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!

Sharing our Good News

Well I had a post for this week but I lost it so I decided to share our good news instead.

Yesterday afternoon we closed on the sale of our house! God allowed it to happen 3 days before the deadline of August 31st that was on the contract. During the course of the last month (months really) God has allowed many people to share the burden of prayer and now we see God's answer. I praise God for providing for us and for making the way for us to purchase a home in Louisville. He has really blessed us.

So to that end, thank you all who have joined in praying for us. We have been so blessed by the willing hearts and all the encouragement that God would meet our needs.

Now if you will please join us in praying that God would help us to find a place to live in Louisville!

Also if you would continue to pray that God would work in our lives to grow us ever more into the image of Christ so that as we go out to minister, we can do it in humility and love filled with the wonder of this ministry of reconciliation that Christ has entrusted us all with. May we be found faithful and with hearts that, above all, seek to glorify God for He is majestic and amazing!

Bookends Chapter 7: Dependent Responsibility

"We're to work diligently at our Christian growth but in the assurance that God is at work in us."

I think this quote from page 97 pretty much sums up chapter 7. The authors are saying, "Don't think you have found the loophole! You are still responsible for your actions!" A friend of mine said it really well, "You will never be judged on your fruitfulness but you will always be judged on your faithfulness." Rephrased this means, God will judge us based on our faithfulness to His commands and how seriously we take our sanctification. But He will never judge us on the outcomes of our faithfulness. You might spend your entire life witnessing to a tribe in Africa and never see a single convert. Fine. You were faithful to preach the Word. You will not be judged because souls were not won. You were faithful. The lesson? Work hard and trust God with the outcome.

This can be a difficult lesson to learn if you are anything like me, but it is a liberating idea. God is in complete control, so I am free to obey Him and know that it will be okay.

What part of the chapter stood out most to you?

Do you agree with the warnings regarding spiritual disciplines that the authors gave on page 99? Why or why not?

Which of the four disciplines they listed do you struggle with the most?

This was a short chapter but an important one. Ladies, do not rely on your own strength to accomplish anything. Put your trust in the Spirit. We truly can do nothing good apart from His power working through us.

Witty Wednesday

I came across some funny "World according to Student Bloopers" recently. I will be posting some of them for the next few Wednesdays. I hope you will get a good laugh and come back each week to hear more!!



The inhabitants of ancient Egypt were called mummies. They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere, so certain areas of the dessertare cultivated by irrigation. The Egyptians built the Pyramids in the shape of a huge triangular cube. The Pramids are a range of mountains between France and Spain.


Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock.

Scripture to Pray Through

Hello Ladies! Happy Tuesday! Jasmine is off camping with her family today so she asked me to post this for her. :)


Titus is one of my favorite books to pray through. It is only three chapters and so fitting for praying for my elders, my children, my family, church, myself, and friends. I frequently turn to this book. Recently; especially this chapter.

Titus 2

1But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

²Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.

³Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,

⁴so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

⁶Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;

⁷in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,

⁸sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

⁹Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,

¹⁰not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

¹²instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

¹³looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

¹⁴who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

¹⁵These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority Let no one disregard you.