Ep 293 | Staying Passionate and Creative after Nearly 20 Years with Finally Home Co-Founder, Kristin Orphan

This episode is in partnership with thousands of other podcasts highlighting nonprofits this week!

Kristin Orphan, co-founder of Finally Home, an organization dedicated to supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families. With over 20 years of experience, Kristin shares her journey of founding a nonprofit while navigating the challenges of being a foster and adoptive parent herself.

Kristin's story is a testament to the power of perseverance and faith in the face of overwhelming circumstances.

She opens up about:

The Genesis of Finally Home

• How personal experiences as foster and kinship parents led to identifying a crucial gap in support for families
• The initial focus on marriage education for foster and adoptive couples
• Balancing naivety and passion when starting a nonprofit

Navigating Challenges and Growth

• Adapting to unexpected hurdles in building partnerships
• The importance of staying true to your mission while remaining flexible in your methods
• Lessons learned from pivoting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sustaining Passion and Preventing Burnout

• The value of taking sabbaticals and delegating responsibilities
• Creating a culture that encourages innovation and accepts failure
• Balancing entrepreneurial vision with practical implementation

Looking Ahead to 2025

• Exciting developments in team leadership and virtual training programs
• The joy of seeing team members flourish in their roles
• Expanding reach through initiatives like the Family Journey show

Kristin's insights offer valuable lessons for nonprofit leaders, founders, and anyone passionate about making a difference. Her emphasis on building a strong team culture, embracing flexibility, and maintaining a sense of purpose provides a roadmap for sustainable impact.

Whether you're considering starting a nonprofit, facing burnout in your current role, or simply seeking inspiration, this conversation with Kristin Orphan will rejuvenate your spirit and remind you of the profound impact one person's vision can have on countless lives.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:

14:38 Building a Nonprofit Organization There are many surprises and challenges of starting a nonprofit, including the slower-than-expected process of building bridges with churches and other organizations. The importance of patience and staying true to the mission while remaining flexible in methods is crucial.
22:39 Avoiding Burnout and Maintaining Passion Avoiding burnout can include things like taking sabbaticals, delegating responsibilities, and surrounding oneself with skilled team members. Don't think of yourself of being the center of the organization and allow others to lead and grow.
28:53 Future Plans and Team Development Finally Home's future is bright, particularly in developing team leadership and expanding virtual training programs. Fostering a culture that encourages creativity, allows for failure, and promotes open communication among team members is critical.
34:09 Encouragement for Nonprofit Leaders The importance of faith, obedience, and remembering that you are not alone in their work goes a long way. Take regular breaks and maintain perspective on you role in the larger mission.

Full Transcript

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
I am super excited for this episode, because I get to interview Kristen Orphan, who is the co founder and creative director at finally home. They are a client of mine, and I've had the pleasure of working with them for the last couple of years, helping them with their email, their website, their marketing, all the things. And they are just a wonderful organization supporting foster, adoptive and can chip families with whole family strengthening. They help those families post placement as they kind of navigate what happens when you say yes and now you have children in your home that have experienced trauma that you don't know. And so really, they help families come together and understand how to communicate better, how kids can understand their big emotions and how to share what they're going through, and how the whole family can kind of start to heal. And there's so much more to it than that, but that's in a nutshell. And so today I'm excited to have her here, because she is the co founder and has been with finally home for over 20 years, and that's a long haul, and I know that burnout is really, really real in our space, and wanted her to just kind of come on and share why they got into the work that they do, how she has maintained that longevity, and how she still finds joy in doing the work that she does, and what she's Looking forward to. So no marketing strategies today, no tactics, but really just hope that you get inspired by her story, how she has led and grown this organization alongside her husband, and kind of what you know inspiration you might be able to bring back to your organization, or just kind of rejuvenate yourself in kind of what you're doing on a daily basis and why you got into the work that you are. Kristen, orphan, holds a Master's of Science in mental health and wellness with an emphasis in family dynamics, and is a certified family life educator. She's also an adjunct professor in psychology. Kristen is also the managing partner of family wellness associates and a family wellness master trainer. She's a worship leader and keynote speaker for special events and retreats nationwide and in her downtime, Kristen enjoys writing as well as performing as a vocal artist. I think you're really going to enjoy this episode. It was so fun. I could have talked to her forever, but just so many good ways to think about how we approach our organization, how we approach our growth, how we approach ourselves as we're building something that we care about. So perfect for you if you're a founder, perfect for you if you're an executive director, if you're thinking about starting a nonprofit organization, all good things. But I'm so excited for you to hear this episode, and I'm so excited that this episode is part of the Podcast-a-THON. So this week, more than 1000 podcasters are coming together to feature nonprofit organizations. Now, yes, this episode, or this podcast, is geared towards nonprofits, but we don't often have nonprofit organizations as guests, although, if you liked this episode, let me know, and maybe we'll do it more often, but join the community of people that are all sharing and highlighting nonprofits of their choice this week in March during the Podcast-a-THON, and we'll link all of that up in the show notes at thefirstclick.net/293, and if you want another nonprofit episode, make sure you check out episode 39 on the Easy Style with Sami podcast, my other podcast that I do that's more about inspirational stories like what you heard today, but we will be featuring Nancy Economu in that episode, all about her inspiration For starting her nonprofit organization. So again, you can check that out on Easy Style with Sami. It will be launching on Thursday of this week. So check out the website. See what other nonprofit inspiration you can glean from, again, more than 1000 podcasters that are joining in this movement today. I'm grateful to be a part of it, and thank you for listening to this episode. Let's get into it.

