Tackling Life and Culture in Your Grit and Grace Life

16 Things That Live in a Woman’s Purse—For Better or Worse

I’m a 46-year-old wife and mother who wears a lot of hats, and often those hats aren’t exactly straight on my head. When I was a young teen, I never wanted to be one of those women who had a purse with them all the time. I wanted to buck the trend that a woman needed a bag to perform whatever duties were expected of her when I got to that stage of life. I fought that cultural norm hard, so hard, often to the point of massive inconvenience or causing significant discomfort to those in my inner circle. Then I became an adult and realized the benefits of a purse far outweighed the negatives—my chapstick was always at the ready, tampon—check, wallet wasn’t getting lost under the […]

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10 Funny Things All Women Do

By Darlene Brock / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

I obviously have spent a whole bunch of years being a female, well actually my entire life (no surprise there). But something I have realized is that we are a funny bunch, aren’t we ladies? There are some things we do and say that are unique to us. I’ve done them, and I know if you admit it, you have too! So I’m just going to step up and confess to some of the funny things all women do. 1. When we ask, “How do I look?” There is only one acceptable answer. 2. We remove our bra the moment we get home. Then spend the next few minutes scratching the indentations caused by said bra. 3. When disrobing for a doctor’s visit, we

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How to Move On From the Loss of a Dream in a Healthy Way

By Dr. Zoe / Purpose, Life & Culture

I recently sat with a client who was devastated over the loss of a dream. This door was clearly closed in his life and there was no real chance of him ever achieving it. There is very little in life that is as painful as the loss of a dream. His inability to move past this loss cost him his entire family. I wish he had come to me sooner. He was grieving so hard that he couldn’t even see the amazing blessings he had in front of him … until they were gone. What do you do when you just can’t get over a loss? Life is tough sometimes. I have never heard a success story that didn’t include failures along the way. Relationship breakups, loss of

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10 Tips for Tackling Menopause with Grace

By Melissa Solle / Life & Culture

I recently entered the much despised stage of life: second puberty. More commonly known as menopause. This is a stage of life that most women go through with varying degrees of symptoms and frustrations and lengths of time. Do I want a taco? A salad? My husband’s head on a platter? It changes often and quickly. Sometimes I just want to be left alone. Other times I want all my people around me. I want to eat the carbs, but I want to stay in the same size pants, which is, for the record, impossible. I have yet to find a diet or miracle food to prevent the dreaded menopause belly, otherwise known as muffin top. I exercise, I eat right (most

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I Did a Social Media Detox and Learned Why We’re Always Reaching for Our Phones

By Caroline Beidler / Life & Culture

One day after my 8-year sober birthday, I decided to do a social media detox for a month (or as long as I could). In the beginning, there really wasn’t any end game in mind. My motivation: I realized that somewhere along the way I started caring what people think. And this started to affect how I felt about myself. Oh, and also: I was spending way too much time checking my phone. I wish someone could have taken my picture and posted it as I contemplated what it meant to erase the Facebook and Instagram apps from my phone. I held my finger on the screen and the icons did that little dance, that shaky “please don’t delete me” dance. This

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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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The 9 Best Ways to Choose Happiness

By Marlys Johnson Lawry / Life & Culture

I was glamping in an elegant Airstream in a land of sunny skies, craggy mountain ranges, and saguaro cacti—Tucson, Arizona. The trailer next to mine was a cool, vintage model and stenciled on the back was this thought: “Today, I will be happier than a bird with a French fry.” Which begs the question: Can we choose to be happy? Based on my experience, I believe happiness is a choice. And if a choice, then perhaps the old adage, “Practice makes perfect,” comes into play: “Note to self: Anything you have ever wanted to be good at, you’ve had to practice. If you want happiness, practice being happy. Keep these handy tools in your backpack to help along the way: gratitude, observation, presence,

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How to Teach Your Child Not to Hold Prejudices

By Dr. Zoe / Life & Culture, Motherhood

Why does it feel so uncomfortable to talk about race and racism in this country? Deep down in our gut, we know something just isn’t right and that makes us squirm. Humans strive for internal consistency, and when it’s not there we become uncomfortable. A part of our mind knows that we are all one family: the human race. The other part knows that we harbor some racism, stereotypes, prejudice, or discriminatory thoughts. Yes, we do. This makes us uncomfortable. When we become uncomfortable, we actively avoid situations and information likely to increase it. So, it’s normal to feel that way. I invite you to feel it now and keep reading anyway. There is something called multigenerational transmission process, which just means

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18 Recipes for the Best Super Bowl Party on the Block

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am not a big sports fan. I couldn’t tell a touchdown from a jump shot from a home run. I tried faking it for years because I’m married to the biggest sports fan ever, but recently decided to give up the ghost and let my true non-sports fan flag fly. Luckily that’s not why he loves me, and 15 years in I guess it’s a little too late for him to bolt over a silly game anyway. But there is one thing I love from the wide world of sports, one event I look forward to every year… The Super Bowl. Clearly I don’t look forward to it because of the game.

