By
Jo Montgomery
Forget "Sugar & Spice." Girls Are Made Of "Grit & Grace."
Author, entrepreneur and former record company executive, Darlene Brock, is on a mission to change the way women think about themselves. And, in fact, she doesn’t believe we’re made of sugar and spice! "We are so much more than the roles we play, than the attitudes we are told we must hold,” said Brock. “Life is a long-term project, and what it requires is our gender’s most valuable traits – grit and grace.” That’s exactly why she launched the groundbreaking Grit & Grace Project.
“I wanted women to talk to other women,” said Brock. Designed for women of all ages and walks of life, The Grit & Grace Project is a digital space created by women, for women to foster community. It’s an online movement devoted to "building a community of women who believe that life's challenges neither defeat nor define them." It’s a place where contributors share stories, tips, how-tos and hope with each other.
Topics covered range from surviving life’s challenges to surviving the holiday season, infertility to Florence Nightingale. Just as diverse as the themes covered, are the writers; single, married, with children, without, formerly homeless, and entrepreneurs. There is something for everyone, by everyone!
Was there a moment, or event, in Brock’s life that spurred the creation of The Grit & Grace Project? Brock said that moment came when her daughters were “moving on to high school and college.” She realized that her daughters, and their peers, didn’t have definitive examples of what strong women looked like. They were receiving confused signals of what a woman should be, chiefly from the media. More than anything, Brock wanted her daughters to know that “they can be whatever they want to be!” Evidently, her message reached them, as one of her daughters is now in the film industry and the other an educator.
The Grit and Grace Project is dedicated to “reinforcing the characteristics that make women great - their ability to make their families strong and their communities better, to fight unselfishly for those they love, in their home, in their community, and in their country.” These characteristics, when rattled off, sound like super powers. So, I asked Brock; “If you could be a super hero with a single super power, what super power would you choose?” With little hesitation, she said, “Tenacity! I would want strength and endurance, so I could bring down whatever obstacles I need to.” The obstacles she refers to are any that keep her from doing what she sees necessary or believes in. She added, “We possess within ourselves the tenacity to never give up. When women use the best of their strengths they’re unstoppable!”
When will Brock feel that The Grit & Grace project is a success? She said it will be when she can “hand the mantle to younger generations of women who have become convinced of what the true strength of their gender looks like.”
Do we possess the determination and self-confidence to become this generation’s women of Grit & Grace? YES! Oh, was I yelling? Brock seems to have no doubt we do, and I have to believe her. Check out The Grit & Grace Project for yourself, and share the link to mothers, daughters and girlfriends. Be your own super hero! Go ahead. I know you want to wear the cape! Perhaps something in a pink satin with “G & G” emblazoned across the back in sparkles.
About Darlene Brock:
Darlene Brock is President and co-founder of "The Grit and Grace Project." As the author of Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters, Brock has appeared on Fox & Friends, multiple ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates. She has been a guest columnist for CNN, Thriving Family Magazine and appeared on radio programs such as Family Life Today, The Hope Line and Keep the Faith. Throughout her career, Brock traversed the world of raising two daughters while working primarily with men in the Christian Music Business for over twenty years. Her varied experiences included producing award winning music videos, personal artist management, concert promotion and the position of Chief Operating Officer of ForeFront Records. The blend of author, mother, business woman, wife, creative producer and just managing this project we call life has shown her that it is indeed true that “life challenges should neither defeat nor define you."