Sheepdog Marriage

Join us for episode 2 as Retired Navy Chief Colwyn Wiltshire shares candidly about the challenges he and his wife faced as they navigated the emotional toll of their dual military service and their daughter's health struggles. He talks about the importance of communication, patience, and empathy while sustaining a strong relationship even in the face of adversity. Despite facing significant obstacles, Wiltshire and his wife have found ways to overcome their challenges and build a resilient and supportive partnership. From seeking out counseling to finding joy in small moments, the couple has learned to prioritize their relationship and their family in order to thrive. Overall, this episode of the Sheepdog Marriage podcast interview offers valuable insights for anyone facing difficult times in their relationship, and serves as a powerful reminder that with dedication, determination, and a foundation of Gods principles , even the toughest challenges can be overcome. --

This episode of Sheepdog Marriage Podcast features Army veteran and current Law Enforcement Officer, along with his wife Tiffany. Both have dedicated their lives to serving our country and our community. They discuss how their experience as a Sheepdog Family has impacted their lives, both positively and with some challenges. They will also share their unique story about finding strength in the face of adversity, trying to maintain a healthy rhythm between Sheepdog life, and family, while fostering communication within their marriage. Listeners will be inspired by this dynamic couple's journey and will gain valuable insight on the importance of having a supportive marriage in order to succeed in all aspects of the Sheepdog life. 

Sheepdog Interviews is a firsthand and intimate knowledge of the lives of sheepdogs and their families. We will bring you stories of the sacrifices they make to maintain a successful marriage and family under pressure. Through conversations with these brave men and women, you will gain an understanding of their struggles and triumphs. Join us each week for real life narratives, resources, and advice to help reinforce the sheepdog marriage. 

Join us for this final episode in "Season 1: The Making of a Sheepdog," as a bitter/sweet end to the first season. We debrief on the previous episodes, and share Purpose/Vision for our marriage and family. We also invite you to think about, and live into your own Purpose/Vision. 

Join us again as we continue to share the top 12 tools we use to "Make Our Marriage Great Again!" With only two more episodes left in "The Making of a Sheepdog" series, we start with #7 tool and end with a surprise announcement!  Get your pen and paper ready and stay tuned as we share our exciting news!

Join us as we begin to share the top 12 tools that we use to "work" on our marriage daily! God is a healing God, and he wants you to have unity in your marriage, but the healing is just the beginning of the process. There is a lot of  "work" that is required for sustainable change and to maintain a healthy marriage. We are thankful for the journey, as it has brought us to where we are today. You don't want to miss this one, have your note taking skills ready....

In this final part or a three part series, we finish up Episode 11 with a look into where we find resolution and clarity for our marriage. Just like many marriages, we have been through a lot together over the years. We have built a life worthy of salvaging. We know we love each other and want more, but we don't know where to start. Knowing that we both want resolution is perfect common ground to build from. Counseling over the years sustained our marriage, but we were never fully thriving, only surviving. In an act obedience, we found ourselves at a marriage small group offered through our church, which ultimately lead us to "Married for a Purpose," and the marriage "Reboot" process. The Reboot process is what drove our mental shift from problem to purpose focus and gave us vision for our future. 

The years of unresolved anger have led us to a place of hurt, and disconnection. We are in a deep fog of war and both of us are unequivocally standing our ground, even if it means we give up on the life, the marriage, and the family we have worked so hard to build together. We both recognize that we have to fight for one another, but not sure where to begin. Reaching for a lifeline, we turn to the church for help! The help we receive is not exactly what we had in mind, but God calls us to obedience, not success! 

Join us for this well anticipated episode. The life lessons, the clarity, and the vision are just on the horizon but first the march through the valley with the ugly, the darkness and fog of war. Chris and Tina share the raw truth about their relationship and circumstances leading up and into the events that almost dashed their marriage onto the rocks of life. Their prayer is that the telling of their story will bring pause, hope and direction to others who find themselves in the throes of a neglected marriage and at the mercy of unaddressed sacrifices.

Join us as we venture into the civilian world after 26 years of military service. Chris spends his first year as a "Civilian" trying to find that inner Sheepdog and his purpose during this season of transition. Returning to uniformed service was necessary and vital to his calling but came without a definitive purpose or vision, which was recipe for disaster. 

Join us as we celebrate a well deserved honor to our country connected as a couple and as a family! 

Join us as we continue our journey with the Navy in "back to back" deployments! We are dedicated to our marriage and our family, but we are not connected emotionally! Chris is back safely from his tour in Iraq... we're sure to get a shore duty billet...RIGHT?! I mean... what could go wrong?! LOL!

Our expectation of a "Shore Duty" full of family fun and having Chris home to be a husband and father were not exactly what we had in mind. However, we continue to move at mach 3 taking whatever the Navy throws our way! Chris is recovered and fully operational again as we head back to Virginia Beach. He is teamed up and starting deployment work ups for his looming Iraq tour. As the EOD community begins to experience its own casualties of war, Tina sticks her head in the sand and presses forward! 

Heading into episode 6, we continue "The Making of a Sheepdog" series as we arrive back in Florida to begin a much needed and well deserved season of life as a "real family." Chris has taken shore duty in the Panhandle of Florida as an Instructor at EOD School. Our expectations are high and we are ready to dive into the reality that we created in our own minds. But as we know, we plan, and God laughs. 

Join us for episode 5 as we move to Europe..... and move with all the left over emotional baggage from past. We unpack the good, and the "what has happened to my life" moments. The build up to "The Great Awakening" of our marriage relationship continues to survive... but under the surface the bitterness and disconnection is brewing... We give you a front row seat to the brokenness and reflect on the hindsight of how we could have prevented a lot of the destruction that was ahead in our marriage down the road. 

Join us as we share our story of the birth of our second son. With deployment work ups looming on the horizon, or so we thought.....reality was waiting just around the corner. As we bring our son home from the hospital and come to terms with his polydactyly the Navy has other plans for Chris. Once again duty calls Chris away as he and Tina struggle for unity and connection.

In this episode we share our newlywed marriage journey from the honeymoon phase into the realities of a military combat deployment. Chris and Tina are separated by time and distance as life moves into warp speed. They face the challenge of staying connected while they shape their individual roles as Husband and wife, father and mother, and Sheepdog and spouse.

Gold Star Widow Karie Darga Gilliland speaks to us exclusively on this Memorial Day weekend about her late husband EODC Paul J Darga. Join us as we honor Paul's sacrifice to our country in this bonus episode of the Sheepdog Marriage podcast. Karie takes us on a journey down memory lane from their first awkward meeting in the high school library, to Paul joining the navy, becoming husband and wife, and then his final deployment that ultimately took his life. Karie also shares how God prepared her heart months before Pauls death. Karie is so inspiring! We Remember! 

Making of a Sheepdog series continues with episode 2 as we talk about expectations. Join us as we peel back the onion on the beginnings of our relationship, EOD school, dating only 4 months before marriage, and how it formed our lives as sheepdog husband and wife.

Don't miss our intro episode as we introduce ourselves as well as define what we mean by the word "Sheepdog" and what it has to do with "Marriage!"

Making of a Sheepdog series begins with our first episode "Submarine Days." Join us as we talk about Chris's first days in the Navy as a cook. The beginnings of the "Sheepdog" mentality that defined the man that he was, and the husband that he became.