Self Worth | Grit and Grace Life

Daring to Go Filterless: How Social Media Is Impacting Women and What We Can Do About It

By Caroline Beidler / Life & Culture, Best Of

Scrolling social media, I see women who are painted like porcelain dolls with tiny waists and thick-alicious hips. I see images of perfection that are totally disproportionate and unattainable. And what is worse: this dangerous trend now compels me. I find myself searching frantically for the perfect filter before I post a pic, the one that looks “natural” or like I’m just the right age (younger than I am). If I can’t find it, then I spend way too much time adjusting the lighting and color saturation; maybe I’ll even add one of those funky (and slightly creepy) filters that make me look like an extraterrestrial, flower child, or naughty pirate. I do this, I play along, even though most days all […]

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Don’t Let Rejection Dictate Your Worth

By Marlys Johnson Lawry / Relationships

Unbidden tears trickled down my face. I was writing in a coffee shop, and a man said he would meet me as soon as he finished his business. Hours went by without hearing from him. And so I packed up my laptop and gave myself permission to sob all the way home. After three years of widowhood, I thought I was ready to date and maybe even consider getting married again. A roller coaster came to a stop, and I boarded one of the cars. Over the next year or two, that carnival ride took me up and down and all around in loop-de-loops of rejection and indecision. “I think I can do this.” And then, “Um, no. This feels like I’m

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Wise Words for Women in Our Grit and Grace Life – 162

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreWith life traveling faster than we can keep up, many of us are facing storms that threaten to take our joy, sanity, and peace. What we all need right now are wise words for women to handle this grit and grace life. We don’t need a quippy cliché or a half-hearted platitude but real practical truths to apply as needed. To offer that, co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Bender take to the mic to share six insights on life that benefit every woman. Since they are taking a recording break for a few months, they wanted to leave you with these hard-won words of wisdom.

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Filterless—Let’s Get Real About Social Media

By Laila Schell / Life & Culture, Best Of

My kids love Instagram. They love it like a mom loves a Sunday afternoon nap, and if they ever have a chance to grab my phone, the first thing they do is hit the reels. Which, if I am being honest, I had no idea even existed. It didn’t take long for them to start spamming me with all kinds of nonsense, and although most of them were super annoying, there were a few where I was like, “Okay, some of these are clever.” Apparently, so is Instagram. They quickly figured out my style and started showing me only the ones I appeared to enjoy. It wasn’t long before I too was sucked into a deep hole, and a quick check of

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By The Grit and Grace Team / Relationships

About this photo: “My in-laws were in town, so naturally, I did my best to hide the mounds of laundry I had yet to get to. I tucked all the baskets away near my husband’s closet and shut the door. Low and behold, when playing hide and seek, my kids led my in-laws directly to said laundry pile. Kids are really good at taking your filter off!” —Katie Cress, writer for Grit and Grace Life Being #filterless In Our Relationships Relationships are tricky to navigate to begin with. But when we start piling on the expectations of others, we’re easily frustrated and disappointed when those expectations aren’t met. Did you know that it’s not just others’ expectations we’re burdened with—it’s

my grandmothers taught me the true strength of a woman

How My Grandmothers Left a Legacy of True Strength

By Katie Cress / Relationships

The other day I was in my spring-cleaning groove, jamming along to the new Taylor Swift album when suddenly, I found myself completely moved, crying over the Clorox… “And if I didn’t know better I’d think you were talking to me now If I didn’t know better I’d think you were still around” These lyrics are about Taylor’s grandma, Marjorie, and they resonated with me so deeply. My grandmothers both left this earth over a decade ago, yet that mark of time still feels strange. For those of you who have experienced grief and loss of loved ones, you probably can relate to how the moment of loss can feel like just yesterday or a lifetime ago all in the same minute.

