Foster Parent Well

• Seeing God's Fingerprints in Foster Care with Jessica Mathisen

  Ever feel like your heart is being pulled in a thousand directions as a foster parent? Like you're supposed to be everything to everyone while somehow finding time to breathe? You're not alone.In this soul-nourishing conversation, Jessica Matheson (author of "No Matter When I Go") shares her foster care journey and the freedom she found when she stopped trying to be her children's savior. With refreshing candor, she reflects on starting as a foster parent before having biological children, eventually adopting her teenage daughter, and learning that God's timeline rarely matches our own."Only the Spirit of God can bring healing to their lives," Jessica reminds us. "We can be an agent through which He works, but it's not our job to fix or heal." This perspective shift might be exactly what you need to hear today if you're drowning under the weight of unrealistic expectations.We explore practical ways to help children recognize God's hand in their stories without dismissing their trauma. Jessica shares wisdom about going slow, prioritizing relationship over behavior modification, and showing kids what healthy family life looks like—sometimes that's enough.Whether you're considering fostering, in the thick of placement challenges, or supporting someone who is, this episode offers gentle permission to release perfection and embrace obedience instead. God doesn't need us to overhaul our children's lives overnight; He simply asks us to be faithful with what's before us today.Ready to see your foster parenting journey through fresh eyes? Listen now, and remember: you don't have to do it all. You just have to follow where He leads.You can get to know her at www.jessicanmathisen.com, on Instagram @jessicanmathisen, and through her podcast, The Fullness of Joy.I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text!Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell @nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/

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• Understanding FASD in Foster Care & Adoption with Sandra Flach

  Sandra Flach shares her family's journey with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and provides essential knowledge for foster and adoptive parents raising children with prenatal alcohol exposure.• FASD affects 1 in 20 children in the United States—more prevalent than autism• Only 10% of children with FASD display the facial features needed for diagnosis• Prenatal alcohol exposure permanently alters brain structure and function• There is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy and no safe time to drink• Symptoms often intensify during teenage years as executive function demands increase• Children with FASD may be chronologically one age but developmentally much younger• Brain-based parenting focuses on understanding behaviors as brain differences• Breaking tasks into smaller steps and creating routines helps children succeed• Helping children understand their diagnosis empowers them to self-advocate• The Justice for Orphans website and "Hope for the FASD Journey" support group provide resourcesIf this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who may need it and subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.The Link to Sandra's website is JusticeForOrphansNY.orgYou can find her at:Instagram: @afc_journey and @sandraflach_jfoFacebook: @the Adoption & Foster Care Journey and @Sandra Flach I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text!Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell @nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/

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• Mobilizing the Church for Foster Care with Dr. John DeGarmo

  Dr. John DeGarmo, founder of the Foster Care Institute and foster parent to over 60 children, takes us on a powerful journey into the heart of foster care ministry. Having witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of faith communities on vulnerable children, Dr. John makes a compelling case for why foster care represents "the next great mission field" for today's churches.The statistics are sobering – millions of children experience domestic violence daily, and the foster care system is overwhelmed nationwide. But rather than seeing only crisis, Dr. John reveals the extraordinary opportunity standing before faith communities. "There's usually a child in crisis within a mile of every church," he explains, challenging listeners to recognize the mission field that exists in their own neighborhoods.Drawing from decades of experience and his doctorate in foster care, Dr. John offers practical strategies for church involvement that extend far beyond direct fostering. From establishing support groups and clothes closets to creating welcoming visitation spaces for biological families, he demonstrates how congregations can become powerful agents of healing. Particularly moving are his stories of churches that wrapped around reunified families, preventing children from returning to care by providing practical support during crises.What shines through most clearly is Dr. John's unwavering faith amid heartbreak. Having experienced four failed adoptions and cared for children with profound trauma, he speaks candidly about relying on God through exhaustion and discouragement. "I couldn't do it without my faith," he shares, echoing the experience of 85% of foster parents nationwide who draw strength from their spiritual foundations.Dr. John DeGarmo Website: https://www.drjohndegarmofostercare.com/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078889265859Nicole T Barlow email: [email protected]'d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell @nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/

