Church Quotes

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Willow Creek Community Church is my home church. I have only missed a handful of Sundays since I started attending in October of 2011 – and that was because I absolutely cannot make it, I have come home early from trips just to be at church on Sunday morning.

Often times when I am asked where I go to church I am met with immediate skepticism and subtle negativity – I have found that people too often judge Willow simply because it’s a mega church with a lot of wealthy attendees. People ask why I go to Willow and my reply grows with each passing Sunday. I love the teaching and how it not only “feeds me” and gives me strength and fire for the week but, more importantly, I am challenged to grow in my faith practically, emotionally, physically, and knowledgeably. Most importantly, I so often feel the Lord’s hands in the message and his voice speaking through the sermon. And I love the worship, but not as much for the skill presented on stage but for the hearts and commitment I see on that stage. Most importantly, I can see the love of God in their eyes and as I watch them lead us in worship I feel like God is loving me through them. These two reasons are what made me choose Willow.

Since regularly attending I have grown more committed and in love with my church. I love their passion for giving and giving in a way that not only alleviates poverty through aid but pursues permanent solutions through partnership. I love their passion for establishing the Biblical relationships modeled by Jesus: the many, the “Oikos” (or 72), the small group (or 12 disciples), and the close friends (or 3 confidants). I particularly love how they are establishing Oikos communities in the church by fostering relationships within the auditorium section you sit in. Because of this initiative this BIG church is becoming very small as I am now frequently stopped in the halls for a chat or a hug or even to grab a cup of coffee to catch up.

There is too much more that I love about my church but this blog post is supposed to be for the tidbits I’ve jotted down with my sermon notes over the past few weeks. So here they are, some quotes said from the stage that encouraged and impacted me.

Referring to pain and struggle and how it is an opportunity for growth: “I’m not asking you to like [the pain and struggle], but I’m asking you to not waste it.”
– Shane Farmer

“God doesn’t need good ideas, he wants good servants.”
– Shane Farmer

“God is like a navigation system. When you take a right instead of the required left, He doesn’t abandon you, he reroutes you. The trouble is, with too many wrong turns, you start to run out of time and the road gets rougher.”
– Michael Jr

“First of all, if God could be explained He wouldn’t be God.”
– Michael Jr

Happy Wednesday friends! Have a super day!

Kaia Calhoun

The Life of a Musician’s Wife

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

First, a preparatory note, I am going to be very transparent with you all today.

I get two main questions now-a-days. From those who don’t know me personally, “what is it like being married to a famous person?” From people who know me, “how have you been doing with Josh being gone?”

Josh is gone about 3 – 4 days every week and when he is on tour he is gone for a week or a month at a time. If you do the math, that means he’s gone at least half the year.

So, what is it like being married to a famous person? It’s just marriage but, instead of eating dinner and sharing a bed with my husband every night, I regularly don’t see him for days.

This makes for a marriage of a whole different sort. I used to say that at least army wives had it harder. But now that our new reality causes for a lot more away time than before they put out “Should’ve Been Me,” I’m not so sure that’s true. Instead of worrying about my husband for a period of deployment and then readjusting when he gets home, I have the potential to worry about him all the time and we are readjusting every time he gets home. To put it in perspective, if automobile accidents are the #1 cause of death then perhaps my husband’s job is more dangerous – most of their time is spent driving from venue to venue. And whenever he gets home it’s not just me readjusting to having him around and him readjusting to having a wife but we have to relearn each other since we are both taking separate journeys and experiencing different life-changing scenarios that change us in separate ways.

How have you been doing with Josh being gone? It’s actually been all over the place. Some days I’m so lonely I can’t stand it. On those days I usually have a hard time pulling myself out of bed and then I mope around mumbling incoherently to my dogs while effectively avoiding working for as long as possible. Other days I love the seemingly “single” life I lead when he’s gone. I get to choose my own schedule, play my music loud, I can leave my house messy or keep it spotless, and no one else is responsible for my mood but me. But for the most part it is just a daily grind of working all day, walking the dogs before supper, eating supper and either reading, watching something, or working some more until the day is over.