Intro
You're listening to the digital marketing therapy podcast. I'm your host, Sami Bedell-Mulhern. Each month we dive deep into a digital marketing or fundraising strategy that you can implement in your organization. Each week, you'll hear from guest experts, nonprofits, and myself on best practices, tips and resources to help you raise more money online and reach your organizational goals.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Hey, friends, please join me in welcoming Kristen Orphan to the podcast. Thanks for being here.

Kristin Orphan
Yeah, glad to be here.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
I have been so excited for this episode because we've known each other for a few years now, and I've been so inspired by you, and finally, home and the work that you do. And so often, we all see things that are happening. We all see, you know, people that might need additional support, animals that might need additional love and care or food. And I mean, insert all of the things that you're passionate about. But I just kind of want to start with. If it takes a special person to see that gap and lean into it and say, You know what, it's not that we just see this gap, we're going to do something about it. So I would love for you to just kind of start with why you felt like you wanted to step in and kind of serve foster kinship and adoptive families and found an organization with your husband, which is a whole nother layer of complexity. So kind of, how did that first initially come about?

Kristin Orphan
Well, it definitely came about out of our own personal journey as foster, adoptive and kinship. Interestingly, we had been the caregivers and eventual kinship guardians to my husband's youngest brother, who's developmentally disabled. He was 22 at the time, and we had two young sons, and that was a whole experience. Whenever you are asked to do something like that, first, for your family, there are things you just can't fully wrap your mind around, which I'm glad, because you don't know exactly what it's going to be like and what the challenges are. So we experienced that this kinship care and all of the family dynamics, extended family stressors, and all of the things. And then we also, as I said, we had two young sons at the time. We it felt like I was seeing the need for foster parents and adoptive parents everywhere I turned it's like every setting, every conversation I was in, was just talking about this idea. And it was so compelling to me, particularly and very, very intimately wrapped up in our own family faith journey, and what we truly believed that God was calling us to do is to open our eyes. We were so blessed as a family and wanted to have more kids, and yet truly believed that what we were being called to was to open our homes to kids who needed a family. And so once again, being incredibly excited about that, but also being very naive. And so fast forward through all of the process. What you you see in these compelling calls, even on TV or whatever is like, do this great thing, and it all feels really wonderful, and then you enter into a process where your entire life is exposed as it should be. But of course, that's not something you have ever experienced or anticipated. So every step from the vetting to the certification, everything feeling so delayed beyond it's like this great thing we're wanting to do, and yet it's so hard to the surprising way we actually were matched up. I'll just put it that way, with both of our daughters, all of that, and then the journey, actually, of raising kids who had experienced trauma and abuse. So all of that is just a very, very quick snapshot of what we experienced personally. So your question about where did this come from, and why it came out of those personal experiences, and then feeling so discouraged, so overwhelmed, so ill equipped, and then had starting to reach out and have conversations like, is this? Was this like this for you, you know, to find people who were in a similar journey and realizing that there were all these commonalities in families like ours. Even if our stories were entirely different, there were common themes. So it was that Sammy that was coming up over and over. And I, I just, I remember a moment just in prayer and journaling and pouring my heart out to the Lord saying we wanted to do this great thing. We thought it was coming from a really good place and that we had so much to offer. And now here we are feeling so overwhelmed, hurt, isolated because people that had been in our circle didn't understand now. We didn't really feel the rejection that a lot of people do. We felt almost a self isolation, because we were so exhausted that we just thought they will never get it. And when I say they, I'm just talking about people who weren't on this journey. So all of a sudden for a lot of reasons. So it was all of those things, and then this just moment in prayer where I truly believe that the Lord was saying, yeah, it is really hard. And I'm gonna call you to be someone who, who, who knows what it's like, and can then go and link people who are really alone, ill equipped, isolated, with all of the incredible resources. Love and people who they're, they want to help, they just don't know how. So it was, it was that, and it was deeply, um, spiritual, emotional, all of those things, and certainly not logical, because we were, we were very uh, strung out, so to speak, and kind of serving out of an emptiness.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Well, I think that's beautiful. And was it something where, like you and your husband Mark had been both kind of marinating in your heads and journaling and praying about separately, and then you kind of came together? Or was this something that you said, you know, I'm really feeling called to do this. Like, let's do this together. Like, how did that kind of kind of come about?

