Women Can Find Purpose in this Grit and Grace Life

Feeling Funky? 9 Ways to Fight the Christmas Blues

By Ashby Duval / Health & Beauty, Featured, Purpose

It’s that time of year! We start out with such energy and excitement for the holidays! We change our radio stations to hear some Christmas tunes, we decorate our house and fill up our calendars with fun parties to attend, but by the time it’s all over, we are usually exhausted, often broke, and almost always a few pounds heavier. I’ve found that anytime I’m in a funk, there are always a few things I can do to help myself come out of it more quickly. I’ve also found there are some things that can keep me there longer as well (#netflixandbrownies)! In order to proactively avoid the post-holiday blues, I want to share with you the ones that help instead of […]

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7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Now

By Dr. Zoe / Purpose

Change. It is a certainty. It never ceases to amaze me how life can completely change in the blink of an eye. It invigorates me and leaves me a little terrified at the same time. We often go about subconsciously believing that we will live forever—that time is always there. The mind is amazing how it can trick us in that way. But we rarely fully experience the present, even though it is the only thing that is certain about our time here on earth. Experiencing the sudden death of my father and the traumatic birth of my daughter (born with a rare genetic disorder) heightened my awareness of how life can turn on a dime. I’m sure many of you have had similar life curve balls. Yet, we know

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Overcoming Shame from Abuse in a Grit and Grace Life

By Karen DeVault / Purpose

If you were a victim of child abuse or neglect like me, you very likely have experienced or do experience some level of shame. In my case, it plagued me for many years, yet I had no idea what it even was. Shame from abuse is hard to pin down because it assumes many forms. But it has the same message. It tells us that we are inferior, a mistake, fundamentally flawed. Shame Is Not the Same as Guilt Shame focuses on self. Guilt focuses on behavior. Shame says that “I am bad.” Guilt says that “I did something bad.” Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” a person who experiences shame says that “I am a mistake.” Think of shame as

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Grace Is Not Weakness; It Requires Strength

By Darlene Brock / Faith, Purpose

Defining Grace Grace is the anchor of our faith, the reason for the confidence we have in a God of mercy. It’s what is extended to us through a relationship with God established by the sacrifice of Christ. When we accept it from our Creator, it seems it should be such an easy thing to extend because he does it so magnificently. But for us to live our lives offering the same grace to others is anything but an easy task. Living a life of grace is very often misinterpreted. Some believe it’s an indicator of weakness. In the eyes of many, extending the truest form of grace, which is forgiveness, means giving up. Others believe grace is automatic and easy to

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Pulling Out Trauma by the Roots

By Caroline Beidler / Purpose

Every day for nearly six years, I had to walk by a line of misshapen, horribly trimmed, oblong, and funky shrubs to get to my front door. Some years, I’d take shears and gently prune the gangly branches in hopes that the new growth would sprout forth as effortlessly and symmetrically as it appeared our neighbor’s shrubs did every spring. Other years, my frustration led me to our battery-powered hedge trimmer. At first, I was a bit intimidated by it. Me? Someone who trimmed hedges? With power tools, no less? But after I got comfortable with the safety button, I was ready to cut back any unruly branch or out-of-place landscaping around our house. “What have you done?” my husband kindly asked

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5 Helpful Tips for Loving Your Body the Way It Is

By Rachel Hagstrom / Health & Beauty, Purpose

My body shaming started in fifth grade shortly after a classmate made up a “clever” little saying about my breasts. She recruited a group of boys who all chanted for days: “Rachel’s so flat a pancake would be jealous. Flatty cakes, flatty cakes!” Good one, sister. I was 11 years old… of course I was flat. As junior high came into full swing—and then high school—I noticed when friends blossomed as my own adolescent development seemed to lag behind my peers. When I finally started my period at the age of 15, I felt defective for showing up to the puberty party late. Over the years, I’ve abused, neglected, badmouthed, overworked, and shamed my body. Some of my shaming was induced by

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a mom kneels on the floor and measures her son's growth against a door frame since he's been experiencing growing pains

Growing Pains and Door Frames: A Measure of How Far We’ve Come

By Michelle Hurst / Purpose

Whenever people asked me what was new in my life, it was easier to answer with what was new with my kids than myself. They were constantly changing: outgrowing their clothes, joining a soccer team, balancing equations, learning to read or playing the drums. We lived in the same home from the time I brought them bundled from the hospital until my son turned 11 and my daughter, 8. Every few months I’d take a Sharpie and make them stand flat on their feet and mark their height next to their initials. For 11 years, these black and red marks inched their way up the doorframe. Growing Pains My next-door neighbor and I shared a pediatrician. I was surprised one day when

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How to Create More Balance in Your Life

By Rachel Hagstrom / Purpose

“Finding more balance” didn’t make it on my list of goals last year, but it’s near the top of my list this year. “Balance” is the oft-touted buzzword that can appear like an idealistic antidote to an overextended life. To create more balance in your life is the sought-after state of being that lies buried somewhere beneath our packed calendars, productive natures, and overstimulated selves. It’s the common prescription for what ails us, the ideal overall condition: “Stressed? Re-evaluate your work and life balance”…”High cholesterol? Try to maintain a balanced diet”…“Women should balance it all.” You can create more balance in your life! Though we may yearn for schedules and lifestyles that foster equal measures of work, play, and rest, the question

