The Abidible Podcast
You love God. You want to abide in Him through His Word. But you just don't know where to start. You're in the right place! Be encouraged weekly as you learn to abide in the Bible yourself. Learn alongside your host, Kate, who is just a regular wife and mom (like you?) whose life has been transformed by learning to study the Bible on her own. If she can, you can! You're meant to be here, friend.
The Abidible Podcast
#066 "Getting Personal with Kate and Jason: The Heart Behind Abidible"
Introducing Part I in the new "Ask Us Anything" series!
Meet the man behind the scenes! In this episode, Kate welcomes her husband Jason to the podcast for their very first series together, "Ask Us Anything," with laughter, honesty, and heartfelt reflections.
They share the story of their college friendship that grew into marriage, the unexpected quality they most cherish in each other—and how they’ve only truly begun “abiding in His Word together” in recent years. Their vulnerability offers real encouragement for couples at any stage.
Along the way, you’ll hear playful banter, lighthearted debates, and Kate’s honest reflections on her recent surgery and the partnership that has carried them through hard seasons.
This introduction sets the stage for the series ahead on marriage, parenting, discipleship, calling, and healing from church hurt. You’ll feel like you’re sitting down with dear friends who are learning, laughing, and abiding in God’s Word together.
If this episode encourages you, consider supporting the show or becoming an abidible+ member through Buy Me a Coffee (linked below).
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Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible and you're listening to the Abidible Podcast. I'm just a regular wife and mom who's had my life transformed by learning to study the Bible on my own. If I can, you can. On this show, I help you know and love God more by abiding in Him through His Word yourself. Oh my gosh, you guys, we did it. I got my man on the podcast. He's sitting right here with me. Oh my gosh, I'm going to start crying. You guys have no idea how much I love this man.
Kate:He is obviously my best friend in the whole world and when he speaks, I lean in because he's got so much wisdom, but also when he speaks I laugh harder than with anyone else. He is the funniest man I know. His steadfastness, his faithfulness in all areas of life and then just his tremendous wisdom are such a gift to me and I genuinely think he's the better half in this relationship. So I'm so excited to be bringing him on the podcast with me, and I just wanted to say off the bat, in this Ask Us Anything series that we're bringing to you, these are questions that you guys have submitted to us.
Kate:Our goal here is to show God's glory number one. Number two is to show our love for God himself. Number three is to show our love for the word. Number four is to show our love for each other and then, lastly, number five is to show our love for you guys and the privilege that we consider it to be to serve you. So in this first episode titled Our Story, our Quirks and Our Favorites, we just have a few questions. This is a little bit more of a lighthearted episode to set up the series and also help us find our rhythm together. On the podcast, we've got this series of questions that we're going to answer together for you, in the hopes that you can get to know us just a little bit more, the people behind Abidible and sort of what makes us tick so hi.
Jason:Hello.
Kate:He's really here. I wasn't making it up. You're going to kick things off, I think, with the first question. Is there anything you wanted to say before we jump in?
Jason:I don't think so. No, hopefully it'll come out in the questions.
Kate:Yeah, Okay, here we are. Here we are Very close to the microphone Uncomfortably close, and this is normal. This is normal. You sound great.
Jason:All right.
Kate:And you look great. Thank you, you're very handsome, good, good.
Jason:I don't know what to say to that and it's a podcast.
Kate:Yep, they can't see us. I suppose I'll just. They have to take my word for it.
Jason:Hopefully they can't see us.
Kate:Nobody's watching.
Jason:Okay.
Kate:Okay.
Jason:All right. Question number one when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up, and how did that pan out for you?
Kate:I wanted to be a teacher. Well, initially I wanted to be a teacher. I would make all the neighborhood kids sit in a row if they weren't available. I'd make all my dolls or stuffed animals sit in a row and I would do school. I would teach them and I would come up with assignments and I would boss everybody around and I would stand up there and teach. I think that probably came from the fact that both my parents were educators and that's what I saw them doing and loving and thriving in. So certainly definitely a teacher. But then, when I was 17, I've definitely shared this on the podcast before After I became a Christian, I saw a woman come to our church for a women's conference and she stood up there and taught the word of God in a way that made people laugh and made them cry, and God did something in the back of the room.