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Here’s Why We Need Black History Month and Racial Reconciliation

By Dorena Williamson / Life & Culture

“Mommy, is Jesus white?” This question was recently posed to a white mother in our congregation by her brown son. This family diligently provides books, activities, and holds ongoing discussions with the three brown kids in their home, yet this charming little five-year-old boy wrestled with the color of Jesus during the Christmas season. Your initial thoughts about this question and discussion say much about your comfortability with racial conversation. If your response is, “What difference does it make whether Jesus is white or not?” then I invite you to take a moment and consider why the race of such an important religious figure matters. How does each culture see Jesus? Years ago, on a visit to the Holy Land, I was

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7 Easy and Natural Methods to Boost Your Immunity

By Rachel Hagstrom / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

Ah, winter. ‘Tis the season for crackling fires, family and friends gathered around the table, and sledding down the snow-covered hillsides. It’s undoubtedly a favorite time of year for many, but the chilly winter months can quickly lose their luster the minute germs make a debut. The influx of coughs, colds, and flus seem heckbent on ruining all the fun. Many pesky illnesses that sprout up during the winter months are viral, which mean antibiotics won’t do the trick. These bugs seem to have no qualms with keeping entire households homebound for weeks; it can take up to two weeks for them to run their course. Prevention is key, so wash those hands frequently and start boosting your immunity by trying these

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6 Job Interview Tips to Help You Get the Offer

By Meaghan Dawson / Work & Money, Life & Culture

No matter where you are in your career or how long you’ve been in the business world, interviewing for a new job is intimidating. Just the word alone is enough to strike anxiety right into the hearts of job seekers. And the actual act of interviewing, forget about it. It is a palm-sweating, heart palpitation-inducing nightmare for most of us. And that’s even when it goes well. Everyone needs job interview tips to keep that heart rate down. But here’s the deal: interviews are a part of life. You won’t land the job of your dreams without going through an interview process of some type. (Unless your life is like a romantic comedy where dream jobs fall into your lap. In which

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50 Weird Things That Make All Women Happy

By The Grit and Grace Team / Life & Culture

Many moments in life are great—like finding out you got a hefty pay raise or embarking on your much-anticipated summer vacation. But have you ever bought a dress and discovered it has pockets? Hardly anything else compares to that kind of joy! We have found there are few things that make all women happy. So, to offer a few, many of our writers chimed in on some of their favorite weird things that make them happy. We thought we’d compile them and share the fun with you. Here are the things for us that are totally worth celebrating and never fail to put a smile on our faces. 50 Weird things that make all women happy. 1. Pockets…pockets, pockets everywhere. 2. When

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5 Simple Ways to Keep Dr. King’s Dream Alive

By Sharita Hanley / Life & Culture

If you’re anything like me, Dr. King’s legacy leaves you very much empowered and yet, feeling a little awkward. As much as his words and actions have been cherished and praised throughout the years, I’m always left wondering, but what can I do to keep Dr. King’s Dream alive? As inspired as I am, protesting isn’t really my thing. I’m too quiet, too shy, and sad to say, much too worried about my own self-preservation. But injustice of any kind bothers me, hate makes my blood boil, and despite my quiet nature, I’m an activist at heart. But after 27 years of wrestling with society’s expectations, I’ve come to realize the many ways I can keep Dr. King’s legacy alive in my

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3 Healthy Hand Sanitizer Options You Need to Try

By Laura Hurd / Health & Beauty, Life & Culture

It’s flu season, and you know what that means? Germs—everywhere! So, what is the best way to keep those flu and cold viruses at bay? As we become more aware of what we are putting into our bodies, we must also consider what we put on our skin. It’s always a good idea to try healthier, effective alternatives. Hand sanitizer is a quick and easy way to get instant germ protection in the absence of water. The popularity of this convenient method has made its way into hospital rooms, clinics, and emergency waiting areas across the nation. Even though I fully support anti-germ awareness in this form, I have found that there are other, non-toxic ways to get the same protection while saving

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Growing Plants Taught Me 4 Lessons for a Satisfying Life

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

During the height of Covid quarantine, I, like many people, developed some new obsessions. Partly as a way to pass the time and partly as a way to distract myself from the horrors of a pandemic, I took up some very strange hobbies. I dabbled in sourdough. But, as one can only have so many carbs, I let that starter go after a while. I remodeled a few rooms and was happy doing it until my killjoy husband put a kibosh on the spending. And I even went through an unfortunate period of time where I wanted to learn an instrument despite being, for lack of a better word, completely talentless. Luckily for all of us, that was short. The one hobby,

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29 Life-Changing Books for Your Reading List

By Twyla Franz / Life & Culture

January waltzes in, dreamy and ambitious. Whispers permission to shred your list of what you haven’t finished, haven’t even started, from last year. She’s a bright new start and welcome friend. Me? Just a girl who loves books, like you. I’ve handpicked my favorites from my bookshelf and I offer to you 29 of the most wonderful books sure to change your life. Let’s meander through my color-organized stacks and stop at these: 29 Life-Changing Books to Add to Your Reading List This Year 1. For the one holding her breath, walking faster, feeling the pressure to do more, balance it all, let no one down: Permission to slow and savor and grow. Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-Hurrying Your Heart from an

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