What Can I Learn From This? With Sara Gordon

We suffer when our expectations aren't met. What if we hold our expectations more lightly? Listen in as adoptee and adoptive parent Melissa shares insights on expectations, acceptance and more.Melissa is the mom of seven children and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland. She has spent most of her career in Early Childhood Education, leading and directing preschool programs. In 2014, Melissa and her husband started doing foster care. They have had over 19 children live in their home and hearts and have adopted four children through Fauquier County Department of Social Services.Melissa is a Registered Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors Course Facilitator and works with parents and educators to support children who have been affected by trauma through foster care, adoption, and children with vulnerable nervous systems. As an adoptee, a former foster parent, and an adoptive mother, she is passionate about helping others through this journey. She also enjoys working with educators and parents to help them understand the complexity of children, their behaviors and how to meet them where they are.https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-lebling-151268273/https://www.facebook.com/FormedFamiliesForwardhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/formed-families-forward/https://www.instagram.com/formedfamiliesforward/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

On September 13, 2010, Derek's wife found him gasping for air, lying in a pool of his own vomit. Derek credits God for his leaving addition behind and transforming his life. Derek and his wife have adopted 3 kids from foster care and he leads a non profit too. Listen in as he shares profound insights along his amazing journey.https://fostercoalition.org/https://www.facebook.com/FosterCoalitionAlabamahttps://www.instagram.com/foster_coalition/https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-coalition2021/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Adoption - beautiful AND brutal. Complex. So what helps us with complexity? Christine has 3 kids - 2 by adoption. She also works with Foster The City. Listen in as she shares her learnings on expectations, treasuring our kids' stories and much more.https://www.christinespeaks.org/https://www.facebook.com/christine.ingebretson#https://fosterthecity.org/https://www.facebook.com/fosterthecity1https://www.instagram.com/fosterthecity Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Hope can be hard to find for ourselves and our kids or teens. And yet as the adults and leaders we need to see hope and be it to bring light in the toughest times. Listen in as mum of 10 Cindy shares her insights on hope, connection and felt safety. As well as being a mother, Cindy is Equipping Director at Keystone Family Alliance.Keystone Family Alliance is comprised of representatives from different churches around the state of Pennsylvania. We aim to educate, motivate, and equip every Christian in the state of Pennsylvania on the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, both locally and globally.  Everybody can do something to positively impact these children, and the Alliance wants to help you find YOUR something. We bridge the gap between the desperate need of the child welfare system and PA churches. Agencies and caseworkers struggle to find new foster and adoptive families to meet the current, overwhelming need. Keystone Family Alliance mobilizes Christians from around Pennsylvania. For some, it is registering to meet tangible needs of foster, adoptive, and biological families through our online portal, Gateway. For others, it is serving on an engineered Care Community to support a local family for a year. For churches, Keystone Family Alliance provides the framework and support to help churches successfully recruit families to care for children in their communities to become these much-needed placement homes. There are so many ways to do something.Find out more about Keystone here:https://www.keyfam.org/https://www.instagram.com/keystonefamilyalliance/https://www.facebook.com/keystonefamilyalliance  Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Does God give you strength? Help you feel rooted in the tough stuff? Christ Follower Rhonda shares how her grounding in God helps her stand strong.Find out more about Rhonda and her organisation here:https://www.ahomeforme.sc/https://www.facebook.com/ahomeformehttps://www.instagram.com/ahfmsc Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Focusing solely on our psychology hinders healing. So what else is there to healing? Listen in as adoptee and Director of Social Work Samantha and I explore a deeper side of us that sets us free.Find out more about Samantha and the organisation she works for here:https://chlss.org/https://www.facebook.com/chlssadoption/https://www.instagram.com/chlssadoption/https://www.linkedin.com/company/chlss/https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthavanbogart/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Is unconditional love the key to helping adoptees heal and thrive? Adoptive dad and Hope for Kids leader Fernando Gonzalez shares how faith, forgiveness and vulnerability can help us overcome trauma, break through fear and find the freedom to flourish.Find out more about Fernando here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-gonzalez-b64906121/https://h4kids.org/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582249626293https://h4kids.org/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you tend to focus on your weaknesses or strengths? It's so normal to focus on weaknesses. But what's your superpower? Listen as adoptive mother and adoption professional Jennifer shares learnings on growth, finding superpowers and helping our kids do the same.Find out more about Jennifer and the organisation she works for:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiya-jenkins/https://christian-works.org/https://www.facebook.com/ChristianWorks/https://www.instagram.com/christianworks_for_children/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Can we have too much love in our lives? Surely not. Listen in as adoptee and therapist Anastasiya adopted from Russia at 16 just 3 months after her mother's death shares profound insights on grief, love and identity. Fantastic!Find out more about Anastasiya and the organisation she works for:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiya-jenkins/https://christian-works.org/https://www.facebook.com/ChristianWorks/https://www.instagram.com/christianworks_for_children/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Settling down is amongst the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. Coming from calm helps us relate better. Listen as adoptive mother, child psychologist and non profit leader Derenda shares learnings on calm and connection.Derenda M. Schubert, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and nationally recognized advocate for intergenerational community building. As the CEO of Bridge Meadows, she has advanced a visionary model that brings together youth, families, and elders to create vibrant, supportive neighborhoods rooted in belonging, healing, and joy.Dr. Schubert’s background in clinical psychology, combined with her leadership in nonprofit innovation, community development, and systems change, gives her a rare ability to translate human needs into community-based solutions. Her work is grounded in empathy, driven by data, and guided by the belief that healing happens best in relationships. With decades of experience across child welfare, aging, mental health, and housing, she builds bridges between sectors and people, turning bold ideas into places where all generations can thrive.These efforts have been recognized by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Stanford Social Innovation Review, which cite Bridge Meadows as a model for addressing the social determinants of health through connection and community. She has been a reviewer for the World Health Organization’s “Connecting Generations – Planning and Implementing Interventions for Intergenerational Contact” report and a contributor to the Healthier Lives Across Generations: A Blueprint for Intergenerational Living sponsored by Generations United in collaboration with the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Dr. Schubert is the author of The Power of a Joyful Village: How Intergenerational Solutions and Age-Friendly Communities Can Heal Us All.An international keynote speaker and TEDx presenter, Dr. Schubert is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, an Encore Public Voices Fellow, and an Eisner Prize recipient. Her leadership has been recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a Woman of Influence, and by Portland Monthly Magazine’s Light A Fire Award. Additionally, she serves as the Chair of the American Heart Association, Oregon and Southwest Washington, and the Vice Chair of Goodwill Industries of the Columbia-Willamette. Every day she is inspired by the love of her grandmothers and her children.https://www.linkedin.com/in/derenda-schubert-phd-a4001413/https://www.instagram.com/derendaschubert/https://bridgemeadows.org/https://www.instagram.com/bridgemeadows/?hl=enhttps://www.facebook.com/bridgemeadows/https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridge-meadows/home/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.