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Surviving Sarah

The Surviving Sarah Podcast is hosted by Sarah Bragg, and each week she brings a different guest on the show to talk about what it looks like to survive--survive life, yourself, your kids, your job, your relationships. Each guest brings their unique story to the table in a real and casual way. The conversation is curated for you much like listening to your favorite playlist to inform, inspire, encourage and entertain women.
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Now displaying: Category: surviving Sarah, interview
Nov 5, 2019
I am so happy to welcome Tara Bremer to the table. She is the founder of House Peace which helps people find order in their homes. Her family and business is based out of Birmingham, AL. This was one of the most fun episodes to record. Tara is just a delight. She has a BA in psych and an MA in counseling which I think allows her to bring a unique perspective to her organizing business.

First things first, we talk about the enneagram and then we dive into simplifying life. We kick off our conversation in a creative, funny way as we try to experience life as Betty Draper. Which then naturally led to some interesting commentary about parenting in light of being our authentic selves. Then, she shares lots of tips about simplifying different parts of our lives.
Oct 15, 2019

I am happy to welcome Sarah Beckman back to the show. I always enjoy welcoming guests back. Sarah is an author and speaker who recently became an empty nester. So you know I capitalized on sitting with a mom further down the road from me and asked for some advice. She shares some really great advice for us moms who are in the tween/teen years. So have your mental pen and paper ready. Then, we talk about her latest book “Hope in the Hard Places: How to Survive When Your World Feels Out of Control.” We talk about why its so important to give yourself permission to grieve and feel during the hard times, precautions around social media during those times, how sometimes our faith prevents us from seeking what we need while walking through a hard season and some practical tips to help you get to the other side of a hard time.

Connect with Sarah Bragg: Instagram // Website

 

 

Oct 8, 2019
I am happy to welcome Haley Evans to the table. Haley is a lot like you and me. She works and is a mom spending evenings carting kids around to different activities. She is also a woman who realized that her phone had evolved from a device designed to simplify her life to one that ruled it. So she has committed to not only making changes for herself but hopes to help others do the same. We talk about why she wrote the book Hung Up; how we’ve lost all sense of manners when it comes to our device and how to set up some boundaries with our phones.
 
Did you know that I have another podcast called Raising Boys & Girls? Favorite Surviving Sarah guests, Sissy Goff and David Thomas, join me along with Melissa Trevathan. We are committed to helping you confident and normal as parents. You can binge listen to two seasons on your favorite iTunes app.
 
Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Website
Sep 17, 2019
I am so happy to welcome my dear friend back to the Surviving Sarah table. Sissy Goff is no stranger to your ears. She’s been a guest here way back in the day and then I hope you’ve heard her on our Raising Boys & Girls podcast. Sissy is the Director of Child & Adolescent Counseling at Daystar Ministries in Nashville and has written so many helpful books about kids. 
 
She joins me today to talk about her well anticipated latest book Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger, and Smarter in an Anxious World. We talk about the difference between anxiety and worry; why anxiety has risen dramatically over the years; what kids are worrying about at different developmental stages; and practical ways to help our girls manage these anxieties.
 
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Show Notes for this episode
Sep 10, 2019
I am so excited to welcome Nancy Swanson to the show today. Nancy is a teacher at my daughter’s elementary school. I jump at any chance I have to sit across the table from someone further down the road from me. Nancy is married and her three children are all grown. The reason, I invited Nancy to the table is because she is the mother of Dansby Swanson—the shortstop for the Atlanta Braves. I can’t tell you how many people have asked me to have an episode dedicated to navigating sports with children. So, I knew Nancy would be the perfect person to share her wisdom.
 
We talk about what’s she’s learned from raising three athletes and seeing one of her children reach the highest level of competition. She talks about setting expectations for kids, navigating the delicate relationship with coaches, how to foster work ethic, what good sports brought to her kids and advice from one mom to another.
 
