Smart Living with Grit and Grace

Do you wish you had someone who could guide you through life? An experienced person who willingly shares their wisdom and insight to help you navigate every crossroads you approach? If so, we’re happy to say we know just what you’re looking for: a mentor. The Mr. Miyagi to your Karate Kid! In this Smart Living with Grit and Grace podcast episode, Darlene Brock and Julie Bender share th...

Life offers an endless rotation of surprises, so the only thing not surprising is our desire for order—often in the form of control. When we believe we can control what goes on around us, we can somewhat come to terms with the way our lives unfold. But controlling everything is impossible, and when we make that our aim, consciously or not, it can leave us on edge and erode our relationships. In th...

If you’ve been putting it off, consider this podcast episode as a sign to clean up your clutter! As we get swept up in the busyness of life, we inadvertently let things accumulate. We outgrow our clothes or forget the items we’ve once loved and the gifts we’ve been given. Over time, we stash these items away to make room for new stuff we need or want. Out of sight, out of mind, r...

Forget setting goals and drafting New Year’s resolutions. We’re making 2025 about you—more specifically, your character. Who do you want to be this year? Every season of life (new years included) allow us the opportunity to evaluate our priorities, how much we’ve grown and where we want to see ourselves in another 365 days. Is it in the same place you’re at now? Most likely...

In this season of “tidings of great joy,” what if joy doesn’t come easily to you? As women of faith, there’s an unspoken expectation that we should live in a constant state of joy, that it should be the lens with which we view our lives and circumstances. Although the Bible states we aren’t of the world, we are still in it, which means our perception of joy is often c...

Life is better with friends. There’s just something remarkably special about finding a person (or a few) out of billions in the world who can belly laugh with you over a meal or willingly be at your side in a time of grief. Friendships are mostly easy, but healthy ones still require some work! In this Smart Living with Grit and Grace podcast episode, Darlene Brock and Julie Bender dive into...

The sibling that got away with everything. The coworker that scored y our promotion. The “friend” who stopped including you in group conversations. We’re all familiar with resentment, and the mutated ball of anger, hurt, disgust and annoyance it leaves in the pit of our stomachs. Whether someone outright betrayed you or you were inadvertently treated unfairly, resentment can slow...

“You’ll never know unless you try” is sound advice to soothe our doubts. But doubt doesn’t always come with ulterior motives; sometimes, it’s merely a cautionary measure meant to protect us. So how do you decipher the root of your doubt? Smart Living with Grit and Grace co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Bender answer that question with several actionable steps to help...

It’s usually early- to mid-fall when we hear others expressing a desire to fast forward through the season and jump right into the holidays. The year has been too long, too hard, too unforgiving. Wouldn’t it be better to skip right to the Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities and brush all our complications behind us (at least until the New Year)? The fast forward button isn’t a...

We don’t need research studies to tell us we’re stressed (although they do, and frequently—a 2021 Gallup poll found that 41% of adults worldwide experience a lot of stress). We feel it everywhere: demanding hours and clients at work; raising kids; the news; the ever-ending list of things to do—the list goes on. Are you ready to leave stress behind? We’ve got you covered! In this...

Are you feeling a little aimless at the moment? Perhaps you’re in a season of life that has you questioning your purpose. If that sounds frighteningly familiar, don’t fret—even the seasons that feel purposeless have a purpose! In this episode of Smart Living with Grit and Grace , Darlene Brock and Julie Bender discuss how to find confidence when you’re transitioning into a new st...

Do you have a tendency to repeat reminders to those closest to you? Perhaps you feel like you’re constantly asking your husband to get off the couch or urging your kids to clean their rooms. While your intentions are good, your delivery may be perceived as nagging. In this episode of Smart Living with Grit and Grace , Darlene Brock and Julie Bender dive into the prickly topic of nagging. It&...

Are you tired of waiting? Maybe you’re waiting on a future spouse to walk into your life, sitting in fast food lines that feel anything but, or pining for that dream job opportunity to fall into our laps. We’re all excitedly—and usually impatiently—waiting for something . Why do all the good things in life take so long? One could argue those things wouldn’t be very good to begin...

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived—the Smart Living in Small Bites book series is officially live and available for purchase now on Amazon! If you have experienced (or are still walking through) a challenging life circumstance and wish you could talk with a friend who has been there and understands, look no further. Each book in the series is written by a woman who has...

Exciting changes are in store for This Grit and Grace Life podcast! If you’ve been with us for a while, you know we launched a new endeavor called Smart Living with Grit and Grace last year and will be releasing an eponymous book series this month (keep your eye on your inbox over the next few days!). Now, we’re rebranding the podcast with a new look and feel—and a new name! In this ep...

We’re celebrating our 250th podcast episode of This Grit and Grace Life with 26 wise quotes from a literary classic: Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women . Whether you’ve read the novel or not, there’s much to be gleaned from the conversations among its four protagonists, the young March sisters. If you need some encouragement in your relationships and goals or need to be remin...

How do you respond when you see a child with special needs? Most of us fall into one of two camps: We either choose to engage or we look the other way. But choosing to engage is always the right answer. Russ and Gail Ewell will tell you the same thing. After dealing with judgment and unsolicited advice from others on how to raise their two special needs children, the couple decided the best way to...

When it comes to battling life’s challenges, the odds are rarely in our favor. We might feel as though we’re putting forth a ton of effort into making our circumstances better, only to find we didn’t make much headway after all. It feels like a far cry from the life God designed for us to live, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life , Darlene...

We’re likely to bounce between feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, exhaustion or any number of other emotions every day. No matter which ones you experience, they are all normal and they deserve to be listened to. Where we often go wrong, according to licensed psychotherapist Dr. Zoe, is in our reaction to those feelings—either lashing out at someone or making an impulsive decision...

Are your kids heading back to school? They’ll undoubtedly learn a few math equations or how to read between the lines of a historical novel, but some of the most important back to school lessons your kids will take away from this school year are the ones that will carry them through life. In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life , Darlene Brock and Julie Bender discuss how, as a parent, y...

Are you putting off scheduling your next OB-GYN appointment? We get it—it can be uncomfortable, awkward, and even embarrassing to chat with the doc about issues or questions related to down there .  That’s why we’re bringing back this episode of This Grit and Grace Life with guest Dr. Holly Miller, a board certified OB-GYN, to answer all the hard OB-GYN questions you need to know about...

How do you measure your self-worth? Is it determined by a respectable title at work or the approving nods ands compliments you receive on an outfit? Is it measured by how similar your home looks to your favorite influencer’s or your own personal follower count on Instagram? This week, Darlene Brock and Julie Bender get together to offer a single resounding answer to all those questions: No....

You may have seen the movie “ Unsung Hero ” and learned a little about the childhood and career of Christian singer and songwriter Rebecca St. James. But we thought we would revisit an earlier episode of This Grit and Grace Life podcast when Rebecca joined the show to chat about another important part of her life: dating and finding “the one.” Landing your forever-after pri...

When we get married, we have dreams, hopes and goals for what our lifelong union with our new partner will look like. But that idealistic view doesn’t always match reality. Instead, we may find ourselves wondering why our man is so different compared to how he used to be at the beginning of the relationship or to the doting husbands we see on social media. Maybe we find ourselves in constant...

With Memorial Day upon us, co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Bender are honoring service members’ sacrifices by encouraging us all to step into every area of life the same way those military men and women did—with bravery. But what does that look like to be brave at work? In our relationships? In motherhood? In this episode, Darlene and Julie identify instances that might give us pause and wh...