Kate:In my heart, I knew he tapped me on the shoulder and said this is what I want you to do, this is what you're going to do. And so I marched up to the front of the room to have a conversation with her and ask her like how did you get here? What did you study in school? What do I need to do? How do I follow in your footsteps?
Kate:And so I entered college with a communications major, with a desire to do that, and then got a little sidetracked by the fear that how would I provide for myself with that kind of degree Communication majors? How do they put food on the table and have insurance and all of that? So I switched temporarily to a career in education and was frustrated with God for that, what I considered to be a confusing season, doing not exactly what I wanted to do. And then, all these years later, he has faithfully brought me full circle to the thing that I desire to do most, which is to teach God's word to women, make them laugh, make them cry and abide in his word with them, Set them free to know who he is to know and love him more through the study of his word.
Kate:How about you?
Jason:I wanted to be a sports broadcaster.
Kate:Hey, you would have been on the microphone anyway. Here you are. You want to tell us some sports stats while we got you.
Jason:Do you want to run around and I'll do like a play-by-play of what you're doing?
Kate:I can't run around yet the doctor hasn't cleared me.
Jason:Okay. Well, that's okay, because it did not pan out for me, so I don't know if I'd be able to do it.
Kate:I bet you would, so it panned out.
Jason:I went in as a business communications major and day one went to the public speaking class and either end of day one or day two I had switched majors and I had dropped the communications portion.
Kate:Why.
Jason:Because I did not think that I could do that.
Kate:Speak in front of people.
Jason:Mm-mm, not your jam, no, you're more of the background guy. I'm definitely the background guy and after I have a lot of respect for broadcasters knowing all the things that are thrown at them real time having to fill a bunch of space. I don't think I could fill, yeah, hours of space, so it did not work out for me, but yeah so what do you do now?
Jason:I work for the local city government and we do a lot of contracting with local service providers like shelters, homeless services, food banks, domestic violence, violence reduction, mental health services, behavioral health nice.
Kate:Yeah, it's a good fit for you because it's so detail oriented and you are a steadfast, steady, detail oriented guy. So not something I could do, but this is how God makes us each of us unique. Okay, so it's my turn to ask you the next question when did you meet and what were your first impressions of each other?
Jason:We met at college. I don't know if you knew that.
Kate:I didn't.
Jason:You're saying like you knew. So we met at college and first impressions or first impression for me I thought you were very pretty and that was about all I knew, because you stood me up the first time that we were supposed to hang out, so I didn't know anything else.
Kate:Yeah, but I know anything else? Yeah, but I left it hanging.
Jason:Yeah, I thought you were.
Kate:I feel like you need to elaborate more on that conversation that I stood you up. What does that mean? That sounds so.
Jason:Pretty self-explanatory. I think people know what that means. But, for those keeping score at home. Stood up means you were invited to come hang out.
Kate:You said at home stood up means you were invited to come hang out. You said you would and I didn't and you didn't. But the backstory to that is that you and your friend invited me and my friend to come hang out with you and we felt bad saying no because we both had boyfriends back at home and we felt like that. We said yes because we were too chicken to say no, thank you. And then we didn't show up.
Kate:But my first impression of you it was more your friend John that was leading the charge, in that you were just kind of quiet. I thought you were the college volleyball team and my RA also was, and so your RA asked our RA to have us volleyball team players come and help your guys with a practice to get ready for your rec league. And so I remember being at that game with you and you had long curly hair and you were hot. I thought I was like who's this tall guy who hits the ball really hard? But again, I had a boyfriend back home so there wasn't much I could do about it. So we stayed friends really for three years until both of us actually were available and not having people back home.
Kate:And then my other first impression of you is that you are amazing to talk to on the computer like Mac Daddy, on AOL Instant Messenger, like super romantic, thoughtful, great listener, smart. You would speak Spanish to me, which was my major. I was like super impressed with you and then, when I would see you in person, you didn't even acknowledge my presence because you were so shy in person. Do you remember? I can't. It's like I can't even remember that you were that guy that we would sit at the same table with all of our friends eating a meal and you would not even like look my way or acknowledge that I existed and yet here we are.
