Surviving Sarah

Today's episode is a special milestone in the life of Surviving Sarah because we have our first male guest on the show. I've always said that I would have a man on the show as long as it benefits my audience. And today's guest certainly lives up to that! David Thomas, joins me at my kitchen table for Episode 51. He's a therapist, author and father of adolescents. He's has over 20 years of experience counseling kids and families. He's written 7 books including Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys and Intentional Parenting and the DVD curriculum Raising Boys & Girls. We set out to talk about raising boys but I have to tell you that I got so much out of our conversation even though I only have girls. We talked a lot about child development and how that impacts your parenting. We also talk about how to navigate meltdowns, how to adjust your own expectations and how to deal with your child's aggression. So pull up a chair to the table and join the conversation. For takeaways from the episode and all the reso

Melanie Shankle joins me for Episode 50. She is a wife, mother, writer and speaker. I asked Melanie to come on the show so that we could have an honest conversation about friendship. I don't know what stage of life you are in, but regardless, cultivating friendship is not easy. We talk about how to find authentic friends, how to model friendship for your children and what to do when you face conflict in a friendship. So pull up a chair to the table and join the conversation. With this being the week of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to remind you of how thankful I am of you! Thank you for spending some of your week with me. I have loved connecting with you and hope that this show truly does help you survive a little easier. And in the spirit of thanksgiving and of course black Friday, I wanted to let you know that my book is available for sale at SurvivingSarah.com I haven't really talked much about my book here, but if you haven't heard, I wrote a book called Body. Beauty. Boys. The Truth About Girls and How We

Ami Shroyer joins me for Episode 49. She is the sister-in-law to a friend of mine who contacted me about sharing Ami's story. Ami is a singer songwriter, leader of a classical conversations homeschool group and has a holistic business. You know, since realizing that God wanted me to use my voice to push others forward, He has put people in my path and raised some things to the surface for my attention. Over the past year, I've come in contact either personally or just through social media several different women who have experienced the loss of a husband. I'm not gonna lie, I wondered why God was bringing these women to my attention. Was He preparing me to experience loss? But I believe that there are a lot of hurting women who need to hear that they are not alone--they need to hear someone say, "Me too. I understand what you are going through." So pull up a chair, grab a tissue and hear Ami share the story of walking through losing her husband and searching for purpose along the way. Click over to SurvivingS

Jill Gott-Gleason joins me for Episode 48. I can't remember how I stumbled upon Jill, but I about 6 or 7 years ago I found her blog--Good Life For Less. She was one of the first fashion bloggers that I followed. I have always loved that she is like the everyday girl. Her content is always practical and helpful--she's not suggesting that I purchase a pair of shoes for $2000. In addition to being a blogger, she is a wife and mom to two tweens. We talk about where fashion and faith intersect; she gives practical fashion tips for the winter season; and how to handle social media. And if you do any type of business online, you definitely want to hear her 7 tips on how to grow your business in the nooks & crannys of life. So, pull up a chair and join us at the table. Check out SurvivingSarah.com for details about this episode.

Hannah Joiner Crosby joins me for Episode 47. She is an artist from the Atlanta area who is also married to an artist. And she is a new mom. She sits down at my kitchen table to talk about how she discovered her love for art, roadblocks to being an artist and what has surprised her about motherhood. She gives so many good tips and pieces of advice throughout the conversation. So pull up a chair and join us at the table. Check out the show notes at SurvivingSarah.com for everything we mentioned today.  

I am excited to have Wendy Speake back on the show this week for Episode 46. You may remember her from Episode 10 when we talked about mommy anger. That was such a great episode. You should definitely go back and listen if you are new to the show. And today, we talk about creativity and motherhood--a new Renaissance for women. As adults we often give up on what we enjoy doing creatively. Do you remember what you used to love to do? We talk about how to find that again, how to manage the tension between your creative self and your responsibilities and how to embrace who God created you to be.

Traci Dixon joins me for Episode 45. We met through the wonderful world of podcasting and social media. She and her friend Rebecca have a podcast called StoryCast Monday. You may have heard it before--I was a guest on episode 24. She is a wife, mama to 3 kids, brewery owner, entrepreneur, blogger, and foodie. You will definitely want to eat some good food if you follow her on social media. If you have ever felt the need to reprioritize your life or struggled with whether you are doing the right thing or wondered if the rug was being pulled out from under you, then you will relate to our conversation. We talk about what it looks like to choose adoption and walk through the heartbreak when it fails. You can find everything that we talked about today in the show notes over at SurvivingSarah.com Thank you so much for listening today. I love connecting with you. You can contact through my website or @sarahwbragg on Instagram & Twitter or SurvivingSarahPodcast on Facebook. And as always, I hope this show helps

Melanie Dale joins me for Episode 44. Some of you may know her from the blog world as Unexpected Mel. She is an author of two books which we talk about in the episode and has a podcast called Lighten Up with Melanie Dale. Melanie is a self-professed minivan mama and total weirdo who stinks at small talk. We start our conversation with a lightning round which captures her personality and also exposes a crazy reoccurring dream from my past. I'm slightly embarrassed that I didn't edit that part out. But I'm going to be unbiased in my editing for your sake. In our conversation, we talk about important things like the struggle of math, how parenting is much like death therapy and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit via Snoop Dog. Y'all, the opening of the show is deep. On another note, we talk about the difficulty of finding friends, advice for what to do when relationships end and how to love the life you didn't choose. So, grab your coffee and join the conversation.

Rachel Faulkner Brown joins me for Episode 43. She is a wife and mom who has a story of heartbreak and healing. She is twice widowed and has been married now to her husband, Rod, for a few years now. As our conversation unfolded, the thread that was woven throughout was easy to see—it is a story and thread of healing. God has carried her through great heartbreak and has performed miracles in her life. I know you are going to be inspired today.

