Grit 'n' Grace: The Podcast for Highly Sensitive Christian Women

How do you learn to trust your creative instincts when you’ve spent years second-guessing the way you’re wired?



(After all, there’s no shortage of experts eager to tell you — or sell you — The One "Right" Way to be creative!)



But as Highly Sensitive Persons, we notice details, connections, emotions, and possibilities that others may miss. As we learn to trust our perceptions, they can powerfully guide our creative work.



Today, fiction author Laura Joy Lloyd joins me as guest co-host. Laura Joy shares how her sensitivity shapes the stories she reads, the characters she writes, and the unconventional writing process she created to honor her gifts, personality, and capacity.



Together, we explore



how to distinguish wise outside counsel from fear-based pressure,


why the “right” creative process may look different for each of us, and


what becomes possible when we stop fighting the way we’re wired.



What if the creative process that fits you best begins with trusting who God created you to be as an HSP?

Resources Mentioned

Join Laura Joy's email list

https://laurajoylloyd.com/subscribe-to-podcast/


Enjoy Laura Joy's books

Interesting Enough

https://laurajoylloyd.com/product/interesting-enough/


Far From Unremarkable

https://laurajoylloyd.com/product/far-from-unremarkable/


Check out Laura Joy's website

https://www.laurajoylloyd.com/



Take the “Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?” Self-Quiz

https://CheriGregory.com/hspquiz/


Learn about Cheri's Write Beside You coaching services

https://writebesideyou.com/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Grit and Grace: The Creative Process of Highly Sensitive Women
(00:02:02) - Copyright 2010 by Amy Tan
(00:03:14) - Grit and Grace
(00:04:43) - As a Highly Sensitive Person,
(00:07:26) - What Do Highly Sensitive People Look For In Stories?
(00:13:46) - Writing Like a Proposer
(00:16:35) - What Does It Feel Like to Write a Highly Sensitive Story?
(00:19:03) - Writing and Popping: Plot and Pants
(00:21:51) - How to Plan Your Life as a Writer
(00:29:20) - How to Write a Million People's Dreams
(00:29:58) - A Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Writing

How can you manage your home without draining the limited capacity you have as an Highly Sensitive Person?



In Part 2 of my conversation with Kathi Lipp, we discuss practical ways HSPs can reduce home-management overwhelm, including:



making pre-decisions before guilt and emotion take over,


choosing what to keep when possessions carry emotional weight,


containing lists, notes, papers, and visible reminders,


creating one reliable “source of truth,” and


asking for calmer shared spaces without feeling controlling.



We also explore what may really be happening when an HSP is labeled “controlling” for needing more calm at home—and how to communicate our sensory needs with clarity and compassion.



This episode will help you approach home management with greater self-awareness, more realistic expectations, and less shame about what your uniquely-wired nervous system needs.

Links to Resources Mentioned:

Kathi Lipp's Clutter Free Academy Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/clutterfreeacademy

Order Kathi's book Clutter Free: Quick and Easy Steps for Simplifying Your Space

https://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Free-Quick-Steps-Simplifying/dp/0736959130/

Check out Kathi's Website: https://kathilipp.com/

https://kathilipp.com/

Take the “Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?” Self-Quiz

https://CheriGregory.com/hspquiz/

Learn about the Sensitive & Strong Community Cafe

https://sensitiveandstrongbook.com/sensitive-strong-community-cafe/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How to Manage Your Home (For Highly Sensitive People)
(00:01:58) - With Kathy Lipp: Home Management and the Highly Sensitive Person
(00:04:00) - How to Pre-Decide When to Clean or Vacuum
(00:07:04) - PreDecisions for Your Dad and His
(00:12:39) - Pre-Deciding
(00:13:12) - What To Keep And Why?
(00:18:31) - A Mother's Last Conversation With Her Daughter
(00:19:05) - The Scandalous Way I Use My Planner
(00:25:05) - Post-it Notes: An Organization Tool
(00:27:04) - How to Talk About Clutter in the Home
(00:32:33) - A Sense of Harmony in the Home
(00:34:50) - Kathy Lips: The Clutter Free Academy
(00:35:40) - The Highly Sensitive Christian Woman's Community Cafe

When clutter piles up in our homes, it’s not just “stuff” for many of us who are Highly Sensitive Persons. We can experience it as visual noise, decision fatigue, emotional stories, sensory input, and shame. So much shame.



In this episode, my dear friend and co-author Kathi Lipp and I explore why everyday home management can feel uniquely overwhelming for HSPs … and how we can learn to respond with practical compassion instead of all-or-nothing thinking.



You’ll learn

why tidying up a space can help your nervous system exhale,

why systems often collapse when life happens, and

how to create a simple “stabilizing day” rather than trying to catch up on everything at once

Kathi also shares three small re-entry steps for those moments when home feels overwhelming.



This episode is a gentle invitation to stop asking, “Why can’t I keep up?” and start asking, “What might help my HSP nervous system take the next small step?”