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• REWIND: When The Journey Gets Hard, Faith Is Your Lifeline

  Struggling to find the strength to keep going in your foster care journey? This powerful conversation with missionary and adoptive mom Mandie Summers reveals how faith becomes the essential foundation when the system feels broken and the burden feels too heavy.Mandy never imagined herself as a foster parent until a casual dinner conversation with a social worker friend opened her eyes to the crisis within the foster care system. What began as complete naivety about trauma and fostering evolved into a profound family transformation that ultimately led to adopting two children and continuing to provide foster care. "Foster care and adoption really found us," Mandie shares, admitting she and her husband were probably "the two most naive people to ever sign up." Her honest account of expecting a simple revolving door of short placements versus the complex reality they encountered resonates with anyone who's discovered the gap between expectations and the fostering experience.The heart of this episode explores spiritual sustainability – how faith provides the strength to continue when burnout threatens. Mandy's practical spiritual disciplines include daily Scripture listening during walks, worship music during chaotic pre-dinner hours, and leaning into biblical narratives that suddenly take on new meaning through the fostering lens. Her identification with Moses in Numbers 11 ("Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth?") offers profound comfort to foster parents carrying trauma they didn't create.Whether you're considering fostering, currently fostering, or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers hope that God provides exactly what's needed in each season. As Mandie beautifully summarizes: "It is the hardest thing we've done, but so worth it in the richness of life. Offering a Christ-centered home to a child is worth anything."For more information on Mandie and Jason's missionary journey and how to support them: https://give.cru.org/0578940Foster Parent Well Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1VeRn4AaDHThddXx/ I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text!Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell @nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/

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• REWIND: The Unspoken Side of Foster Care & Adoption- When Home Isn't Safe Anymore

  What happens when love isn't enough? When trauma runs so deep that having your child live at home becomes unsafe for everyone involved? This raw, vulnerable conversation with Anna Bernacki pulls back the curtain on one of foster care and adoption's most painful realities – the moment when residential treatment becomes necessary.Anna brings a uniquely powerful perspective as both an adoptee herself and an adoptive mother to four children through foster care. She shares the heartbreaking journey of having two children require residential placement, walking us through the complex emotions of loving from a distance. With unflinching honesty, she describes the shame that engulfed her when realizing her home couldn't provide what her daughter needed, the PTSD she developed from traumatic experiences before placement, and the guilt that haunted her with every empty seat at the dinner table.Yet within this painful story emerges profound wisdom. Anna explains how distance sometimes allows authentic attachment to form where proximity once created threat. She details practical strategies for maintaining connection – setting clear boundaries for phone calls, explaining unavailability in advance to ease anxiety, and showing up consistently despite verbal abuse or rejection. Her insights into how siblings process this separation will resonate with any parent navigating the impact on their whole family system.Perhaps most valuable is Anna's candid discussion of faith through uncertainty. She wrestles openly with trusting God's plan while sometimes losing hope that healing will come in her lifetime – a tension many parents in crisis understand deeply. Her vulnerability creates space for others to acknowledge similar struggles without shame.For those walking similar paths, this conversation offers confirmation you're not alone. For those supporting families in crisis, it provides crucial perspective on the complexity of these decisions. And for anyone connected to the foster care world, it issues a powerful call to develop more trauma-informed systems at every level.Whether you're currently facing these impossible choices or simply want to better understand the full spectrum of foster care and adoption experiences, this episode will expand your compassion and challenge preconceived notions about what successful parenting looks like in the shadow of severe trauma.Anna's IG: @Anna.BernackiI'd love to hear from you! Send me a text!Connect with me on Instagram: @Fosterparentwell @nicoletbarlow https://www.instagram.com/nicoletbarlow/Website: https://nicoletbarlow.com/

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