Called to Love: An Adoption Podcast for Christian Parents - Christian Adoption, Trauma and Healing, Foster Care, Parenting Adopted Children – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

As 2024 comes to a close, Somer wants to highlight one of the best episodes from this year -- in case you missed it!

Often people think infertility leads to adoption. It isn't always the case, but it can be for some. Joined with Somer on the podcast are authors Jenn Hesse and Kelley Ramsey who were connected from miles apart thanks to social media. They both share similar infertility stories which is what dawned their friendship and eventually collaborating on this book, "Waiting in Hope: 31 Reflections for Walking with God Through Infertility"

In this episode, they tackle the emotional rollercoaster that is infertility. There is hope and there is pain, and it can be isolating. Kelley and Jenn remind us how important marriage is, community, and leaning into God who has the plan we may not understand.

Something beautiful can come from this grief, and something beautiful can also be different from what we expect.

So glad you're here to join us!

You can email your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

Somer would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you a monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

As 2024 comes to a close, Somer wants to share the best from this year. This episode is a 2024 highlight, to make sure you didn't miss it! The conversation is about how hard isn't the same as bad, and we all know how hard adoption and foster care is.

Joined with Somer on this insightful conversation is the author "M is for Mama" Abbie Halberstadt. Abbie is the busy mom of ten kiddos who also finds time to encourage Christian mamas in their calling of motherhood. As moms, we are laying the foundation for our kids to know Christ; it is a heavy responsibility but one we can do with God on our side.

Somer and Abbie talk about the hardship of parenting, and how that relates to adoption and foster care. Whether you're parenting adopted, foster, or your own biological children, its all hard! And hard is where God grows us.

So glad you're here to join us!

Link to:

Abbie's Instagram

Abbie's website

Abbie's new book "Hard is Not the Same as Bad"

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Cynthia Baker. Cynthia is life-coach, speaker, and author, and sparks today's conversation on being a helipad parent as opposed to a helicopter parent.

You're probably familiar with the term "helicopter parent." A parent that is always "hovering" over their child, anxiously trying to control everything around them so nothing "bad" happens. But the truth is bad stuff is going to happen to them, the question is are they prepared to handle it? Being a helipad means being there for them when they need it.

When it comes to fostering and adopting kids, they especially need us to be safe spaces that let them feel all the feelings (good and bad). Cynthia shares her insight as both a life-coach but also someone in a unique situation raising a child that isn't hers biologically.

You can learn more about Cynthia from her website!

So glad you're here to join us! You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Brandon Stiver. Brandon has worn many hats but has one vocation: to see God’s Kingdom come to Earth through proclamation and demonstration. A respected leader in the field of global care for children, Brandon is a professor, a podcaster and has led in nonprofits based in the US and in Tanzania. A community builder at heart, he has collaborated with organizations from Central America to Southeast Asia.

Together, we unpack some of the ways people can get involved with foster and adoption without necessarily adopting or fostering. We are all called to love the widows and the orphans, but there are different ways God can use us to do that work. Also, Brandon tells us about the struggles of international adoption and what is the definition of an orphan.

You can connect to Brandon on LinkedIn and learn more about him here!

So glad you're here to join us! You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Sally Clarkson. Sally has written several books and her most recent release is titled, "Well Lived: Shaping a Legacy of Gratitude and Grace" which sparks today's conversation on how to live well as adoptive and foster parents.

Let's be real... this calling is a hard one, there are tons of challenges, stressors, and things which make us feel defeated and deflated. How do we live well in this calling? Sally shares some of her story and experience with living well while caring for her children with special needs. She encourages us with knowing there is so much love and grace from the Father and it's okay to be human...

Click here to learn more about Sally from her website!

Click here to follow her on Instagram!

Click here to buy her new book!

So glad you're here to join us! You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Billie Jauss who sparks today's conversation with the release of her new book: "Baseball Family: The 9 Core Qualities for Developing Healthy Relationships." Billie shares her story of raising her three boys in a busy season of being married to a professional baseball coach and on top of it all -- fostering! Billie has a lot of stories and experiences that she shares in this episode along with those nine core qualities for developing healthy relationships.

Click here to check out her book!

Click here to follow her on Instagram!

So glad you're here to join us!

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Courtney Seibring who sparks today's conversation with the release of her new book, "Every Body Wonderfully Made: God's Good Plan for Boys and Girls." Together, Courtney and I talk about how our adopted kids may recognize how different they look from the rest of the family and we need to remind them of how wonderfully they're made!

A resource from Courtney, click here!

A link to Courtney's website, click here.

You can follow her on social media.

And here's her brand new book!

So glad you're here to join us!

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by Amanda Erickson. Amanda and her husband Dr. David Erickson are the founders of Flourishing Homes & Families. They equip and empower Christian parents to lead their families with grace and gentleness through parenting principles that are rooted in the teaching of Jesus and backed by modern neuroscience. Along the way, they have cultivated a community of parents in the trenches, guiding them towards being peacemakers in their home, and offering practical tools for parenting with Jesus at the center.

Together, Amanda and I talk about the power of neuroscience and how God has made our human bodies and minds to work. Understanding how we process our emotions, how our kids process them, makes us better parents!

Amanda and David's new book: The Flourishing Family: A Jesus-Centered Guide to Parenting with Peace and Purpose

You can follow them on social media. Click the link.

And you can check out their website!

So glad you're here to join us!

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

In this episode, I am sharing what I have learned and experienced with blocked care. Blocked care is a physical reaction our body undergoes when it is enduring too much stress. It's something God has designed in us as a self-protective measure. But when we are in the adoption and foster care journey, we are often over-taxed and stressed... so how do we cope with blocked care when we're fulfilling God's calling in our life?

I share more information about blocked care, what it means to have a blank slate, white space, anchors, self-regulation, and more so you can feel more equipped to handle this burden.

So glad you're here to join us!

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected].

I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!

Jep and Jessica Robertson, most well-known for being part of the Duck Dynasty Robertson Family, have joined me on this episode to share their adoption journey. Like many beginnings to the adoption process, it was the wife's idea. Jessica wanted to adopt but Jep was hesitant, and Jessica thought it made sense. They already have four biological children, were super busy in the successful business, homeschooling, and part of the reality TV show! But after Jep experienced a mission trip in the Dominican Republic, he realized he wanted to adopt.

Adoption, however, is not as easy as it sounds, and even after you bring home that child there is still a lot of trauma to walk through and challenges ahead. Jep and Jessica share their story and offer encouragement, and share how having a strong support system and a strong marriage make all the difference.

Plus, Jep and Jessica want to share this amazing resource for you and your family! A brand new, interactive book about a tiger named Valor who's adopted. Learn more about the book by clicking this link.

You can also learn more about the organization Jep works for called All God's Children.

And you can follow them on social media!

If you're new to this podcast, I just want to say welcome!

You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected]. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!