Keep Your Courage
111 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 65 ratingsFor the military wives who are overwhelmed, who are exhausted, who are lonely or scared or stressed, who keep going but sometimes need to be reminded how, exactly, to keep going. Consider this podcast your weekly reminder: You’re not alone and you’re gonna make it. Sarah Sandifer guides you into a way of living military life where you keep your courage no matter what, so that even in the chaos you have a strong center that holds.
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Episodes
110: Marriage in the Hard Times
April 16, 2024 06:00 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBIf proximity builds connection, what do we do when so much of our military marriage is spent not in proximity to each other? Is it still possible to to have a strong connection and marriage? I fully believe it does, and I want you to experience it, too. Find Sarah on Instagram! Sign up for Sarah's monthly letter Related episodes: Episode 83: How a Broken Marriage Can Be Strong Episode 52: Building a Strong Marriage in a Stressful Life Episode 23: Know Your Spouse's World
109: Find Your Real Friends
April 02, 2024 06:00 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBIt's not always easy or simple to build community and I know how it feels if it's been lonely and hard. But I have found my save-my-life girls by showing up again and again with the determined belief that my girls are out there. Let's talk about making friends in the military life. Sign up for Sarah's monthly letter! Find Sarah on Instagram Related Episodes: Episode 6: Pray Small
108: Find Your Vocation as a Military Spouse
March 19, 2024 06:00 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBIn this hard military life, the most important way I have found to make it through is by finding connection with others. But it's also so, so important to remain connected with your own self, stay in tune with your desires and purpose and passion in life and make sure you're playing the note you're supposed to play. I have also found this is the piece of milso life that is most easily lost as we move so much and keep the ship afloat on behalf of our family. What do we do with that? We explor...
107: Mothering in the Hard Times
March 05, 2024 07:00 - 16 minutes - 23.2 MBThe thing about being a mom is that we give our kids what they need- even if we might need the same exact thing ourselves. But sometimes, the reassurance that we need to make it through a hard time comes in the most unlikely of places. Listen in and I'll show you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
106: This is What Trust Feels Like
February 20, 2024 07:00 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBIn this military life especially, we are faced with so many opportunities where we don't control our own future or don't know what's coming next. In other words, we need to trust that it's going to be okay a lot. On my better days, I am able to do this with an adventurous and open heart. On my not better days, I hate it. You might be feeling the instability of this life right now in one way or another - listen in if you need encouragement that something is going to catch you when you fall. ...
105: What Are Your Support Beams
February 06, 2024 07:00 - 11 minutes - 15.4 MBIf you’re feeling a little threadbare from being a military spouse, if you need encouragement from the real side of military life, or if you can feel yourself spinning in anxiety or uncertainty or chaos or just plain overwhelm, you’re not alone and you’re in the right place. Listen in for a little extra boost in finding support to remain- or become- strong. Find Sarah on Instagram!
104: How to be In It Together in Marriage
January 23, 2024 07:00 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBI really think we’re given such an opportunity in this military life: We are asked to go through some of the very hardest things a marriage can go through, but because of that, it can build some of the very strongest bonds a marriage can have. Let's talk about it. Find Sarah on Instagram!
103: Live Well Anyway
January 09, 2024 07:00 - 13 minutes - 18.2 MBI think I've gone through the whole spectrum of New Year experiences- the hope and fresh start that a new year brings, all the way on down to complete cynicism when it feels like we have no control over our life anyway? How then, do we move forward when both are maybe a little bit true? I have some ideas. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram!
102: Darkness and Light
December 05, 2023 21:06 - 10 minutes - 15.1 MBAs we walk toward Christmas, there's going to be a lot of ways we experience the mixture of darkness and light. Our work? Find the light. Find Sarah on Instagram!
101: Who Holds Your Stories?
November 21, 2023 07:00 - 14 minutes - 20.4 MBWe get to meet so many different incredible people through all of our military assignments. Have there been friendships in your life that have been a constant thread for you no matter the time or distance? We talk about why this is so important! Find Sarah on Instagram!
