, but totally worth every penny. Plus, you can often find each item on Amazon for a cheaper price. Application Tips for Maximum

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