Interview with Cali House & Holly Line

On this week's episode, Joe interviews staff members Cali House & Holly Line. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to this week's episode of Fields Notes, where we take a deeper dive into sermon text, discuss matters of life and faith, and enjoy conversations around the table with fellow friends from the Fields. Well, Fields Notes listeners, welcome to a new episode of Fields Notes. We're doing a summer series on our podcast of a uh a Fields memberslash staff spotlight where we are interviewing, sitting down across the table uh with uh members of our staff here at the Fields. And so probably in the title of this podcast, you will see that I am with Callie House and Holly Line to members of our church who serve on the staff of our church, and we are uh hopefully just gonna get to know them a little bit better today. That'll be hopefully a fun time for us and encouragement to you guys, maybe encouragement to listeners out there as well. So Holly and Callie, thanks for thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Thanks for having us. Thanks, Joe.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Uh well hey, lots of questions for you guys. First, I understand you guys have you you guys are not unfamiliar with one another for tell us before the real questions, what what what what is your how have you guys' lives intertwined for life?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

We do have some history. Um so were you born in Crawfordville? Yeah. Yeah. So we grew up in the same town, born and raised. Um went to the same high school, and I was in Holly's cabin at Twin Lakes Camp where she was a counselor in training. Is that where your role is?

SPEAKER_02 1:40

In high school.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yes. And I was nine. And she was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

At Twin Lakes Camp, the place where dreams come true.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Yeah, we'll talk about that later.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Well, hey, lots of questions for you guys um uh for hopefully for people in our church to get to know you guys um a little bit better. So some general life questions. Maybe first for you, Holly, which you we know some. Where you grew up, where you went to school, where who you're married to, if you've got kids, who are they? You do have kids. I know this thing. Tell us a little bit about yourselves and then maybe something interesting about you too, Holly, that would be helpful for people in our church to know.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Yeah. Um, I was born and raised in Crawfordsville, and uh so went to Crawfordsville High School and then went to college at Grace College up in Winona Lake. Um I am married to Ian. Uh we just celebrated 12 years of marriage. 12 years of marriage. Congratulations, which is so crazy. Um, that I've pretty much like known him half of my life, which is crazy. When did you guys start dating? Uh I think I was 16. 18. No, I don't remember. It's been a while.

unknown 2:52

It's impressive.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Yes. Um, yeah, we have three kiddos, Warren, Ellie, and Jackson. And something interesting about myself, which I think is also in common with Callie, is that uh we both played lacrosse in college. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

I forgot about this. Yes, not at the same time, but we did play against Taylor.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

No way.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Wow. Yeah. I feel like I followed in a lot of your footsteps because like I um you were a swimmer and I swam, at least tried to. And did you lifeguard?

SPEAKER_02 3:29

I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah, lifeguarded. Yeah. Okay. And then I worked at Twin Lakes Camp. Didn't make it as long as you did, but I did try to work there. And then uh wow, Christian school lacrosse teens. Yeah incredible.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Very cool. I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

And we both started out our uh church careers as cleaning the offices after I graduated. Probably right. Yeah, after I graduated college, I think you passed me the keys high school. I passed Callie the keys.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

We were the church janitorial legacy.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Wow. Very cool. Well, Callie, tell us about yourself. Where are you from? All the questions. Who you're married to? Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Hottie. I uh also grew up in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

You edit that out. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Don't edit that out, hope. I also grew up in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Um, went to Crawfordsville High School and uh then attended Taylor University where I study um English education. I am married to Joseph Robert House, who's sitting across from me. Best podcast host in the world.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

You're very kind.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Um we have one baby named Luke Thomas House and um, Lord willing, uh baby girl on the way in September. And we plan to name her Laney. So Laney is coming soon. And um, I don't like the question something interesting about me, because I think this is the least interesting thing ever, but I it was the first thing that popped into my head. I enjoy sentence diagramming.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

I do it for hobby.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

English teacher through and through.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Yeah. I one time Greg Wright did catch me doing it during church.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

And called me out. On one of Jeff's sentences, maybe, or I think it was like on the passage or something like that. But I understood about it. I don't even know if I know what that means. Just like a bunch of lines basically dividing subject, verb, all the prepositions, etc. Yeah, I'm embarrassed I said that.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

No, it's great.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

It was the first thing that popped into my head.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

It's great. I have tough questions that I asked, so it's great. Um, Holly Callie, tell us a little bit, maybe Holly, first. Uh, how did you become a Christian?