100: What I Wish I Had Known
November 07, 2023 07:00 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MBHappy 100 episodes! In this special episode, we talk about the question "If you could give your younger self who is just entering the military one piece of advice, what would that be?" So many of you sent in your own answers as well as hundreds of other spouses and so in this episode we talk about what is something you wish you had known as you began this journey in the military? Listen in for what you wish you had known too, or maybe some hard-won wisdom that might help you! Find Sarah on...
99: What to Do When We Can't See What's Next
October 24, 2023 06:00 - 13 minutes - 18.7 MBThe military life causes us to reckon with how much we don't know about our future when we're not the ones deciding our future. There's so much uncertainty with our spouses' jobs, assignments, moves, a world in crisis. But are we the only ones who can't see what's next? Here's what we do about it. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram!
98: Keep Connected in Marriage
October 10, 2023 06:00 - 16 minutes - 22.4 MBMilitary life asks so much of those who serve in it and marriages have to endure a lot of time apart. There's so many experiences we have without each other and it can be hard to bridge the gap. What if we could use the military life as a tool to push us closer together though rather than farther apart? Let's talk about it. Find Sarah on Instagram!
97: Find Your Balance
October 03, 2023 06:00 - 15 minutes - 21.5 MBIf you pay attention to it, I bet you'll notice a lot of us using language around sinking: On a really hard day of a deployment, a text comes in: I'm drowning / Chatting with a friend at a park and she confesses: January sunk me / Talking with girlfriends over a group chat: We're all just trying to keep our heads above water. Well, I have some thoughts on how we might actually be able to stay afloat: It's by finding our balance. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram!
96: Meals and Prayers
September 26, 2023 06:00 - 12 minutes - 17.6 MBWhat if we could be the type of people who saw someone going through something hard- and then did something about it? People have done that for me, and so now I know how to do that for others. That's the thing about living a hard life like the military life- you know what it's like to hurt so you can then be with others in their hurting. I have a really great way to show up for others this week- listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram!
95: Do It Again
September 19, 2023 06:00 - 14 minutes - 20.5 MBThere are so many moments in the military life when you have hit capacity and have done absolutely all you can do. But because of the typical non-stop nature of military life- you have to do it again. Whether it's mothering, moving, or just making it through a day, we do all we can do and then we do it again. If you're like me and need some encouragent in making it in this pace? Listen in. This episode is just for you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
94: Maybe This is Why You're Exhausted
September 05, 2023 06:00 - 15 minutes - 21.1 MBWe weren't designed to live by the military's pace and standards and stoicism, and yet because of the nature of our life we tend to operate by it by default. What if there's another way to live within this exhausting pace? Because I think we are all exhausted right now. I have some thoughts about why, and what we can do about it. Find Sarah on Instagram!
93: Find Your Pace
August 29, 2023 06:00 - 14 minutes - 19.5 MBHere we are, at the beginning of something. A new assignment, a new deployment, a new school year, a new baby, a new job, re-integration, and on and on. In this military life, odds are that something has changed for you and you are maybe trying to figure out how to be you within this new normal. It has everything to do with knowing what is ahead of you and what you can do right now. Not 5 years ago, not next month, but right now. I'll tell you all about it. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instag...
92: Summer Series- We Keep Courage for Everyone
August 08, 2023 13:24 - 15 minutes - 21.9 MBThis is our last week of the summer series where we have been re-visiting some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage from the year. And so today, we experience this military life as one in which we live a life on behalf of others in so many ways. One surprising way I have experienced this? The power of this sisterhood of military wives and friends who show me what it looks like to live a life that is so brave and gritty that it has a ripple effect onto my own life. I need to see ...
91: Summer Series - Can This Hard Life Still be a Good Life?
August 01, 2023 06:00 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBFor this summer we are re-visiting some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage from the year - the episodes that form the pillars of what we are about around here. And so today, as we live a life that can take you past any limits you thought you had and asks you to do more than you thought you could do, you learn in those moments how much you need others in the ring with you. Is this how we discover that the hard life can actually be a good life? I think so. Listen in. Find Sara...
