Bible

As women of faith, we seek God’s word to address life, especially when we’re hurt and confused. Here are inspiring stories from women who’ve seen God’s promises in the Bible revealed in their own lives. #gritandgracelife

how to find joy even when your circumstances hurt

How to Find Joy Even When Your Circumstances Hurt

As I sat in the emergency room beside my dad’s bed, again, as he slept quietly, I asked myself and truthfully asked God, “Where is the joy in this?” Years before, God and I began a journey. It was a journey to find joy, and I was excited about the trip. I longed to have the joy I felt I had once experienced in my life. As God and I started journeying and I started learning and trusting Him more, the joy began to grow. But how do you stay on a joy journey when the man you’ve called dad and friend for 40 years begins a battle for his very life? Doesn’t the pursuit of joy get put on a back […]

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

We’re Back! – 163

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreWe’re back! After what co-host Julie Bender calls “the shortest summer ever,” her and Darlene Brock catch up on life and give a preview of the great things in store as they return with new episodes of This Grit and Grace Life podcast. But the summer hiatus wasn’t all road-tripping and mountain-hiking. The team at Grit and Grace Life spruced up the website and revamped the podcast to better meet you where you are. We’ve realized that the world continues to spin out of control, but we know answers can be found. The podcast takes on a new format, where Darlene and Julie pose the questions you’re

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when you feel weighed down god comes through

When You Feel Weighed Down, God Comes Through

“Save him, Mama! I want to saaaaave the ant!” My 2-year-old was giving me very clear orders as she bobbed up and down in the pool, engulfed in her life vest. Her eyes, the same color as the aqua water, locked onto mine in a determined challenge. I studied that unfortunate ant caught in the swimming pool. He was large as far as ants go, and he was still moving.  I brought my two hands together, creating a cup, and lifted him out of the water, setting him onto the ledge before us. He was out but still struggling to break away from the little puddle I created while scooping him up.   He continued to move but made little progress. My

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Why Am I Going to Church? How I Lifted My Filter and Found Pure Motives

As I planned my weekend, I knew going to church Sunday just wasn’t in the cards. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always faithfully gone to church, but I certainly wasn’t the “there every time the doors are open” type. When I came to this realization, I felt a twinge of worry. You see, I’ve been conditioned to believe that a “good Christian” doesn’t miss a Sunday. Good Christians go no matter what. If you don’t go to church … well, you must not be walking right with the Lord. By People Pleasing, I Felt So Alone This community that I’ve been deeply entrenched in for years has dictated to me a laundry list of things I must do or

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A Bed That Wouldn’t Fit Taught Me God Loves Me, Just Because

I ordered my dream bed from a shop on Etsy, a carved and distressed French Victorian fit for a king and queen—or wannabes. I ordered it in late February and received it 16 weeks later, a sign that unless the New Jersey shop owners were felling trees and building beds on demand, my bed was more likely shipped from overseas. By raft. I had checked on my order often and consoled myself in its delay with how pretty the bed was and how well worth the wait it would be when it finally came. Our box springs and king mattress, stacked and waiting on the floor for their placement on their royal throne, began growing fuzz around the edges, the linty-soft, grayish

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Episode 144 faith

This Grit and Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 144 Finding Your Faith

If you’re exploring the idea of building your faith or even just starting a relationship with God, you’re not alone. Many people have the same questions, but just don’t know what to do or what developing their faith looks like. Thankfully, there are no rules. In this episode, Darlene and Julie share the ways they build their faith, whether that’s by reading their Bible during their morning coffee or spending a few moments in prayer.

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Episode 92 Proverbs 31 woman

This Grit and Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 92 Are You the Proverbs 31 Woman? Should You Be?

Ahh, the Proverbs 31 woman. We’ve all heard of her—a beautiful, hardworking wife and mother, who spends her days managing her household and curating nutritious meals for her family, all while dressed in luxurious purple silk. She seems like a fantasy, a perfect woman, and there seems to be so much pressure among Christian women to fit in that mold. What if you don’t feel like a Proverbs 31 woman? Maybe you’re a single mom, or you work from home. Do you fit in this category, and should you try? In reality, God has called us each to a different path that may not be identical to that of the lovely lady in the Proverbs, but she exists in each of us

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what do you do when bearing their burdens breaks you

What Can You Do When Bearing Their Burden Breaks You?

