Blogs I Like - Part 3

Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

This is a good blog that I enjoy reading sporadically. It really focuses on the single issue of biblical manhood and womanhood which is an interesting topic that I think is important to discuss. Their posts do run pretty long and there have been several times where I wasn't really interested in the post and stopped reading. However, this is one of the hot topics in Christianity today and I appreciate the opportunity to be challenged on where I stand and be given the opportunity to prepare to defend my position.

VOM Persecution Blog

This blog is put out by the Voice of the Martyrs, which is one of my favorite organizations. Topics all circle around the persecuted church and include prayer updates and opportunities to sign petitions. It is so important for us to remember that this little bubble called "America" that we live in is not reality for the majority of our brothers and sisters in the Lord. So many people face imprisonment, torture, and death every day just for believing in Jesus. We should be ministering to these brethren through prayer and this blog offers the opportunity to pray very specifically rather than the blanket "and please be with our persecuted brethren and keep them safe."

True Women

I found this blog long after we named our own blog 'True Women.' At first, I'm not going to lie, I was a little upset that they had our same name and I wasn't planning on reading it. But I really enjoy their writing! They have several women write the blog and they come from all different stages of life. They do a different topic each month. Last month was really focusing on wifehood and motherhood. This month is devoted to becoming a Titus 2 woman. Their posts are God-centered and practical. I highly recommend it!

Blogs I Like - Part 2

Life Hacker

This is a very cool blog; in fact, it is too cool for me. They update many times a day with posts ranging over a myriad of topics all with one goal: to make life easier (hence "lifehacker"). This blog has something that appeals to everyone. I usually skip over the computer/software posts as they are usually way over my head. But if you watch, you can learn neat ways to make Gmail perform better and Facebook do things you didn't even know were possible.
I really enjoy the posts on more general topics. The other day they had a really good one on managing finances. Other favorites include: how to order at a five star restaurant, how to hide money so a burglar won't find it, and how to use vinegar to give your towels their life back.
This blog is extremely practical and I've learned so many little tricks to save time and money every day. There is no way you can keep up with every post; it would be a full time job in of itself. They help you with that, though, by giving the title of each post a 'tag' that identifies what kind of topic the post is. You can quickly identify which tags you are interested in and only pay attention to those. My favorite tag is the 'tip jar' which is just a series of tips that didn't really deserve a full post but were too good to discard completely. I definitely recommend that you check this blog once or twice a day; the posts are short and you can see in just seconds if they have updated something you are interested in.

Tim Challies
Tim Challies lives in Canada with his wife and children and works as a web designer. He is also one of the top Christian bloggers in the world. I like Challies' blog in part because it is very organized. His topics are always good and his posts, while sometimes on the long side, are well written, thought out, and biblical. I enjoy his 'A La Carte' posts where he links to interesting articles that he found throughout the day. He also does a 'Free Stuff Fridays' post where he gives you tips on where to find...well, free stuff. :)
Another feature of his blog that I enjoy are his 'Reading the Classics Together' series. Challies take a classic book (the most recent of which was 'Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment' by Jeremiah Burrows) and doe a book study with his readers. We read a chapter a week and then he will write a post with his thoughts and observations on the chapter and the readers discuss in the comments.

CJ Mahyne's View from the Cheap Seats
CJ Mahyne doesn't update his blog very often but his posts are always worth reading. He does a lot of series. Recently he has also been doing a lot of interviews with some of the big names in the Christian world and he just finished up an awesome series on Adoption. He also just brought on two other pastors from Sovereign Grace to write with him.

Blogs I Like Part 1 - My 3 Favorites

Happy Thursday Ladies! Today I am kicking off a four part series devoted to sharing with you the blogs I read on a consistent basis. These blogs are all worth visiting and I have personally learned a lot from each and every one of them.

The Blazing Center
The Blazing Center is my favorite blog. Hands down. It is co-authored by Mark and Stephen Altrogge. This blog rarely features series, but rather focuses on new topics every day. The blogs are never very long and are written succinctly. Their topics are always practical and biblical and it's easy to incorporate what was discussed into your day (and, hopefully, in the days after that!) I really enjoy the way they write, the examples they use, and the topics they discuss. I never miss a post!

Big Picture
This is a really cool website. Photographers travel the world and take...well...pictures :) Each picture is captioned with a line or two with some interesting information about the photo you are viewing. Themes range from "Recent Hindu Festivals" to "Remembering September 11" to China prepares for its 60th Anniversary" to "Afghanistan, September 2009." They document important global events such as the Olympics, presidential elections, wars, natural disasters, trips to space, etc. The pictures are fabulous. I get really excited whenever I see the Big Picture has been updated and highly recommend you checking it out!