90: Summer Series - The Miracle of Friendship
July 25, 2023 06:00 - 17 minutes - 23.9 MBFor the summer we are revisiting some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage from the year - the episodes that form the pillars of what we are about around here. And so today- while the military life is as hard as it is, it does give us lots of opportunities to need to rely on other people to help get us through. But something happens along the way that feels a little close to a miracle - we could be going through the hardest time of our lives, but because we had someone in the ri...
89: Summer Series- Decide to Trust
July 18, 2023 12:32 - 16 minutes - 22.7 MBFor the summer, we are re-visiting some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage from the year - the episodes that form the pillars of what we are about around here. And so today- when fear and overwhelm and and loneliness and resentment can be loud in the military, I want love and courage to be the loudest voices in the room instead. Today's episode is all about how to make that happen. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram! Other episodes mentioned in this episode: Episode...
88: Summer Series - Know How Strength is Built
July 11, 2023 05:00 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBFor the summer, we are going to re-visit some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage this year - the episodes that form the pillars of what we're about around here. And so today, when sometimes this military life makes it feel like our whole world is coming apart underneath us- well, those are the exact moments God asks us to trust him. And it turns out, those are the exact times that build the strength we need to get through those exact kind of times. Find Sarah on Instagram!
87: Summer Series - Keep Going. Unless You Shouldn't.
July 04, 2023 11:00 - 15 minutes - 21 MBFor the summer, we are going to re-visit some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage this year- the episodes that form the pillars of what we're about around here. And so today, as we military are ones who keep going- What then, do we do about when we actually can't keep going any longer? I think today's episode might be exactly what you need. Find Sarah on Instagram!
86: Summer Series- Build a Marriage Together, Apart
June 27, 2023 10:00 - 17 minutes - 23.8 MBFor the summer, we are going to re-visit some of my very favorite episodes of Keep Your Courage from this year- the episodes that form the pillars of what we're about around here. And so today, as we build our military marriages, we know that sometimes what connects us needs to be stronger than being able to reach out and grab their hand. Let's talk about it.
85: How to Handle Change
June 13, 2023 11:00 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MBThere are so many reasons why and how things could be changing for any of us this summer from deployments to moves to people moving around you to new unit leadership and the list goes on. We deal with a lot of change in the military life- but there are ways we can get through it better and well. I'll tell you some ideas here. Listen to Sarah on Instagram!
84: Do We Really Have to Be So Strong?
June 06, 2023 05:00 - 13 minutes - 18.7 MBWe military wives tend to be tough. We are strong women- because we need to be. But what if strength can look different ways? And what if there was another way to be strong? I think today's episode could completely change your mindset. Find Sarah on Instagram!
83: How a Broken Marriage Can Be Strong
May 30, 2023 09:00 - 17 minutes - 24.5 MBWe military wives can be a strong and feisty and independent bunch- which are good characteristics in a hard life like the military. But what if we could allow these hard things to make us tender and broken as well? This could be the exact thing our marriages need to get closer together. Listen in to hear what I mean. Find Sarah on Instagram!
82: All We Really Need to Know
May 23, 2023 05:00 - 15 minutes - 21.4 MBIt's fair to say a lot of us have a lot of questions right now that we would love some answers to. We have a lot of things stressing us out right now that we would love some clarity on. If you're in a season where it feels uncertain and you'd love to know how it's all going to work out and what to do next, this episode is just for you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
81: How to Find Common Ground in Friendship
May 16, 2023 05:00 - 14 minutes - 19.5 MBMost of us know what it's like to have to move and be the new girl, with new people who don't know our life stories. The exhaustion from having to tell all of your stories again is a real thing, especially when they were hard ones from previous assignments that these people weren't a part of. There's something magic about military gals though, and I think seeing new military communities this way could make all the difference as we make new friends in each military assignment. Find Sarah on...