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yeah. Um, we my family grew up uh going to church a lot on Easter and Christmas. Um, but I think when my parents became Christians, we just we really started um attending regularly um with the Stuart family, which uh another random connection I have is I grew up across the street from Grace Mangold.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yes, who was previously Stuart.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Before she met Dylan.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Yes. Um and so we attended church with them. Um and I knew I think I always believed that there was a God, um, but really started to take my faith seriously in middle school. Um, and really we were really plugged into church at that point, um, and just grew from there.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Praise the Lord. Thanks, Holly. Yep. Callie, a little bit for you?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Yeah, similarly, grew up in a mostly Christian home. Uh, I think my parents became really serious about their faith when I was in elementary school, and um they faithfully started bringing us to a gospel preaching church um called Pleasant View at the time. Uh, Holly was there. And it is now called uh Rock Point Church. Um, and I really just remember a shift in our home of them discipling us and truly raising us in the um training and instruction of the Lord. Um, I really do believe God used the gospel preaching of that church as well as my parents' faithful discipleship to help me understand my sin and God's grace. And uh yeah, I think God saved me uh probably sometime around fifth grade, and then similarly really um started diving in through um probably throughout middle school.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Oh, praise Lord. Thanks, Callie. And Callie and Hall, you guys work for the Fields Church. What a what a great place to work. How long have you worked for the fields for? What what are your titles and like what do you do? I think I'm like, I have we I think people listening might be like, I know they do stuff, but what is what are the things that like when I'm like what things of Holly does, what things of Kylie do I think may be helpful for people to know?

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Holly does everything.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah, Holly does everything. But people need to know this.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Um I have been with the field since the very beginning. Um and so technically I am the admin. Um, but that involves like events.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Is the admin your title? Admin. Admin. Admin director, director of admin, just admin.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Just admin, I think. Um but I do a lot of like event planning for like our anniversary Sunday, the picnic, uh, harvest party, that kind of stuff. Um a lot of behind the scenes things, like the bulletin and directory, making those and printing them, ordering supplies and books for the book table. Um I do a lot of the like graphic design for the um any graphics and like sermon slides. Um shout out to Julia Snyder for the awesome artwork that I got to work with for this new upcoming series. Just super exciting. Um, and then I also just do whatever Jeff tells me to do.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

That's what I say my job is most of it.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Which is all sorts of like uh um all sorts of things that you like uh like I think so when we are holding our bulletins on Sunday, Holly has done so much work to put all of those together. We're just like, oh, there's probably some sort of system that makes all these bulletins. That is Holly who does that.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Holly is the system.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Um and I'm sure we can't even we can't even totally grasp all the things that you do do, Holly. So thank you for for that.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Callie, what do you do?

SPEAKER_01 9:20

I mostly post what Holly sends me. Um so yeah, really, she does run this ship. But um I'm that communications director. Um, I've been on for just over a year now. And um, but funny enough, I was doing some of this stuff like at the very beginning of the fields as well. Um, just you know, kind of helping get the social media started and things like that. But I do much of the written communication, so that would include the weekly email, um, social media, maybe far too many Slack posts.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Um, the Slack posts are great.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

Um but yeah, really thankfully Holly is so gifted graphically that she sends a lot of stuff over and other people in our church as well who've used their artistic abilities to create graphics and things like that. That just gives me easy opportunities to post things. And um we have an amazing content capture team that I um assign roles and they take great pictures.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

