Created To Connect Study Guide

ETC Resources on Sale

We are doing a special sale for the month of December!

All online orders of $25 or more from the ETC online store are 20% off for the month of December. Use code: Christmas2012 at checkout.

Visit www.etcstore.org to find helpful resources for adoptive and foster families – including the Created To Connect Study Guide and the DVD — What Every Adoptive Parent Should Know. The discount also applies to Tapestry store, including DVDs and CDs from past Tapestry conferences, Tapestry t-shirts and more.

By Michael Monroe, ago

Learning to Keep Your Balance

What if becoming the parent God has called you to be to your child from a hard place means that you need to un-learn as much or more than you need to learn? What if many of the popular approaches to parenting and discipline, many of which are regarded as “biblical,” actually aren’t best for your child given his background and history and what he needs to heal and grow? What if the parenting program you previously used, even with great success, when raising and training your other children needs to be significantly altered or even discarded for the child you adopted? What if the parenting techniques that most of your friends are using or that you grew up with are likely to be ineffective in achieving long-lasting change for the child you now love and desire to connect with?

I believe that parents need to seriously consider these and many similar questions as they set the course for how to best relate to and parent children from hard places.

By Michael Monroe, ago

Seeing Beyond the Obvious

It is often difficult, sometimes seemingly impossible, to see beyond our children’s behaviors. And yet, that is exactly what children—particularly those from hard places—need for us to do. Our children desperately need parents who can see beyond their behaviors to the real child that is locked inside a fortress of fear, confusion and shame.

At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that “seeing beyond” our children’s behaviors is not the same as overlooking behaviors that are unhealthy, unacceptable and hold them back. Some parents at this point may be tempted to respond, “How can we just let our children get away with bad behavior? Isn’t it our responsibility to teach them right and wrong and to discipline them accordingly?” The answer is certainly yes, but as we seek to do this it is important that we remain focused on the primary goal.

By Michael Monroe, ago

What is the Created To Connect Study Guide?

In June 2010 we published Created To Connect: A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child. Our hope was this study guide, which follows The Connected Child chapter-by-chapter, would be an encouragement and provide additional insight for Christian adoptive and foster families.

In less than one year we have distributed 6,000 printed copies of the study guide, and more than that same number of people have downloaded the study guide online. We have heard from dozens of churches that are regularly using the study guide in support groups and discussion groups. Likewise, many agencies and countless families from across the country have turned to the study guide to find hope and help.

By Michael Monroe, ago

Created To Connect Study Guide

Created To Connect: A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child is a study guide designed to help illuminate the biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the philosophy and interventions detailed in The Connected Child.

Watch as Dr. Purvis briefly explains the heart behind Created To Connect:

Click here to download (free of charge) the entire study guide or chapter-by-chapter. You can also find out more detail about how to purchase printed and bound copies of the guide.

By Michael Monroe, ago

A Less Than IDEAL Response

The thought of an outdoor family photo strikes fear in the hearts of most parents with young children. This experience can leave even the best parents feeling utterly powerless against both the weather and their children’s behavior. The stress starts even before picture day arrives. Finding coordinated outfits and keeping everyone’s hair perfectly combed is a challenge all its own. This humbling and expensive rite of passage leaves many parents wishing for one thing above all else: Please Lord, let them smile!

Let’s face it, situations like this can bring out the worst not only in our children, but also in us as parents. This was the case during what will certainly be known for all time as the Monroe Family Picture Fiasco of 2009. But from the mess of our poor handling of the situation came a real opportunity for better understanding and a chance to learn from our mistakes.

By Michael Monroe, ago

Created To Connect Study Guide

Created To Connect: A Christian’s Guide to The Connected Child is a study guide created by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Michael & Amy Monroe to help illuminate the biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the philosophy and the interventions detailed in Dr. Purvis’ book, The Connected Child. This study guide is designed to help adoptive and foster parents better understand how to build strong and lasting connections with their children, and is ideal for use in small groups as well as by individuals or couples.

By Michael Monroe, ago