Surviving Sarah

I want to welcome Brooklyn-based educator, podcaster, + soon-to-be author, Kat Harris, to the show. She is Co-Founder of the online publication The Refined Woman, and host of The Refined Collective Podcast. She has also been a full-time photographer for the last decade with her work featured in: Vanity Fair, GQ, Forbes, People, Who What Wear, US Weekly, Glamour UK, and more.   Kat has been working from home, for herself, for the last 10 years and when I came across her, I knew she would be a great person to gain some advice from about working from home. For so many of us, our work environments have changed. Some of us used to work in offices but are now working from home. Some of us have been working from home but now our kids are doing digital learning from home. There are a lot of tensions around how to work well from home right now. Kat brings her experience and expertise to the table. She gives us some really practical tips that will help us work well from home.   Check out bonus content from David Thoma

Today, I am happy to introduce you to my new friend, Mary Marantz. You are going to love Mary as much as I do. She is an author, speaker, and podcast host of the Mary Marantz show who has a fascinating story of growing up in a single-wide trailer in West VA and ultimately went on to attend Yale Law School. She captures her story in her book, Dirt: Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful.    We talk about what it was like growing up in a trailer in west VA, how what she experienced growing up shaped her worth and the idea of success, and how we can shift our idea and expectation of success. There is so much goodness packed into this episode. I know you are going to really enjoy her story.   Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.   Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram

Before we jump into the conversation, I want to give you a heads up about the audio quality. When COVID happened, I no longer could record out of my home studio and moved to a studio that did not have my children lurking around the corner. And with that, I tried some new audio equipment. And I didn’t do it well. I don’t know about you but I don’t handle mistakes or goof up’s really well. I hate messing up but messing up is just part of life. I say this because you might notice a difference in the audio quality in this episode. Sorry about that! And thank you for sticking with me. I have had to put into practice the phrase “Be kind to yourself, we all make mistakes.” That phrase is on repeat in my head.   This episode is such a good conversation. My good friend, Sarah Anderson, came back on the show. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, then you will know her name. She’s been on the show two other times over the past couple of years. Today, I am excited to talk about her new book The Space Between

I am so happy to welcome my new friend, Christen Shefchunas to the table. She is a former Division I Coach that saw too many women missing out on their dreams because of a lack of confidence. So she now works 1 on 1 with females as a confidence coach, speaks to women about confidence, and makes Confidence Nuggets bracelets (which you’ll hear more about in the episode).   We talk about why we as women tend to lack confidence and how we can build it. We also talk about how to build confidence in the girls that we are raising. If you have felt stuck, afraid to step out, afraid to try, afraid to fail, afraid to let others see who you are and what you really want then this episode is going to really help. I feel like I could listen to this one over and over.   Be the first to hear updates about Sarah's upcoming book by signing up for her monthly newsletter!   Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.  

For many people, school is back in session. School looks different for everyone right now. Some are back in person, some are homeschooling and some are experiencing school in a virtual format. For us, we have wrapped up week 3 of digital learning. I thought for this episode, I’d share 5 things that are helping me and the kids survive virtual school. LINKS: Download Sarah's FREE planner pages mentioned in the episode. Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.   Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram

I am so happy to welcome Elizabeth Petters to the table. I met her through her father, Pete Enns, who you may remember from being on the show. After recording, he told me that Elizabeth would be great for the show and he was absolutely right. Elizabeth is a mom to two and is passionate about breaking the stigma of mental illness in the church.    She shares her struggle with anxiety which started all the way back when she was in the 3rd grade. She talked about what anxiety looked like for her, what helped her move forward, how it affected her faith, advice for parents who are raising anxious kids, and what she does on a daily basis that helps her take care of herself. I’m thankful that Elizabeth shares her story and for normalizing her experience for others. Whether you are raising an anxious child or you are an anxious grown up child, I think you will resonate with her.   Download Sarah's FREE planner pages to help you or your kids be more efficient and productive with their time.   Check out bonus content

I am so very happy to welcome my friend, Dr. Deborah Tillman, back to the podcast. You may know her best as America’s Supernanny. She is a Consultant, speaker, author and founder of Happy Home Christian Leadership Academy for Early Learners, Inc. The Washington Post labeled her “A force for good” which I completely agree with. She joined me back on episode 163 where we talked about raising strong willed kids.   Today, we talk about something that I know Dr. Deborah is passionate about and so am I. We talk about harsh parenting. What that looks like, misconceptions about why people feel like they should discipline harshly, what the goal of discipline really is and alternative ways for all ages. This is such a helpful conversation and a much needed dialog that we as parents need to partake in.   Sign up for Sarah's monthly Survival Kit newsletter and receive downloadable planner pages for FREE.   Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content

I am so happy to welcome my good friend, Morgan Tyree, to the show. Morgan is a professional organizer, writer, and fitness instructor. She runs her own personal organization and time-management business and lives with her husband, David, and their three children in Colorado.  She has such a helpful podcast, too, called Morganize With Me.    Today, we have an interesting conversation around her latest book called Your Hospitality Personality. We talk about how we are all wired for hospitality and how that looks for different personalities. This episode is as if the enneagram met the hostess.   Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.   Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support.   Click here for the original show notes to this episode. We talk about how we as parents have a limited number of time to influence the faith of our kids. So with that, we unpack the phase guides by looking at what it means to number the days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom, what sort of things we can do over time in order to discover what really matters and what conversations we need to have with our kids when it comes to health, sexuality, technology and faith.

