Reading...

I have been reading several books lately that I wanted to share my thoughts on. As I've shared before I am currently taking a class from Texas Christian University on TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) as a means of working with children who have come from hard places. I'll share more about what I have been learning in that class in another post. But, I have had to read 2 books as part of that class that I would like to share here. The first one is The Connected Child - for parents who have welcomed children from other countries/cultures, from troubled backgrounds, with special behavioral or emotional needs. It is written by Karyn Purvis Ph.D. and David Cross, Ph.D. I think that all parents who have adopted kids from hard places should read this book. It has taught me more than any of the other sources on adopting combined. In part it teaching about looking at the brain chemistry changes that occur with early trauma and the long term ramifications of that helps to understand why a child engages in behaviors that as parents we sit back and scratch our heads over...or get very frustrated about. The book offers many ways for us to see our children's behaviors differently so that we can more accurately see the heart of our hurting/fearful child rather than assume "this child is willfully rebellious and will never change." They give many specific strategies for intervention and give much hope to the parents who don't know what to do next. What I appreciate the most about the book is that Dr's Purvis and Cross are Christians who do not rely solely on modern psychology but rather incorporate the truths of Christian parenting - including as part of our parenting to instill in our children their identity as a loved child of God.

The second book I read as part of this class is The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Kranowitz, M.A. Sensory Processing Disorder (or, as seen in various locations SI or SPD) is a relatively newly categorized disorder on the Autism spectrum. The spectrum goes from Autism to Asperger's Syndrome, to SPD. The book is very readable and helps to explain the causes and behaviors of those children who are highly sensitive to sounds, smells, sights, etc. Those kids who we buffer from out of the box (for them) experiences knowing those experiences will result in triggering a behavioral outburst. It also does a great job of explaining how SPD sometimes looks like ADHD - but delineates clearly how they are two different disorders.


The next group of books I am reading are parenting books (not that the above books aren't helping me parent my kids who have a wide range of "issues"). I believe strongly that parents need to be intentionally parenting their children and not just "getting through the day" by clothing, feeding, and keeping their children alive. We need to get to the heart of our children, teach them how they are loved by their Creator and the need for them to live for their Creator.

I was very, very impressed with Voddie Baucham Jr.'s book Family Driven Faith: Doing what it takes to raise sons and daughters who walk with God. He clearly goes through the reasons why we need to be parenting more intentionally, and wonderful suggestions on how that would look. Many of the precepts his discusses I already agreed with, but he had more practical suggestions and laid out the Biblical foundation well. I highly, highly, highly recommend this book.

And, because we have a teenager who is...well...a teenager...I also read What He Must Be...if he wants to marry my daughter - also by Voddie Baucham Jr. My husband and I were not raised in Biblical homes and this world of parenting...and parenting a teenager... has made us really examine our Worldview. We desire to have a Biblical Worldview and I am so thankful for such great leaders such as Voddie Baucham Jr who write such excellent books on this topic. This book takes a look at what Biblical Manhood should look like and how our daughters should settle for nothing less than a solidly Biblical Man - and how it is the father's responsibility to be actively involved in that process. It was very convicting about the goals we need to have for our own sons as well...

Finally, I read Boy Meets Girl - say hello to courtship by Joshua Harris. It the follow up to his "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." It is a great book that clearly defines what "courtship" means, has excellent practical ideas on what courtship looks like, and explains why courtship is the Biblical model.

My hope is that if any of you are looking for help or helpful ideas in parenting your children that you would check out these resources. I am always learning such great ideas from other blogger friends that I want to pass along what I have found helpful too:)