On New Years Eve 2012 I was asked what my favorite part of 2012 was and I realized that I didn’t have as many forthcoming thoughts as usual. Upon further reflection I realized it’s because outstanding memories are those times spend with a loved one that became extraordinary because of spontaneous adventures, great conversation, or laughter. Good times with Josh have most often been the source of those remarkable memories for the past couple of years so with him gone so often I have come to better understand the reality of a daily grind and how, without bench marker memories along the way, a whole year looks like a blur of sameness.

There are plenty of benefits to our lifestyle though. With Josh gone increasingly I have been able to fill my time building my photography business, writing children’s books, investing in friendships, getting involved in my church, and completing other projects that would have not been possible if I had been spending all that time with him. I have been able to step out of me and us to better notice those around me and serve them when I can. Our hearts grow fonder towards each other with each absence so it’s like our love for each other is growing exponentially. There is something so special about that first embrace when he comes home. There is so much more joy in our house with both of us living out God’s purposes for us. And finally, I have the joy of not only seeing my husband living his dream but changing the lives of so many people, and that is the greatest reward a wife could ask for. The time apart is absolutely worth it for the kingdom. And though it may not be a romantic journey for a marriage but marriage is about learning to love more like God anyway and I think this journey is definitely doing just that for us.

Wedding Planning Advice

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Sorry to not be delivering my “a Photo a Day” blog post today as I usually do on Mondays! I am out of town and writing this on my iPad 😉

I got married before I photographed or attended a wedding. Though I had no idea how to plan a wedding, thankfully my mom did because otherwise I would have a lot of items on my “I wish I did this at my wedding” list.

Now, because I do love the value in unique wedding planning, I don’t want to advise extraneously but there are a few items that really are a MUST and I will tell you why.

Give your guests a meal. It has become mildly common to only serve appetizers, desserts, or finger foods at a wedding reception. In their defense, this could work. Say, instead of providing a meal the couple gave suggestions for where everyone could grab some dinner and then they held their nontraditional, but very entertaining reception outdoors and still provided dessert and drinks. The trouble is that not providing a meal feels like a slap in the face. All of your family and friends have not only come from far and wide to celebrate your wedding day but they have bought you an expensive or thoughtful gift as well. To not say “thank you” by at least providing them food during such a long day just isn’t remotely hospitable. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t invite people over to your house all day and not feed them ever would you?

Small gap between ceremony and reception. Again, this is a hospitality recommendation. It never sits well with your guests when their belly’s are left rumbling for hours on end. I also understand that it it your day, but be considerate. Before I became a photographer I assumed that the wedding photographer’s were responsible for keeping the bride and groom from the reception so long. Now I’m not so sure because whenever my bridal party is late it certainly wasn’t on my watch. If a bride and groom asks me how to schedule their day I typically ask for 1.5 hours between the ceremony and reception, 30 minutes for family photos and 1 hour for bridal party and couple pictures – I could do less time if it was easier to rally family members and keep everyone on track. With the providence of a cocktail hour this time goes quickly with the guests. And your photographer should be skilled, timely, and reliable enough to close the gap between ceremony and reception.

Hire a phenomenal DJ. Some couples are very skilled at creating a playlist for their reception. However, a DJ doesn’t just control the music. In fact, I would argue that their most important role of the evening is controlling the flow of events. The weddings that don’t have a DJ, or a skilled DJ, end up suffering in awkward moments and confused silences. I’ve photographed well over 50 weddings and I can’t recall a reception that ran smoothly without an incredible DJ. Your DJ is the most important reception detail, so you should see a fun spirit and sense of organization and responsibility in the DJ you hire.

Don’t pick your wedding budget before you do your vendor research. You only get married once. The most common phrase I hear from clients is “we are on a budget.” Well of course you are. The trouble is, most couples clearly pick their budget before they have looked at the numbers and as a result they hire vendors for cheap and their wedding takes hits because of it. You can get crafty and wiggle around pricey items in a lot of areas but with photography and a DJ I would HIGHLY recommend picking those budgets after significant research. This may sound biased but the most common wedding woe I hear about a bad photography experience. Your photographer is in charge of these most important life memories, make sure you adore and trust them. And, as stated above, your DJ is responsible for the life of your party but they also contribute to the quality of those memories and to the quality of photographing those memories. Your cake, flowers, decorations, and venues are important but your loved ones and moments are more important. I actually had friends buy and put together my wedding flowers, my grandma made our cake, our decorations consisted of things like 5 cent goldfish and goldfish crackers, and we had our ceremony in my parent’s backyard. For just a few ideas 🙂

Don’t let your best man get drunk before his speech. Enough said.

