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 

10-Ways-to-Boost-Your-Confidence

10 Ways to Boost Your Confidence

The word “confidence” dates back to the early 15th century. A direct descendent of the Latin word confidentia meaning “firmly trusting, bold” and confidere meaning “to have full trust or reliance.” When I try to trace the roots of confidence in my own life it leads me to questions: When did I first hear of this concept? When did I first feel it? Who taught it to me? How did they first present it to me? How did I integrate that into my daily being? When contemplating confidence, there are many areas to think of: The root of it, the implementation of it, and the strengthening and maintaining of it. But spending time to think about how confidence works in your own […]

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17 Things to Do to Make the Most of 15 Minutes

Love the Life You Have Today: Here’s How

Yesterday, I felt like a hatchling building strength and in a state of preparation. Today, I feel like a soaring eagle, ready to take a risk. One thing our mind does subconsciously is give us second thoughts. We immediately respond to positive things in our life with excitement. In as little as one minute after good news, doubt and fear creep into our souls. It could be paralyzing. It could take away your happiness. I’m here to tell you that you should only focus on today. Your present moment could be your last moment, and we know, every new day is a gift. We are taught from a young age that it is important to build, but there must be balance. If

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Why Now Is the Time You Should Rethink Your “Purpose”

It may be time for all of us to stop obsessing about our purpose. Does that statement shock you? I can assure you it did me the first time I thought it! After all, our purpose is us, right? It’s our heart and soul, who we are, who we’re meant to be, what we’re meant to accomplish. Our imprint on the world. Purpose is a buzzword right now for women. Not so much for men, who seem to bind their purpose to their career easily. They may be a husband and father, but their worth and identity is so solidly wrapped up enough in their job that it’s uncommon to find one who ponders his “purpose.” I think we need to stop.

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10 Behaviors Found in the Inspired Woman

You cannot mistake an inspired woman. Right away there is something enchanting about her. But what exactly is it? Why is it so hard to put your finger on what makes her so? Here’s the thing: many of us are raised to believe that women are ethereal, dainty, delicate, gone at the poof of a strong wind. All of these images fall in line with the historically inspired woman. We immediately conjure images of a woman with long, flowy hair, beautiful bosoms, eyes closed in meditation while breastfeeding an almost-asleep, happy babe. As I’ve grown, however, my image of an inspired woman has become far more complex, developed, real, and tangible. When I run into an inspired woman, I want to high-five her!

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5 Helpful Tips for Loving Your Body the Way It Is

5 Helpful Tips for Loving Your Body the Way It Is

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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Every One Of Us Can Help Vulnerable Children

Every One Of Us Can Help Vulnerable Children

In his book Doing Good Is Simple, Chris Marlow issues a profound four words of motivation: “Get in the boat.” Marlow is a North Carolina pastor who started a worldwide ministry after coming home from a “mission trip” and seeing starving orphans on the streets of Zimbabwe that he had absolutely no way to help. Ten years later, his ministry, Help One Now, provides homes, meals, school, and sex trafficking rescue to children in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and four countries in Africa. The point and purpose of Marlow’s 2016 book about his own journey from cushy church job to nonprofit orphan care is that every single one of us can help vulnerable children right where we are. We don’t need

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Reality: Behind the Scenes of the Happy Adoption Photo

Reality: Behind the Scenes of the Happy Adoption Photo

There are a whole lot of orphans in the world, and there is a big push for more parents to adopt. Adoption is a great thing and a worthy cause, but in our passion and desperation to find homes for children, I feel that we often tread closely to manipulation. Look at this happy adoptive family photo! You could do this for a child! Yes, you! All they need is a home and a family to love them! And yes, so many need homes and they all need love, but how often do we gloss over everything else that they need—an exorbitant amount of patience and a ridiculous amount of grace? They don’t trust adults; they don’t feel worthy of love; they test limits; they tell

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The-Heart-of-Milk-and-Honey-Market-Ethical-and-Beautiful-Fashion

The Heart of Milk & Honey Market: Ethical & Beautiful Fashion

My first exposure to human trafficking was the movie Taken, you know the one where Liam Neeson says, “If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills…” and then proceeds to save his daughter from being trafficked by a pimp in a foreign country. I had no idea how much of a global issue (meaning, YES this is happening here in the United States) it was until I heard Christine Caine, from The A21 Campaign, speak at the Passion Conference when I was in college. My eyes were opened, my heart was burdened, and my ignorance became too heavy to carry. How had I missed

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2 Ways to Break Free From Self Sabotage

2 Ways to Break Free From Self-Sabotage

In a podcast episode of This Grit and Grace Life, Julie and Darlene talk about ruts that women fall into. (You can listen to that episode here.) You know, those tricky little potholes we run over from time to time… Unfortunately, they often take us much longer to get out of than we’d care to admit. If you can relate and are currently stuck, I’d like you to know one thing: You’re not alone. Just because you’ve got company, though, doesn’t mean you should settle in. So, as our dear co-founder would say, “What’s a girl to do?” Let’s start by looking at two trenches women fall into… 1. The all-or-nothing mindset. It sounds good and noble to say, “I’m just an

