Bridging The Gap

When life is full and margins are thin, soul care can feel out of reach. In this episode, Michael Mitchell reframes soul care as something simple, accessible, and essential—especially for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. Instead of adding another task, Michael invites weary parents to discover soul care rhythms that fit right into real life: breath prayers, small pauses, honest conversations with God, and learning how to “try softer.” This gentle conversation reminds parents that even 30 seconds a day can begin to restore an empty cup.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• Why soul care isn’t a luxury for parents with thin margins

• How breath prayers can bring calm and connection in everyday moments

• What it means to “try softer” instead of trying harder

• How honest emotions—even anger—can be part of healthy faith

• Simple ways to receive God’s love when your cup feels empty

📖 Key Insight:

The most sustainable soul care is the kind that fits the life you’re already living.

📌 Explore More Resources:

Find more self-care and encouragement resources at childbridgemontana.org/resources

#FosterCare #Adoption #KinshipCare #WearyParents #SoulCare #BreathPrayer #TraumaInformedParenting #ChristianParenting #TrySofter

If you’re a foster, adoptive, or kinship parent, you've likely experienced moments when the challenges felt isolating. In this episode, Jenn Hook and Eric Powell from Replanted Ministry introduce The Replanted Conference — a powerful experience designed to bring connection, encouragement, and real support to families like yours.As Child Bridge brings The Replanted Conference to Montana, this conversation offers a preview of what makes it so impactful — and why so many families call it a lifeline.This isn’t just another conference — it’s a place where you’ll experience “same here” moments, find your people, and leave feeling strengthened for the journey ahead.

💡What You’ll Learn- Why support matters more than information alone- How shared stories break isolation and build connection- What makes The Replanted Conference unique- How community strengthens foster and adoptive families- What to expect as this experience comes to Montana🔍 Key Insight“You don’t need to have it all together — you just need to know you’re not alone.”🔗 Resources- Learn more about Replanted Ministry at https://www.replantedministry.org- Get your questions answered about the Replanted Conference at https://www.replantedconference.org- Register to attend the conference at your local host site right here in Montana by visiting https://www.childbridgemontana.org/calendar#ReplantedConference #FosterCare #AdoptionSupport #ChildBridge #MontanaFamilies #KinshipCare #FosterParenting

Why does everything seem to change in the teen years for foster and adoptive families? Bethany Hall unpacks how trauma often resurfaces during adolescence — and how parents can respond in ways that build skills, not shame.

This conversation is full of practical tools, powerful reframes, and real hope for families walking through difficult seasons. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why adolescence amplifies trauma responses
• How to distinguish skill gaps vs. willful behavior
• What drives fear-based parenting — and how to shift it
• How to stay grounded when behaviors escalate
• Ways to build long-term connection and trust

Key Insight:

Adolescence isn’t failure — it’s an opportunity for rewiring and growth.

Resources:

Connection Plus courses and resources - https://www.connectionplus.care

Trauma-informed parenting tools - https://www.childbridgemontana.org/resource-library

#AdoptionSupport #TraumaParenting #TeenBehavior #FosterCareJourney #ChildBridge

In this episode we talk with former foster youth and ministry leader Trent Taylor of Watch Me Rise about his powerful journey from childhood trauma to healing, faith, and purpose. Trent reflects on life in multiple foster homes, the pain of abuse, the struggle to trust, and the slow, faithful work God did through his adoptive family and community.

He shares how parents can support a child who carries fear, shame, and survival instincts — and why it’s essential to let kids set the pace of their own stories. Trent’s testimony points parents back to God’s presence in suffering and reminds them that they are not responsible for fixing or healing their children; their role is to show steady love and point them toward the true Healer.

This conversation is filled with compassion, practical trauma‑informed insight, and faith-filled encouragement for any foster, adoptive, or kinship parent who feels tired, discouraged, or overwhelmed.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• How trauma impacts trust, behavior, and attachment
• Why children need to set the pace for disclosure and healing
• How Trent’s adoptive parents balanced patience, safety, and faith
• The importance of lament, honest emotion, and spiritual support
• How God works in small, faithful steps through weary caregivers
• Practical encouragement for dads of children who have suffered abuse

🔑 Key Insight

You are not called to fix your child — only to love them faithfully while trusting God to redeem what only He can.

🔗 Resources

Watch Me Rise: https://watchmerise919.org/

#FosterCare #Adoption #KinshipCare #TraumaInformed #ChristianParenting #HopeAndHealing #WatchMeRise #ParentingKidsFromHardPlaces #FaithJourney

Yes is always the answer — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.In this episode, Kevin and Tiffany Geer share their foster care and adoption journey and why their family keeps choosing to say yes when God calls them into the uncomfortable.

They talk about welcoming children into their home, prioritizing keeping sibling groups together, and learning how to stay present on the hardest days by celebrating small, meaningful wins. Their story shows how repeated obedience — saying yes again and again — creates space for healing, growth, and restoration.

Whether you’re a foster parent, adoptive parent, kinship caregiver, or someone wondering how you can support families in crisis, this conversation will help you move beyond “Should I do something?” and toward the better question: “What can I do?”

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Why saying yes is the starting point of foster care and adoption
• How the Geers approach fostering sibling sets and keeping kids connected
• Why celebrating small daily wins matters in trauma‑impacted homes
• How community and wraparound support make saying yes sustainable
• Why reunification and restoration remain central — even when it’s hard

🔍 Key Insight

“The question is not ‘should I do something?’ The right question is, ‘what should I do?’”

