Ken Takes A Pause
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with my best friend, Ken Tada!
KEN: Welcome to Joni and Friends!
JONI: You know what? When you come into the studio, it is just such a blessing. And you know, I’m so proud of you. I mean, here we are, coming up at the end of the year; you and I have been pretty much sequestered together ever since back in March.
KEN: Absolutely. And you know what I learned? You’re not a bad person to be in this foxhole with.
JONI: Okay, we’re talking like, what, nine, ten months together in the house?
KEN: Oh, man, yep. Absolutely. And we realized that you are in that fourth group, which means that your respiratory system has been compromised a little bit, and we just want to be careful that you don’t get this coronavirus.
JONI: Yeah, my oncologist – we had a consultation with him, what, back in summer, and he said, “Don’t even take chances, Joni. Just stay indoors.” I thought that was good advice. And so we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well; we’ve seen each other at our weakest during all that time.
KEN: Yes. And we’ve been tested a bunch.
JONI: Back in late summer when Southern California, it made national news, all the temperatures were off the charts –120 some degrees – we lost power that day.
KEN: Yeah, we lost power for about 4 hours, but that was enough. It gave us room to pause.
JONI: It made us feel older; it made us feel very vulnerable. But I’m very grateful that that day you kept a level head, and I think part of it is because of the disciplines that you’ve stuck with, the habits that you keep observing. You keep your faith strong, Ken. I see that. Like, every night, you’re out there in the backyard in your lounge chair, and you’re reading your Bible; you’re memorizing it. Fantastic! But you’ve been doing something around the house, as of late, that I think is pretty cool.
KEN: Well, I guess not just in the house, but outside as well, and that is just taking that time to pause.
JONI: Now, why do you do that? And what do you mean by it?
KEN: Reflect on what God has in our lives, and how he is continuing to take us through this journey together.
JONI: So, why a pause?
KEN: You know, we get so busy, so wrapped up in things. This gives us a chance, an opportunity, to get our hearts back.
JONI: So, like, what do you do in the pause?
KEN: Listen to what God would have us to say, and perhaps focus in on some Scripture. Fortunately now, I feel privileged to have portions of Scripture memorized. So I might recite something from there. With the pause, we get a chance to hear from God. A lot of times when we’re praying, he’s hearing from us. So that, I think, is essential in a relationship, when you can actually hear from the Lord Jesus Christ.
JONI: And what effect does it bring in your life?
KEN: There’s a peace that kind of settles over us. I mean, with all this chaos that’s going on in the news and everything else, it’s just a chance to think things can be normal again. As normal as they can be.
JONI: When we just stop everything, put down what we’re doing, take a deep breath, and maybe think – just think – on a certain Scripture. Like James chapter one, right? Verse 12?
KEN: Absolutely. James chapter one is probably the one that’s kind of sustained us throughout this whole journey. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
JONI: And, Ken, I think the reason the Holy Spirit is so quick to bring to our memory the Scriptures we have committed to heart is because we have been reading the Bible together every single year for – we’re going to be coming up on 15 years – of reading through the Bible chronologically. And we love it!
KEN: Absolutely! And we learn something new every year.
JONI: In 2021 we’ll be picking it up. January 1st we’ll start with Genesis chapter one. And we’re inviting all our listening friends to join us reading through the Bible in a year. So, we’ll provide for you the reading schedule. Again, that’s at joniradio.org. One more encouragement, especially to the men. How about it, Ken?
KEN: Well, I think they should go to joniradio.org.
JONI: Absolutely. Ken, thanks. It’s always great when you come in studio.
KEN: Love you, hun.
JONI: Love you, too.
© Joni and Friends
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