Jason:Here we are.
Kate:It was a long game you won the long game, but you almost didn't seem like it was weird, but it was all.
Kate:No dude, it was a winning strategy it was, I don't know it was you were close to like being kicked out permanently, I think. I was like I'm not sure about this guy. But finally I do remember that. The other distinguishing memory that I have is that one night that we went for a walk on campus and you started like actually talking to me in person, when it was just the two of us, one-on-one, and you were describing your family to me and I thought, because I was, I'm an only child and I always wanted to be a part of a big family.
Kate:My best friend in high school had. There were 10 kids in their family and I loved going to their house and I just always wanted to be a part of a big family. So there you were describing you know you're one of six and so describing your family and your parents and like all your aunts and uncles and everybody that was close by, and I thought, oh my gosh, this I love how he talks about his family and I love how he loves his family, particularly your sisters I remember you talking about. And so that was like another sort of like okay, I'm really starting to fall for this guy moment. And then we got engaged our senior year and then yes.
Kate:And then married a year after college. I was from New York, you were from Washington, so I moved to the West Coast and then we went back to New York a year later and got married. And then I've been now in Washington longer than I've been in New York, because I left New York when I was 18 to go to college in Pennsylvania. So I'm officially, I guess, more a Washingtonian than I am a New Yorker, although I will always be proud to be a New Yorker. That's the root baby.
Jason:And you should be.
Kate:All right.
Jason:All right. Next question what are your favorite or unexpected qualities about each other, something you didn't initially see or ask God for, but now cherish?
Kate:Mine for sure with you is your steadfastness. It's something that I respect and admire so much in you, like there are so many ways that I want to be like you where I'm just like. This is the most amazing human being that I know, because I know everything about you. I watch you in public and then I watch you in private. I watch the things that you do when nobody's looking, and so there's so much that I admire about you, but it's so. So it's hard to narrow it down to one thing but. But it's your steadfastness, because historically that's not been an area where I've been strong and very much. You know energizer, bunny go until I crash and then I quit.
Kate:Very much up and down, highs and lows, emotional rollercoaster sort of thing based on you know how I think other people perceive what I'm doing or how I perceive what I'm doing and abidable in a big way.
Kate:Certainly God first gets all the glory and the credit for the work that he's done in me through his word.
Kate:But second has been you encouraging me and modeling that for me in a job that's maybe not like your dream job, not maybe it's not your dream job, but you show up every day for that, to provide for our family and our family has security and insurance and we live a very comfortable life because of the man that you are and the work that you put in that's often very thankless and very hard and boring, and also just the way that you care for us around the house, the things that you do to take care of our home.
Kate:So I just look at you and I'm like man, this guy is amazing and I want to be steadfast like that and I think I've grown a lot in steadfastness because Jesus in me but also following your example and I didn't think that was, I didn't know that that was something that I was looking for or something that I needed, especially when I'm young and that's not like I don't even really think I knew what steadfastness was when we were 22 and got married. I'm saying it's not something I would have had on my list, that I wanted you to be or that I thought I would need in a partner.
Jason:Well, my, I don't know if I would say it's favorite, but combination of favorite and unexpected would be now your steadfastness also, and I think that's why I say that, because it's more of the unexpected, just because, like you said, it's not something that historically has been a strength of yours, but in these last few years you know, especially going through the journey, that it has been abidable. That's something that God has completely grown in you.
Jason:And so now it's something that I learn a lot from you in terms of being steadfast and the ways that you have continued to persevere where other times you would have quit many times over and just continuing to go no matter what, just because you know this is where God has you and until he changes that, you're going to stay here. And even when things have gotten difficult, I think there have been plenty of times when I would have thought, okay, it would make sense right now to change course or to stop doing something, or to give up or to give in. You have not done that recently, so that's probably my new favorite unexpected quality for you.
