Katie Ganshert, Author at Katie Ganshert

Wildflowers from Winter: Hope after Divorce

Posted on April 20, 2012April 20, 2012 by Katie Ganshert

I became acquainted with Shannon Milholland after posting on Suite T, the blog for Southern Writers Magazine. She is an amazing woman with an amazing testimony. I trust God will use it to encourage many hearts today.

God Speaks Through Our Pain

I stared at the ceiling through eyelids thickened by depression. I would get out of bed but only for the sake of my two little girls. The smell of the beach clung to everything but I most assuredly was not on vacation. If anything I needed to take a vacation from this new life I was starting as a single mom.

I navigated the streets of a city where I knew not a soul to my new job. The only conversation I’d had that morning was with my kids. God and I were no longer on speaking terms. I blamed Him for the current state of my life.

The silence was deafening.

Just before it was time to leave for the day, a coworker stopped by my office. He wanted to check on my pencils and make sure they were adequate. He wasn’t just interested in my pencils, if you know what I mean. Daily visits followed as he checked on the whole entourage of my office supplies. Never had I known someone more diligent in their position.

In no time I heard the office gossip. He too was going through a divorce. Somehow God allowed me to peer behind his happy façade and see the pain within his heart. During one of these ordinary visits, I heard the whisper of God in my heart to share Him with this stranger.

This was a ludicrous idea! What would I tell him? That a God with whom I wasn’t currently speaking wanted to have a relationship with Him. Absurd!

But His voice was unmistakable.

Deep within I knew God was with me. He hadn’t shut off our communications. He still cared and I did have a well of hope – a hope I could share with a desperately lonely man.

I summoned courage I didn’t know I had and offered, “Look, I’m not trying to pry into your personal life but I want you to know I’m going through the same thing you are. Even though these are the hardest darkest days of my entire life, I still have hope. If you’re interested in having hope in your life, I’d like to tell you where you can get some.”

My offer hung in the air like an unwanted visitor.

I didn’t know it at the time, but he had been sitting alone in a vast empty house night after night fingering his weapons and considering his options. He had no way out. One lonely night he stumbled across the Bible his grandparents had given him as a little boy. He cracked the pristine spine to no place in particular and cried out to God for help. God sent the most unlikely of help. God sent me.

Six months offer he accepted my offer of hope, he accepted Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. Six months after that he offered me a diamond ring.

When I had the least, God offered me the most.

When I loved Him the worst, He gave me His best.

When I stopped talking, He shouted His love in a whisper.

Scott asked me to marry him and my two little girls to be his daughters. Within three years of marriage, we were blessed with two more girls. Out of our greatest pain, God grew a marriage, a family, a home abundant in love.

God spoke through me so eventually He could speak to me. He speaks through our pain.

Shannon is the author of Jesus & My Orange Juice, a fresh-squeezed oasis for ordinary living. She finds joy among piles of laundry and miles of carpools and delights in leading others to this place of contentment in life. She recently wrote the free 30 day prayer guide PrePrayed: Preparing for Life’s Events. She is also the Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine where she shares her arsenal of secrets about how to be successful in the sometimes intimidating world of social media.

As a speaker, Shannon is straight forward about her own struggles. She is a compassionate advocate fighting for victory in the life of her audience with a message of hope and encouragement.

When not writing she enjoys her favorite job of wife to Scott and mom to four daughters from preschool to high school.

Let’s Talk: Do you know Shannon? Say hi. Introduce yourself. And tell us about a time God spoke to you.

Do you have a story you can share? Don’t miss out on the Wildflowers from Winter blog hop on May 4th! Click on the link for details.

I’m over at Shannon’s blog today, talking about the importance of a listening posture.

Bethany Quinn on Shame

Posted on April 18, 2012April 18, 2012 by Katie Ganshert

Another Wednesday and I’m back. It seems the universe has a good sense of irony.

Anyway, Katie’s busy with rewrites and since it was kind of cathartic to have my say last week, and since I’d prefer to get to know the people who will be reading my story, I figured I’d give it another whirl.

Back in the beginning, when Katie was trying to get to know me, she asked me this question.

Are you ashamed of your past?

I just sort of stared at her.

First, because she was really starting to remind me of Dr. Nowels, sans the toupee. And in case you don’t know Dr. Nowels, let me assure you, the comparison is not meant to be flattering.

Second, because I thought the answer was obvious.

My past isn’t exactly something to be proud of.

I grew up in a trailer park with a mother who had to work third shifts at an aluminum plant. We drove a rusted out Pinto with a faulty muffler and I had to wear my brother’s hand-me-downs. I did one stupid thing when I was twelve and had to spend the next year in therapy. The next ten with a stigma that refused to go away.

Is it any wonder I left?

Nobody likes feeling shame. It’s not an endearing emotion.

When I explained all this to Katie, she raised her eyebrows and sucked on the end of her pen. Like whatever I’d said nudged an invisible puzzle piece into place.

I didn’t rise to the bait. I didn’t ask what she was thinking.

Because it doesn’t matter. I’m an architect, a really good architect. With a masters degree from Texas A&M. With a new car and closet full of nice clothes.

I’m well respected. I’m independent. And that stigma I had growing up? Nobody sees it here. I know how to hide it. In fact, I can almost pretend it never existed.

Even though we’re not BFFs or anything, Bailey and I understand each other. Because her past isn’t all roses and sunshine either. She’s well acquainted with shame. In fact, she’s talking about it here.

Let’s Talk: Do you ever struggle with shame? How do you deal with it?

Interested in reading mystory? You can preorder Wildflowers from Winter on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Christianbook.com

Check out Katie’s Facebook Author Page or Dani Pettrey’s Facebook Author Page for a word of encouragement regarding shame.

Two people are reviewing Wildflowers from Winter today. One from Heather Sunseri (she asks a powerful question and hosts a giveaway) and another from Casey Herringshaw.

Dream Big or Stay Grounded

Posted on April 16, 2012April 15, 2012 by Katie Ganshert

In 2009, I went to my very first writing conference. I sat in a banquet hall in Denver, surrounded by hundreds of other writers, listening to Debbie Macomber give the key note speech. She talked about dreaming big.

It was 100% inspiring.

Now here I am, three years later, on the cusp of my first ever book release. Wildflowers from Winter hits shelves in twenty-one days (insert hyperventilation here). And most of the time, I find myself playing the part of a giant pendulum.

Swinging back and forth.

Picturing a career like Karen Kingsbury one minute. Grounding myself in reality the next. Climbing imaginary ladders that reach into the stars. Then curling up into a ball on the ground, afraid to dream of anything remotely grand.

I won’t lie.

The balance between dreaming big and staying realistic is not an easy one to maintain.

On one hand, it’s important to dream big.

Because big dreams inspire us to reach for something higher than ourselves. Big dreams motivate us to work hard. Big dreams fill us with excitement and possibility.

You don’t accomplish big things by dreaming small.

But on the other hand, big dreams can be dangerous.

Because those dreams can set us up for disappointment. They can lead to discontentment and disillusionment. They can become idols.

So what’s a writer to do?

Rachelle Gardner told me something once that really stuck with me. It was at the 2010 ACFW conference. We were having a little chat and I remember her saying this:

Big dreams are great. It’s when those dreams become expectations that we get ourselves into trouble.

Let’s Talk: How do you maintain this balance? Are you more prone to dreaming big or are you more prone to staying grounded?

Julie Cantrell is interviewing me on her blog today. Stop on over and leave a comment for a chance to win an advanced copy of my book!