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What My Faith Says About My Purpose

By Darlene Brock / Faith, Purpose

I know that a woman of faith probably shouldn’t admit she thinks any book of the Bible is depressing, but there is one that I truly believe is! I realize there are some pretty troubling stories and incredibly sad scenarios written in God’s Word, but before you get all weird on me, thinking I am speaking badly about the Bible, hear me out. I find it easy to believe that God would agree the stories are both troubling and sad. Much of what is written reveals our human failure and our pursuit of selfishness and sin. These words also reveal God’s righteous intervention as He offers His mercy and grace with the goal of rescuing us from ourselves. It is when I

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sad woman in a dark room looking out the window exemplifying a widow's grief

A Widow’s Grief Doesn’t Need an End Date

By Amanda-Lee Pitzer / Purpose

I noticed an increase in my son’s acting out. He had become more defiant than normal and was driving me crazy. It didn’t matter what it was, but any minor correction blew up into full blown fights, tears, and frustration. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. He proceeded to get into trouble at school twice in the next week. One day, he came home from school and saw that there was a card on the kitchen counter, letting us know we were in someone’s thoughts. He brought it to me, wanting to understand what it meant since his name was listed as well. I ever so gently reminded him that the anniversary of his dad’s death was approaching. “Oh” he said, “I forgot.”

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blond woman creating art on a canvas wondering if it's bad to be selfish

Is It Bad to be Selfish? 4 Reasons the Answer Is No!

By Rachel Hagstrom / Health & Beauty, Purpose

I was silent as the impassioned tone on the other end of the phone grew in volume. She named everything that overwhelmed her: the mounting bills and unyielding budget; the long afternoons with the young, napless kids; the at-home job that kept her working until the wee hours of the night; the lack of outside help and health issues creeping in. All of it was taking a massive toll on my friend. That place of feeling pulled, depleted, and drained was one in which I was familiar. While we brainstormed ways she could create more margin in her life, I suggested she devote a few hours each week to exercise at the gym while she took advantage of onsite childcare. “You could

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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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Who Will Tell Your Story, and What Will They Say?

By Amy Saxby / Purpose

I am a fourth-grade teacher. Every year my students read a book about a person who has impacted the world: Albert Einstein, Anne Frank, Jane Goodall, Bill Gates. They learn how to paraphrase material, take notes, and then write a paper about their person’s life. Then they dress up accordingly and present a memorized speech to the rest of the class and the parents. This is one of my absolute favorite units to teach. The students learn that all across time and history, God has used many different people from every walk of life, with a range of abilities, for all different purposes. Each of these people leveraged their unique God-given gifts and talents to make a difference, and in doing so,

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Women’s History Month: Be Inspired By Strong Women of the Past

By Darlene Brock / Purpose

In celebrating Women’s History Month, I had to go back in time. To a season I first learned about the great women who paved paths before us. I grew up in a tiny Indiana town where generations of families worked their farmland or found employment in the factories for union wage. You knew the names of almost everyone in the community and also knew their “business.” As in cities large and small, there were classes of citizens, from the bank president to the school janitor. You held a position, and it was there you stayed. In the summer, we rode our bikes for miles to the local swimming pool or dropped them at the side of the road to explore the woods,

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My Life Isn’t Insta-Worthy, But I Love It All the More

By Meaghan Dawson / Purpose

If I could choose one phrase to perfectly sum up my stage of life, it would be “in the trenches.” I’m in the trenches of motherhood, playing carpool taxi, housemaid clean up, chief organizational officer, head referee, and principal disciplinarian every day. My life isn’t Insta-worthy. I’m in the trenches in my marriage, fighting for even a simple date night, fighting for connection in the busy, fighting to stay together through the hard stuff of parenting. I’m in the trenches in my life too, my own personal time of trying to grow my dream project from the ground up, putting in hours of blood, sweat, and tears often to little or no applause or grandeur. Yes, the trenches are where I dwell.

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Want to be a Strong Woman? Be Dependent And Vulnerable

By Carey Melton / Purpose

I’ve thought a lot about strength lately. Working full-time, raising three young kids, my husband going through a job change… During this crazy life stage, I hear a lot of, “You’re so strong”; “How do you do it all?”; “How are you so strong?” It’s flattering to hear, and sometimes I think to myself, “Wow I have them fooled!” Other times I almost cringe inside and want to cry, “If they only knew how weak I really feel.” It’s usually in the moments when I’m trying to do things on my own, be tough, and look strong and unfazed that I’m actually the weariest. Webster defines strength as “being able to withstand great force or pressure.” In today’s society, we must wear

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Feeling Lonely? This is a Battle You Can Win

By Darlene Brock / Purpose

As I sat down with my second cup of coffee to follow my morning ritual, I scanned my emails when an article caught my attention: Study Reveals Loneliness at Epidemic Levels in America. If you’re feeling lonely, realize you’re not alone. The results of the study conducted by health insurer Cigna stated that nearly half of Americans surveyed sometimes or always feel left out, with only 53% saying they have meaningful in-person social interactions.1 Loneliness has plagued all of us through time, sometimes leaving us feeling lost for a few hours or a few days. In other seasons, we may discover we awaken each morning and end each day with a chronic hurt and ache that lay within the feeling of aloneness.

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