| The Grit and Grace Project

9 Easy Holiday Recipes for People Who Hate to Cook

We all love the holiday season. It’s filled with fun, friends, and family. Oh yes, and food. We all love the holiday food. But what happens when you get an invitation to a party that says “Bring a Dish to Share” and you hate to cook? Sure, you can just run by the grocery store and grab a quick pre-made vegetable platter. It’s always an easy and pain-free option, but it’s also not the tastiest or the most festive, is it? Lucky for you, there are some amazingly simple and delicious holiday recipes out there for even the most reluctant of cooks. And to ease the pain of adding one more thing to your to-do list this busy holiday season, here at […]

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mom helping little girl put christmas tree ornaments on their tree

Christmas Tree Ornaments: The Perfect Trip Down Memory Lane

By Brianna Barrett / Life & Culture

The last few years have felt weird to most of us. The holiday traditions that we once looked forward to have changed—some slightly, some dramatically. Gatherings moved outdoors or stopped altogether. In the chaos and crazy of the holidays, I always find a sense of peace during this time, especially in recent years. I have one family tradition that I just couldn’t stop and I plan to pass down through multiple generations: the collection of meaningful Christmas tree ornaments. Many years ago when I was a teenager, I started collecting ornaments, which was a huge improvement over the shot glass collection I had started. (In my defense, those were inexpensive gift store buys.) These ornaments came from places I had visited, people

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For the Girl That’s Single During the Holidays

By Jessica Harris / Life & Culture

November through February marks perhaps the most dreaded season in the life of a woman who is single during the holidays. We kick off with family gatherings at Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, and, without fail, as we go around the table listing what we’re thankful for some doey-eyed friend gazes lovingly at her new groom and says, “I’m thankful for my husband. He’s so amazing.” Then there’s the “plus one” you never have for the office Christmas party. The week spanning Christmas and New Year’s might as well be dubbed National Engagement Week as the social media feeds from countless friends will be filled with romantic carriage rides, kisses under the mistletoe, smooches at midnight, and shiny new rings. The new year brings

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What God Wants to Give Us for Christmas: Eternal Life (Part 2)

By Allison McCormick / Faith

Click here to read Part One of “What God Wants to Give Us for Christmas.“ I was so excited this past Christmas about the gift I selected for my husband! It was something he needed, never expected, and actually never considered. His home office chair was made up of bits and pieces from an 8-year-old chair and parts found at a thrift store. It worked and he was excited about his creation. Yet I noticed that as he spent time in the chair, he slowly lowered. The hydraulics no longer worked. And at 6’2”, you need a chair’s hydraulics to work. Otherwise, you look like a giant sitting in a child’s chair—his knees creeping close to his ears. So, his present was

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provide support for kids through hectic holiday season

4 Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season with Kids

By Indiana Lee / Life & Culture

Ah, the holidays. They’re the most wonderful time of the year … until you find yourself dealing with a child in a full-blown meltdown at church or kids running away from you as you try to extricate yourself from an exhausting family Christmas party. Christmas really is a beautiful time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. And Thanksgiving is, well, filled with thanks—and lots of delicious dainties. The truth is, though, getting through the holiday season with kids is hard on everyone. As parents, it can be exhausting. And your kids? Well, the bustle of the holidays may be magical, but at times it can also be downright overwhelming. If you’re concerned about supporting your children’s emotional well-being

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Wait With Me: Discovering the Beauty of Advent

By Caroline Beidler / Faith

With Christmas right around the corner, many are celebrating what is known as Advent. Now, for those of you like me who did not grow up in the church, you may not have learned that Advent is the period of time in the Christian calendar leading up to Christ’s birth on Christmas. Even though “Advent” may sound like the newest asthma medication, it in fact signifies a time of expectant waiting. In Latin (for those word lovers like myself), it literally means “coming.” Christ is coming and as a Christian, we mark this amazing reality by talking about it, hearing about it in sermons, and reflecting on it during the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. I did not grow up in

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Ask Dr. Zoe – Family Pressure During the Holidays

By Dr. Zoe Shaw / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Tired of the Holiday Expectations’ Asked: My parents put a lot of pressure on my siblings and my family to spend time together for the holidays, Christmas specifically. I love my parents and enjoy spending time with them, but their expectations of what they want Christmas to look and feel like become stressful. They want “a full day” of us all at their home—sometimes suggesting we spend the night the evening before and having the celebration last until it’s dark the next night so we can enjoy the lights together. They say that they are flexible in the fact that they don’t mind if it’s not actually Christmas or Christmas Eve, but even so, it’s difficult to coordinate that amount of time

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How Do I Deal with Grief During the Holidays? with Nancy Hicks – 170

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast, Relationships

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreMaybe this is your first year—or one of several—trying to balance the joy of the holidays with grief over a loss. The conflicted feelings can make it difficult to celebrate or even consider being around others. Speaker and author Nancy Hicks joins Darlene Brock and Julie Bender to discuss how we can come to terms with our grief when the holidays are approaching. Nancy speaks from her grief journey after dealing with the loss of her son this year. She encourages us to give ourselves grace as we experience the vast set of emotions that accompany loss, and shares some ways we can cope with

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Holiday Tips | Avoiding Stress

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Life & Culture

You can picture it now: jammed parking lots, countless credit card transactions, string lights, large meals, perfectly-wrapped presents and that one difficult family member you’re reluctant to invite. You guessed it—the holidays are upon us! The most wonderful time of the year can also be the most stressful. But here at Grit and Grace Life, we’re taking out some of the guesswork and sharing our tips for a smooth holiday season that will get the best gifts for everyone on your list and help you deal with that pesky family member. Check out all of our holiday content here.

