Called to Love Podcast
May 14 • 38:47
How to Reassure Your Adopted Kids They Belong
Episode:

How to Reassure Your Adopted Kids They Belong

May 14, 2024 • 38:47 • Somer Colbert

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast.

This week, my special guest and I are talking about addressing the tough questions our adopted kids ask. Common ones can be "Why are you my parents?" "Why am I not with my real parents?" and "Why don't I look like you?" "Why am I different?" and so many more. We need to welcome these conversations so our kids feel safe and seen in their own journey which had a challenging start.

Joined with me for this amazing and practical conversation is author Carey Koenig. Her recent book is titled "Do I Belong?" which is the catalyst for this conversation. She has two adopted children who asked her these many questions and she was passionate about creating a resource to help others in this calling.

Click here to learn more about her book!

Click here to check out her online resource for adopted kids!

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!

Whether you seek to add to your family through foster care, private domestic adoption or you are called to travel internationally, every adoption story is uniquely beautiful. Yet, each shares a common language of calling, loss, and hardship. As Christian parents we have a deep desire to love and shepherd our children well, but it can be challenging to navigate loss, trauma and how to best love and guide our adopted children. One thing is for sure, adoption is more than a process, it is an invitation to go on a holy journey with the Lord and with your family. Like any journey, there will be valleys along with mountain tops and battles along with the beauty. The good news is, what the Lord calls you to, He will equip you for. Wherever you are in your journey, Called to Love is here to bring you a weekly dose of encouragement from the practical, clinical, and Biblical perspective along with personal stories from adoptive parents, adult adoptees and advice from various experts to help your family thrive in your journey and continue to say "yes " to your own call to love.
All Episodes:
Oct 15 • 39:37
What to Do When You Can't Foster or Adopt

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 Gods 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!

Oct 8 • 32:22
Live and Love Well as Foster and Adoptive Moms

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!

Oct 1 • 47:00
Developing Healthy Relationships as Foster and Adoptive Families

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!

Sep 24 • 41:20
Helping Your Kids Understand How and Why God Made Them

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!

Sep 17 • 34:51
Parenting, Faith and Neuroscience

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!

About the Host

Somer Colbert

Somer Colbert is a writer, speaker and host of the Love Where You Are podcast. She is the Director of Adoption and Foster Care Ministry at Crosschurch and Connected Champion with the Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries where she creates support, awareness and advocacy for families seeking to serve in the areas of adoption and foster care. She creates weekly podcast episodes and resources to equip and empower Christian families to identify their influence for the gospel in every season, live life on mission and share Jesus right where they are.  Somer is passionate about equipping spiritually healthy families and seeing a movement of God's people step into confidence in their ability to change the world around them through the way they love! 

She resides in Arkansas with her husband, three kids and three dogs. She's obsessed with British docudramas and cooking shows and can always be found with a cup of hot tea in hand. Her life has been forever changed by the love of Jesus, marriage to her favorite person, parenting her crazy crew and walking multiple adoption journeys. 

Connect with Somer on Facebook and Instagram

Sign up to receive weekly emails and resources from Somer HERE!

More from Somer →

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.