Empowered to Connect

Dan and I had a chance to attend the Empowered to Connect conference this month. The ETC conference encourages and equips parents with some strategies to help connect with children who come from hard places. As much as we love our children and look forward to the bright futures they have ahead, we can't ignore the fact that they have a past that may include some difficult realities.

It was so encouraging for us to come home with practical strategies for the difficult behaviors. We've noticed just in the last month a lot more cooperation, increased snuggles and connection, a decrease in periods of disregulation and physical outbursts. We still have a long way to go, but after this conference, we felt a huge burst of HOPE.

If you are an adoptive family, you probably know about Karen Purvis' book "The Connected Child." I have the book. I read the book. It was filled with great theories. But I didn't know where to go next. Then I found Dr. Purvis' videos online which took things from theory in my brain to hope in my heart.

But all of it really came together for me in these two days. If you ever have a chance to attend the conference - RUN, don't walk!

My biggest takeaway from the weekend was this:  

"Our children bled before they came into our care, they should not and shall not bleed while they are in our care." 

But a great follow-up was this:
 
"God is a restorative God. It's His natural design. We broke our relationship with Him in the beginning and He sent His son to restore us and meet us where we are. We must do the same for our children."