Do you have any wedding planning advice to share?

Baby Ducks

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

This is the third time my parents have raised baby ducks. The first time they snatched a pile of them to test baby names on since I was on the way. The second time I was in high school and I’m not sure how they came about but I know we had three adorable little fluff balls to love – Tipsy, Dawson, and Izzy. This third time they have four little buggers – May West, Fup (you know, like Fup Duck), Webster (my favorite little adventurer, he’s the runt), and Linguine (because he likes pasta).

My role as sister duck for the few days I got to spend with them was professional worm hunter. I wandered all around the yard, trowel in hand, with the four yellow, fuzzy buggers hurriedly stumbling over the grass to keep up with me. I would stoop upon random patches of dirt and dig. Before long they were crawling all over my shovel and finding the worms well before I had to point them out. I think I spent 45 minutes doing this!

Besides the fun in the mud I enjoyed their frenzied swimming, the way they look up at you when you’re talking to them, and the way they cheep frantically when you move out of sight. I certainly accidentally sole Josh on getting ducks some day just by my stories and Instagram pictures of them 🙂

What is your favorite baby animal and why?

For more baby duck love CLICK HERE (my mom’s post about them) or HERE (a little video my mom made).

Citizen Way at the K-LOVE Fan Awards

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Citizen Way performed at the K-LOVE Fan Awards this year. Many of you friends have been asking about the experience and asking for photos… well today is finally the day! Sorry for the hold up 😉

Josh, my mom, and I devoted the whole week to Nashville exploits. The first couple of days we all paraded aroud together but before long Josh got busy with various K-LOVE Fan Awards related activities so my mom and I continued the fun just the two of us (for the full week of fun in photos and story CLICK HERE).

Time flew and suddenly we were standing outside the Ryman Auditorium. The guys were immediately sent down the red carpet. Though wives are welcome to walk down it was recommended we let the guys fly solo to better enhance the two sets of brothers dynamic. So Alison and I skirted up the sidelines and waited for them at the end. They guys were naturals – easy talkers with ready smiles. I was a grinning fool at the back just gushing over with pride for my hardworking and completely adorable husband. I watched as they were dragged through all the interview lines; they never missed a beat even though microphones were continuously shoved in their faces and cameras and lights constantly lingered overhead (Josh was featured on a video, CLICK HERE to see it).

I finally got to lace fingers with my hubs again and we slowly filed inside to find our seats. We, and all the artists and their peeps, were seated on the main floor of the auditorium while all the fans packed the balcony seats – there were 1,200 seats filled by the artists, label representatives, managers, and the artists various family members and the remaining 1,800 seats were filled by all the fans.

The festivities started with a hoppin’ performance put on by Toby Mac and then the Duck Dynasty stars took the stage as our emcee’s for the evening. The ceremony was a sort of rotation going from Ducky Dynasty, to award presenters, to interviews, to videos, to live performances and on.

Citizen Way‘s performance slot was near the beginning of the evening. I have never been so proud in my whole life as when I watched my starry-eyed husband take the stage. There was a moment in the show when he backed away from his microphone just to listen as the whole audience sang along – I can’t imagine how incredible it would be to not only see that load of fans but also his favorite artists singing along to their song.

Other moments in the ceremony that stand out are when For King and Country had a party on stage as they ran around crashing cymbals and jumping off pianos, when Natalie Grant brought Kari Jobe on stage with her and rocked our hearts out in worship, when K-LOVE presented an award to the brother of a crippled little girl for loving on his sister with such devotion (CLICK HERE for a highlight about that), and when they closed the night by bringing all the artists on stage to lead us in worship.

After all four hours of visual and emotional stimulation my belly was so empty my strapless dress threatened to fall down, my feet so sore I couldn’t feel my toes, and I was simply ready to crumple up and sleep but the night wasn’t over, we still had an after party to attend to. The after party was a mingling event for the artists where there was food and live jazz music. We made it long enough to satiate our hunger and meet a few more of Josh’s musician friends but then we snuck out and made for our sheets.

Below are some photos from Citizen Way‘s sound check at the Ryman and I included the collection of images I grabbed with my iPhone of the actual awards ceremony too.

What was one of the proudest moments in your life?