Live the Life Podcast with Toni Mattson
How can I feel closer to God? How can I feel inspired, encouraged, and fulfilled? How do I create more space in my day to live a life that really matters? A life with purpose and meaning? How do I create my peace and protect it? How can I grow personally and spiritually?
If these questions roam in your beautiful brain, then you’ve come to the right place.
Live the Life is a practical, roll-up-your sleeves, workshop-style podcast for women who yearn to live a more meaningful life. Each weekly episode is packed with how-to, step-by-step strategies to create the life you’re dying to live.
Empowering women to rediscover their passion, redefine what matters, and recapture time to live a life of purpose is MY passion.
I’m a Midwest gal, a speaker, writer, encourager, a peace-claimer, change-maker, and lover of all things God, family, horses and hope. I’m a founder of Trinity Equestrian Center - Wisconsin’s Leader in Equine Assisted Therapy, specializing in veterans with PTSD.
For two decades, I’ve traveled the US and Canada appearing as a panelist, guest, and key-note speaker on radio, TV and Podcast programs. I’ve spoken at colleges, seminaries, churches, at international conferences, and business development workshops. I’ve testified four times before the WI State Senate and Committee on Veteran Affairs on behalf of veterans with PTSD.
I encourage women to fearlessly ask the provocative question – "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life on?" And then I go about helping them answer and achieve it. No matter your season in life, what you do, or what you hope to do – I want this podcast to be for you!
We’ll cover topics like: faith, growth, peace, life, death, clarity, simplicity, health, purpose, Veterans, and oh my gosh — so much more! We’ll dive deep into things that bring value to our lives, help us focus and flourish, and set us up to live the life God created us for. And every last episode of the month is Q&A Day, where I invite you to send in their burning questions. I’m so excited you’re on this ride with me! So Mount Up ~ Put your heels into ‘er… this is the “Live the Life” Podcast!
Live the Life Podcast with Toni Mattson
Brave Beyond Service: Part 3 | Home, But Not Whole Yet
She came home to family—but is in a fight to find herself.
She hung up the uniform and returned to the life she left behind… but nothing feels the same.
Not her routine. Not her relationships. Not even herself.
In this episode of Brave Beyond Service, we’re talking about what really happens when a woman comes home from military service—and realizes she’s not the same, and neither is the world she came back to.
From the unspoken pressure to “snap back,” to the guilt of not feeling grateful enough, we explore the quiet unraveling of reintegration—and why it takes more grace than grit to find your footing in a life that’s moved on without you.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why reintegration feels more like a collision than a return
- How invisible shifts in identity can leave you feeling out of place in your own life
- Real stories from women who came home and felt like strangers in their own homes
- What horses have taught us about softening, grounding, and healing without pretending
- Four small but powerful steps to start honoring who you are now
Guided Reflection:
Take a few deep breaths, get still, and ask yourself:
• What version of me are people expecting to see?
• What version of me feels most real right now?
• Where do those two selves collide—and how can I begin to honor both?
This episode won’t hand you neat answers.
But it will give you space to start seeing yourself more clearly.
Special Invitation
Join us June 6–7 at Trinity Equestrian Center for the WDVA Women Veterans Retreat.
No cost. No pressure. Just soul-filling connection, truth-telling, and sisterhood.
Toni will be speaking on Who Am I Now?—and you’ll be surrounded by women who get it.
Resources for the Road
Support for navigating life after service and deep identity shifts:
- Toni’s Website & Free Tools — Tools, podcast episodes, retreat info, and more:
🔗 www.tonimattson.com - WDVA Women Veterans Retreat — June 6–7 at Trinity Equestrian Center:
🔗 http://bit.ly/4c8xjuE - Trinity Equestrian Center — Equine-assisted services for veterans and families:
🔗 www.trinity-ec.com | ☎️ (715) 835-4530 - VA Vet Center — Confidential readjustment counseling:
🔗 www.vetcenter.va.gov | ☎️ 1-877-WAR-VETS - Cohen Veterans Network — Mental health support for post-9/11 veterans and families:
🔗 www.cohenveteransnetwork.org - Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) — Advocacy and support:
🔗 www.servicewomen.org - Women Veterans Network (WoVeN) — Peer support and connection:
🔗 www.wovenwomenvets.org - Military OneSource Transition Support — Help with employment, family, and transitions:
🔗 www.militaryonesource.mil - Blue Star Families — Community programs for military-connected families:
🔗 www.bluestarfam.org - The Headstrong Project — Free mental health care for veterans:
🔗 www.theheadstrongproject.org
Recommended Reading:
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- Homefront 911 by Stacy Bannerman
- Unlikely Recruits by Toni Mattson — 20 real stories of veterans finding healing through horses and faith