We could put a light on in the driveway and a kettle on the stove

And if it’s not too cold we’ll bundle up and walk along the cove

We’ll talk ’til there’s nothin’ left to talk about

And then we’ll love by the fire ’til the fire goes out

So goes the chorus to the song, “Between the Answers,” on my 1985 album by the same name. I co-wrote this song with my friend Dan Cunningham at a time when we were both experiencing struggles in our marriages that we wanted to capture somehow in a transparent way in a song.

At first these four lines quoted above seemed to us like a verse, but then we had a brilliant thought — what if this was the chorus — something normal and everyday — leaving the verses to be filled with unresolved conflicts, in other words, a celebration of life between the answers. Like this …

Am I really strong enough to care for you?

Do you care for me enough to see it through?

If I slip, will I lose all of my chances?

We could wait forever between the answers.

Or we could put a light on in the driveway and a kettle on the stove…

I love the last verse. We’re in church singing the words to hymn #453…

We could sing them to the walls in holy trances,

or we could touch the Lord of all between the answers

and we could put a light on in the driveway and a kettle on the stove…

And that’s why Marti and I are calling our new daily podcast, “Between the Answers.” We’ll be looking at 50 years of our lives between the Jesus Movement and now, and talking abut all the times we’ve been between the answers, then and now. And we’re going to pull out something wonderfully useful to all of us each day.

These podcasts are being created with you in mind. If the first few episodes are any indication, they are going to bring everyone together. We threw idea after idea down on the ground, and then our questions were born from all those papers on the floor.

Will the generation that came of age during the third great spiritual revolution in 500 years go out with ne’er a whimper? Our answer to that is a resounding “No!” We intend to get the attention of a new generation of followers of Christ and help equip them for their own frontier.

It’s a privilege to be working with Marti on this project. She always thinks of everyone else first. Something about that seems right, biblical, and even downright Christlike. I am honored to be on the same ticket with her.

Starting Monday, John & Marti Fischer bring you “Between the Answers,” wherever podcasts are featured. Until then, “Put a light on in the driveway and a kettle on the stove…”