When Life Gives You a New Normal [Video]
How do you handle big life changes? When things are out of your control? Read the full article here. #gritandgracelife
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Purpose
pur·pose
/ˈpərpəs/
The journey of determining a career, a talent, a home, or a relationship through which to fulfill your unique calling; the essence of who you are and who you want to be, finding the reason to do your best and be your best every day in every area of life
You Don’t Feel Pretty? [Video]
Do you have a friend who wakes up looking angelic before she even washes her face? How about one who lives off of doughnuts and never lifts more than her purse, but somehow maintains the body of a supermodel? She’s beautiul, but girl, so are you! Read the article here Just Because She’s Pretty Doesn’t Mean You’re Not and Who Am I?
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Beauty School Dropout
My mother loved to tell the story with great chagrin of how she had to go to the college I was attending in the early 1980’s to beg on bended knee that they not kick me out. They let me stay on with a warning of “Academic Probation.” I was really good at having a very fun social life, and not so great at attending class. I got by the next semester on a wing and prayer while still majoring in social life. I decided to try another route, so I signed up for Cosmetology. I hated it! You see some gross stuff staring down at the scalp of a stranger’s head. I became a “Beauty School Dropout” four months into that program.
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Welcome to The Grit and Grace Project [Video]
Women have changed the world, with their grit and their grace.
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Learning to Breathe, and Face Depression
Once upon a time I had my dream job working for a nationally recognized magazine. During my tenure there, I became a first-time mother. I had always imagined that when my first baby arrived, I would instinctively want to stay at home. I did not. I adored my son, but I missed my work. So, when he reached twelve weeks old, I returned to my job. It was a juggling act, for sure, but with the help of my husband and a flextime schedule, it worked. When the day came that we started talking about increasing our family yet again, I knew that for me it was time to consider walking away from my job. It feels like a sacred confession to
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Your Best Is Actually Good Enough
After watching a movie on Netflix last weekend, we caught the tail end of the USA men’s gymnastic trials for the summer Olympics. At the end, the selection committee agonized over which five of the athletes to choose for the U.S. Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. Both my husband and I found our eyes leaking tears along with the amazing young men as their names were announced. One of the last gymnasts we saw compete was Danell Leyva on the double parallel bars. The commentators slightly dismissed him as he started out, mentioning hiccups in his earlier performances, but he showed they were wrong. His routine was flawless and breathtaking. The only hitch I saw was a tiny hop upon landing
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I Am Not Half, I Am Whole
God bless the messy road that made me who I am. I am in awe of how each season of our life prepares us for the next. Sometimes it’s our wrong choices and mistakes. Oftentimes it’s another’s wrong choice, but it affects us. The messy roads, the product of wrong choices can make you feel like you are less than. While others seem whole, you may feel that you are merely half. Yet, that is never true. When I look at my life, I can see so clearly how each season and choice (both good and bad) have made me who I am today—and I count it all joy, my friends. I was that kid born out of wedlock. My mom was sent away
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My Story Rewritten, Yours Can Be Too
My life story began as a child of a hurt woman who fled the unfaithfulness of a husband. Her pregnancy came when she fell in the arms of another man seeking comfort. I was the product of hurt, and a thirst for love, and I became a decision faced by a mother who was not ready for motherhood. My beginning could have looked like this: I am: Unwanted A child of hurt, shame, and secrets A choice to make Without value or purpose Another child, if born, headed for Foster Care Yet that was not the end—that is not who I am. I am not: An unwanted daughter A daughter of shame The choice to end a pregnancy Instead, my mother’s decision,
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Pursuing Dreams While Rearing Children
People often ask how I have time to pursue any personal endeavors while rearing small children. Certainly there is the feeling that becoming a mom means postponing, if not completely forfeiting, any personal ambitions. I attribute my pursuit of being a practicing artist and present parent to appropriate doses of tenacity, perseverance, improvisation and intentionality with the cherry on top of a supportive spouse. Honestly, some days are a wash and require me coming to terms temporarily with letting any personal ambitions go. Other days present themselves more manageable if I just take the effort to proactively switch some things around in the schedule, humbly ask for help from my family and be disciplined enough to follow through. Being that it is
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What is Grit? What is Grace? (Video)
Two greatest qualities are Grit and Grace but what do they look like?
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