Personal Growth | Grit and Grace Life

My Life Is a Canvas, God Is the Painter

By Rachel Hagstrom / Audio Articles, Faith

(Listen to the audio version of this article here.) For many of us, the new year is an opportunity for a fresh start. We’ll seize the newness of the season by taking intentional moments to reset and re-calibrate. We visualize what the next 365 days hold for us. Perhaps because I grew up in the home of an artist, I liken the new year to a blank canvas ready to be primed and painted with brilliant hues and brush strokes of far-off adventures, rough timelines, and enormous potential. The canvas is etched in lofty goals, dreams, and aspirations; our hopes and everything we resolve to one day achieve are saturated in its fibers. Each January, I’d have a vision and high ideals […]

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 139 Post-Pandemic

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / No Category

The pandemic changed our lives in countless ways. Maybe you started building your new normal, or in some ways, you returned back to the way things were before COVID-19. Either way, we also learned a lot, whether that was the importance of spending time with family or how to be wiser with spending amid an economic downturn. Rather than ruminating on the darker parts, Darlene and Julie decided to look at how living through the pandemic has served them. In this episode, they chat about the positive takeaways, and how we can still pick out the good parts from challenging experiences.

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10 Truths for Every Strong Woman’s Grit and Grace Life – 100 This Grit and Grace Life

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Life & Culture

We’re celebrating our 100th podcast with our core message—that you are a strong woman! And if you’ve forgotten what she looks like, this milestone episode will remind you. In this segment, Darlene and Julie shares 10 truths that will help guide you as you maneuver this life, including tips on working through your struggles, managing comparison, giving yourself grace, and of course, reassurance that your house isn’t the only one that’s not spic-and-span 24/7. Whether you’re a strong woman or you’re trying to be, these tips are for you.

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Skillet’s Jen Ledger Shares Her Faith, Her Fear and Her Strength

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Faith

It’s hard to imagine Christian rock band Skillet’s own star vocalist and drummer, Jen Ledger, having any fears while she’s banging out the beat for the group’s hit songs. But like all of us, Jen has her own anxieties, fears of not being good enough, and yes—stage fright. Tune in to episode 44 where she recalls her history with the multi-platinum group, and how she looked to her faith for strength during a period of self-doubt and embarking on her new solo project.

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This Grit & Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 83 Five Philosophies You Need for Your Grit and Grace Life

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / No Category

The tenets of being a strong woman are—you guessed it—grit and grace! It may seem like the two are contrary to each other, but we can use both in every situation we face in life. In episode 83, Darlene shares five things she’s consistently done throughout her life that has led to her success in marriage, motherhood, her career and overcoming everyday challenges. These five philosophies led her to carrying out a grit and grace life, and she unpacks how you can apply them to become a strong woman in your own right.

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Darlene & Julie: Just A Reminder During This Season

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Purpose

Are you married? Divorced? Do you have children? Are you a career woman? Retired? A stay-at-home-mom? A college student? No matter where you are in life, or what your status may be, Grit and Grace Life wants to help you find your way—so we’re publishing new content every single day! With podcasts and thousands of articles from real women across the world, we’re hoping that others’ experiences and advice will encourage you to find your inner strength as you navigate each season of life.

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Ask Dr. Zoe – How Do I Heal?

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Ask Dr. Zoe, Relationships

Maybe you’ve been hurt by someone you loved, whether that was through betrayal, adultery or lies. Whether we see it or not, these hurtful situations don’t just rock our reality, but they can also leave major emotional wounds. So how are we supposed to come back from that? How can we learn to love ourselves again? Licensed psychotherapist Dr. Zoe Shaw offers her insight, and explains that healing is often a journey of rediscovery after everything you believed has been flipped upside down. It takes time, but healing is on the horizon.

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This Grit & Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 28 Can You Really Leave Your Past Behind You?

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Life & Culture

Sometimes the memories of our past still haunt us. Whether it was the thing we never said, the chance we didn’t take or the guilt we feel for inflicting hurt onto someone else (or the hurt they placed onto us), it often seems impossible to separate ourselves from it. In this podcast episode, Julie shares the pain of her untraditional childhood and years of emotional neglect. But she tells her story to offer hope to the many of us who ask the age-old question: Is there any way to move on from my past? The answer is yes. Tune in to listen to Darlene and Julie as they discuss how a painful past can lead to opportunities for growth, positivity and stronger

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This Is How I’m Ditching Resolutions To Choose Self-Love

By Caroline Beidler / Life & Culture

This year, I resolve not to make any more New Year’s resolutions. No more diets, exercise programs or firm convictions that I will eat less meat or spend less time on social media. I am not going to promise to hit the gym three times a week, do online yoga everyday or start Cross Fit. I am not going to give up my morning coffee or my afternoon sweets or my nightly salty snacks (I love you, pretzels!). I will not give up or start up anything new. This year, I am going to let myself be myself. I am going to love myself. I am going to feed myself when I am hungry and go for long, lingering walks. I am

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Beginning Faith Walking This Life With Grit, Grace and God

