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

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! 
For this episode, I am joined by a father and daughter duo! Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and his daughter, Joy Eggerichs Reed, have written a book together called, “Beega Gets a Do-Over: A Gigglies Adventure About Communication.” Dr. Emerson is a bestselling author on the New York Times list and has a PhD in child and family ecology. The new book was inspired from a bedtime story Dr. Emerson told Joy as a child. Now, Joy is a mother of three, and together they brought this book to life to help kids communicate. 
In the context of adoption and foster care, we as parents can struggle with helping our kiddos communicate. This fun, upbeat, imaginative story paints a picture for how kids can apologize by asking for a “do over.” In our conversation, Joy and Dr. Emerson share more practical information about forgiveness, relationship repair, emotional vocabulary, nonverbal cues, and teaching our kids empathy among all those other social skills. 
Let’s dive in! 
Key topics in this episode: 
The concept of 'do-over' as a tool for teaching forgiveness and repair
The importance of emotional vocabulary and reading nonverbal cues
Balancing consequences with repair in discipline
Teaching empathy to children operating in survival mode
The role of intentional questions in fostering curiosity and understanding

Learn more about the Land of Nuf on their website https://www.loveandrespectacademy.com/land-of-nuf 
And pre-order the book, “Beega Gets a Do-Over: A Gigglies Adventure About Communication” https://www.amazon.com/Beega-Gets-Do-Over-Adventure-Communication/dp/1400257697 
To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! 
You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at somercolbert@gmail.com. 
I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!
Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! 
For this episode, I am joined by Sandra Flach. After adopting her youngest son in 2010, Sandra co-founded Justice For Orphans and started The Adoption & Foster Care Journey Podcast. She is dedicated to equipping foster and adoptive families. As a trauma-informed educator and certified FASCETS facilitator, she specializes in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), blending professional training with personal lived experience to provide practical, strength-based strategies for caregivers and churches. 
Author of Orphans No More and Soul Care Saturday, she regularly speaks at national conferences and co-leads the Hope for the FASD Journey virtual support community. She lives in upstate New York with her husband of over 30 years, Wayne, with whom she has raised eight children—five through adoption—and remains passionate about ensuring caregivers never walk their journey alone.
In this conversation, Sandra shares her personal journey to adoption, the mistakes made along the way, and how she learned about FASD and became such an advocate. She provides valuable information – she is a wealth of knowledge! – and also provides so much hope for us. 
Let’s dive in! 
Key topics in this episode: 
What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and its prevalence
The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on brain development
Recognizing symptoms and behaviors associated with FASD
The importance of connection and support in parenting FASD children
Resources and training available for parents and professionals
The role of diagnosis and how to pursue it
Strategies for accommodations and loving support
Hope and neuroplasticity in healing and growth

Learn more about Sandra with her website. 
Check out her memoir, “Orphans No More: A Journey Back to the Father”
Check out her devotional, “Soul Care Saturday: 52 Devotions for Foster & Adoptive Moms” 
To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! 
You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at somercolbert@gmail.com. 
I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!
Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! 
For this episode, I am joined by a mom who is on fire for the Lord: Kat McBride. Kat is a podcaster, writer, speaker, and she passionate about celebrating the peace beyond the valleys, and Kat has walked through some valleys as a birthmother herself. Present day, Kat is married and has two young daughters, but when she was fifteen she found out she was pregnant while alone in a WalMart parking lot and overwhelmed with shame. God filled Kat with peace and the clarity to make the choice for life and adoption for her unborn child but even though this was the best option, it still came with sacrifice and heartache. 
Kat shares her story and also provides incredible insight for us as the foster and adoptive parents for what the other side of this family looks like - the emotional rollercoaster, some practical advice for navigating open adoptions and boundaries, and how you need to be praying for the birth mother. I am so glad you’ve joined me for this episode. Let’s dive in! 
Key topics in this episode: 
Kat’s story as a birth mom at sixteen years old 
The feelings of shame, anger, bitterness that can develop when giving up your child even if it was the right decision
After maturing, Kat realized the adoptive parents of her child didn’t just save her daughter, but they saved 16 year old Kat as well. Two futures were changed by this choice. You, as the adoptive parent, are impacting more than just the child. 
A biological mother is looking for parents that love each other and have stability, not perfection. 
The biological mother, with this wound in her heart, could try to fill it with unhealthy things so pray that God fills it instead. Don’t stop praying for this mother. 
Open adoptions or relationships with biological parents can be great and look different over the years – careful discernment is needed and boundaries. 

Learn more about Kat’s podcast by finding “Peace Beyond” wherever you listen to podcasts and follow her on Facebook! 
To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! 
You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at somercolbert@gmail.com. 
I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!
Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! 
For this episode, I am joined by Dr. Mary Ann McMillan. Mary Ann is a former foster youth and adoptee whose life has been shaped by family separation, identity, and the search for belonging. Guided by her Christian faith, she is a writer, professor, and global advocate working at the intersection of trauma, justice, and healing. She holds a doctorate and teaches international relations, human rights, and criminal justice. Her perspective bridges lived experience, scholarship, and global practice, with a focus on vulnerable children in the United States and globally. 
In this conversation, Mary Ann shares some of her story and experiences as a former foster youth and adoptee who did have an open-adoption with her family, but still struggled immensely with her identity, a sense of belonging, and why she was even adopted. Mary Ann describes how things changed after coming to Christ and her identity was shaped by who God says she is, but she still needed to unpack more of who God created her to be. She encourages parents to invite a child’s heritage and culture into their life and reminds us that our child is from two worlds - their biological one and the adopted one - and they can’t choose either of them, they are a part of them both, so it is our job to bridge those gaps to help our child develop a healthy and positive self-identity. 
I am so glad you’ve joined me for this episode. Let’s dive in! 
Key topics in this episode: 
Questions around identity and belonging
Making your child’s heritage and culture part of their life 
Have the hard conversations sooner rather than later
Be open and always willing to learn 
Take care of yourself, as the adoptive parent
To learn more about Mary Ann McMillan check her out on Instagram or buy her new book, “Bridging Resilience: A Guide to Healing for Adoptees and Former Foster Youth, Families, and the Leaders Who Walk with Them”
To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! 
You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at somercolbert@gmail.com. 
I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!
Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! 
For this episode, I am joined by Greg and Hannah East who are both bio parents and adopted a sibling set of three boys from foster care. Greg and Hannah’s story follows a lot of the similar experiences other foster-adoptive parents have: one parent is more interested than the other, the emotional ups and downs of fostering and saying goodbye, and having to navigate new life as a family with two kids to five! Greg and Hannah offer support, encouragement, and hope their story helps other parents see they don’t have to be superhuman to do this calling. God knows we are human and being human is okay! 
I am so glad you’ve joined me for this episode. Let’s dive in! 
Key topics in this episode: 
The family's background and motivation for foster care and adoption
Overcoming fears and hesitations before saying “yes”
The process of fostering and adopting sibling groups
Dealing with grief and loss in foster care
The importance of church and community support
Balancing love and pain in foster and adoptive parenting
God's faithfulness through challenging seasons
Practical ways to support foster families

To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! 
You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at somercolbert@gmail.com. 
I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more!
Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/