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Find the show notes for today's episode
Sep 3, 2019

I am so happy to welcome Natalie Taylor to the table today. She is a Certified Financial Planner, Professional and Behavioral Financial Advisor who is passionate about helping people cultivate a plan for their finances based on their values and goals. She is also a wife and mom who lives in my favorite place, Santa Barbara. I am so excited to share this conversation with you. I found it extremely helpful and I think you will, too.

We talk about 3 common pitfalls that we fall into with our finances. And with that topic, we talk tips for budgeting, advice about how to avoid debt or get out of debt, and how to align our finances with what we value. Plus, she turns the table on me and coaches me on the subject of values and finances.

Connect with Sarah on Instagram

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Aug 27, 2019

If you’ve been listening to the show for awhile, then you know how much I benefit from the research, teaching and writings of Brené Brown. One thing that Brené does every week for her email subscribers is something called TGIF. That stands for…

TRUST // GRATEFUL // INSPIRED // FUN

Each week, she talks about what she is trusting right now; what she is grateful for; what is inspiring her; and what’s fun. TGIF.

So for this episode, I thought it might be fun to do that here in regards to August. I want to look back over the month, and talk about what I’m trusting for, what I’m grateful for, what I’m inspired by and what’s fun. 

Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Website

Aug 20, 2019
I am so excited to welcome my friend Dan Scott to the table. Dan has been working with kids for over 20 years as a teacher in education, pastor and communicator. He is also the father of 4 and he is passionate about reaching the hard to reach preteen age group. 
 
He is the author of the book Caught in Between: Engage Your Preteens Before They Check Out which offers the latest research findings on preteens, sums up conversations every ministry leader is having about preteen ministry and walks readers through a comprehensive plan to engage preteens in ways that will ensure they have what they need to build an authentic faith.
 
We have a conversation centered on the topic of tweens. We talk about who tweens are at this phase of life and what they need from us; why they are literally losing their minds at age 11; how to help our kids become critical thinkers as they are moving from a concrete way of thinking into an abstract way of thinking; we talk about handling technology and how to handle the bible with this age. This conversation comes at the perfect time where your tween is heading back to school and facing a lot of responsibility. I think you’ll find this episode very helpful.
 
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Check out the show notes online
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Aug 13, 2019
I am so excited to welcome Bri McKoy to the table. She calls herself an accidental home cook, turned food blogger, turned author. She loves to gather people around her everyday table. She is the author of Come and Eat: A Celebration of Love and Grace Around the Everyday Table which is an invitation to anyone who is searching for a deeper community and a desire to show more of Jesus’ love right from their very own dining room table. 
 
I discovered Bri on Instagram through some mutual friends and she instantly became one of my favorite people. Her energy is contagious. She is so easily to chat with that I felt like we had been friends for years. We talk about what it looks like to create a new normal which she completely relates to as being a military wife. She also shares some tips on how to settle into a temporary space. She talks about what gave her the heart to create a longer table for people and in the process reveals some of her go-to recipes and kitchen tools. Prepare to be hungry by the end of this episode.
 
Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Website
Aug 6, 2019

I am happy to welcome my good friend, Amberly Deavours to the table. Amberly and I go way back—we’ve known each other since college. We have seen each other walk through a lot of life. She is a normal mom just like you and just like me except I sorta feel like she’s got some hidden superpowers because she is a mom of 5 who drives a 12 seat passenger van. Amberly is a certified FASTer Way to Fat Loss coach and we talk about what it looks like to take charge of your health. We talk about her journey with mental health and physical health and how it's all connected. She shares how motherhood wasn’t what she expected, how she battled anxiety and depression, how she finally took charge of her physical health through the FASTer Way to Fat Loss and why she’s so passionate for women to do the same.

Click here for more information about the FASTer Way to Fat Loss

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Click here for show notes

Jul 9, 2019

I'm excited to put this conversation back in your ears! This was my first conversation with Sissy Goff from Daystar Counseling Center. We talk about raising girls--anxiety, parenting different personalities, how to assume the best in your kids and how to develop our girls' self-worth. You can check out more episodes with Sissy over at the Raising Boys & Girls podcast.