Cheryl Bachelder joins me for Episode 42. I am truly excited to introduce her to you. On the personal side, she has been married for 35 years and raised three girls. And professionally, she is the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. She is hands down one of the smartest women I've met. She leads a company of 50-60,000 employees with such grace and humility. She is very approachable and kind. So many listeners of Surviving Sarah are leading somewhere--whether it is in the corporate world or a non-profit organization or a school or a home. And I knew that Cheryl's advice to leading would be so applicable to you--and me. We talk about the other side of leadership--humility and serving others. We also talk about being a woman in a male world, how she handled life not going according to her plan and how to deal with failure.

Karen Stubbs joins me for Episode 41. She has a ministry for women called Birds On A Wire which includes a podcast called Wire Talk. It has become one of my favorite shows. I am so excited for you to meet Karen. She is a seasoned mom and wife. 4 kids out of the house and married for 30 years. She came to my house and we had the best time hanging out. Asking her questions was like having a free counseling session. We talk about parenting strong spirited kids, shaping your child's identity and worth, roadblocks to happiness in motherhood and what to do when your dreams have been put on hold.

Tammy K. Johnson, founder of the Female Idea Tank, joins me for episode 40. She helps people develop practical and easy-to-follow strategies to achieve the success they crave. While she's not working with clients, you can find her serving Board President of One Heart Africa. She and I randomly met at an event and me being just enough of an introvert to where I hate small talk, I somehow had her tell me the highlights of her life story. From there, I knew that what she survived would benefit so many of my listeners.  She walked through hurt and shame surrounding infidelity and divorce.We talk about how she not only survived that but how she came to a place of forgiveness and freedom from shame. To find all the links to today's episode, go to SurvivingSarah.com.

Welcome to Surviving Sarah. I'm your host, Sarah Bragg and this week, Sherry Surratt joins me for Episode 39. In her personal life, she lives in Parker, Colorado with her husband, Jeff. She has two grown kids and two grandkids. Professionally, she is an author, communicator, former MOPS President & CEO and currently serves as the Executive Director of Parenting Strategy at Orange. Since she has been through all the phases of parenting and has been married for over 30 years, we have a rich conversation about surviving parenting and marriage. Hop over to SurvivingSarah.com for links to everything mentioned in today's episode or to shoot me an email to continue the conversation. You can find me @sarahwbragg on Instagram and Twitter.

Abby Banks joins me for Episode 38. When I met her, she just seemed like a normal woman, but after talking with her I realized that she is quite the super woman. She is married with 3 kids and her youngest, Wyatt, is paralyzed from the chest down. Her story is based on how God has carried her through and how healing came in a way she didn't want it to. Be sure to check out the show notes www.survivingsarah.com/blog/episode-38 for all links mentioned and use the coupon code MOVIENIGHT for a discount from Franklin's Gourmet Popcorn (link in show notes).  

Kelly McCorkle Parkison joins me for Episode 37. She is a former Miss South Carolina and made it to the final four in the Amazing Race. She is a pastors wife with 5 kids living in Tennessee. We talk about why she chose adoption, how to handle a grieving child and her ministry LOFT 218. You will hear about my long lost dream of being Miss America and how I am the most unlikely candidate to be on the Amazing Race. Be sure to check out the show notes at SurvivingSarah.com for the links mentioned in the show.

Kelly Smith joins me for Episode 36. She is a food blogger and cookbook author at The Nourishing Home. She devotes her time there to sharing delicious whole food, gluten free meal plans, recipes, cooking tips and encouragement to help others in their quest to live a more nourished life. We talk about why she has a passion to help others when it comes to health, tips on how to help picky eaters, how to have your kids help in the kitchen without losing your mind and why meal planning is so important.

Christy Nockels joins me for Episode 35. It was sort of a surreal moment chatting with her because I listen to her on spotify all the time. In fact, for July spotify notified me that she was my top listened to artist. And spotify doesn't lie. In this episode, we chat about how she discovered the love for music and songwriting, so many things about womanhood and her Christmas album which you can be a producer on (christynockels.com/christmas) So sit back, grab some coffee or if you are like her, a Dr. Pepper with good ice, and enjoy my conversation with Christy.

The amazing Mo Isom joins me for episode 34. You guys, I love this girl. I heard her speak at The Grove at Passion City this past year, and I immediately contacted our mutual friend and demanded to meet her. Mo came to my house back in June and sat with me at my kitchen table. We talked about motherhood and her story of overcoming adversity--which includes eating disorders, her father's suicide, promiscuity and a horrific car accident. We laugh and got goosebumps. I'm not lying when I say it was like we had church around my kitchen table. I am so excited for you to hear her story. I know you will be encouraged, inspired and entertained.  Go to SurvivingSarah.com for links and notes from today's episode. 

Kara-Kae James joins me for episode 33. She is a preacher's wife who lives in Texas with their four kids. You may know her as the executive director of Thrive Moms--a ministry that encourages and equips moms. We talk about how much we love Target (and no Target isn't a sponsor, but it probably should be), postpardum depression and anxiety, adoption and how she makes working from home work for her.

Julie Martinez joins me for episode 32. She is a single mom whose been a missionary for 22 years. She is the Country Director for People For Care & Learning (PCL) in Cambodia which is an organization that does transformational development to give the poor a working chance while building bridges into their lives so that they can share the gospel. In my book, Julie is a rock star. She has lived in 4 different countries, been chased by hippos and elephants, survived divorce, surviving as a single mom, and she fiercely loves people and Jesus. If I'm ever pulled over in a foreign country, then I want Julie by my side. When I picture her, I think of the Katy Perry song Roar. She is a champion.