Empowered To Connect » Audio

Precious in His Sight

Michael Monroe — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:49:20 +0000

Each year the Christian Alliance for Orphans hosts its annual Summit. At Summit VII in 2011 Dr. Karyn Purvis was featured as one of the keynote speakers.

In this brief 20 minute talk, Dr. Purvis shares some fascinating insights about the way in which we were created by God to connect. As revealed in Scripture and confirmed by science, all humans are designed as relational beings. Yet ‘children from hard places’ have missed out on so much of the nurture and development that is ideal and serves to build a strong foundation of trust early in life. As a result, adoptive and foster parents must be committed and uniquely equipped to lead these children toward healing.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/Audio-ETC/Reflecting+Your+Child%27s+Preciousness+-+Karyn+Purvis+(CAO+Summit+VII+-+2011).mp3

Find out more about Summit VIII on May 3-4, 2012, at Saddleback Church in Southern California.

Below is the short video (Still Face Experiment by Dr. Edward Tronick) referenced by Dr. Purvis in her talk:

Becoming an Advocate for Your Child in School

Michael Monroe — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:59:03 +0000

The school experience is an important aspect in the life of a child. And yet, school often presents unique and sometimes unexpected challenges for both children and parents in adoptive and foster families.

Tapestry recently hosted an event entitled Back to School: Strategies to Help Your Child Have a Positive School Experience. During the first half of this Tapestry event, Amy & Michael Monroe discussed keys to help parents advocate well for their child in school.

Listen to Amy & Michael’s presentation. You can also download the slides for their presentation and view a list of suggested resources focused on school-related issues.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/Tapestry/Back+to+School+(Sept+2011).mp3

Connecting While Correcting

Michael Monroe — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:18:33 +0000

In March 2011, Tapestry hosted an event entitled Connecting While Correcting. This event focused on helping adoptive and foster parents understand the need for connecting with our children, even when correction is required.

Amy & Michael Monroe began the event by presenting some of the key concepts and strategies that can equip parents to connect while correcting. Click here to download their presentation. The second half of the event featured a panel of adoptive and foster parents who shared their experiences and what they are learning as they seek to connect while correcting.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/Tapestry/Connecting+While+Correcting+Audio+(Tapestry+-+March+2011).mp3

Adoption from the Inside Out

Michael Monroe — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:44:24 +0000

One of the most often overlooked aspects of the adoption and foster care journey is the need for parents to turn the focus on themselves in terms of dealing with their own past hurts and losses, looking honestly and realistically at their motivations and expectations and learning what it means to be “fully present” with their children. In fact, approaching the journey in this way — what we call “Adoption from the Inside Out” — is necessary if parents are to help their children experience healing and transformation.

In this audio presentation Michael & Amy Monroe speak to a group of adoptive and foster parents (and parents-to-be) at a Tapestry event about what it means to approach the adoption and foster care journey from the “inside out.” This process requires that parents be willing to look back and make sense of their own past, look forward and honestly examine their motivations and expectations, in order to be free in each and every moment to be “fully emotionally present” with their children to help them heal and become all that God has created them to be.

In addition to listening to the audio, you can also follow along with the slides and handouts for this presentation.

http://empoweredtoconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/Adoption-from-the-Inside-Out-Audio.mp3

Counting the Cost: Preparing for the Adoption Journey

Michael Monroe — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:55:54 +0000

Dr. Karyn Purvis was one of the keynote speakers at the 2010 Together for Adoption Conference in Austin, Texas. During her talk, she encouraged the nearly 1,000 participants that were gathered to “count the cost” as they prepare for and travel the adoption or foster care journey. This brief 30 minute talk is highly relevant and challenging for all adoptive and foster families, as well as for churches wanting to wade into the waters of adoption and foster care ministry.

http://empoweredtoconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/Counting-the-Cost_-Preparing-Churches-for-the-Adoption-Journey.mp3

Connecting With Your Children as They Get Older

Michael Monroe — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:52:34 +0000