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13-Holiday-Safety-Tips-to-Help-Ensure-It’s-Merry

Why We Need the Hope of the Evergreen More Than Ever This Year

By Rachel Hagstrom / Life & Culture

If there’s ever been a year our hearts yearn to embrace Christmas early, it is without a doubt, this one. I, like many of you, stepped into 2020 wide-eyed with wonder and anticipation of what the year might hold. Then March blew in and turned our world upside down. Businesses and schools closed. Parents became homeschool teachers. Anxiety levels surged. Marriages suffered. Long-existing racial injustices came to the light and protests ensued. Then, an intensely charged election season. For some of us, this year triggered layers of grief, loss, and depression. For those living with compromised immune systems or health issues, we’ve sheltered in longer, drastically limiting our get-togethers with others outside our immediate families. We’ve felt the sting of missing loved

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This Is Why We All Need Holiday Traditions

By Amber Koehn / Life & Culture

I love Hallmark Christmas movies. It drives my family crazy, but each year on the last weekend of October, my television is tuned to Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas through the end of the year. And if I am unable to view a premier, I record it to watch later. I have a checklist, a system, so I don’t miss any of the new shows. One of this year’s movies I had to record for later was Two Turtle Doves, a film about continuing treasured holiday traditions in the midst of grief and loss. I’m going to be frank: it hit a little too close to home. Now, initially when volunteering to write about holiday traditions, I was planning on providing a generic

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This Is Why I Love Hallmark Holidays and I’m Not Backing Down

By Amber Koehn / Relationships

If I had to pick a favorite week of the year, hands down it would be the last week of October. It’s the week of Halloween, and you know what that means, right? It means handing out Halloween candy amid Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, Christmas music, and Hallmark Christmas movies! Not what you were expecting to read, huh? I live for Hallmark Christmas movies (like, literally, they’re my lifeblood). And when the last week of October rolls around, it’s a sure bet you can find me parked in front of my television ready for the first premier of the season. I have my Countdown to Christmas premiere list, and I check it twice (or 10 times). My DVR is scheduled and ready

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How to Avoid Relationship Conflict Over the Holidays – 111

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreThe holiday season is full of wonder, hope, and love. But, it can also be a season full of stress, pain and emotional agony. The holidays bring so much “togetherness”. Yes, this “togetherness” can be an amazing opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones and create meaningful memories, but it can also cause conflict and become way too stressful to actually enjoy. In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life podcast, hosts Darlene and Julie have a much-needed chat about this topic. They discuss how to avoid relationship conflict during the holiday season. This can apply to any important relationship in your

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Darlene and Julie Recommend These Unique Christmas Gifts – 066

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreAre you looking for unique Christmas gifts this year? Something a little different and more personal than what you will find in the avalanche of sale guides that hit this time of year? Since this is an excellent time to start your Christmas shopping you have to look no further. This episode will introduce you to a collection of 7 unique shops which will offer something special for every person on your list. Darlene and Julie would like you to meet a few friends of This Grit and Grace Life who make specialty items. They will offer a little insight into why you’ll want to

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Stop the Holiday Hustle: Celebrate More, Stress Less – 064

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More The holiday season is upon us, and with it: the stress. We find ourselves with an overloaded schedule, and often in the midst of the fun is family drama. Maybe this is the year you’ll get ahead of the hustle of the season and find a way to slow down. Wouldn’t we all like to experience real celebration and enjoy it, not merely survive “the most wonderful time of the year?” Darlene and Julie discuss what they love about each holiday as well as ways to get the most out of the gatherings and how to make memories that will be cherished by you

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

By Stephanie Ramos / Life & Culture, Purpose

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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5 Tips for Careful Spending This Christmas

By Darlene Brock / Work & Money, Life & Culture

This time of year it’s easy to get caught up in the out-of-control Christmas shopping! Giving is a wonderful way to show your loved ones that you care, but this joyful season can turn into credit card panic when the January statement arrives. Whether you’re prone to purchasing obligatory gifts at your place of work, the “oh they always buy me a gift so I can’t forget them” or the “one more cute thing they would completely love and it’s on sale”—you need to take charge! Do these 5 things to make sure the snowball of spending doesn’t roll out of control: 1. Decide. Determine your budget while in the comfort of your non-pressured, no-great-sales-staring-you-in-the-face living room. Decide how much you can spend on gifts this

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