Kristin Orphan
It was really interesting because at the time, my husband Mark was serving a in a national initiative with the federal government, a whole grant where he was a part of a coalition of churches in at risk communities that were going in and providing Family Strengthening education. So this was happening at the exact right time, and of course, at the time we didn't see it as related. I was recognizing a need. I had actually resigned my full time job that I happened to love, so I was the one at home now doing what we couldn't afford, but we couldn't afford not to either, which was all hands on deck with these two little girls and trying to keep things together. So I was experiencing what I was experiencing Mark was experiencing personally, you know, on our family journey and in his work, he was out, kind of interfacing with people who were serving families who were broken in a different way, biological families who needed more skills. So what happened that kind of linked these things together was I just went with him, you know, to kind of get out. And I went with him to a retreat. He was there for work that he, you know, in this, in this federal grant, and we, and I was just there to get a break, quite honestly, yeah, and, and then this amazing, magical thing happened that we listened to this content that was being encouraged to these at risk families, and we thought that is we literally drove home and said, that's what's missing, because we recognized a need. We experienced the need. I told you, we felt incredibly empty. Then it was like this beautiful gift. It wasn't conjured up by us. We thought, you know, in the ocean of need, there's this one thing that makes sense, that if we could take this one thing and that one thing in that particular experience, was marriage education. Now it was part of a larger program that included parenting and all of the things, but it was marriage education. And what we had been seeing over and over is that in all of the training and all of the equipping and all of even the required ongoing training for families like ours, people were not talking about marriage. What was this doing? And yet we were seeing people's marriages fall apart, because the way a husband and a wife, a man and a woman faced certain things like this, are very different, and we were seeing the people's relationships were getting pulled apart, yeah, and so, and the way two Human beings approach things, so no relationship. So anyway, we drove away. So that's the answer to your question. That's where it started to become an us, like we both see this thing, and we both see how this particular tool could be the one thing that we could start offering to people. That's how this whole thing started. We saw a need, we saw a resource, and we thought we could do this. And we started dreaming on that drive home about the first basically marriage retreat. It was a two day retreat that we would offer specifically to foster, adoptive families at the time, even though we were a kinship family, we didn't even really see it that way. We just thought we're taking care of a family member. So it was foster adoptive families. We said, We can, we can do this thing, and we think that families like us would be really hungry for it.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
I think what's really beautiful about that is, when we look at big picture, in your case, the foster care system, adoption, what families are going through, kinship care, it can feel really big. It is really big. And so what I love about that is you knew there was. Is a gap that you could that you were seeing, but you didn't try to step into it and say, Well, we're going to fix the whole system, and we're going to do all this and that, like you guys came in very specifically on a we know we can make an impact here. And so we're going to lean into this, and we're really going to support families in this way, and then take it step by step by step, and so as you kind of launched into that first retreat, as you started developing, as you kind of started building your own nonprofit, what was it that kind of surprised you about the nonprofit world and actually then running a nonprofit?