For adoptive and foster parents, developing strong connections with children when they are young is often challenging. As children grow older, or when older children come into our families, these challenges often increase. Dr. Karyn Purvis spoke at the 2010 Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference in October 2010, where she shared her insight and practical advice about how parents can effectively connect with older children. You can listen to the audio from this session below: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/Connecting-With-Older-Children.mp3

FamilyLife Today Interviews with Dr. Karyn Purvis

Michael Monroe — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:50:52 +0000

Recently Dr. Karyn Purvis was interviewed on the FamilyLife Today radio program. During this three part interview, Dr. Purvis discusses the characteristics of children from hard places, the importance of parents having realistic expectations and tools and strategies that can help parents effectively correct behaviors and develop strong and lasting connections with their children. You can listen to each of these interviews below or purchase a single CD containing all three interviews from FamilyLife.

Listen as Dr. Purvis talks about the realities for children from hard places and encourages parents to “count the cost”:

http://familylife.edgeboss.net/download/familylife/flpod/fl20100322.mp3

Listen as Dr. Purvis talks about the importance of parents having realistic expectations as they begin and travel the adoption or foster care journey:

http://familylife.edgeboss.net/download/familylife/flpod/fl20100323.mp3

Listen as Dr. Purvis offers tools and strategies for parents to help them connect with their children to help them heal and become all that God intends:

http://familylife.edgeboss.net/download/familylife/flpod/fl20100324.mp3

Talking With Children About the Difficult Realities

Michael Monroe — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Along with the joys and blessings of adoption and foster care come some difficult and often painful realities – issues such as grief, loss, abandonment, past trauma and the need for forgiveness, just to name a few. It is important for adoptive and foster parents to be prepared to help their children navigate these emotional and complex issues, and to make sense of their own personal histories as well.

This talk, entitled Not Your Everyday Conversation: Talking With Children About the Difficult Realities of Adoption and Foster Care, was presented by Michael and Amy Monroe at the 2009 Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference. The talk focuses on these and other issues in an open and honest way, and provides specific tools to help parents effectively communicate with their children about the difficult realities of their past in order to help prepare them for their future.

audio recording of this presentation (mp3 file)

You can also download the handouts for this presentation.

The Connecting Link

Michael Monroe — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:52:18 +0000

We were made to connect – with each other, with creation and with our Creator. As a result, one of the greatest gifts that parents can give to their children is a strong and lasting sense of connection. In The Connecting Link: What Parents Need to Bring Healing to Their Children, delivered at the 2009 Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference, Dr. Purvis focuses on this important topic.

In this talk, Dr. Purvis provides parents with a better understanding of why children from hard places use distancing strategies, and how they can help their children replace those strategies by giving them voice, empowering them to make choices and helping them rediscover their inherent preciousness. In addition, Dr. Purvis challenges parents to better understand what they bring to the relationship, and to look at their own past hurts and loss with honesty and forgiveness.

audio recording of this presentation (mp3 file)

Children from Hard Places: What Everyone Needs to Know

Dr. Karyn Purvis — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:09:52 +0000

“Children from Hard Places” — this is the phrase used by Dr. Purvis and others to describe children that have experienced some type of abuse, neglect or trauma during their lives (including prenatal exposure to substances or high levels stress, difficult labor or birth before or medical trauma). Obviously, this phrase applies to most children who were adopted or spent time in foster care.

Our focus for these children must always be clear: to help them heal and become whole in body, mind and spirit. This is done not by focusing on achieving “good behavior,” but by helping our children create strong connections built on trust. Out of this can grow not only “good behavior,” but so many other things that our children need and that we desire for them. By balancing structure with nurture and always remaining mindful of the inherent preciousness of each and every child, we have the opportunity to help our children realize dramatic strides and in the process discover (and re-discover) the joy in parenting.

In this presentation (from April 2009 at Summit V, hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans), Dr. Karyn Purvis talks about what everyone needs to know about children from hard places – and how we can go about creating and fostering strong and lasting connections to help them heal and grow.

audio recording of this presentation (mp3 file)