Desiring God Blog
The Desiring God blog is kind of a given for a favorite. John Piper, along with others from Bethlehem Baptist, contribute to the writing of this blog. In addition to typical posts (which are always God centered and written to convict or encourage), they provide updates of what is going on in their ministry. This includes finding out about new books, good deals, new translations of the Bible, sermon series, conferences, and more. It is definitely a blog I follow daily.

Julie Ganschow Interview - Pt 3

Hello Ladies! I hope you are all enjoying Labor Day. Today we concluding our interview with Julie. You can catch up with our first two interviews here and here.

We have enjoyed getting to know Julie a little better and are looking forward to meeting her in person at the conference in October.


Julie, last time you gave us some advice on how we can communicate with our husbands. Do you have any one special piece of advice on how to communicate with our children?

Yes, I think too many parents expect their children to think like adults. Learn the difference between childish behavior and disobedience by asking good questions that will reveal their heart and open communication. Making statements will cause them to close off.

Unfortunately, we are all aware that although there is some great material available on the subject of biblical communication, there is also a lot that can be dangerous. Is there any such material that you would advise against reading?

Oh my yes! That list is way too long for this post! I avoid anything that is written by psychologists and reflects a "needs based" methodology.

Can you briefly describe the heart attitude that one should have when preparing to improve in the area of biblical communication?

In a word- humility. I believe we spend far too much time talking about how right we are! We do not care to really listen much, and when we are "listening" we most often are thinking about what we want to say next.

Are there any specific verses that you often use regarding how women specifically should communicate?

Yes, Eph. 4:25-26, Col. 4:6, 1 Thess 2:4-9, Titus 2:1.

Julie, thank you so much for allowing us to pick your brain and get to know you a little bit.

Ladies, please remember to register here if you haven't already.

Julie Ganschow Interview - Pt 2

We here at the True Women Blog have had the privilege of interviewing our Strengthening Women conference speaker, Julie Ganschow. You can see the first interview here.

Julie has been so kind to let us get to know her a little bit before she comes to teach us on October 3rd. I hope you take the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the life and wisdom of the woman who is going to give us her time and God given gifts to instruct us on the subject of communication.


Julie, please tell us a little about your children. How old are they? What kinds of hobbies/activities do they do? etc..

Larry and I have 3 sons. Stephen who is married to Anne lives in Kansas City about 5 minutes away from us. They both work for City Union Mission in KC. Stephen is finishing his degree in biblical counseling and working as the Medical Services Director for the mission. He is an avid comic book and memorabilia collector. In his off hours he thinks he is Batman....
They have no children yet, but did just get a new puppy named Captain America.

Patrick is currently in the United States Air Force as a Senior Airman and is Crew Chief on a C-130 aircraft. He has been stationed in Arkansas for the past year or so. He likes to work on cars and things. He has a wonderful sense of humor and can make me laugh just by being who he is! He is not married but does have a dog named Chancho.

Our youngest is Jake and he is 17 and beginning some college classes this fall. He hopes to attend Boyce College for his undergrad and then attend Southern Baptist Seminary. He would love to serve Christ as a pastor. The Lord has done some amazing things with him in the past 6 months. He just got a new job at the Culvers in KC. Jake has his own blog and he studies theology like a madman for entertainment.

Are there some specific things you have learned through biblical counseling on the subject of communication that you have found helpful in your own household?

YES! I will be sharing much of what I have learned at the conference, the most important things I believe we need to keep in mind. Communication is not easy, and before you can claim the right to speak, you must learn to be an active listener. That is very humbling but totally necessary.


Are there any reading materials you would recommend on the subject of communication?

Title: War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles By Paul David Tripp
Title: Peacemaking for Families: A Biblical Guide to Managing Conflict in Your Home by Ken Sande
Title: Conflict by Timothy Lane
Title: Forgiving Others by Timothy Lane


As a counselor, how prevalent would you say the problem of bad communication is?

True communication is a lost art. Very few people actually communicate anymore. Most people only talk at one another.

If you could offer a wife one piece of advice on how to communicate with her husband, what would it be?

Ask a lot of questions that indicate that you are truly interested in your husband's world. I am not saying conduct an inquisition, but think about what is important to your husband and engage him in discussion. Asking questions is a very important aspect of communicating because questions prick the heart. I will talk more about his vital area in our conference.

Thank you so much, Julie. We are looking forward to the conference.

Ladies, if you haven't already, please take the time to register for the conference here. The cut off date for registering is September 19th. We hope to see you there!

Julie Ganschow Interview - Part 1

Hello Ladies! As you all know, the Strengthening Women conference is fast approaching and this year our speaker is Julie Ganschow, a biblical counselor. She will be speaking on biblical communication, which is a hugely important subject in any Christian's life. I personally am very excited about the conference and I hope you all are too!

In order to get to know Julie a little better, the girls and I came up with some 'interview' questions and Julie was extremely gracious to reply to them. We wanted to share her answers with you. So here you are, ladies, the first of four posts devoted to getting to know Julie!


