9 qualities that make a good friend | The Grit and Grace Project

Mary: A Woman of Honor, Grit, and Grace

Honor is the respect, trust, and confidence given to a person, earned by the character exhibited through the life they lived—the outgrowth of living a life of grace. Not easily gained nor easily bestowed. There is one lady that exhibited these qualities in life, one that holds a place of honor in every Christmas Nativity. Sitting calmly aside an infant in a manger placed in a stable filled with animals, I’m not really sure today’s depiction is realistic. If you had birthed a baby in essentially a barn, amidst straw and animals, you probably would not be perfectly coiffed. Joyous but weary, not only from the long trip you made nine months pregnant abreast a donkey, but also suffering through a natural […]

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Dear Mama, You Need to Break up With These 3 Things

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood

Dear Mama, There’s no doubt about it: motherhood isn’t for sissies. As a mom, you are a leader. An advocate. A nurse. A teacher. A mediator. A friend. A vomit-cleaner, diaper-changer, and so much more. Your job requires a steady arsenal of qualities at your disposal: resiliency; stamina; wisdom; grace; compassion; laughter; and, again, so much more. What you don’t need, though, is that inner lethal voice that criticizes you or downright shames you. It’s the voice that tells you that you’re messing up the little lives in your care or that you’re simply not cut out for the job of motherhood. Sometimes, it whispers quietly, and you briefly forget it even exists. On other days, the bully voice screams louder than

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7 Ways to Pay Off Student Loans Like a Pro

By Chelsea McClusky / Work & Money, Life & Culture

Do you know what the three scariest words are in the English language? Student Loan Debt! For something as frightening as this, millions of people are diving headfirst into this anxiety-inducing, stress-evoking, overwhelming money pit! But have no fear; solutions are here: ones that can help pay off student loans—or most any type of debt. Many years ago, I started dating an amazing man, the kind of man a girl wants to marry (and marry I did). Along with all his super positive husband qualities came one unfortunate piece of baggage—a whole lot of student loan debt from four years at a private university (you can imagine the dollar amount that can create). But I said to myself, if that’s the only

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5 Everyday Spiritual Practices to Grow Your Faith

By Caroline Beidler / Faith

When my pastor recently asked our small group what actions we could commit to taking this week to increase practicing faith in an authentic way, I paused. What came to mind was a series of events from my twenties when life was simple, a bit more melancholic, and I had time for things like spiritual practices and disciplines. During my mid-twenties as a new(ish) convert, I devoured every book I could get my hands on about spiritual formation, long before I even knew that was what I was reading. I sang psalms and wrote new ones as I strummed an out-of-tune black guitar with nail-bitten and calloused fingers. I read and read and read and met some of the greats like Yancey

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How to Wait With Grace During the Adoption Process

By Carey Melton / Motherhood, Best Of

Oh my goodness, it’s with tremendous humility that I write about adoption. To me, there is no greater honor than to have been chosen to adopt each of my babies. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would ever be giving insight or even be passionate about such a precious gift, I would have very enthusiastically said, “Never!” I have to confess that I love my comfort zones. It’s something I’ve always struggled with—making sure I adjust, adapt, and prepare in order to be comfortable. I thought that if something was “hard” then I must not be doing it right. This really started after my mom passed away. I began to take every relationship and situation in my life

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50+ Activities for Kids That Are Free or Really Cheap

By Loren Brock / Motherhood

Does anyone else feel like they are spinning in circles in place this summer? Mamas, you feel me? This season is bringing out the grit and grace in me more than ever. As a mom of a 5-year-old boy, we have done coloring, LEGOs, and screen time. We’ve read books, run in literal circles, and I’ve found myself needing more ideas. So, I set out on a mission to search the inter-web, rack my brain, and ask friends for some assistance. To save you all this research, below are 50-plus ideas to keep the kiddos entertained (they might also learn a thing or two!). Good for most any age (very little assembly required!): 1. Make photo books online and look out for

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what do you do when bearing their burdens breaks you

What Can You Do When Bearing Their Burden Breaks You?

By Carolyn Gordon / Faith

We all know someone carrying a burden. A friend on Facebook who recently got divorced, a family member in a bad relationship, a coworker with a wayward child, a mom friend who lost her husband. We don’t have to look too far to find someone in need because we live in a broken world. And if you’re like me, you see a loved one in distress, and it might as well be a giant Batgirl signal blaring brightly in the dead of night. You grab your cape from your closet, ready to jump into action and bear the burden of another. You are armed with a checkbook, and a hand mixer is your sword to whip up some breakfast bread. You buy

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This Is What Running in My 40s Has Taught Me

By Melissa Solle / Life & Culture

Once upon a time I was a fast runner (think, like, 25 years ago when I was 18 and solid muscle). My personal best for a 5k was a little under 19 minutes! I could leg-press as much as half the guys in my class and didn’t back down from a race or competition. I was tough, strong, and extremely competitive. Fast forward almost 20 years, add a career-ending injury to my ankle, three babies, a husband, and a life of contentment, and I was bored. I hadn’t really exercised in two decades, unless you count a brief stint chasing my middle child who was an escape artist as a toddler. I Made a Goal Despite the Challenges Before I turned 40,

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We Need to Address Racism with Grace and Love—This is How

By Monique Jackson King / Life & Culture

On New Year’s Eve 2019, heading into 2020, I made a celebratory dinner for my family, lit candles to fill our home with my favorite aroma, took a mid-day nap so this mama could actually make it to the fireworks, and spent some time praying about what the year to come would hold. I prayed and asked the Lord for a year unlike a year I’ve ever experienced. Specifically, I asked him to blow my mind with growth, revelation, truth, love, and advancement. Seven months into the year, I find myself asking, “Wait, Lord, did I pray the wrong prayer? This was not the advancement I imagined.” Isn’t that how life works, though? We see things from an eye-to-eye level when God

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Is School Starting or Not? Hope for Stressed Moms

By Darlene Brock / Health & Beauty, Motherhood

I was in Walmart recently as they were filling the shelves with the annual back-to-school supplies. It’s 2020, and a new school year is starting. Or is it? Are they teaching in the classroom, or is the education they offer online? Or, are you faced with the option to choose? If you’re like most parents looking to their school board for guidance, you are still in uncharted and uncertain territory. As in most things, information comes from every side, and what it brings is almost impossible to weed through because it remains contradictory. The American Academy of Pediatrics says kids need to go to school, “the APA strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal

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