Kristin Orphan
Well, I think that the thing that surprised me was more I was coming out of the church world, and I thought that people, specifically churches, would see the need and be willing to step up in bigger ways at the beginning than they did. I thought it would be easier to, yeah, that's really funny, because easy and nonprofit, it just doesn't often have the, you know, fall in the same sentence. So I think I was surprised somewhat again, naive that what we would do is be a bridge. I thought that bridge would be built a lot faster, because I don't say that in a condemning way, in any any way, because I came out of the church, ministry world, staff in I understand that everybody, whether it's a church or a nonprofit, has a whole lot of things they're trying to do. Just because this thing is my one thing doesn't mean it's going to be your one thing. So it wasn't, it wasn't even a disappointment, more of just a surprise that the bridge that we were called to build has taken a lot longer now, as an older person, having done this for a long time, I I understand the even the wisdom, the gift that it takes a while to build things it should take a while to build something that will last, and I would just say slow, just in the same way that you affirmed that anyone who sees a Need should step cautiously, one thing at a time, in not suggesting any one person is gonna solve something or fix an entire system, whatever it may be, I just think a pacing of the building of something, even if you're building to serve this one thing, taking your time to do it is the wisest way, yeah,

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
and that's one of the things that I've loved about working with your with you and Mark specifically. But finally, home as a organization is that you are very deeply rooted. Even though your services have expanded beyond that initial workshop that you do, it is still very much rooted in that as a core like we're here to help families become the best versions of themselves and be able to each individually be the best versions of themselves. You're also open to kind of shifts and figuring out, how do we best get this in front of the right people. How do we best serve people in a changing landscape? And so as you kind of, you know, started and you started growing, and you started seeing the impact and the positivity that you were impacting on these families COVID hits, and all of a sudden, your in person programming no longer can exist. But that only means that what the families need is prompt is greater than what it was before COVID Now that everybody's kind of stuck in their home. So how, how is it that you are kind of in a mindset way, like when that hit, and you're trying to navigate change, and you're trying to figure out, okay, well, now what do we do? And you're trying to pivot, like, how do you guys move through that? Or, how did you move through that at the time as a team to kind of figure out what you were going to do and how you were going to approach that situation.

Kristin Orphan
Yeah, and so many people had to do that, right? And did it, you know, did it well? And most of us the answer was virtual, something we couldn't have imagined. I'm sure you saw and were ready for that. We We had this idea that in order for it to mean something, it had to be face to face. So when I look back now, I realize that the way you remain flexible is that you stay true to your mission and flexible on your method. I could see that right before COVID, this thing, none of us could have imagined it was start we were building. Had spent some years building the framework around the method. Here's how we, you know, serve families in person. Here are all of our protocols, etc, etc. All incredibly important. Yeah. I can see how we started down a road of really becoming linked to the method, whereas COVID required that we just take a look at the mission and in by whatever means possible deliver that mission. And I'm grateful for that. It with all the heartbreak of COVID for so many people in our world, I'm grateful that it gave us an opportunity to see that we could deliver we could use different methods to deliver our mission in thereby impacting more people. The work we did to create the infrastructure and the methods around our in person there that was not wasted, because we utilize that and it's flexible and has allowed us to work in other countries and and be able to share with people that they want to serve in the same way. So that's all wonderful, as long as it doesn't become the king. And I know that there were times where I was very much like, Well, no, this is how you serve families effectively. And there have been times where I've had to say, oh, gosh, I guess that actually isn't a, you know, like some a hill to die on, but you, you know, you learn. And that's the bottom line, is you just you flex, and you go, Hmm, you know, maybe I could be open. And then there are those things as you say, No, this is a non negotiable. You just have to remain open and listen to people who have experience in other deliveries, other methods, and then it really crystallizes the parts of your mission that you won't let go of.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Yeah, yeah, that's so good. And so that kind of leads into, I mean, finally, home has been around for over 20 years now, and so how burnout is such a real thing for development people, for executive directors, for founders, for, I mean, for board members, you have had a team around you that has supported you for A good chunk of that time. But how do you kind of stay in it, like, how do you stay energized to keep doing this work you handle a lot of the creative and the programming side of things. So how do you kind of let the burnout keep that at bay? And how do you stay in it for the long haul?