Connect with Sarah: Website // Instagram

 

Jul 2, 2019

I'm excited to put this conversation back in your ears! This was the first time David Thomas from Daystar Counseling Center came on the show. We talk about raising boys, child development, dealing with your child's aggression and adjusting our parenting expectations. If you want to hear more with David, check out episode 91 of Surviving Sarah and our other podcast, Raising Boys and Girls.

Shownotes

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Jun 18, 2019
I am happy to welcome Justine Froelker to the show. She is a licensed professional counselor and certified Daring Way and Dare to Lead Facilitator which is based on Brené Brown’s research. She has 19 years of experience in mental health. She is a best selling author and her latest book is called The Complicated Gray.
 
We have a really meaningful conversation about hard times. We talk about what to do when life doesn’t turn out like you hoped, dreamed and planned. She walks us through her story of infertility and how she discovered resilient redemption. Your big, hard parts of your story don’t have to be the end. You don’t have to end up a sad, bitter, resentful woman. We talk about what it looks like to be face down in the arena of something hard and how to rise strong from it.
 
Come find me on Instagram and say hello! And be sure to sign up for my monthly Survival Kit newsletter that hits your inbox at the end of every month. When you sign up, you'll receive my FREE planner pages as a thank you.
Jun 11, 2019
I am so excited to welcome Pete Enns to the podcast today. Pete is a college professor who has been teaching, writing and speaking about the Bible for over 20 years. He is a storyteller which is one reason why I love his writing but I also love that Pete isn’t afraid to lean in and ask hard questions. He values hearing the stories of everyday people and their struggles with the Bible. That drives so much of what he does with his writing and with his podcast, The Bible For Normal People. 
 
I have read two of his books, The Bible Tells Me So and How the Bible Actually Works, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading and wrestling through them. I want to let you know upfront that this is a vulnerable conversation. But it’s exactly what I want to model for you. I want us to have permission to ask questions. Permission to doubt. Permission to lean into the uncertainty that we feel about life. Permission to be critical thinkers when it comes to our faith. All of these things aren’t problems for our faith—they can be expressions of it. 
 
In this episode, we talk about the bible—what it is and what it isn’t. We talk about how to apply the way of wisdom when we approach the bible. And we dive into how to talk about the bible with our kids.
 
Show Notes for this episode
Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Website
 
 
Jun 4, 2019
We have a special episode today because I teamed up with my good friends over at the Open Door Sisterhood Podcast, Alexandra Kuykendall & Krista Gilbert, to bring you a crossover episode about summer. And then, we decided to invite our friends Kate Merrick and Morgan Tyree to join us, too. All five of us join forces to talk about surviving summer. This is a two part episode so after you listen here be sure to find the other part to this conversation at The Open Door Sisterhood Podcast.
 
On this part, we talk about our biggest challenges in regards to time and summer. Morgan Tyree is an organizational expert and has a book coming out this summer that is all about time called Take Back Your Time. So we put her in the hot seat and fire questions at her. 
 
And what is so great about the women at this table is that we represent kids between the ages of preschool and college age. So no matter where you fall in the stages of kids, we’ve got you covered. We talk about chores, juggling schedules, how to create more time for fun, advice for work from home moms and how to help your kids learn to manage their time. Lots of good practical advice shared here.
 
Connect with Sarah: Website & Instagram
Today's show notes which includes links to everything we talked about and ways to connect with each guest.
May 21, 2019
Tiffany Bluhm joins me around the table and we became fast friends in this conversation. I was blown away at her story and I think that all of us listening will resonate with her in some way. She is an author, speaker, podcast host, wife and mother who shares her personal stories of rejection, failure and what it’s like to overcome adversity to find your dream. She married with two kids, one adopted from Uganda and one biological. She is Indian and her husband is white and she jokes that their family looks like the United Nations.
 
