Connie Grigsby - How to Get Your Husband to Talk to You

HOW TO GET YOUR HUSBAND TO TALK TO YOU
published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc.
2001 by Nancy Cobb and Connie Grigsby

Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible, New International Version 1973, 1984 by
International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House

Other Scriptures are from:
New American Standard Bible ( NASB ) 1960, 1977
by the Lockman Foundation

The Living Bible ( TLB ) 1971. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved.

The Amplified Bible ( AMP ) 1965, 1987 by Zondervan Publishing House.

The Holy Bible, King James Version ( KJV )

Multnomah is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.,
and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission.

For information:

MULTNOMAH PUBLISHERS, INC. 601 N. LARCH ST. SISTERS, OR 97759

L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS C ATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION D ATA

Cobb, Nancy, 1938

How to get your husband to talk to you / by Nancy Cobb & Connie Grigsby. p.cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56227-2. Interpersonal communication. 2. Man-woman relationships.
3. MenPsychology. I. Grigsby, Connie. II. Title

BF637.C45C622001 302.2dc21 2001000543

06 07 08 09 1011 10 9 8 7 6

v3.1

To my beloved Ray.
Thank you for your love and encouragement.
Theres no one Id rather listen to than you.
I treasure our life together.
To our precious children: Stuart and Kathy; Paul;
Chrissy and Rod; Anne; and grandson Justin.
Your love and support continue to spur me on.
To my darling sister, Christine.
Your Christlike example continues to impact my life,
as does your love.
To Connie.
What a gift your friendship is to me.
I thank God for you.

N ANCY C OBB

To my three sisters:
Debbie, Beverly, and Anita.
What a joy it was growing up with you.
You were my first girlfriends, and
what wonderful memories we share:
Bethel, bicycles, bat and ball,
flip-flops, hand-me-downs, lightning bugs,
cornstarch pudding, pop, Elgin owls,
neighbors, family, one another.
I love you and your families very much.
To Nancy,
my trusted friend and mentor.
When I think of spiritual giants, I will always think of you.
To my many friends with whom I am so richly blessed.
From Teresa in first grade right up til today.
You are precious to me.

C ONNIE G RIGSBY

Foreword

Nancy and Connie have filled this book with wise and wonderful counsel on understanding the differences between how men and women communicate. How to Get Your Husband to Talk to You is a treasure of personal experiences, tried and true ideas, and seasoned insights on marriage. My husband and I have been married 44 years, and how I wish Id had this book in the early years!

Whether youre a new bride or have been married for a long time, following the advice in this book can greatly improve your marriage. What a positive difference it makes when you learn how to relate to your husband in a way he understands! My husband felt frustrated and lost the point when I tried to give him the book-length version of whatever I needed to tell him. Our communication improved greatly once I discovered that my husband was better able to hear the condensed version. So I learned to vent my feelings and share in detail with women friendswhile giving my husband the necessary factsas this book will show you.

Following the wise counsel here can help you make your marriage better than ever. You may even fall in love with your husband all over again!

S HEILA C RAGG

C REATOR OF www.womanswalk.com

Acknowledgments

To Nancy Thompson, our dear, wonderful friend and trusted editor. Your excellence in what you do and your commitment in seeing this project through inspired us time and again. Youll never know how encouraging those e-mail notes were (Hang in there! Were almost done! You can do it!). Well always treasure the time we had together in Omaha, and look forward to many more gatherings in the future. Once again, it was a joy to work with you.

To our husbands, children, and extended family. Your support, cheers, hugs, and unconditional love put the wind in our sails time and again. Thank you for praying and caring. We love you.

To our many friends who prayed us through this project. What a blessing it was to know that you were praying on our behalf. Thank you, special friends.

To the Noble Men class at Christ Community Church. Thank you for your openness in sharing your thoughts and insights.

To Multnomah Publishers. Thanks for giving two authors the thrill of writing their second book! We count it a privilege to be part of your family.

And most of all, thanks be to God, who saw us through every step of the way. We give all the glory and praise to Him.

INTRODUCTION

W e know why you picked up this book! You want your relationship with your husband to wake up conversationally. You want to talk to your husband, and you want him to talk to you.

Think for a moment about traveling to a foreign island. If you want to communicate with the natives once you get there, you have two choices: You can either learn to speak their language, or you can hire a translator. Smiling, laughing, and pointing will help you communicate to a degree, but if you want to establish a rich, meaningful relationship with the people, you must learn their native tongue.