"Julie, we are very excited to get to know you here at the True Women blog. Our church is greatly anticipating the upcoming conference in October. Thank you so much for being willing to come and speak on such an important subject as communication.

We would like to take some time to let those who read the blog get to know a little bit about what makes you, you!


I (Jaz), though born in Missouri, was raised here in good old K-town. Most of the women here on the blog spent most of their lives here as well.

We know you were in Milwaukee for a while at least, but where did you grow up? We would love to hear some fun stories from your childhood!

I was born and raised in Wisconsin. I lived in Greenfield until I was an adult and married. Being the youngest of 4 children I was raised as an only child because everyone else was gone already!
Being the "caboose" had great benefit :) Vacations, material things, I lacked nothing. Probably the best thing was the look on my sister's face when my parents bought a dishwasher- right after she moved out! ;)

Nichole is presently in college at UW-Parkside going for a degree in finance. I have seen how much this decision has influenced her life.

Where did you go to school and what did you study?

My first goal was to be a nurse. When I blew up the chemistry lab (true!!) I thought maybe I should consider a different career. My next thought was to be an actress. I intended to go to New York and be on the stage, but planned to try and get into daytime television too. Many of my classes back then were theater oriented.
Then I realized all I really wanted to be was a wife and mommy. I ditched school entirely until I started homeschooling our children.
These days, I am trying to finish my Bachelor's in Biblical Counseling.

We know from your blog that you are a happily married woman.


How did you meet your spouse and how long have you been married?

Larry and I have known each other since the 7th grade. We tried dating a while in High School, but it did not work out. Life took us both in different directions but in 1989 we reconnected as adults and picked up our friendship where we left off, only better. We had remained friends throughout the years and had a once a year "date" at the July 4 celebration for our city.

In the early days of our adult relationship, we spoke a lot by phone because of the geography and time restraints involved. We discussed our faith and beliefs and what we wanted out of life in our adulthood. Our first date was on New Years Eve and we had our first fight that night too.... I could not imagine what we would fight about, I thought we were having a great time! He went to a deserted part of the parking lot, and reached behind my seat and came out with 2 cans of Silly String. We got out of the car, stood back to back, counted 10 paces and turned and shot this stuff at each other!

When he brought me home at the end of the night I realized my face actually hurt from laughing!

That would be an indication of our life together. My husband is the joy of my life and even after a few decades together we still enjoy each others company more than anything else. He is my best friend, and the love of my life.

I'm guessing that you are a very busy woman between loving your husband and family and counseling, but when you have some spare time, what do you enjoy doing?

Because we now live in a condo, I am able to spend more time doing what I really love as a pass time - writing. There is something wonderfully comforting to me about pouring thoughts into words on a page. I am always amazed at what comes out and even more amazed at how I see God using it. I never thought my words would have an impact on anyone's life...it is incredibly humbling to me to hear women talk about using my books as Bible studies.

I also love to watch old movies and read historical fiction. If I am going to "waste" time, that is what you will find me doing!

This next question is not just out of curiosity. Some of us ladies have toyed with the idea of taking some biblical counseling courses. I have personally benefited from books on counseling women in my own ministry here at TBC. Right now, the women at our church are reading through your book, Seeing Depression Through the Eyes of Grace.

We would like to know how you came to the decision to be a biblical counselor?

Well, that is a question that has a long answer...I was interested in counseling in my early 20's and thought about becoming a social worker. I believed what I heard about psychology and thought it would be a good way to help people. The problem was I saw so many people who went to counseling who were no different than before they started! I also really believed that the Bible was sufficient for life and godliness and could not understand why Christians I knew were in such bad shape and being diagnosed with all sorts of mental illnesses and in therapy for years.

In my 30's I was teaching woman's Bible study and the head of the Woman's Ministry at our church. Those positions caused women to naturally gravitate towards me looking for help with life's problems. I found that too often the women preferred to believe they had an illness rather than a spiritual problem. Our Pastor counseled from an integrated position, mixing the Bible with psychology. He once counseled a couple for 20 years-before they got divorced! I knew there had to be a better way.

I had heard about John MacArthur's Shepherds Conference and the Associate Pastor at my church let me listen to some of the sessions on tape about Biblical Counseling and psychology. Listening to those few tapes turned my world on its head. I investigated NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) and enrolled in a distance learning course. From there, I began reading every book I could get my hands on and attending conferences and seminars presented by the people whose books I read.

I am more convinced than ever that God's Word is completely sufficient to meet all the problems of mankind. I have honestly never come up against something the Bible does not address. He is enough!

Those with a desire to serve should follow that desire and get some good training. I strongly encourage women to disciple other women. Biblical counseling is really intensive discipleship and we need to be equipped to understand how to minister to one another."


In order to see more information regarding the upcoming conference, please visit the Strengthening Women Website!