JONI: Welcome to Joni and Friends where the tables have turned because I get to be interviewed. Thanks so much for listening, and I’ve got a great guest in the studio today, Jim Sanders, who produces the Joni and Friends radio program. He’s always sitting on the other side of the board fiddling the knobs, but today he’s at the microphone. Welcome, Jim.
JIM: Thank you, Joni. It’s a joy to be with you. I wanted to ask you about something I know you are not prone necessarily to talk about yourself and that is the song you sang, “Alone Yet Not Alone,” it being nominated for an Oscar. That’s amazing.
JONI: It’s not only amazing, Jim, it’s crazy. Where did that come from?
JIM: Well, that’s what I wanted to ask you. Where did it come from? How did that happen?
JONI: Well, about a year ago, I was at the National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention, and I was giving the message at the closing banquet and I was singing a lot of hymns. In and out of my message I would weave various hymns. Of course, all our friends listening know how much I enjoy singing hymns. Well, some people who were involved in the production team for this movie Alone Yet Not Alone were in the audience, and when they heard me sing, they approached me afterward and asked if I would want to record the theme song for their movie. Well, I was a little incredulous like…don’t you guys want Amy Grant or somebody. (Laughter). But they were insistent, and so last fall I went down to Santa Monica to a small recording studio, did this little song and that was that. Until, gee, I don’t know, what about a week or so ago when I got a call and all of a sudden this “little song that could” is now up for an Academy Award. It’s just amazing.
JIM: It’s a beautiful haunting medley, which I’d love to take just a few seconds to play now here, Joni, if we may.
JONI: Okay
(Joni sings)…I can lean upon His arm and be lifted up from harm. If I stumble or if I’m thrown, I’m alone yet not alone…
JIM: So, Joni, I have to tell you, last night on the local news there was a piece, of course you know about that piece that featured you and that Ken had a part in that recording. Could you tell us about that?
JONI: Well, when I recorded the song at that recording studio in Santa Monica, I couldn’t hit the high notes, and so my husband, bless his heart, he had to put his hand on my abdomen and push hard as I was reaching for those high notes, and he gave me lots of extra breath. And so the people from ABC News wanted to record that. So I started singing a song and there’s my husband pushing on my tummy. You know, Jim, all I can say is this. I don’t know what God is doing, but I do know that He delights in picking the ill-equipped, untrained, unskilled, non-professional to get a job done because He wants everybody to know that it’s His power and not by our human skill or strength. I think that’s the message behind this whole “Alone Yet Not Alone” song thing.
JIM: Joni, it’s really the message of your life that the Lord would be glorified no matter what the circumstance and no matter what our condition when we properly surrender to him.
JONI: Absolutely, and you know, I have no idea if I will be going to the Oscars. I don’t know if I’ll wheel the red carpet, but if I do meet some of those people who are also up for an Academy Award in the best song category, I’ll look at them and know that, yes, they’re talented; yes, they’ve got glitz and glamour, but underneath it all, they’re people just like us with hurts and heartaches and dreams and hopes, and I hope that my presence there might be an encouragement to them.
JIM: Would you keep us posted on your blog, and give us that address we need to go to?
JONI: Absolutely. You can visit our website at joniandfriends.org and just go to Joni’s Blog. I’ll be telling people how they can be praying for me through this whole thing.
JIM: Congratulations, Joni, and may the Lord be glorified.
JONI: Absolutely, Jim. That’s my deepest desire.
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