This Is How You Can Start Your Self-Development Journey Now

By Melissa Dyer / Purpose

Recently, I was scrolling through my IG feed and happened upon a post about yearly planners. The timing was perfect. I’ve been using a planner a friend gifted me and several journal-type notebooks to keep me in line this year but realize this is less than ideal moving into the future. My life has changed. My needs have changed. My growth areas have shifted. However, before I invest in a snazzy personalized planner, I better have a game plan. Whether you’re an entrepreneur with no one dictating your goals, a mom who’s responsible for umpteen departments without any corporate perks for being spectacular, or an empty-nester who won’t settle for complacency, developing a personal growth plan is a necessity. Every day, you

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7 Things a Strong Woman Does (It’s OK To Start Now) – 148

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More We women possess innate qualities that make us strong. But did you know that we can do things to grow the power we have within us? Co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Bender share seven ways to do so, whether you’re starting now or simply need a reminder. Here are just a few they discuss that we all need to master: respect yourself (and others) go with the flow trust your gut Viewing in an app? Full show notes here! Quote of the episode: “You see I am neither as good as I want to be or as bad as I could be. I am still

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When You Feel Like Something’s Not Right About the Right Thing

By Katie Sue Cosgrove / Faith

Has anyone else felt this way? Like the fate of humanity depends on you doing everything that is expected of you and nothing less. I’ve read a lot of books and articles about how the firstborn child has an “achiever” and “people-pleaser” mentality growing up. I was often told I could pretty much do whatever I wanted to. I didn’t color too far outside of the lines. I thrived on praise from my parents and teachers. I’ll never forget one time when I was about 13 or so when my (overly outspoken) aunt looked at my younger sister and me and said that I was the “practical” one while my sister was the “vivacious” one. All through elementary, middle, and high school I self-identified

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7 Things You Can Stop Doing To Be a Strong Woman – 147

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More We know that a strong woman has a lot of things she has to do. But did you know that there are some things a woman should NOT do in order to be her strongest self? For most of us, it’s hard to identify what those actions and behaviors are, and it’s even more challenging to stop doing them. So, what are the items that you need to erase from your to-do list in life? Co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie (Graham) Bender offer a little help by suggesting a few ways you can set your course to becoming a stronger you. Here are a few of

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When a Strong Woman Is Quitting, But Not Failing

Do You Want to Be an Overcomer? The Way Out Is Through

By Rachel Hagstrom / Purpose

I’m a sucker for a story about an “Overcomer.” I am a woman who is attracted to and allured by the tales of those who persevered in the face of adversity. The discovery of inner grit, finding hope amid hardship, grace mired in trials…these are the type of stories that ignite in me a deep love for humanity. During my adolescence and youth, I was told about the Overcomers: my relatives, both living and passed, who had “been through hell and high water.” The saying wasn’t figurative when it came to my grandma—one of the most resilient of my family—considering she had endured six floods in her life. To me, Gram was the most glamorous woman I had ever seen. She held

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What Happened When I Finally Heard God Whisper

By Jodi Shultz / Faith

I used to think that only super special and holy people got to hear from The Almighty. You know, the ones that live exemplary lives, with full knowledge of Scripture and holes worn in the knees of their jeans from the many hours in their prayer closets. I also thought that only preachers and pastors that speak eloquent messages that shoot straight to our hearts could hear from God. Yes—those were the extraordinary ones that got to hear the divine whispers from our Lord, but definitely not me. I’m just a simple girl who loves Jesus; you won’t find me listed in the “special” or “holy” category. The holes in my jeans aren’t worn in by hours of prayer. They’re there because

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A Strong Woman Plays Her Hand With Grit and Grace – 138

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More We don’t often choose the cards life deals us, but we always get to play the hand. At some point, every woman finds herself in a place she didn’t plan to be. Youthful dreams and expectations are often interrupted by challenging circumstances, blindsiding you with realities you never saw coming. Inspired by International Widows Day, co-hosts Julie Graham (widowed boy mom from a very dysfunctional childhood) and Darlene Brock (having already played a lot of life’s hands) talk about how they’ve learned to take what life gives you. They discuss how tough hands build strong women and the necessity of applying grit and grace to every experience, because

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Ignite Your Confidence by Doing - Rachel Hagstrom

How to Ignite Your Confidence by Doing (Video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Purpose

As a woman walking through this #gritandgracelife, do you struggle with confidence? You are not alone! A writer at Grit and Grace Life, Rachel Hagstrom, shares her tips on growing your self-confidence. — Looking for more encouragement? Don’t miss: 100 Things a Grit and Grace Woman Believes How Do I Know What Defines Me? To the Mom Who’s Lacking Self-Confidence: Do This 3 Ways Positive Self-Talk Can Improve Your Life Bible Verses From the Grit and Grace Team on Self-Worth What Every Woman Needs to Know About Body Image Don’t miss these popular articles: Dear Wife of the Badge, You Are Strong A Modern Day Esther: Finding My Voice Through a Hero in the Bible This Is a Window Into My Widowhood

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