Kate:I think I'm listening to you say that and thinking back to like you know, we did a marriage course in college and like I remember people saying, like how to find your you know future spouse? Like if you're a Christian is to like run as fast as you can toward Jesus. And remember this like look next to you and see who's running just as fast. I think we didn't even know what that meant when we were so young, but it's cool now that he that's what he's developed in both of us, like a steadfastness in him through his word. I mean this is new, that we're going to get into this in the series, but us abiding in his word together and as a family. It's a brand new thing for us.
Kate:We've been married 20 years next year and this is new in the last four years, so I think I finally understand what that means. You know to really be pursuing Jesus. And now he has us aligned in our steadfastness together which, again, like you said, I know myself and even I would say for you like one of the areas you're very steadfast in serving and in showing up and in work. But I would say like early on in our marriage you weren't steadfast in your study of God's word. Neither of us were so to see you being steadfast in that and sitting at the table every morning and like choosing that I mean, neither of us do it perfectly, but choosing that is just really cool that we're aligned in that and running toward Jesus together. Okay, the next question is what are your favorite things to do together when we have free time and what would you consider our ideal date? I think we talked about this in episode six, remember where it was like here's my ideal date and here's yours, and they were very different.
Jason:Oh well, let's see if that's changed or if we remember or if we're cheating off of that episode. I would say kind of a choose your own adventure If you take any combination of being outside, going on a hike, going on a walk, being by the water, bringing a book, good food, or, alternatively, we really love to watch good movies or documentaries or good shows together too. So something outside with water, being active, reading, just enjoying creation, or being inside on a couch, also with good food, yeah, yeah.
Kate:Yeah, I mean I'm, I'm the same. I think I think what I'm as I'm hearing you say that what I'm excited about, I know you guys who've been following the podcast know that I just had major surgery Tomorrow will be three weeks ago for my endometriosis, my stage four endometriosis and that has really, for years and years now, dramatically impacted my desire to go places and do things because my body has been in so much pain. And so you know what Jason signed up for in terms of a wife who could show up and be excited and to go on hikes and to go on adventures and try new things. Like that's not who I've been for many years, and so now you're describing that and I already, even though I'm healing, my body still hurts, like already my mind is like so excited to go do those things.
Kate:Again, I can see how, like as the inflammation and all of that that was affecting my energy and my mood, like I've been depressed for a long time trying to fight through that. So I'm excited to get more back to myself so that we can do some of those things that we love doing together more frequently. I mean, we've been home a lot for a long time and so the couch and movies and that has been fun for a season. But I'm also really excited to go be places and do things with you again. We love good food, Trying new restaurants, Eating is fun.
Jason:Are there people that don't like good food, like I hear people say that, like we love good food, yeah. Are there people that would be like, yeah, I don't really care about food?
Kate:I don't know. Yeah, and I would just also add travel, you, it's not a date, but our favorite, like we love, love, love going new places, like not just locally but getting out of the country, trying new, being in new places with new cultures, and I love planning trips and I love going on trips that you plan yeah, that's a good combination all right question what are some gifts you love to give each other?
Kate:I feel like in our relationship, you are the better gift giver, and it's a tricky one for me, because not only do I feel like I'm not a good gift giver, but my love language isn't gifts. Like you know, you could not give me anything for five years, but if you wrote notes to me and used your words to encourage me, that I mean that would carry me a long way. So, um, I feel like I still, even though we've been married a long time, I feel like I still am not great in the gifts department. I mean, I try, like if I hear you mention something, I try and make a mental note of that, but you were saying, like when we were talking briefly about going through this list. I like what you said and I feel like that's something I need to implement a little bit more.
Jason:Yeah, and I don't do a great job of it, but I just keep a list. So, like for me, I have it on OneNote. There's also an app that we started to try to use as a family. So you can use that with other people, because we have a big family and so trying to remember what nieces and nephews want right things like that.
Jason:People can load their own things on there. This one's such a hard one in terms of like for other people because it's so specific to each person, but that's where, for me, I think you'll bring something up and go. I wish I had something like this and you just throw it out there, and maybe we're not in a position to get it right now, but I can write a note down for myself because I'm never going to remember, when Christmas comes or birthday comes, what were all those things that was said throughout the year. So I try to keep notes. But I was going to say for you, disney is your thing right now. So I think I could do anything Disney related and you'd be happy. So I think I could do anything Disney related and you'd be happy. And then, one other thing that I appreciate about you is that you don't really care about flowers, which lines up for me because I don't really want to spend money on things that are going to die after a couple of days.