Kristin Orphan
So I did say that this started out of our faith, and I will never, ever lose sight of that. And that has several implications. One is, I am a manager, not an owner. This is not the Christian orphan or the mark and Kristen orphan show or ministry. And when you start something, it's tempting to believe that, and also a lot of people kind of want to project that on you, so you can start to believe the hype, and you can believe it for good or bad, you know, it's all your responsibility or it's all your fault. And as a leader, there's some of that, but I have tried to learn over the years, sometimes better than others, that this is not about me, and that I don't want it to live or die based on my capacity or even my endurance. So couple practical things. One is through these years, I've taken two sabbaticals.

Kristin Orphan
That is an incredibly wonderful reminder and humble reminder that life goes on without you. We've seen great growth when I've stepped away, which is really wonderful. We surround ourselves with really good people who are experts in what they do, like you and we listen to them, because if I have to control everything, then I'm right back to being the center of this universe. And not only do I not believe that for this organization, I don't believe that for life, I don't believe that in my relationships, I don't believe anything. I mean, there is a God, and I'm not him, and I I can't carry the weight of this organization, of this family. I wasn't meant to. I was meant to be obedient, to do my part, to invite others and even facilitate like, I mean, you know Sammy, you're one of, you know, a whole team of people who are gifted at things that I'm not gifted at, that Mark's not gifted at. But also it's a delight to see you work in your sweet spot, bring things, bring a perspective, and also to just enjoy it. You know, I mean, I we want that for. People around us too, like do what you're good at, do what you enjoy doing. Yes, it is for the betterment of the organization, but, I mean, it's, it is for your good too, because you're doing what you're made to do. And I just don't ever want to lose sight of that, and it's a reminder of those things. So you you give away, you know, you take responsibility, but you give away credit, and you give away you delegate. You're willing to let go of things. You're willing to let things be done differently. Again, go back to the mission and your values. Other than that, there is a there's so many ways to do things, and I don't, I don't want to control all of that when you feel like it's all up to you, that's a recipe for burnout, and that's a recipe for not just burnout of you personally, but burning through people and burning out the organization like it's done when you're done. And we've seen that and that, again, that's heartbreaking, because people will pour themselves into something for whatever duration of time, holding on so tightly because of a good, good thing. They want to do this. They want to be obedient. They want to be faithful. But it's, you know, that that just doesn't last forever. And things happen too. I mean, you know, throughout this time, my husband had a very severe health issue, that was one of the reasons for a sabbatical. Like, things happen. We're human and we are replaceable, and we have to have that mindset, and we've always got to be looking at who's going to step in. That doesn't mean that, finally, home has to go forever, if it's not meant to go forever, no problem, but it won't be for lack of releasing leadership.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
I think for me working because you said, I love that. You said it's not just about we have people on the team that bring things to the table, that are experts in those areas, but that we have fun doing it. And I think that that is very true, and that it's a very collaborative environment. And so we are a small team. I mean, we all bring different things to the table, but yet, when we're coming together on new ideas, or we're coming together on new programs and services, everybody kind of comes at the table and puts in their own little two cents, and then we're like, Okay, this is the best we all move forward, and everybody's great and on board. But it's not ever just one person saying, This is what we're doing. Everybody fall in line. The fact that you and mark both welcome feedback and engagement and ideas and like, Okay, well, how does this affect this and affect that? I think that alone is a very unique leadership quality that most organizations don't have, whether they're founder LED or not, especially founder led organizations. So I think that message about kind of releasing is so important, and I hope that people hear that, because it's not a releasing of your energy and what you've put behind it in your history with the organization. Letting go of that control does not mean that you become what's the word I'm looking for, not invalid. It doesn't minimize your contribution to the organization. I think maybe that's sometimes where people get stuck as somebody who's been in an organization for so long, is that I might become obsolete, as opposed to people understanding the gifts that I've given to this organization. So I think the way that you worded that was really, really great, but also just kind of as we look to 2025 for your organization. What are you excited about? Like, because I know there's lots of great opportunities that are showing up. But what are you excited about? What? What kind of lights you up? And what do you see, kind of bringing you the most joy in 2025 with finally home, or just in general?