79: Find Where Your Home Is
May 02, 2023 05:00 - 10 minutes - 15.1 MBWithin the military, I can basically guarantee that at some point you will move or at some point you have moved- away from home, to a new home. If that's a little confusing to you, it is to me, too- Can you have more than one place that is home? Is home where you are or where you've been? If you are feeling all the ways about having to move a lot, about having to start over, about wondering how in the world do you make a new place feel like home when you're still grieving the loss of your ...
79: How to Parent Resilient Kids
April 25, 2023 05:00 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MBOne of our greatest fears about this military life is if we're asking too much of our kids to live this hard life that they didn't have a choice in living. It builds resilience in them, yes, but what if it's too hard? Well, here are some thoughts about parenting a resilient kid and how we actually do it. Find Sarah on Instagram! Related Episodes: Episode 58: What if We Don't Want to be Resilient?
78: We Keep Courage for Everyone
April 18, 2023 05:00 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBIn the military, we live a life on behalf of others in so many ways. One surprising way I have experienced this? The power of this sisterhood of friends and military wives who show me what it looks like to live a life that is so full and so brave and gritty that it has a ripple effect onto my life. I need to see other women live this hard life well because it makes me believe that I can be it and become it, too. Sometimes we're the believer in someone else, sometimes we need someone else to ...
77: Take What You Can Get in Marriage
April 11, 2023 05:00 - 15 minutes - 20.6 MBI think we all could write a book titled "Not How I Thought This Would Go!" as a result of our military lives. We military gals have gotten pretty good at adjusting. Maybe we could also adjust a little bit in our marriage too, when needed. Our spouses are gone sometimes, a lot of the time. Maybe we can learn to get creative in how we approach our marriage and instead of letting the change and separation be a place of bitterness, we can use it as an invitation to take what we can get and see ...
76: Can This Hard Life Still Be a Good Life?
March 28, 2023 05:00 - 17 minutes - 23.5 MBThis military life pushes you fully into experiences that take you so far past any limits you thought you had, asking you to do more than you thought you could do. And it's in those moments that you realize you can't do this on your own- you need others in the ring with you. Is this how we discover the hard life can still be a good life? I think so. Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram!
75: See a Hard Moment in a New Way
March 21, 2023 05:00 - 16 minutes - 22.5 MBPart of the wholehearted military life is not only feeling some of the things, but actually feeling all of the things- the good and the hard and learning how to live with it all. And my goodness in the military life, we are handed It All. If you're in a season of military life that feels like Level 10 stress all the time, if you're wondering if you can actually make it, the perspective shift in this episode might be just for you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
74: Trust Anyway
March 14, 2023 05:00 - 14 minutes - 20.3 MBWe in the military know exactly what it's like to have someone else determine much of how our life goes. And as common as it is in the military experience, it still makes me feel a certain kind of way. So much of our own lived life is out of our control... but what if that could be a good thing? If your life feels a little out of control, if you're waiting on orders, waiting for word on what comes next, waiting for someone else to make a decision that guides the way your whole life goes, thi...
73: Make the Deployment Count
March 07, 2023 06:00 - 17 minutes - 23.8 MBThe military life is a hard one. And my goal is to help make it a little less hard. Because the world feels a little precarious right now, right? A lot are going through deployments, a lot have them on the horizon. A deployment is one of the hardest things we can endure in the military life. But I've found some ways over the years that help me get through deployments- if you need some encouragement on getting through yourself, listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram! Other episodes mentioned:...
72: Small Things Add Up
February 28, 2023 06:00 - 16 minutes - 22.8 MBIt always surprises me that it's often the small moments that add up over time that make me come the most undone. This is true. But what if there's a completely different perspective to have about small moments in this military life? What if it's the small moments that actually give us a structure upon which to build our life? Listen in for more. Find Sarah on Instagram!