In this conversation, she shares her own story of rejection—being abandoned as a baby at only two days old to feeling rejected because she was different than others to being rejected from love as an adult. We talk about the tensions we feel about dreaming about the life we were created for or the life we want—what gets in the way and how to take the next step forward. If you’ve ever wondered if this is it in life or feel stuck where you are, then this conversation will encourage you.
 
To connect with Tiffany and find links to everything we talked about including her book go to SarahBragg.com
 
Connect with Sarah on Instagram to follow along with a fellow survivor of life
May 14, 2019
My friend Amy Wicks joins me today. Amy is one of those people that I met at a conference simply because we sat down next to each other and about 10 minutes later we were fast friends. Amy is a wife and mother to 3. She is the voice of the weekly Simply Wholehearted Podcast which i had the honor of being a guest. She leads The Simply Wholehearted online community on Facebook and serves as Director of Mom's Ministry at Radiant Church in Kansas City. She has recently co-authored with Sara Hagerty The Unseen Way, a book study created for Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to be Noticed.
 
But for today’s conversation, Amy joins me to talk about creating an intentional summer with your kids. She has created an amazing course called Simply Summer and I highly recommend taking advantage of this course. In this conversation, we talk about what makes summers so difficult for moms, how we can survive summer with intentionality, how we can own our time instead of it owning us, how to create meaningful minutes, and how to help our kids set goals for what they want to accomplish over summer.
 
Amy's Simply Summer Course - use discount code SURVIVING for 10% off
Today's show notes 
Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Facebook // Website
May 7, 2019
Ruth Schwenk joins me today. You may know Ruth from the website she created called TheBetterMom.com. She is a wife and mom to 4 kids. She is an author of several books including the two we mention in today’s episode: The Better Mom Devotional and Settle My Soul.
 
If you’ve ever felt alone in motherhood or struggled to love every stage of motherhood, you will relate to this conversation. Ruth has such a heart to come alongside other mothers to help them feel seen and known. In this episode, Ruth shares her advice for new moms, the importance of surrounding yourself with women who are a set ahead in life and those who are a set behind you in life. And in that true form, I ask for her advice on how to handle sibling conflict. And lastly, after walking through a year of health hardship with her husband, she shares what brave has looked like for her.
 
Today's show notes which includes Sarah's takeaways, ways to connect with Ruth and discussion questions in case you want to gather a group of women together to discuss the episode.
 

Freebies:

Connect with Sarah online: Instagram // Website

Apr 30, 2019

Last month, I asked you to join me in reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown. This is one of my all time favorite books and one that I sit with on a regular basis. I’ve already heard from many of you how this book has been wrecking you in the most beautiful ways.

I asked my dear friend, Sarah Anderson, to join me around my table to discuss the book. We had the best conversation that included our takeaways, favorite quotes, things that surprised us, things we are putting in to practice and what is helping live a wholehearted life.

Freebies:

Be sure to check out the show notes online for links to everything we mentioned and discussion questions that you can use to discuss this book and episode with your friends.

Apr 23, 2019

Jordan Lee Dooley joins me today. She is a multi-passionate women who is speaks, writes, podcasts (SHE podcast) and creates (SoulScripts). And she has a book launching in May called Own Your Everyday: Overcome the Pressure to Prove and Show Up For What You Were Made To Do. In the midst of a culture where everybody feels like they need to work within their purpose and/or push their creativity to be a side hustle, it’s easy to feel like purpose and position become blurred. It is sometimes difficult to find the balance between working for income and working with meaning. We talk about the balance between purpose and position; how to discover what you were made for; things that limit us from stepping towards what we were made to do; who inspires her; and what she’s learned in the early years of marriage.

Freebies:

Connect with Sarah: website // Instagram // Facebook

Go listen to Season 2 of Sarah's other podcast Raising Boys & Girls

Apr 16, 2019
I am happy to welcome my friend, Heather Zempel, to the table today. She is a pastor, author, speaker, wife and mom. She was formerly a biological engineer and a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate before becoming a pastor. She now serves as the Discipleship Pastor and Ministries Director at National Community Church in Washington, DC. She recently published a book called Big Change, Small Groups which is all about creating community.
 