Kristin Orphan
Well, I think one of the things that I try to answer these questions with, kind of the first thing that pops into my mind, because I'm again, someone who likes about a lot, a lot of different things. So I'll just say, we're here for I am excited about our team. I'm excited about giving away leadership. And I will just say, you know, Mark, and I don't do any of this perfectly, and we've had seasons where we've had to learn the hard way, so that that's just something that I would encourage any leader, it's just like be cautious to say I'm this kind of leader. I'm that kind of leader, because as a leader, we have to grow and change and learn and all of us. Because I think that some, one of the reasons people hold on tightly is is just this incredible sense of responsibility. They want to be responsible to what they have chosen to lead. And that is a really good value and and can be a trap for any and all of us when we're, you know, feeling that good sense of responsibility, and it turns toxic when it becomes something like, oh my gosh, like, I. Have to be in everything, because it's my responsibility. So surrounding yourself with people you trust is one of the ways that you're kind to yourself, because you can begin to release that. And trust is a really big deal. And many of us leaders, you know, we've we've experienced the negative side of that too, when you've given something away so that that's that's life, and that's the hard thing. And so we have some of our bad habits, you know, we've earned them, so to speak, but we want to keep learning and growing through them. So I am excited about our team. It is a relief because we've had some folks get trained up in ways that in 2025 now they don't need us so much, and that is wonderful. We've been walking along and tried to be diligent in the training process, and now we're releasing some of them, and we've joked as a team and said training wheels are coming off now, like, go, be free, you know, flourish. We want that, you know, and especially you know, my husband, he's very entrepreneurial, and so he's always thinking about the next thing, the next thing, and I tend to be the one who's a little bit behind him, going, Okay, let's make sure that we've got the structures in place, but we both want to release. So I'm excited about that, because I believe that we've got some folks that are being released into things. And I love in our team meetings, when we do this thing called Round Robin and we get reports, I love it when somebody reports on something that I had no idea, you know, it's like, Oh, that's really fun. And also super cool that you are totally handling that and I did not know. And I get to be, you know, excited about that. I'm excited about our growing virtual trainings and footprint and then just this, oh, I love our family journey show, because we just get to talk to people who are from all walks of life, and it's it's related to families like ours, but it's not like our training, it's more just this kind of expanding of the family. So all of those things I'm pretty excited about, but probably the very first one is just that our team is being released to really lead their areas.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Yeah, and I want to make sure that we make it clear too, that the culture and the way to allow the team to be able to take charge, take off their training wheels, and move forward is that you've also built a culture of failure is okay. Any idea can come to the table, and that sometimes we try things, they don't work so great. Sometimes they work really well. We're going to try some things. And that culture of allowing people to be creative and come to the table with ideas. Because, like you said in the Round Robins, sometimes things come up from other people that aren't even involved in that particular task, but because we had it in a group setting, now the whole thing gets lifted up another level because they're like, Oh, I didn't think about that. Or that's a great concept, or let's like, bring so I think that is super important, that culture so kind of reinforcing your Don't worry about the type of leader you are, necessarily foster the right culture within your team. And you know, it kind of all comes together on their on their own. So I love that. And of course, the family journey show is great, and we will link all of those links up in the show notes. But Kristen, as we kind of wrap this up, if you were going to maybe share something to listeners out there that are maybe year end didn't go so great, or year end went awesome. Or maybe they're just kind of struggling in their day to day, or just need to be kind of uplifted in order to keep doing the work that we know is so important that they're doing. Kind of, how do you give yourself a pep talk? Or, like, is there a particular verse that that brings you comfort? Or how do you kind of, what might you say to somebody that just needs a little extra boost to just kind of keep, keep doing the incredible work that we know they need to do. All right, put you on the spot with that one. I bet

