Self Worth | Grit and Grace Life

Men and Women Are Equal, but Not Identical

By Darlene Brock / Life & Culture, Best Of

From the first moment a little girl announces, “When I grow up I’m gonna be a…” her parents tell her that she certainly will be. She can do whatever she dreams, and that’s true. If she loves sports—they’re all available. Education? Any field of study is obtainable. Career path? There is none blocked. This generation has all the “equal rights” created by the resolute females of the 20th century. Courageous ladies desiring the privilege to vote, to pursue higher education, and to have careers that matched their talents fought this battle. They changed our world. It is them we should thank for giving our daughters a future without limitations. Yet, as each daughter enters her teen years, most realize that the level playing field of opportunity […]

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If Your Kid is Being Bad, Does That Make You a Bad Mom 2

Your Bad Kid Doesn’t Make You a Bad Mom

By Darlene Brock / Motherhood, Best Of

You have just received your first phone call, the one every mother dreads and hopes to never receive. The preschool wants you to know that your child is hitting or biting or kicking. That little guy or girl, who has never shown this behavior before, has apparently turned into the class tyrant. It was in kindergarten when my daughter demonstrated her prowess in tormenting others. I dropped this sweet, little dressed up diva at her elementary school and all was going relatively well for the first few months. Then I received my first phone call. She had kicked a little boy. This led to discussion, punishment, and resolution. A week went by and then I got the next call; she had hit another student.

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Want to Be a Woman of Virtue? Remember These 4 Things…

By Carey Melton / Faith

Several years ago, the school where my husband and I taught asked us to give the Baccalaureate speeches at the graduation festivities. This was extra special since it was the first graduating class in the school’s history, and it’s a privilege we still talk about to this day! We grew to love these kids as our own. We taught and coached them, had them over for dinner in our home, celebrated successes, and consoled through failures. It’s neat to see how God has worked things out, and now we are not only “former teachers” but friends with many of them. During the years we had with them, we focused on teaching them about life because they were all about to enter into

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How Do I Begin to Heal from Past Emotional Hurt? with Elizabeth Bristol -186

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast, Relationships

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MorePart of growing older—and being human—is learning how to recognize and manage our emotions in a healthy way. Our emotions have the power to help us grow, but they can also hold us back, especially when we’ve been hurt by others in the past. Elizabeth Bristol joins Darlene Brock and Julie Bender on this week’s podcast episode to share how she overcame her past emotional hurt. Elizabeth dealt with heartache and traumatic situations, including rape and drug use. After years of feeling stagnant in her pain, God prompted her to write down her story. It was only after she faced the pain of her past

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True Purpose Is Found in How We Care for Others

By Darlene Brock / Purpose, Life & Culture

I watch as a woman I dearly treasure is overtaken by the stronghold of dementia, and I resign to the fact that none of us has control or the ability to change this course. Repeated stories and angry outbursts, followed by confusion—this has become the norm for this strong, kind, and loving lady. While these are not the actions of the aunt who has impacted my life so significantly, it’s where she finds herself in the twilight of her life. But my heart doesn’t stay where she is today. Instead, it leads me to the actions throughout her life. The deep and constant investment she made in mine. These will always be part of my treasured memories, keeping residence in my heart.

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5 Quotes That Will Encourage You, Working (Super) Mom

By Ashley Johnson / Work & Money, Motherhood

Working moms do it all—but it’s hard! The struggle to find work and life balance is real, but in the end, what really matters is that you tried your best. At least, that’s what I’ve been told from the women who’ve seen it through. One thing I know that all of us working moms could use is a little encouragement. Just a quick note that says, “Hey, I see you. I see all of the obstacles you overcome every day. It’s not always flawless, but you put your heart and soul into it. You are a strong woman, and you’re a good mom.” So, working mom, these 5 quotes that will encourage you: “I think every working mom probably feels the same thing:

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My Independence Day—Choosing Between My Self-Worth and His Selfishness

My Independence Day—Choosing Between His Selfishness and My Self-Worth

By Jill Littig / Relationships

When I stormed out of Jimmy’s apartment, mid-dinner on the Fourth of July, I left the peach and raspberry pie I had made behind. We’d spent the morning apart. I stayed at my apartment baking and thought he was sleeping late at his. Instead, he went water skiing with a mutual friend. I loved water skiing, and he knew it. I’d Gotten Used to His Selfishness at the Cost of My Self-Worth His ability to push me aside started to feel like a natural reflex. The missing sensitivity in him was made up by his family, so it took me a while to realize he was truly a jerk. There on his balcony, mid-bite into my hamburger, he bragged about his morning.

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Social Media Is Impacting My Child—What Can I Do About It?

By Caroline Beidler / Motherhood

One morning as I sat sipping my coffee for the glorious 10 minutes before my little ones wobble out of their rooms, I opened my phone to an article about school closings. There was going to be a return to virtual classes in many areas of the country because of threats of school violence on the social media platform Tik Tok (the one where kids do dancing that they’ve rehearsed for hours in front of a mirror) and other social media. I read about how social media threats were causing many teachers and students to fear for their lives. I turned to my husband and shared the headline. “How can this be?” I asked incredulous. “School shootings being talked about on social

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The Grass Is Always Greener: Learn to Love Who You Are

