Have you ever wished you could sit down in a casual coffee shop with one of our authors and speakers and chat? We are so thankful for the amazing women of God we have the privilege of working with regularly. And while we can’t all gather in our favorite downtown coffee shop, we want to give you the opportunity to know them a little more personally.
Every other month we’re sharing a fresh “coffee chat” with a member of the Lifeway Women family to give you the opportunity to get to know her a little better.
This month, get to know Kandi Gallaty!
Tell us about your writing process. Any favorite pens, locales, teas to drink, and music to listen to?
For me, writing mostly starts from my journal entries that I do each week when I spend time with the Lord. A lot of times, those entries become parts of teaching sessions throughout the year. Then I sit down with my computer and start typing away. I love U™ brands felt tip pens because they write well, are pretty, and come in many colors and patterns. I am mainly a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy hot tea sometimes. I often drink an extra-large cup of coffee in the morning and an iced coffee drink in the afternoon. If I go to a coffee shop, I like a Cuban hot or iced and a vanilla latte breve with extra vanilla. I love Christian and country music but normally don’t listen to anything while I am writing. When writing, I like quiet surroundings so I can focus. My favorite place to write is at the beach on a balcony overlooking the gulf. That is where I wrote Disciple Her.
What is one of your favorite travel destinations? Is there somewhere you haven’t been that is on your wish list?
One of my favorite destinations is Italy. Robby and I went on our tenth anniversary, and it was just incredible. We held hands and walked in every city. We ate pizza and drank coffee at little Italian cafes, and it was a dream. I want to go back! I would love to go to Scotland one day. (My maiden name is Ross, and there are ruins of the Ross castle.) I really want to go back to England, too. I have been once, but I want to go again and go to the Metropolitan Tabernacle where Charles Spurgeon was pastor. I also want to visit Bletchley Park where the United States and Britain formed an alliance to share intelligence during World War Two.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I’ve received is probably that sometimes you have to be OK with being misunderstood. We can’t make everyone happy, and unfortunately, not everyone will like us in life. I am the type of person who wants to be liked and to be friends with everyone. However, occasionally that doesn’t happen, and I have to be OK with that.
What’s something God has been teaching you lately?
God has been teaching me about grief and spiritual warfare. Often, the greatest times in life can intersect with the hardest times. I have dealt with a lot of grief and spiritual warfare over the last year. It has truly been some very low times, but God has been so real and so present during these times. Staying in His Word is always extremely important, during good and bad times. That is how we are renewed in our inner being and how He teaches us all things.
You have a new Bible study with Lifeway called The Bible in a Year. Tell us a little about it.
The Bible in a Year is a Bible reading plan that you can do individually but will be even more effective if you go through it with a group of four to six women in a discipleship group. It was created for you to engage with the Lord, through His Word and His Spirit, and to enhance your time with Him. Not only will you read the Word, but you will learn a journaling method and challenge yourself with Scripture memory. I am so excited for the release and can’t wait to start using it with my discipleship group.
As you worked on The Bible in a Year, what were some new things you learned along the way?
I just continue to learn that it is not about the quantity but the quality of the time spent with Jesus. I can go through a reading plan and instead of being in a race to finish the reading each day, I may slow down and meditate on the same passage for days. I continue to learn to be led by the Spirit and enjoy His Word and our time together. There is so much creativity to loving, serving, and spending time with Jesus. This study has helped me to see that, and I hope it helps others as well.
Kandi Gallaty is a pastor’s wife, a mother of two precious boys (Rig and Ryder), a speaker, and a writer who is devoted to making disciples by cultivating a passion in women for God’s Word. She and her husband, Robby, coauthored Foundations, and together they lead Replicate Ministries, a ministry that educates, equips, and empowers believers to make disciples who make disciples. Kandi and her family live outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and serve at their church, Long Hollow Baptist Church.