We all know someone carrying a burden. A friend on Facebook who recently got divorced, a family member in a bad relationship, a coworker with a wayward child, a mom friend who lost her husband. We don’t have to look too far to find someone in need because we live in a broken world. And if you’re like me, you see a loved one in distress, and it might as well be a giant Batgirl signal blaring brightly in the dead of night. You grab your cape from your closet, ready to jump into action and bear the burden of another. You are armed with a checkbook, and a hand mixer is your sword to whip up some breakfast bread. You buy

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Bible Verses From the Grit and Grace Team on Thankfulness

It’s hard to imagine finding gratitude in a year like the one we just bounced and fumbled through. But trying circumstances are exactly the time to hone in on the aspects of life for which we are thankful, and we depend on them for a sense of contentment while we wait to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If anything, the events of this year have caused us to take a step back and feel gratitude for the aspects of life we often overlook: our health, friends and family, our jobs, and our faith. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we hope that you’re reminded of the things that make each day worth living, and that it will all continue to

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In a World of 7 Billion People, Does God See Me?

There were two words on the back of a dust-encrusted dump truck that jolted me to the fact that God might actually know me really well, and…even love me. To give you a bit of context, I was in the throes of the pubescent years and the days were colored with plaid clothing, knee-high socks, Doc Martens, and grunge music (ah yes, the 90s). I had been told about Jesus so I knew that God supposedly loved me along with every other person he had ever created, knowing intimate parts about us—like the number of hairs on our heads and how many days we’d walk the earth. But somewhere in my childhood and tween years, I gradually began to question the notion

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I’ll Never Forget the Time I Overshared at Church

When You’re Desperate to Know the Reason for Your Pain

Friends. I write this with a very heavy heart. Pain. Confusion. Rejection. I want to talk about all of that today. I am not here to make light of any situation. I am not here to try to bring perspective to your problems or circumstances. I will save that for a later day. I am here to say it is okay to be broken. It is okay to hurt. It is okay to be angry. It is okay to feel confused. It is okay to ask questions. The Bible never promises us that once we give our life to Christ we will no longer deal with pain. The promise is not if you love God you will have more good things happen,

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how to get your hormone health in check

When to Remember and When to Forget (in Your Faith)

The third time is a charm they say. Well, I sure hope so. I’m tired of washing this same load of laundry, the load that is removed from my realm of remembering the minute it is finished, the load that becomes musty before I can manage to get it into the dryer. What in my life is so pressing that I cannot remember to move a load of washed laundry into the dryer, three times over? And I talk to myself like I’m a day-dreamy girl, “Get your head out of the clouds, little love! We have a lot to do!” The damp clothes finally make it to the dryer. They tumble with my woolen dryer balls sprinkled with lavender, and I

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how god can speak to you through the bible

How God Can Speak to You Through the Bible

Do you ever wonder if God sees you? Hears you? Loves you? Whether you have never prayed a single prayer in your life or you have been walking with God for a long time, it’s normal to have questions. It’s normal to doubt. It’s normal to hope and wonder about God altogether. Wherever you are on the faith spectrum, we are so glad you’re here. Our team of writers consists of women of faith. Women who are beginning their faith journey. Women building their faith. Women who have experienced hard, real-life things and have fought to maintain a battered faith. Because of this, we see the value in seeking God. One of the most sure ways to do this is through reading

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

If You Want to Grow in Faith, Try These Simple Things – 144

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Our faith guides us in all that we do. It is what enables us to manage This Grit and Grace Life. Since we believe we serve a personal God who cares about every aspect of our life, we realize that getting to know him better makes a huge difference. Faith helps us navigate all the challenges we face with the assurance that there are answers to our problems. In this episode, we’re bringing it back to the basics. What does it mean to be a Christian? How do you begin and grow in faith? Are there ways to learn more about God and the bible? Even

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God Is in Control When You Feel Like You Have None

God Is in Control When You Feel Like You Have None

Have you ever felt like your world was shaking, maybe even crumbling, around you? I say “your world” and not “the world” because it’s not actually the whole world, just your whole world. Which is a very different thing because you can feel quite alone when it’s only “your world.” If it were, indeed, the whole world then at least you’d have some company. I think most of us have been there, or are there right now. It’s part of living in a broken place. Illness, division, pain, separation, heartbreak, sin—and its aftermath. There is so much going on around us, it can be overwhelming within us. As I was reading Psalm 46, I felt as though the author understood all of

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This Is for You If Your Circumstances Feel Unfair

This Is for You If Your Circumstances Feel Unfair

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I sat down at my desk and set a warm cup of tea on my favorite china plate. The sun peeked through the window, casting an interesting shadow across my desk and the surrounding floor. Titus, our 11-year-old dog, found a sliver of sun and stretched out on the rug, sound asleep after a nice walk on the river trail. The world was quiet, a perfect time to write. I opened my laptop and read a few emails, responded to the most important, and then turned my attention to a new writing project. I had been working for about an hour when it hit. A high-pitched ringing in my left ear. I continued to try to

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