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You Don’t Have to Stay Stuck Anymore – 160

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreLife ebbs and flows. Some days are filled with excitement and hope. Then there are others where you feel just plain “meh.” When the mundane feeling lingers beyond a few days, it’s time to ask yourself if you’ve become stagnant. Since we all face these emotional roadblocks, we wanted to tackle them. The first thing Darlene Brock and Julie Bender share is a simple way to determine if you’re in an actual rut. Then, if so, how to begin the battle forward, reminding you to give yourself much-needed grace as you determine why you’re feeling this way. Next, they suggest an exercise you can use

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A Letter to My Daughter on Body Image: May You Love All of You

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood, Audio Articles

(Listen to the audio version of this article here.) Dear Daughter, We are together more than ever these days. I watch as you wake each morning, walk into your closet, and choose an outfit that doesn’t go together. You pull up your leggings without noticing the skin that spills over the tight waistband. You run a brush through your hair and carefully choose a headband or opt for a braid. I passively wonder if you wish for hair opposite of your own in texture and color. But there is no sighing or visible expression of disappointment as you comb through the tangles and frizz. Instead, you smile and make silly faces at your reflection in the mirror. Virtual school ends, and you’re

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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 and Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 97 Get It Girl! How Self-Respect Can Change Your Life

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Purpose

In a society where we see so much of others’ prim and perfect lives (hello, social media!), we’re often led to wonder where we went wrong. We might see our shortcomings more than our successes, and we may have had people in our lives who loved to point them out. It’s no wonder that healthy self-respect is hard to find these days. Whether you know it or not, you deserve more. You’re worthy of the best life has to offer, and if you want others to respect you, you need to respect yourself first. In this podcast episode, Darlene and Julie discuss how to find your confidence and why you need to carry yourself with self-respect in all areas of your life.

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

By Rachel Hagstrom / Faith

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

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | 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

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What My Faith Says About My Purpose

By Darlene Brock / Faith

I know that a woman of faith probably shouldn’t admit she thinks any book of the Bible is depressing, but there is one that I truly believe is! I realize there are some pretty troubling stories and incredibly sad scenarios written in God’s Word, but before you get all weird on me, thinking I am speaking badly about the Bible, hear me out. I find it easy to believe that God would agree the stories are both troubling and sad. Much of what is written reveals our human failure and our pursuit of selfishness and sin. These words also reveal God’s righteous intervention as He offers His mercy and grace with the goal of rescuing us from ourselves. It is when I

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My Dad's Suicide and the Hole in My Heart

Your Battle Is What Makes You Beautiful

By Ashley Johnson / Life & Culture

Before my daughter was born, I hung a quote from The Velveteen Rabbit above her crib. I have no emotional connection to that book; in fact, I’ve never read it. But the second I read the words printed on that beautifully distressed canvas, my eyes welled up with tears because I’ve lived it out and thus learned the very lesson I suppose this soft, tattered bunny is sharing. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints

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This Is What Running in My 40s Has Taught Me

By Melissa Solle / Life & Culture

Once upon a time I was a fast runner (think, like, 25 years ago when I was 18 and solid muscle). My personal best for a 5k was a little under 19 minutes! I could leg-press as much as half the guys in my class and didn’t back down from a race or competition. I was tough, strong, and extremely competitive. Fast forward almost 20 years, add a career-ending injury to my ankle, three babies, a husband, and a life of contentment, and I was bored. I hadn’t really exercised in two decades, unless you count a brief stint chasing my middle child who was an escape artist as a toddler. I Made a Goal Despite the Challenges Before I turned 40,

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This Is What Jesus Says About Equality for Women

By Darlene Brock / Faith, Best Of

Religion has often been used as an excuse for inequality between men and women. Historically, and even today within many world religions, women find themselves restricted in what they are allowed: their appearance, their behavior, and of course their opportunities. I wish I could say that has never been true within the faith I hold, Christianity. But throughout time, biblical texts have been pulled out and incorrectly used to justify the bad behavior of men and reduce the importance of women. It is in the source of my faith, the Bible, that I look for answers when exploring different positions found in the culture of varying religions. But, when seeking answers to specific questions, it is imperative that we glean from the

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