There is so much goodness packed into this conversation. Not only do we cover random stories about vultures, but we also talk about some really important ways to connect with others. Finding community in a city is hard enough, but have you ever imagined what it must be like to find community in a city where everyone is defined by which political aisle you belong to?
 
So we talk about what its like to build community with people that you disagree with, advice on creating a safe place for community to cultivate, how her community showed up for her when she walked through a difficult and vulnerable season and she shares a lot of advice on how to handle conflict in relationships.
 
Apr 9, 2019

One of my favorite things is to have reoccurring guests on the show. I love inviting people back to the table who I just really enjoy and today’s guest is one of those people. KariAnne Wood, whom you may know as Thistle Wood Farms, joins me again. She is a home blogger, influencer and author who has written a new book called The DIY Style Finder. If you have ever asked the question, “How do I figure out my decorating style?” then this episode is for you! We talk about  why its so hard to find our style, our biggest design regrets, how to push past the fear of decorating, our favorite rooms to decorate, advice on how to decorate on a limited budget and what to do when your home is temporary. I have never laughed so much in an episode. KariAnne is such a delight. And before we jump into the conversation, I want to let you know that the audio may sound a little different. Skype has been giving me such grief lately, so I apologize that it might sound a little off than what you are used to from me. Okay, now it’s time for you to join KariAnne and I around the table.

Freebies:

Apr 2, 2019
Way back in January I sat down with today’s guest and as I was editing the episode, I found myself talking about things that I was journaling about and working on this very morning. My friend, Emily Shupert, joined me around my table. She is licensed professional counselor and founder of a boutique counseling and coaching company here in Atlanta called Simplify Life Counseling + Coaching. She is the author of the book The Happiness Map which was written to offer women a personalized navigation tool to find happiness in life right now.
 
Emily and I have an honest conversation about anxiety (including postpartum anxiety), fear and shame and how that affects us as women. We also turn the table and I step right into the hot seat of vulnerability and allow Emily to ask me some personal questions about fear. This conversation is full of practical and helpful advice—I know you are going to enjoy it.
 
Check out links to everything we mentioned, ways to connect with Emily, takeaways and discussion questions in today's show notes.
 
NEW!!
I just started a Surviving Sarah book club! We will read The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown together in April 2019. Sign up here!
 
Connect with Sarah: Instagram // Website // Facebook
Mar 29, 2019

This month, I chose to re-release my first conversation with Sandra Stanley. If you don’t know her, she is an author and wife to pastor Andy Stanley. She is one of the most likable people and this conversation was one of my favorites from the early days. In this episode, she shares all sorts of advice for moms, wives and women in general. Plus, she mentions an item in her survival kit and is now a stable in my wardrobe.

The original episode aired in May of 2016 so you may notice a little difference in production quality. I love how far we've come!

Here's a link to the original show notes.

Come find me on Instagram or Facebook or stop by my website to download FREE planner pages to help you be more efficient and productive with the time you have.

Mar 26, 2019

Today, I want to have a conversation with you about health. I’m not sure that I’ve shared on the show my own health journey. In fact, did you know that I wrote a book all about it that was published when I was in my twenties? It was written for teenage girls and called Body. Beauty. Boys. The Truth About Girls and How We See Ourselves. 

That book chronicled my journey through eating disorders and body obsession and the truths that finally helped me see myself clearly. The girl who wrote that book as a 25-year-old had yet to experience turning 30 and yet to experience having babies and yet to experience turning 40. And I’m talking you today and I have yet to experience what turning 50 or 60 is like but I do know that there are some principles that we can adopt now that is beneficial no matter what age we are. There are principles that will help you to have a better perspective on yourself and your health.

Connect with Sarah: Instagram

Check out the show notes for this episode which includes links to everything we talked about and discussion questions for the episode.

For information about the FASTer Way to Fat Loss

Sign up for Sarah's monthly newsletter which will inform you on all the things that helped her survive that month.

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