🔗 Resources

Learn more and find your next step: https://childbridgemontana.org

#YesIsAlwaysTheAnswer #FosterCare #Adoption #KinshipCare #SiblingGroups #Reunification #TraumaInformed #ChildBridge #Montana

If you’re a foster, adoptive, or kinship parent, it’s easy to feel like your child’s behavior is the scorecard for your success. In this episode, parent coach and Korean adoptee Melissa Corkum helps reframe that belief entirely—showing why behavior isn’t the measure, and why your nervous system, presence, and connection matter far more than any outcome.

Melissa shares candidly about parenting six kids, navigating intense crisis seasons, experiencing out‑of‑home care for safety, and confronting the shame that often comes with feeling like you’re “not enough.” She explains how flipping the “kids first” pyramid, caring for her own nervous system, and practicing daily “points of joy” allowed her to reconnect with her children — and herself — when everything felt overwhelming.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Why behavior isn’t an accurate measure of your parenting
• How to define success by what’s in your control (your output)
• What nervous system care actually looks like for parents in the trenches
• How “points of joy” can slowly repair burnout and blocked care
• Why prioritizing yourself is essential — not selfish
• How tools like the Safe and Sound Protocol support overwhelmed caregivers

🔍 Key Insight

Success in parenting isn’t defined by behavior charts, calm days, or perfect outcomes.

It’s defined by connection, presence, and a regulated nervous system — especially when things get hard.

🔗 Resources

• Learn more from Melissa & explore nervous system resources: https://risetoregulation.com/
• Find Melissa on social: https://www.instagram.com/melissacorkum_/, https://www.facebook.com/macorkum/

#fostercare #adoption #kinshipcare #traumainformed #nervoussystemregulation

#parentburnout #blockedcare #parentingkidsfromhardplaces

#SafeAndSoundProtocol #parentingpodcast #MelissaCorkum

In trauma‑informed parenting, marriage can drift into survival mode — fast. In this episode, Ryan & Kayla North share how they’ve stayed more than roommates through 24 years of marriage, 30 foster placements, adoption, and the realities of raising kids with big needs.

They offer real-life tools for staying united: weekly date rhythms, transparent communication, dealing with triangulation, repairing with genuine apologies, and doing your own self‑work before trying to “fix” your kids. Their honesty and humor make this a deeply encouraging conversation for couples who feel stretched thin.

What You’ll Learn

• How to avoid drifting into “roommate mode”
• Why Unity — not agreement — is the key to hard-season parenting
• How to handle triangulation & manipulation without dividing
• Why repairing with apologies models secure connection
• How to regulate yourself before addressing behaviors
• Practical ways to protect time, communication & connection

Key Insight

A resilient marriage isn’t built by avoiding conflict but by repairing well, communicating honestly, and staying united — even when parenting feels heavy.

Resource Links

• More from Ryan & Kayla: https://www.onebighappyhome.com

#marriage #fostercare #adoption #kinshipcare #traumainformed #roommatestoteammates #connectedmarriage #parentingkidsfromhardplaces #marriageresources

This bonus episode features Jason Johnson in a candid conversation about why connection matters for foster, adoptive, and kinship dads. After hearing consistent feedback from foster families across the state, Child Bridge is launching a Just For Dads Journey Group, beginning in mid May 2026, to give dads a space where they can connect with men who understand the unique challenges and pressures of this calling.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why community is essential for foster/adoptive/kinship dads

• How connection reframes discouragement, busyness, and expectations

• Why Montana families asked for this group — and how it meets a critical need

• Practical encouragement for showing up, even when life is full

Key Insight:

You don’t have to have it all together — just be willing to bring what you have. Connection multiplies strength.

Resources:

The Just For Dads Journey Group is being offered as both a daytime and evening group beginning in mid May. Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/4tMr47V

#FosterDads #MontanaFosterCare #AdoptiveFamilies #KinshipCare #JasonJohnson #ChildBridge #JustForDads #FosterCareSupport

What if the fear keeping you from fostering isn’t the real fear at all? Jason Johnson joins us to discuss the “thing beneath the thing,” why fostering often reveals more about us than we expect, and how families can navigate doubt with wisdom and faith. Whether you’re just exploring or already fostering, this conversation offers grounding, clarity, and compassion.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

- Understanding “the thing beneath the thing”

- How to navigate fears around attachment and grief

- Caring for biological and adopted kids while fostering

- When spouses aren’t on the same page

- Why outcomes don’t define success

📖 Key Insight:God doesn’t call us to control the outcome — He calls us to be faithful with the next step.

📌 Explore More Resources:

- Hear more from Jason on his website: jasonjohnsonblog.com

- Learn more about becoming a foster parent in Montana by visiting childbridgemontana.org/foster

-Find trauma-informed resources for your foster, adoptive or kinship journey at childbridgemontana.org/resources

👉 Subscribe for More:Subscribe today for foster care insights, adoption stories, and practical tools for kinship families.

#FosterCareJourney #FaithDrivenParenting #FosterDad #AdoptiveFamilies #KinshipCare

Parenting children with trauma and invisible disabilities can feel isolating and overwhelming. In this episode, Amy J. Brown — author, mentor, and mom to six — shares her journey and practical tools for navigating grief, building resilience, and leaning into God’s presence in the chaos. Whether you’re fostering, adopting, or caring for kinship kids, you’ll discover hope, encouragement, and strategies to thrive in the hardest seasons.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to process grief and avoid isolation
• Practical strategies for resilience and connection
• Why invisible disabilities require unique understanding
• How faith can anchor you in overwhelming seasons

Key Insight:

You are not alone — God sees you, and there is hope even in the hardest moments.

Resources:

• Find more parenting resources at https://www.childbridgemontana.org/resource-library
• Visit https://www.amyjbrown.com to learn more about Amy