Create Healthy Relationships in Your Grit and Grace Life

Can You Forgive When There’s No Apology?

It can be hard to forgive sometimes, especially when the hurt is great or when the offender doesn’t even say they are sorry. But there is a power that comes in being able to forgive, even when we never get an apology. Most of us are taught to apologize from a young age. We bite a sibling, pull the cat’s tail, or push down a classmate, and some well-meaning adult intervenes and tells us, “Now, say you’re sorry.” Half-hearted apologies ensue along with forced hugs and all is right in the world. But something changes as we age. Apologies are harder to come by and pain cuts deeper than a tug on the tail of the family pet. What are you supposed […]

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5 Guys to Avoid (That Your Mother Warned You About)

By Jordan Hawkins / Relationships

Navigating the dating world at any age is difficult. We come into our own as teenagers, when many of us experience the first taste of what it is to go on a date. Perhaps your parents pick your date up and drop you two off at the movies. You hold hands and share popcorn. Maybe even share a smooch at the theater door before walking back to the parental units acting as chauffeurs. From there you blossom, each woman at her own rate, discovering what dating means to them. For the few lucky women out there, maybe college age or shortly after college, they meet their soulmate and begin a family and everything works out. Living in their version of happily ever

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3 Phrases That Will Strengthen Your New Marriage

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

Every girl dreams of that happily ever after, but unlike fairy tales, your dream-wedding day isn’t the end of your story. It’s only the beginning. That day starts a lifelong journey of friendship, intimacy, and teamwork. A true happily ever after requires work, intention, and strength. When the confetti falls, and the cake’s all gone, it’s just you and your new husband. And it’s different from dating. Your communication is not limited to phone calls and dinner dates. Now, you see each other every day and talk all the time. You’re under the same roof, eating the same food, and sharing the same bed every night. With that sort of frequency, even the little things can wear on you, like a pebble

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This Is Why I Believe in a Traditional Proposal

By Tess Lopez / Audio Articles, Relationships

(Listen to the audio version of this article here.) We live in an age now where women are breaking conventional stereotypes and finding their voice. They are quickly ascending the corporate ladder and earning prestigious positions in Congress. Others are bravely walking away from abusive relationships and learning not to criticize their body shape just to conform to the expectations presented by the media. A smaller number of women have even broken the bonds of tradition and lowered onto one knee to pop the question to their beloved boyfriend. I celebrate the monumental achievements that women have earned. I applaud them for their unceasing lack of courage and strength along the way. But no matter how many hurdles we conquer into the

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Have You Seen This New Trend? Proposing to Your Man

By Today's Guest Writer / Relationships

Even in these modern times, proposals by women are very uncommon. The tradition of waiting for your man to buy an engagement ring and surprise you is still extremely popular. There are so many resources for men on choosing a ring and popping the question. Some men have even turned to professional help to plan flashy engagements. Today, wedding planners will also offer their services as a marriage proposal planner. Think about all of those viral videos on Facebook! If women proposed more often, then there would be no need for proposal planners. It may seem like traditional engagement is the only option, but it’s not! 2019 may be the year of girls asking for his hand in marriage. Proposing to your

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Do Strong Women Like Masculine Men?

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Relationships

Each week, Monday night finds women and their girlfriends stuck to the television, watching The Bachelor to see who gets the rose. Whether we attend an event with a room full of girls and food or frantically join our group text with opinions, we all hope for romance. The thoughts we share with one another seem to reflect upon what we are looking for in a man. The list often goes like this: one who will be strong, steady, loving, kind, sensitive, and a go-getter that knows what he wants. We also still wouldn’t mind if our man let us cry on his shoulder now and then, and brandish his weapon of choice to help us defeat our foe, even if we

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Here’s How to Answer That Awkward Question With Grace

By Sheena Jeffers / Relationships

Unless you plan on spending your life in baggy sweatpants with your hair tied in a knot by a velvet scrunchie from the 80s (be honest, that sounds amazing)—you’re going to eventually walk outside and be around other people. Lines are still open for a family member or friend to call on a phone or send a message through one of the many social media options. While not impossible, it’s difficult to avoid interacting with other human beings, and with those interactions come questions. No matter how much we love or respect our family members, friends or colleagues, you’ll eventually be faced with a question that you’d rather not discuss in a public forum. How do you respond to these awkward life questions with

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How to Make Your Man Feel Like a Great Father

By Ashby Duval / Relationships

Good or bad, how people speak to you or act around you often does have an influence on how we think about ourselves. The greater the importance of that person to you, the greater the influence. In the delicate dance of parenting, our words and actions with one another have a greater power than we think to build up or tear down. A sideways glance or condescending tone can be detrimental to our confidence as a person and especially as a parent. Often I don’t think it’s our intention to tear one another down, but because men and women can be so inherently different in their parenting styles (and life in general!), we tend to attack those differences rather then learn from them and

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A Therapist’s Advice on How to Handle Conflict

By Ashley Johnson / Relationships

Have you ever felt like you were treated unfairly? Perhaps you’ve worked hard on a project, but someone else on your team got the credit. Or, maybe you know you have the gifts and talents to excel in a certain role, but you’ve been overlooked and undervalued. Is there someone you’re close to who continually does something (or doesn’t do something) that makes you so irritated you tell them off in your head every time you think about the situation? Been there. Haven’t we all? Regardless of the circumstances, we all find ourselves interacting with other human beings—and human beings are flawed (including you). So, we’ll rub each other the wrong way, say or do hurtful things, and frustrate the heck out

