Create Healthy Relationships in Your Grit and Grace Life

Apology to Moms Everywhere

Dear Moms, Let me take a minute to officially apologize for the times I have judged you or your children. I will readily admit I have not always been the most compassionate toward those with screaming children in a complete meltdown at a restaurant or a store. I’m sure I’m not alone. There are plenty of us who have thought, “I would never let my kids do that” or “when I have kids they will be well behaved”. I still have my moments, but this was before I had nieces in the toddler stages. Before I worked with teenage girls who many times seem (emotionally) around age 5. I’m still not a parent, but I feel like now I understand a little […]

Apology to Moms Everywhere Read More »

What I Learned About Love From Death

By Clare Marlow / Relationships

You never know who will teach you about sacrificial love. I learned about it most when I lost the love of my life. I got a call that my husband was dead around 1 p.m. on a Saturday. By 1:30, my house had started filling with friends. It stayed that way for hours. Close friends, friends from church, pastors, neighbors – they showed up to hold me as I tried, sobbing and bewildered, to navigate those first few horrible hours. The couple who were our best friends drove me 3 ½ hours that night to pick up my daughter, who was camping with friends. We got home at 3 a.m. That’s genuine love. Friends were at my kitchen table when I crawled

What I Learned About Love From Death Read More »

Keeping a Marriage Strong When Hardship Strikes

By Geinene Carson / Relationships

Our daughter’s birth was a joyous occasion as she was ushered into this world without any complications. As far as we knew, we had a healthy second baby with a bright future ahead. Yet, at four months, she wasn’t meeting the milestones she should have been and doctors began to show growing concern. After recommended testing, we were told crushing news. Our daughter showed signs of mysterious brain damage that must have happened while in the womb. There was immediate medical concern for her life as doctors were in the dark as to any specific cause. The best they could offer was a prognosis that she would likely never walk or talk and we would have to continue living with the uncertainty

Keeping a Marriage Strong When Hardship Strikes Read More »

Marriage Is Hard

By Teresa Christian / Relationships

What if everything we read on Facebook were true? I recall a post in my newsfeed that said something to the effect of, “if it’s over for ‘Bennifer’ (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner), then there’s no hope for any of us.” Oh, really? Marriage is hard work. That’s true. And some marriages just don’t survive. But to exploit this attitude of defeat based on one Hollywood couple is quite bizarre. I mean, they aren’t exactly the first famous couple to get divorced… But, perhaps that’s part of the problem. We look at these glamorous lives and really believe that these people have it all together. They have money, fame, and people at their beck and call. Wouldn’t that make any marriage easier?

Marriage Is Hard Read More »