71: The Miracle of Friendship
February 21, 2023 07:03 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MBThe military life, as hard as it is, gives us lots of opportunities to need to rely on other people in order to get us through. But something happens along the way that feels a little close to a miracle- we could be going through the hardest time of our lives, but because we had someone in the ring with us, we make it through and can even sometimes look back on that season with fondness. How? And how do you get there with a new friend? Listen in. Find Sarah on Instagram! Other episodes m...
70: Small Moments Matter in a Marriage
February 14, 2023 06:00 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBI've noticed my ability to handle what we go through in the military has a direct connection to how connected I feel to my husband. He's the soldier but we're the team and we're in it together. Ideally. Because it doesn't always feel like we're actually in it together. I discovered a way, a small way, to help re-connect our marriage. If you need some encouragement from the real side of military marriage, this episode is just for you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
69: See Mothering Differently
February 07, 2023 06:00 - 14 minutes - 20.5 MBHere we are, military wives, some of us mothers too, living a chaotic and uncertain life ourselves, trying to tend to All The Needs of tiny humans who can't do it themselves yet. What if that situation that seems like it's driving you to the absolute end of yourself is actually an invitation to deeper connection? If you need a little encouragement on how in the world to mother children in the midst of military life, this episode is for you. Find Sarah on Instagram!
68: Think This Instead
January 31, 2023 06:00 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MBIt kinda feels like we're all being pretty shaken right now. From deployments to hard assignments to loneliness to waiting on orders, the military world feels kinda tender and hard. Instead of focusing on all of those hard things though that can lead to fear and anxiety and overwhelm, try focusing on what I offer in this episode. I think it just might help. Find Sarah on Instagram! James Bryan Smith Things Above podcast
67: How to Be Good To Your Own Self
January 24, 2023 06:00 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBAround here, we talk about what we can do to build a strong center that holds, and this concept- of being good to your own self is a central piece to that. Sometimes though, it's hard to even know how to do that- like, how to actually logistally, physically get through these hard things while trying to take care of ourselves too. We talk all about that in this episode. Find Sarah on Instagram! Mentioned in this episode: Episode 6: Pray Small Episode 21: Remember Who You Are (And Find...
66: Be Good To Your Own Self
January 17, 2023 06:00 - 16 minutes - 22.1 MBI know our tendencies. We are the ones who tend to everyone else before tending to our own selves. We show up to work right after our husband deployed so that we can take care of our clients or patients or students. We take care of sad and scared kids even though we're sad and scared, too. Are you as good at taking care of your own self as you are at taking care of others? Listen to this episode for a story, a question, and an idea about it. Find Sarah on Instagram!
65: Beginning Again Is Bravery Too
January 10, 2023 08:37 - 20 minutes - 27.8 MBI think I've run the whole gamut of new year experiences- the hope and fresh start that comes with a new year all the way on down to total cynicism about what's the point of even trying when we have no control over our life anyway? What if in this awareness of our lack of control though, is an invitation to a choice we can make instead? Listen in to see what I mean. Find Sarah on Instagram!
64: Joy Always
December 20, 2022 05:54 - 12 minutes - 17.7 MBIn this Christmas season, my hope is that even when it's busy, these few minutes together can provide you with just a little reflection, a little time to re-center as you move throughout your day. This week we're talking about joy.
63: Love Connects Us
December 13, 2022 06:00 - 11 minutes - 15.2 MBIn this Christmas season, my hope is that even when it's busy, these few minutes together can provide you with just a little reflection, a little time to re-center as you move throughout your day. This week we're talking about love.
62: Peace Is Real
December 06, 2022 06:00 - 13 minutes - 18.4 MBIn this Christmas season, my hope is that even when it's busy, these few minutes together can provide you with just a little reflection, a little time to re-center as you move throughout your day. This week we're talking about peace.
61: Hope is a Verb
November 29, 2022 06:00 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBI think a lot of us are walking into Advent with a limp. A lot of us are exhausted, threadbare, but it's not like world events get put on pause to allow us to be still and actually pause to ponder the season of Advent. It's not like units stop training, or a PCS is halted for a little bit. Maybe what we need right now- is hope. Find Sarah on Instagram!