Kristin Orphan
that's okay. I love that. I love that. So, I mean, there is a verse in Isaiah, and I believe it's in the chapter 43 I'm not entirely sure the verse, possibly 43 one, but you can read the chapter, but it basically God is saying, when you go through deep waters, I will be with you. And we've been doing, actually, we do a spirit we call it spiritual formation, optional for everybody to join in on Wednesday before our team meeting, just for encouragement. And we've been going through a series on not being anxious. And what we keep coming to is that the antidote to this anxiety, whatever its root, and certainly leaders, Oh, wow. I mean, we carry this weight with us so but I'm. Going to come back to anxiety, whatever it was, whether it's like you said, Sammy, we didn't have a good year end and so we're stressed, or we had a really great year end, and now we've got a, you know, we've got to really live up to this amazing like, expectation, whatever it is, anxiety, right? Worry. We keep coming back to the same thing. The antidote to anxiety is knowing that the Lord is near and we have been promised his presence daily, moment by moment, and that this, I mean, for me, it just, I cannot live anything you know we didn't even get into our personal journey as a family and why you shouldn't necessarily start a nonprofit while you're living out the hardest parts of your story. But that is just what that is, the way it that way it went. It kept us humble. Um, there is no way for me to live or do, nor would I ever want like this is not a cause to me. This is an act of obedience. This is not I want to do something good. This is, this is an act of obedience, period. I am not that good of a person that I would give my life to something like this. It is, you know, all of us, we don't get paid enough. We don't. It's like, this is an act of obedience, and I know who I'm obeying, and he has promised to be present with me in everything that he is making away, and he is both working in me as he works through me, and at the end of the day, as I said from the beginning, I'm not an owner, I'm a manager and I am his child. And Jesus says his yoke is easy and His burden is light. He invites us to come away. Even circling back to you talked about burnout and sabbatical, well, the root is Sabbath. We have to take breaks. We are never if we say, oh, after this season is done, we take a break. Once we get to this point, we're going to take a break. You cannot do that, and that's not how life was meant to be lived. And so to answer your question, no matter what your worry, no matter what your burden is, just remember you're not alone in it, that there is a God who loves you more than you can imagine, who's walking in it. And if this thing is worth doing. It's because he put it on your heart, and he is. He never asked you to do it without him. He's just out. He's inviting you like we invite team members and staff members. He's inviting you to be a part of it for your betterment and to be used, you know, for good in this world, we just have to remember that it is not all up to us. That's it.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
I love that so good. Well, Kristen, great way to wrap this up if people want to learn more about finally, home. How can they do that?

Kristin Orphan
Well, you can absolutely check out our website that the excellent Sammy continues to oversee and rework as we grow faster and let her know. Oh yeah, Sammy, we're doing this now too. So family home.net, and then you'll share all of the links to all of the other things. Reach out if you can't find what you're looking for, contact us, because we would just love to have a conversation with you and to encourage you, and for all of you leaders, maybe even in unrelated fields, if there's anything we can do just to encourage you today, then please reach out to us about that too. all of that up

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Yep, and we will link in the show notes at the first click.net/ 293, as your marketing person. That was kind of a test just to you know, kind of see if you you got your spiel down for where to direct people for more information. Thank you so much for being here on this episode.

Kristin Orphan
I really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for inviting me.

Sami Bedell-Mulhern
Thank you so much again to Kristen for joining me today. Everything will be linked up, all of the links to the be on the journey show she mentioned, finally home.net, and all of the other ways that you can connect with them. At thefirstclick.net/293, you know of a foster, adoptive or kinship family that could use support, with post placement training with relationships with trauma and or mental health support, please make sure you reach out to them. They have some great resources and programs available to help families nationwide, and you can, again, check them out at finally, home.net. They have a soft spot in my heart, and I have so enjoyed working with them for the past few years. Make sure you subscribe wherever you listen, and head on over to the podcast a THON, and make sure that you grab some other episodes that you might want to listen to featuring other nonprofits again. All this whole week in March, there are over 1000 podcasts that are dedicating their episodes to featuring nonprofits, and so we are so grateful to be a part of it. Thank you so much for listening, and again, we will see you in the next one.