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3-Surprising-Signs-of-Strength-in-a-Woman

3 Surprising Signs of Strength in a Woman

Our idea of what a strong woman looks like is brought to us by women of power, grace, and intelligence. Oprah. Mother Theresa. Patricia Heaton. Emma Watson. Each of these women spoke the truth that was important to them, even if it was unpopular. As we aspire to be strong women ourselves, the bar takes on something more monumental in scope, something that looks more like Wonder Woman: physically and mentally strong, forthright, always spouting justice in the faces of her enemies and doing the right thing. For the average woman just making her way through life, both images are flawed: for the first, most of us won’t have a podium from which to share our important truths. We may have a

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How-to-Participate-in-the-Tim-Tebow-Foundation's-Night-to-Shine

How to Participate in the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Night to Shine

You no doubt know that there are many, many worthy causes to which you could donate your money and your time. Throughout your community and across the world are charities that are seriously making a difference in the lives of people who are poor, orphaned, abused, abandoned, hungry, thirsty, or sick. You may choose to donate to organizations that care for endangered animals, build homes, tutor school children, or revitalize neighborhoods that are torn apart by violence or decay. There is no shortage of causes, and frankly the need can at times be overwhelming! When considering donating to various causes, you must find one that resonates with who you are…one that moves your heart and fuels your passion. I’ve found that donating

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Don’t-Let-Your-Failures-Become-Flounders

Don’t Let Your Failures Become Flounders

I’m a long-time flounderer. In fact, floundering has marked almost every area of my life at some point or another. You know why? Because I’m also a dweller. Yep, I dwell on my mistakes. I dwell on my failures. I dwell on my imperfections and misspoken words. I dwell on the ways that I don’t measure up, the boats I’ve missed, the shoulda, coulda, wouldas… But guess where that has gotten me? Nowhere. Hence, the floundering. Then, in the midst of my floundering, I look at my friends and my co-workers and I see hard-working, top-quality, nose-to-the-grindstone winners and producers. When I do this, I start to feel a little more, well, flounder-y, and then I’m just plain stuck. Next, my husband

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7 Organizations to Support (That Might Help You Complete Your Gift List)

In case you missed it—the holidays are officially in full swing! Amid the countless errands to run and get-togethers to attend, you might find yourself wanting to give some time or money on giving back… Here are some solid organizations to support this holiday season: 1. Dressember If you know me, you probably predicted this as my first choice! In 2009, college student, Blythe Hill, gave herself a simple challenge: to wear a dress every day for the entire month of December. Thus, Dressember was born. In the following years, Hill’s friends approached her to participate, and each year the numbers kept climbing. By 2013 the movement blossomed into a partnership with International Justice Mission, a global organization that combats sex trafficking. In the

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Overcoming the Waves of Anxiety and Panic Attacks

A recent facts and statistics sheet from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America from August 2017 states that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. affecting 40 million adults, which is a little over 18% of the population. They went on to state that with more specific disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Panic Disorder (PD) women are twice as likely to be affected as men.1 I wasn’t exactly surprised to read that, but it was definitely a sobering reality to face. I’ve not ever been diagnosed officially, but I’ve struggled with anxiety a lot over the years. I’m a pretty anxious person, and I have been ever since I was a little girl. I can

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Dear You, You Were Made for Something More

Dear You, How you feel is completely normal. Well, maybe not normal, but universal. Is it normal to constantly feel like you’re not measuring up, failing at life, or aiming for a bar that’s impossibly high? It shouldn’t be. But it is. Not normal, but universal. As women, we universally struggle. Universally choose. Universally deal with shame, worry, and fear that the world’s offerings are too many for us to possibly conquer in one lifetime. Or conversely, that we were wired for greatness but are funneled into a life that must be smaller than our dreams. When Life and Motherhood Issues are Seemingly Impossible Often times, meshed into this universal struggle is the impossible-feeling task of motherhood, particularly when taken in part

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Does-Finding-Your-Purpose-Really-Matter-1

Does Finding Your Purpose Really Matter?

If you’ve been at all tuned in to book trends in the last 15 years, you have heard of (if not read) The Purpose Driven Life. Having sold more than 60 million copies, it landed on nightstands, tabletops, and in the hands of a greatly diverse population throughout the world. The success of this publication was completely unpredicted by the reviewers, booksellers, and industry at large. What they didn’t understand is that there is within every one of us a desire to find our purpose. The Innate Desire to Have a Purpose Who really wants to live this life simply performing the tasks before us? Each day feeling like the last, with the alarm ringing to interrupt the only peaceful time in

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Overcoming Shame from Abuse in a Grit and Grace Life

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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