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This Is How You Protect Your Worth, Girl

By Hannah Cox / Relationships

Honesty is always the best policy… until you are under the fire of pressure and then it looks like the worst choice. We want to be liked. We want to fit in. We do not want to see our friends or boyfriend give us another eye roll over our standards. Fitting in is not everything. Going with the flow and compromising your values to fulfill others’ desires is not worth it in the end. Your identity is at risk every time you let a piece of your beliefs, values, and standards go, until one day you look up and you do not even know who you are. You have morphed and turned into what they wanted you to be. Be Strong in

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This Is How I’m Growing Through Divorce

By Ashley Vancil / Relationships

Let me be frank here, I never expected to join the “Divorced Women Club” but it’s a thing, and here I am. (Logo designs coming soon…kidding.) Learning how to be a single mom, not a crazy ex-wife, and a decent human being is trying. I feel like I should be getting a part-time paycheck for the work my mind is putting into this. If you haven’t been here, it is hard. The crappy thing is that there is no right way to do it because everyone’s situation is so different. I will not lie and say I am holding it all together and doing it all right. However, I am gracefully learning from my mistakes, apologizing even when I don’t feel like

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Remarriage—5 Tips for How to Make it Work

By Darlene Brock / Relationships

In the words of Samuel Johnson, remarriage is, “The triumph of hope over experience.” Hope should remain that a healthy second marriage can be found. To do that, here are a few tips to ponder before taking that next, fateful step. 1. Don’t hang on to past emotions. Whether you are widowed or divorced, there are emotions you are left with that must be dealt with. A new marriage will have its own set of relationship challenges to work out, so the addition of old problems with the new ones will only make things more difficult. 2. Be honest with yourself. Whether widowed or divorced, you must be willing to look at your past relationship and assess your role. We all can improve

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What I Learned About Grief from My Dad’s Death

By Jennifer Schoonover / Relationships

One year ago today, my dad died. It’s been one year since I have spoken to him, held his hand, or been annoyed by his incessant texts. To say that this last year has been a roller coaster of emotion would be quite an understatement. Some of the twists and turns I expected, but grief doesn’t play by the same rules as other emotions, so there have been several curve balls thrown in. Happy, sad, excited, mad—they are each their own entity. Grief, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated. It’s all emotions wrapped up into one heavy word. Once grief enters your life, it doesn’t exit. It changes you in ways you could never imagine. Honestly, I believe that

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What Happened When I Decided to Romance My Man

By Susan Tucker / Relationships

Here’s a confession: I love romance. I could watch Mr. Darcy walk across the misty field at dawn a million times, and I will swoon each and every time. As Elizabeth waits breathlessly for him to draw near, I find myself holding my breath too. And when he stutters, “I love, love, love you…” I swear my heart skips a beat. While my husband may not regularly sweep me off my feet in Darcy-esque fashion, he does still woo me and win me in a myriad of ways each day. Whether it’s an unexpected text message, a lingering hug, or an above-and-beyond effort to help around the house, I feel regularly romanced by my companion of 22 years. However, romance is a

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When Will I Be Ready to Date After My Husband’s Death?

By Julie (Graham) Bender / Relationships

When my husband passed away suddenly, I knew fairly quickly I would want to date again. For some, that might seem odd. You see, I love marriage. So much so that I even began an online community for wives (and wannabe wives) where I would encourage them to pray daily for their husbands, and it became much bigger than I ever intended. It still encourages me today, even now that I am a widow… My daily live stream called #PrayingForYourHusbandDaily was a place where I would chat a little about some area of marriage where I might be struggling or just thinking about, and then I would lead a few minutes to pray for our husbands and ourselves as wives. I led

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This Is How to Stay Sane in the Wedding Planning Process

By Jessica Harris / Relationships

Planning a wedding can be stressful for many women. In years gone by, I’ve worked as an event manager for a venue, coordinating several weddings and managing an entire staff, making sure the bride’s special day went off without a hitch. From there, I worked as a planner and coordinator with an all-inclusive wedding company in the D.C. area. I’ve helped countless friends as their day-of coordinator, managing rehearsals, running to Wal-Mart for safety pins, grabbing donuts the morning of, and even escorting a flower girl down the aisle. So, when I got engaged, I had no worries. I am a planner, after all. Details are in my blood. I wasn’t going to be one of those brides who stressed about the

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Ask Dr. Zoe – Setting Boundaries When In-Laws Divorce

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe, Relationships

‘Stuck in the Middle’ Asked: How do my husband and I practically set boundaries with our parents who are each going through a separation/divorce? Both sets of parents are going through a break in their marriage and all four of them come to us to talk. It’s affecting our mood, emotional eating, fitness level, family life with our kids, and work. It’s constant. Holidays have been the absolute worst. How do we love them even when we’re angry with their decisions? How do we protect our family unit from the effects of the drama? I’ve resorted to literally miming the action of putting on sunglasses to block the drama when I feel overwhelmed! Stuck in the Middle Dr. Zoe Answered: Dear ‘Stuck

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