Habits of the Heart with Dr. Gabriela Grasso

Have you ever noticed that the more you care about something, the more you want to control how it turns out?

We want the people we love to succeed, our plans to work, and our future to feel secure. But sometimes our desire to help becomes an exhausting attempt to guarantee outcomes that were never entirely within our control.

In Habits of the Heart Teaching, Trust Instead of Control, Dr. Gabriela Grasso explores how Biblical wisdom, timeless philosophical insights, and behavioral science can help us understand the difference between responsible action, personal influence, and outcomes beyond our direct control.

Through the relatable story of a mother supporting her adult son as he prepares for a job interview, we discover what it means to trust God while faithfully carrying our responsibilities.

You'll also learn the T.R.U.E. framework, a practical educational reflection tool designed to help us move from knowing truth to living it:

• T — Take Notice: What is happening within me?
• R — Rest: Can I pause before reacting?
• U — Understand and Return to Truth: What is my mind doing? What's true here? What matters here?
• E — Enact One Faithful Action: What would trust look like in my behavior—not just my thoughts?

Discover how to acknowledge uncomfortable feelings, recognize familiar patterns, return to what you believe, and choose one meaningful action—even when uncertainty remains.

The heart of this episode: I can act responsibly without needing to control every outcome.

Free Listener Gifts

Continue your learning with our Guided Listening Notes and Seven-Day T.R.U.E. Practice Journal, featuring Scripture, reflection questions, varied example answers, and practical opportunities to apply what you've learned.

Visit https://www.mindpowercreativity.org/habits-of-the-heart to access the listener resources.

Scripture references: Proverbs 3:5–6; Matthew 6:25–34; 1 Corinthians 3:6–7.

Most of us let our achievements answer a question we never say out loud: Am I worth something? But that question already has an answer — and it was settled before you accomplished anything at all.

In this episode of Habits of the Heart, Dr. Gabriela Grasso makes the case that identity comes before achievement, not the other way around. You were made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27). You were called by name and precious in His eyes even in the wreckage (Isaiah 43). You are already His child — not a servant working your way toward belonging (John 1:12).

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why an outcome is not the same as an identity — and what actually changes the moment you stop confusing the two
• What it means that you are God's workmanship — His poem, His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)
• A simple, repeatable practice for the moment disappointment starts to feel like a verdict: getting T.R.U.E. (Take notice, Rest, Understand and return, Enact one faithful action)

This week: choose one truth about your God-given identity, and notice where you're tempted to let achievement decide your worth instead. You don't have to earn what's already yours.

Spirit First. Mind Next. Body Follows.

Welcome to the first episode of Habits of the Heart — a show for anyone who has ever known a truth deeply and still struggled to live it.

In this launch episode, Dr. Gabriela Grasso introduces the question behind the show: why is there such a gap between what we know and how we actually live? Drawing on Scripture, her years as a special education teacher and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and her own ongoing walk of faith, Gabriela unpacks the meaning of a "Habit of the Heart," walks through a simple, memorable way to practice truth under pressure — getting TRUE — and introduces her signature framework: Spirit First. Mind Next. Body Follows.

This episode is about starting well: not with pressure to perform better, but with the truth that you already have the identity you're learning to live from.

In this episode: Why knowing something isn't the same as living it 

• James 1:22 and the mirror that shows us the truth we walk away from 

• Romans 12:2 and why grace comes before transformation 

• The official definition of a Habit of the Heart 

• A simple practice for moving truth into action: getting TRUE 

• Introducing Spirit First. Mind Next. Body Follows. • This week's practice and Heart Check-In

This week's Habit of the Heart: Choose one truth you already know and give it one specific action — then ask, "If I really practiced this truth this week, what would someone actually see me doing differently?"

Next episode: Who Does God Say You Are? — Identity Before Achievement.