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support.   Click here for the original show notes to this episode. Joni is married to Chip and is a mom of 4 girls. I loved hearing her advice about how to create a joy-filled home. We talk about design, working while being a mom, and challenges in motherhood. We have a special guest with us on the show--her daughter, Ellie. You will hear her coo throughout the show. So be warned of her cuteness. Your heart will flutter. (Since recording this episode, Joni added a 4th girl to their family)

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support.   Click here for the original show notes to this episode. Annie is a full-time speaker and writer who also happens to have some killer hidden talents that we talk about in the show. We talk about how she went from an elementary school teacher to a published author and communicator along with what it's like to be in your thirties and single. 

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support.   Shannan has experienced over the last few years what it's like to get the life you always dreamed of only to realize through losing it that it wasn't what she truly wanted.    Click here for the original show notes to this episode.

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support.   We start by talking about the personalities of our kids. And I’ve been thinking so much how important it is that we understand our kids’ wiring so that we can figure out how to communicate with them—especially if they are teenagers. We talk about doing the hard work of parenting, why kids need a caring adult in their lives, and how to better understand teenagers. If you have teenagers or work with teenagers or have kids who will eventually be teenagers, then you will certainly enjoy this conversation. We talk about moving from an air traffic controller in the early years to a coach in the adolescent years.   Click here for the original show notes to this episode.

I am releasing some older episodes as re-runs this summer. These are some conversations that I enjoyed. Running re-runs allows me to take a few weeks to finish my manuscript. For more updates about my upcoming book sign up for my newsletter at Sarahbragg.com and you can follow me on Instagram @sarahwbragg Thank you for your continued support. Click here for the original show notes to this episode.

As you know, I am knee-deep in finishing my manuscript which is due to my publisher by August 2. And because of that, I am taking the summer off of releasing new content here on the show so that I can focus creative effort on the manuscript. I will however be releasing re-runs of past episodes each week. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to pour creative energy into the book! Be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter so that you can be the first to hear about upcoming news with the book. Come follow me on Instagram, too, where I post ordinary ways of surviving life.

I’m happy to welcome Heather Brown to the table. Heather is the creator and editor of the online community, My Life Well Loved. She has a passion to empower women, inspire confidence, and elevate living a life well loved. Her website is a destination for fitness, fashion, mom hacks, and wellness tips. And in this episode, not only do we talk about finding normal in the middle of quarantine but we spend some time focusing on tips for health during this season. Heather shares some tips to stay physically and mentally healthy during this time. Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.   Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram  

I am so happy to welcome Knox McCoy back to the table. You may already know him as one of the hosts of the popular podcasts The Popcast with Knox and Jamie and The Bible Binge. He is the author of the books The Wondering Years and All Things Reconsidered. Knox and his wife Ashley are dear friends of ours. And they are people that we trust to walk alongside life and faith with.   Knox and I talk about the idea of reconsideration. So talk about what gave him permission to begin to reconsider different aspects of his life, himself and his faith; what it looks like to reconsider things alongside a partner and as a parent; and one thing that he reconsidered about himself.   Check out bonus content from David Thomas & Sissy Goff from Raising Boys & Girls along with deleted content from today's episode over on Patreon.   Connect with Sarah: Website | Instagram

Today’s conversation is going to be so helpful because I bet I’m not the only one who has completely lost their mind and exploded in anger at their kids especially during this season of self-isolation. A few weeks ago, certified professional life coach Natalie Hixson joined me to talk about anger and motherhood. Natalie is a mother to three daughters and knows firsthand what it is like to experience destructive anger and burnout. In this conversation, we talk about how anger played a role in her motherhood, how to overcome the pattern of destructive anger, and how to rebuild broken relationships because of anger.    Her story hits so close to home for me. I never knew how to handle negative emotions which made it hard to teach my kids how to handle negative emotions. You’ll hear Natalie coach me through how to handle my emotions when my kids are fighting. And before we jump into the conversation I need to let you know that we experienced some weird technical difficulties about midway through the conversation.

Today, I am so happy to welcome Kelly Minter to the table. She is an author, speaker, and singer/songwriter who lives in Nashville, TN. Our mutual friend, Sissy Goff, had highly recommended her for the podcast. And since she recently published a beautiful cookbook called A Place At The Table, I decided that this would be the perfect time to have her on the show.…and let me just say that this cookbook is so very pretty and full of easy, delicious recipes.    Kelly was booked to be on the show way back before the pandemic because I wanted to have a conversation about community and the power of inviting people around the table to see how food brings us together. Well, then COVID happened and we recorded this episode just a few weeks ago in the middle of quarantine. So life and community look a little different now for all of us. I really enjoyed this conversation as we navigated what community looks like now and how to lean into where we are. We also talk about how even though you may not be able to gather peopl

I am excited to welcome Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers to the table. You may know them as the hosts of the popular Pantsuit Politics podcast. They are also the authors of the book I Think You’re Wrong But I’m Listening: A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations. And I want you to know that this conversation was recorded the week before everything started to shut down so again, you won’t hear a lot of conversation about COVID19.   I invited these ladies to be on the show because since 2020 is a big election year, I wanted someone to help me know how to have conversations with my kids about politics. Talking about politics, in general, can feel uncertain and scary but then trying to navigate those waters with your kids adds a whole other layer of vulnerability to it. I think you will find that this conversation is very helpful not just in how to talk to your kids about politics but also how to help yourself feel more confident and curious about politics.   Check out bonus content from David Thoma