The Grass Is Always Greener: Learning to Love Who You Are

By Jennifer Taylor Wagner / Life & Culture

I’m about to make a shocking statement. Are you ready? Women are so hard on themselves. We know this already, right? We’re expected to be a size 2 but cook like Paula Deen. We’re expected to keep the house clean, tend to the children, keep a steady stream of income, and meet all of society’s (unrealistic) ideals of feminine perfection. We have social media feeds to keep fresh, friends to impress, and a whole slew of fellow women we need to prove our adequacy to. (Side note: Friends you have to impress aren’t true friends.) The demands are real. And true to our nature, we often internalize most of the pressure. We take it upon ourselves to police our own actions and

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Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Not Enough? with Jodi Shultz 172

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast, Purpose

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreWomen have accomplished some pretty incredible things throughout history. It was women that patented windshield wipers, disposable diapers, non-reflective glass and a host of other products that benefit us to this day. And that’s just a glimpse into the life changing achievements we’ve made. Yet, it’s not uncommon for us to feel as though we’re not enough. We question our value when we see other women who are prettier, doing it better, or seem to be winning at life. Grit and Grace Life writer Jodi Shultz joins Darlene Brock and Julie Bender to discuss this epidemic. Jodi recalls a time in her life when she

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Can You Embrace Your Femininity In a World That’s Against It? – 171

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast, Life & Culture

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreIt’s not uncommon in our world today to hear mixed messages on the subject of gender. Suddenly, the distinctions between men and women are blurred, and our expressions of femininity and masculinity are dismissed as being outdated, social constructs. But Grit and Grace Life believes differently. Darlene Brock and Julie Bender sit down for an expressive discussion about these gender wars, and instead urge women to celebrate the traits that make them uniquely female. We can thrive in the natural characteristics that make us who and what we are and embrace them. There’s nothing wrong with being female—in fact, it’s a superpower! Quote of the episode:

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Communicate like a Cat: Be Direct and Don’t Be Timid

By Katie Loudermilk Roberts / Life & Culture

“Meow!” It is 6:45 a.m. and Snickers, my chunky tuxedo cat, has his face on my face, yelling at me to get out of bed so he can have breakfast. My cat fascinates me with his strict schedule. He will never fail to tell me when it is time to eat, when he wants to go on the patio, and when I need to clean his litter box. Snickers is not afraid to express his wants and needs. He will lay on my chest while I am playing Candy Crush on my phone because he needs attention and feels that is his best way of telling me. As cute and humorous as my kitty is, I admire the fearless attitude Snickers portrays. I

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Are You Abandoning Your Beliefs to Fit In?

By Allison McCormick / Faith

What a curious thing, how life circumstances teach us about the hidden aspects of our souls. Those inconsistent behaviors we can easily see in others but remain a mystery as we assess our lives. Recently, the inconsistencies of my character were revealed. My husband and I received a call from our lawyer’s office. He wanted to let us know our documents were ready to sign. We made an appointment and headed to his office. The signing process took less than 20 minutes, and we were back in the car headed home. A few days later, my husband received a very formal email from the law firm. It informed us that during our brief stay in the office, we had “potentially been exposed

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Women Get Better With Age, and This Is Why

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

We stood in a little, clustered semi-circle. Three women, not quite yet friends, but acquaintances testing the waters of friendship with tentative toes. Asking ourselves silently, “Will this work? Will she accept me for me? Could we possibly become friends?” We were waiting for our daughters to get out of gymnastics, a captive time frame, one where there is no easy escape if the conversation turns south or gets awkward. At least not until practice is over. So caution was taken, nothing overly controversial was broached, nothing daring or too revealing. We were still feeling each other out, waiting to see if our weirdness matched up with one another. It’s dangerous waters when you’re making new friends as an adult. Somehow, though,

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Trapped in a Past Relationship? Here’s the Best Way to Move On

By Ashley Vancil / Relationships

Treading the waters of the “single” world and learning to move on from a past relationship can be tough. I never imagined that I would be in my mid-30s, divorced and single. Let us throw in dating as a single mama of three. It seemed like such a daunting, impossible task. Until one day it wasn’t. I’ve spent the majority of the past few years focusing on my health, mental healing, and doing some deep soul work in order to grow. I realized that it’s hard to break away from a relationship because humans, by nature, are not meant to be alone. The pain we feel coming out of a relationship is often the result of looking to someone else to feel

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Why I Stopped Letting Social Media Trends Control My Money

By Caroline Beidler / Life & Culture

It all started the night my husband and I were arguing over nursing chairs. My husband didn’t understand why we needed to purchase a brand new plush gray glider. He couldn’t comprehend why I needed this chair to sink into while staring at my precious babies as they suckled themselves to sleep. He didn’t appreciate how, months ahead of schedule, each piece of furniture and décor had been selected with precision to match: the soft muslin blankets (white and gray); the plush bunnies and safari animal prints (white and gray); the lamp (white); the dresser (gray); the nursing chair. I sobbed uncontrollably while he reviewed our budget with squinting eyes. As I watched him, I thought about how unfair it was he

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I’m Ditching Perfection Because My Best Is Enough

By Darlene Brock / Purpose

Once again, I grabbed a shopping cart to complete what seems to be my four-times-a-week run to Walmart. As I was rolling down the aisle, I passed one of those cardboard boxes that sits strategically in your path. You know—those big old things that you have to navigate your shopping cart around. The reason it’s placed there is so you will go slowly, pause, and purchase something that wasn’t on your list and that you didn’t know you needed until that very moment. This particular brightly-painted bit of corrugation had wall art in it, the kind that’s there to inspire us. I’m pretty sure the piece that caught my attention was targeted at women. It stated this: “You don’t have to be

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