Jason:So yeah. And I did when we were first married, and then you finally told me you don't really care and I rejoiced and I would buy them again. I do sometimes.
Kate:But fresh flowers are fun. I mean, I like getting them occasionally, but I'm not like a wife that would be like, okay, you bring me flowers every week or even for special occasions. I feel like you know, primarily for us as gifts. We do experiences like you know, we wrap in, you know, birthday anniversary like into a trip going somewhere, cause it's like I just feel like I don't need one more thing. But you have done some really cool bible related gifts, um, new bibles that you've gotten me or resources for bible study. Those have been really cool. Anything bible related is a win bible, disney travel bible, disney, travel.
Kate:Those are my favorites. All right, what is your favorite midnight snack?
Jason:I don't really do midnight snacks, but I would say late night. I mean, depends on, depends on the day, but I'm never going to turn down ice cream. I knew you were going to say that, yeah, I can do ice cream any time of day, any time of the year, I mean, it just depends on the day.
Kate:I'm the same. I mean, I like having a good bowl of ice cream or a good pint of Ben and Jerry's. I also love like salt and vinegar chips, like if we're watching a movie later at night. But I also you know, we're not midnight snack people for sure but I also really can't do that anymore.
Jason:We used to be able to do that when we were younger, but if I do that now, yeah, and to be clear, it's not because we're the healthiest people in the world, it's just because we don't tend to eat at midnight.
Kate:Yeah right, Maybe 9, 10. We're usually sleeping 10, 30. Yeah, I'm a pretty early morning riser, except, like right now my medication is sort of knocking me out. I've been sleeping in a little bit more, but normally I mean sometimes I'm up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning because I'm tired. I'm tired much earlier. You know, like sometimes I'll we'll be like starting a movie or just sitting down on the couch after dinner and I'll be like all right and they're like no, the other days they're like are you going to bed?
Kate:so yeah, I'm not up for midnight snacks, but sometimes those are our fun. I mean a good bowl of popcorn.
Jason:I think the best things are when we just kind of look at each other and we're like a pizza would be be good right now and it's like 11 o'clock and we're like we really shouldn't do it, but the times that you do, it's really fun, it is fun. But then at like 1130, you go.
Kate:You have a lot of life regret. Should we have done that?
Jason:No, and you still should have. But All right. Last and final question.
Kate:If you were able to patent an invention, what would?
Jason:it be and why? Why do I have to go first on this one? That's a great question organized it.
Kate:I don't know if I haven't. I mean like it would be. I mean it would be something to get scripture in people's hearts oh, maybe I should go first.
Jason:Mine's not that that holy.
Kate:Maybe we shouldn't wrap it up on that one, not that holy Okay.
Jason:Okay, go with your not holy invention, okay and then you can redeem it at the end.
Kate:Okay.
Jason:I think this was one of the best questions, but it's also one of the things that for me I'm not good at thinking of things from scratch. That's one of the things that you're really good at. One of the things I thought about for the favorite qualities is that you're really good about that. I'm not good about that, so I'm sure there's a great answer to this, but I do think I have a good one, because it's something that comes up for me a lot A movie memory eraser.
Kate:Like Men in Black for movies.
Jason:Yeah, so after you watch a movie, so like for me, I've always thought if I could go back and watch Gladiator again but for the first time. Because for big thing for me in movies is when you have an experience or there's like a big plot twist or the the goosebump moment, and once you've had that you can never go back and watch it. Well, you can, but most normal people can't go back and watch a movie.
Jason:He's pointing to me and saying that I'm not normal yeah, because you can watch movies over and over again and forget that you've seen them. But if we could patent that invention for regular people that would be pretty great.
Kate:I think it's going to be in heaven yeah, like here's a reset. I mean I, that is. That is very true. That that is me. I have historically been known to be in the last five minutes of a movie and going oh my gosh, I've seen this before. This is a great movie.
