| The Grit and Grace Project

Are You a Strong Woman of Grit and Grace? – 072

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreThis Grit and Grace Life is a podcast for strong women and those who want to be. After several conversations with friends and hearing from readers of The Grit and Grace Project online magazine, co-hosts Darlene and Julie realized that you might not be so sure you have this inner strength at all. Or, maybe you’re unclear of what exactly makes a woman strong. In this week’s episode, they explore what a strong woman looks like, what qualities she possesses, and society’s view of empowerment, even if seeking to be strong contradicts her faith. At The Grit and Grace Project, we know that you have […]

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Stop Comparing Your Mothering to What You See on Social Media

By Laura Hurd / Motherhood

I have seen it too many times online, and in every instance, it breaks my heart. Daily, mothers are tempted by social media posts that lead them to believe that what they are doing isn’t enough. They take to the airwaves of Facebook and Instagram to proclaim their defense on the parenting choices they have made. It makes me want to wave a virtual flag of empathy: “You do you, Mama!” I have to admit, I have been there. I have a five-year-old boy that has autism. In the early stages of his diagnosis, I was navigating uncharted waters. I was afraid of being judged by other parents on how I was approaching our new special needs world and I constantly felt

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Take It Easy—On Your Friends

By Darlene Brock / Relationships

Do you ever butt heads with some of your favorite people in the world? Those friends who hold a special place in your heart—who’ve cried with you when you cried, laughed alongside you at the craziness of life, and even chided you when you needed that extra kick… Let’s talk about keeping a great friendship alive. It doesn’t take a lot, even though sometimes it may seem like it does. Here are 5 things to remember for every friendship you want to hold onto: 1. You’re not a perfect friend. When you feel like you’ve been let down or disappointed by someone who you thought would never fail you, remember that friendship is a relationship between two imperfect people—and you are one of them. You

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Girl, It’s Perfectly OK to Just Be You!

By Catie Welvaert / Health & Beauty, Purpose

Each of us goes about life in our own, unique way. Though you may feel like some of your quirks are a bit ridiculous, we want you to know that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about; we all have them! While so many avenues tell us what we should like and how we should act, we are here to say something different: celebration is always better than comparison. So, ladies, it is perfectly okay if… You just had to get ice cream on your lunch break; you’re an adult, so it’s allowed. You make a detour and park at the garden center because…succulents. It’s your third caramel macchiato this week—it means you’re meeting up with a friend for a heartfelt chat. (Read this first, by the way!)

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This Will Make You Question Why You Judge New Christians

By Darlene Brock / Best Of, Faith

I have a question for all who share my faith, for my brothers and sisters in the family of God; something that has troubled me for a very long time. Why do we want to disprove someone’s faith? How often has a celebrity, convicted felon, politician, or person of notoriety made a statement of faith and our community feels the need to get involved? What are we trying to accomplish by diminishing another’s faith? We usually have one of two responses; the first is to make that individual the poster child of God’s followers. A pressure no one needs. The second, which has broken my heart many times, is that we explain—at great length, in every public forum available—why that person’s faith

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Stuck-In-a-Rut-Here’s-How-to-Get-Some-Perspective

Every Woman Is Unique, but This Is What We All Struggle With

By Shay Phillips / Purpose

I have spent the last four years of my career mentoring women through online health groups and business coaching. I spend every day talking to women who have fears, doubts, insecurities, but more importantly who have dreams and aspirations of growing both for themselves and their families. I love it. One of the biggest discoveries I have made through my experience is how women as a whole are all very unique but also very similar. I find comfort and sometimes heartache in that. Here are five basic truths I have learned on my journey while working one on one with so many wonderfully different women. We Are Resilient I love a good comeback story. What I have found time and time again,

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Drop All of the Labels to Unlock Our Full Potential

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture

Whether it’s social media, news outlets, or casual conversation, we find ourselves trapped in names and phrases that are created to depict segments of society. We are divided by age group: Millennials, Gen X, Baby boomers; by the color of our skin: black, white, occasionally brown; and even by political identity, pro-police, anti-police, alt-right, alt-left, populist, nationalist, neo-Nazi, Antifa. Do you ever wonder the “why” of all this division, this need to create categories among the human race? I do realize that we have different life experiences, culturally we are diverse. Our views, attitudes, and opinions are broad, most often based upon our individual life and cultural diversity. Of course, our age dictates much of our perspective simply by volume of experience.

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How You Can Stop the Struggle with Comparison – 002

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More We ladies can’t seem to stop the struggle. The one where we compare ourselves to every.other.woman.around us. We’ve been doing it for a very long time. But, there’s hope! In this episode, Darlene and Julie discuss three ways we compare ourselves, and real ways to stop. Viewing in an app? Full show notes here! Research and studies we mentioned: The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report Darlene shared about Anxiety UK’s study about social media behavior. The same study is discussed by Huff Post here! Body confidence and all body types are shared and appreciated by the Brand Aerie, we think you’ll be encouraged if

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Lusting After an Illusion—The Perfect Woman

By Annie Leigh Edwards / Health & Beauty

Without a doubt, I am a creeper. I can sit with my coffee at the mall and watch people. All. Day. Long. It’s not just the mall. I’ve discovered the best place to pursue a degree in anthropology is at our local bluegrass festival (ROMP). Here, there are people with glow in the dark hula hoops, bare feet, no showers or razors, flowers in hair, and, as my son observed, there are “lots of belly buttons.” It’s a people-watching paradise. In my years of being a stalker, I have observed one thing: women are constantly sizing each other up. If a man were to look at random women the same way that we gawk at one other, we might call him a

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are you trying to be the perfect girl on social media

Are You Trying to Be the “Perfect Girl” You See on Social Media?

By Linda Clements / Life & Culture

Don’t get me wrong here. I love social media, but it is ruining some of us ladies! Me included. It has created the “Perfect Girl.” This girl simply does not exist, yet we all carry the guilt of not being her. We work overtime trying to juggle more balls in our lives than one can possibly handle, dropping some of them along the way, while trying to make ourselves look like a beauty queen. Then we take pictures of our circus act and post them on social media. Pictures with the appearance of perfection, of all the awesome things we are doing, wearing, eating, crafting, etc. so all the world can see our sparkly qualities. Don’t forget the Photoshop and the filters

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