Links to Resources Mentioned:

Kathi Lipp's Clutter Free Academy Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/clutterfreeacademy


Order Kathi's book Clutter Free: Quick and Easy Steps for Simplifying Your Space

https://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Free-Quick-Steps-Simplifying/dp/0736959130/


Check out Kathi's Website: https://kathilipp.com/

https://kathilipp.com/



Take the “Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?” Self-Quiz

https://CheriGregory.com/hspquiz/


Learn about the Sensitive & Strong Community Cafe

https://sensitiveandstrongbook.com/sensitive-strong-community-cafe/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - When clutter piles up in our homes
(00:01:17) - Grit and Grace: Highly Sensitive Christian Women
(00:03:49) - What is HSP?
(00:04:50) - The Special Challenges of Being a Highly Sensitive Person
(00:09:25) - Why is clutter more detrimental to HSPs than to the rest
(00:11:52) - What to Do When Things Fall Apart in the Household?
(00:18:00) - Why Does a Clean House Feel So Peaceful? But
(00:21:26) - Fooled by Nature: The Go-Go, Do-
(00:23:46) - Kathy Lips: Clutter Free Academy
(00:24:58) - Grit and Grace: The Sensitive and Strong Community

So many of us have spent years trying to fix our relationship with food by focusing on what we do — or don’t — eat.



But what if being “fully nourished” has less to do with getting food exactly right, and more to do with learning what your whole self actually needs?



In this conversation with guest co-host Brandice Lardner, we talk about nourishment that goes far beyond calories, macros, and meal plans.



We explore what it means to care for all aspects of your Highly Sensitive self — body, mind, soul, and spirit — with grace … especially as an HSP who is easily depleted by pressure, shame, and repeated attempts to fix everything all at once.



If you’re curious what it might look like to nourish the parts of yourself that food was never meant to care for, you’ll find this episode full of freedom and hope.

Links Mentioned:


Order Brandice's new book Fully Nourished: A Grace-Filled Approach to Ditch Diets and Find Peace with Food and Your Body

https://amzn.to/3Z3q5SL


You can get her free 7-lesson "Faith > Food" email course right here

https://gracefilledplate.com/faith-food-email-course/


Check out Brandice's Website: Grace Filled Plate

https://GraceFilledPlate.com



Take the “Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?” Self-Quiz

https://CheriGregory.com/hspquiz/


Learn about the Sensitive & Strong Community Cafe

https://sensitiveandstrongbook.com/sensitive-strong-community-cafe/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Grit and Grace: How to Nourish Your Highly Sens
(00:01:42) - Fully Nourished with Brandice Lardner
(00:03:27) - Intermittent Fasting
(00:07:39) - How to Manage Your Body as You Age
(00:13:24) - How to Deal With Regret (For What We Didn't Know
(00:19:42) - How to Start Again with Food and Body
(00:26:53) - How to Be Fully
(00:31:13) - Brandice Brandes Fully Nourished
(00:33:11) - Grit and Grace: The Sensitive and Strong Christian Women Podcast

So many of us have tried to white-knuckle our way through one food plan after another.

But what if health isn’t about eating perfectly—but rather about building habits that actually bear good fruit in our lives?



In this episode, guest co-host Brandice Lardner and I unpack why “perfect eating plans” so often fail, especially for Highly Sensitive Christian women. Brandice introduces the idea of fruitful habits: flexible, grace-filled practices you can evaluate by their outcomes, not whether you followed every rigid rule.



We explore



how reflection (not rumination) helps you learn from your choices


why giving yourself permission actually reduces food obsessions


what it looks like to “marry wants with wisdom” without shame or fear



If you’re longing for a calmer, more sustainable approach to food—one rooted in grace, discernment, and real-life rhythms—this conversation offers a hopeful way forward.

Links mentioned:

Episode #303: "Why It's Hard to Trust Your Body — Especially Around Food"

https://cherigregory.com/episode303/


Order Brandice's new book Fully Nourished: A Grace-Filled Approach to Ditch Diets and Find Peace with Food and Your Body

https://amzn.to/3Z3q5SL

You can get her free 7-lesson "Faith > Food" email course right here

https://gracefilledplate.com/faith-food-email-course/

Check out Brandice's Website: Grace Filled Plate

https://GraceFilledPlate.com

Take the “Am I a Highly Sensitive Person?” Self-Quiz

https://CheriGregory.com/hspquiz/

Learn about the "Write Beside You" Unlimited Coaching Program and the "Clarity in Your Calling" Mastermind

https://sensitiveandstrongbook.com/wby-unlimited-coaching-program/

https://sensitiveandstrongbook.com/clarity-in-your-calling-mastermind

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Grit and Grace: When Perfect Eating Plans Fail
(00:01:19) - How to Trust Your Own Body
(00:04:10) - Virtuous HABITS
(00:09:02) - Introspection and Self-Compassion
(00:15:33) - Why Is It So Hard to Overcome a Sugar Cravings?
(00:22:18) - Living on a Diet with the Spirit
(00:25:01) - Highly Sensitive Christian Women
(00:27:38) - Marathon Author: The MDP Team