Jason:So maybe we'll tap into you. Okay, why don't you bring it back around?
Kate:But I don't know what I was going to say. I mean, I think, like Abidible isn't an invention, but I feel like I'm sort of living my dream in terms of like what I? You know, if I could have created anything, it would have been this, you know, a resource to help people. I mean, I just I'm still trying to figure out how to get it in front of people and outside of like my circle. So that's like a big prayer, you guys, for Abideable. Like how do I expand the reach of this? Because I have such a desire to help men and women and children and families, like just get in the word and know and love god more through it. You guys know that that's my mission. So I mean, is this an invention?
Jason:I can't really call it an invention I don't think so, but that's okay, it's your podcast, so you can just say it that's all I got. I don't have like a cool like no one's gonna be able to pop on and challenge you yeah, I'm not like um stanley, yell nats with wait, that's the wrong person.
Kate:I'm thinking of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the guy with the rubber shoes, right.
Jason:The spray-on shoes. Yeah, he had some good ones. You should have just watched that and picked one of those.
Kate:I should have used one of his ideas. If I could invent anything, it would be spray-on shoes.
Jason:That was like nah.
Kate:I would not want spray on shoes because I'm so like germaphobe and so like you, have shoes that you wear in a public restroom and then they have to stay on when you're home walking around your own house then your feet get sweaty in there, you have to wash.
Jason:Yeah, that was not one of his good inventions I strike that from the record.
Kate:Anyway, I think we're at our time. Hey, we did good we did, we did. This is another thing the people need to know. If you ever see a typo or grammatical errors in any abidable content, you can know that Jason did not look at it before I sent it out, because I am just prone.
Jason:No, you're very good.
Kate:I am. Yeah, I feel like I spell a lot of things wrong and have extra words in places they're not supposed to be. I feel like I spell a lot of things wrong and have extra words in places they're not supposed to be, and then it's like, okay, well, this blog post or email went out and Jason didn't look at it.
Jason:You're generally very good.
Kate:Well, thank you.
Jason:I just have a problem sometimes.
Kate:Yeah, all right. Well, thanks for being on. Thanks for having me. How did it go on our first one?
Jason:I mean, I can't be the one to tell you that.
Kate:I know, but how do you feel? Like this was a stretch for you, I think it went okay.
Jason:It's weird wearing headphones and hearing. I hate hearing my own voice.
Kate:You do. I love your voice. The headphone thing is weird. You guys tell Jason that he has a great voice.
Jason:Well, now I'm not going to be able to believe it, if they do say it.
Kate:Well, okay, but to be fair, honestly, you and I did. If you guys don't know about our how to Study the Bible course, jason and I taught a 20-lesson video course together, and so many people, babe, have told me that they love your voice and that it's soothing.
Jason:Well, well, well, Welcome to the podcast.
Kate:I think you did great and I'm just really. I want to publicly thank you for doing this, because I know it's out of your comfort zone and you've signed up for five episodes Five, we only have four more. You've done one, oh, but guess what? They get a little more intense.
Kate:We've got questions coming up, you guys, on marriage and priorities, on parenting and abiding together, how to do that with your family, prayer and discipleship, calling, waiting and walking with God. And then we're going to close out with one on the church hurt, healing and hope. So stay with us for this series. So honored to have you with us, we love you, guys, and it's an honor to try to just show the glory of God through our marriage, through our company, to reveal to you some of the ways that we have learned to know and love him by abiding in him, through his word, and how that's transformed everything about how we interact with each other, how we parent, how we interact with our church and the world around us. And so we're glad that you're here and we're honored that you'd give us your time and we'll see you next time.
Jason:Bye-bye.
Kate:You're supposed to say until then, let's abide.
Jason:I thought that was what you say. I know, but I can't do, I can't be the one. Yes, you can.
Kate:Jason listens to the podcast when he walks to work every Tuesday and so I always get like a text with sweet feedback about what he thought. So I thought if I teed that up for you, we'll see you next time.
Jason:Until then, let's abide.