What is content capture?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

They capture the content of our church, so really just they take pictures on Sunday mornings of our um of our gatherings and of people mingling and things like that, so that really the social media world can see that a church can function in an elementary school.

unknown 10:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Very cool. All of the things I see, I see more of what you do than Holly does because we live together.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

We do.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

What is the Holly Callie? What's the best part about working for the Fields Church in your eyes? Maybe Callie first. Holly's going first on all of these things.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Sorry, Holly. Um, I yeah, I do think I love, I really do love coming to the staff meetings. Um, they're once a week on Wednesdays, and it is just kind of a fun social outing.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Um, I'm an extroverted staff meeting is just a fun social outing. Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

We're not doing any work around there. No, but it's just, you know, I'm an extroverted stay-at-home mom. So it's a great opportunity built-in to hang out with friends. And we do, no, we laugh hard. Um, we usually like go through a book and have rich conversations about that. And then what I love about it, honestly, is as we're planning our gatherings and our events and our, you know, next sermon series and things like that, it's so cool to watch the gospel permeate every decision that we make, uh, not just on Sunday mornings, but like every moment in between. And cool to see just how intentional and Christ-centered our staff is. Um, and and to watch that like flow through the rest of the church, I think is really sweet. Also, I'm just always in awe of how hard our staff works. I definitely work the least hard out of everyone, and I just am blown away by the work that you put in, the planning, the yeah, the intentionality that goes.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Just to be clear, Callie works really hard, everyone. I I she's you're you're just very kind.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Like I said, people send a lot of stuff to me that I post. But yeah, it's such a joy to work with these faithful brothers and sisters, and yeah, then just to have them be friends as well.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

That's great. Holly, what is the best part about working for the fields for you?

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Well, my answer is much shorter, but also similar. Um, that it's just really fun working with friends. Um, getting to do life together, um, but then also working together. Um, I think it's really fun getting we try and get together at least once a month-ish uh with our families just so we can uh still be friends but not be working.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Um yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

These are for our like yeah, staff nights that we try to do to have just um culture amongst our staff of uh community even here too. So um it's great. Uh let me think about this for you guys. Callie Hawley, when you guys were in, let's say, high school, did you guys think that you would be working for a church later on in life? Has this been the plan? Or has this been something that's just the Lord has done that you didn't really expect? How yeah, so what what what led for you to be working for the church? A church, our church.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Um, I think in high school I was on the like I want to be a teacher route.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Um another similarity.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Yes, it's true. Um, but I wanted to do elementary education, which I don't think you wanted to do. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Oh, elementary edge. These people are heroes.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Um so yeah, so I did cadet teaching. Actually, I think your sister was in my class that I was a cadet teacher for when she was in kindergarten.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

She probably cried every day.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

I think this tour.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Kristen, you're great. Um, but yeah, I think in college, I think I think God just tried to or didn't try. He did uh just transform some stuff in my heart. Um so switched from an elementary education major to educational ministries um as a major when that uh started up at Grace. And so I think I just started out in family ministries for several years in several different roles um in preschool and uh being a like family ministry assistant director and then to a director role eventually, um, and then helped to get that up and running when we started at the fields before we hired the lovely Haley Filbert. Um so we passed that off to her. Um but yeah, then just sticking more to the admin side now. But it's super fun.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Very cool, very cool. Callie, how about you? What's what has the route been? What did you think you'd be working for a church? Married to someone working for a church? Certainly not.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

I'm just kidding. Well, not well, you said in high school. In high school, I thought I'd be married to someone in the MLB, so I wasn't gonna have to work. Sorry about that. I'm just kidding. You still could. Um high school, probably not. I also was um really passionate about being a teacher and excited to pursue that. Um so I went to Taylor to study English education, and then crazy enough, somehow, like in my registration, I accidentally got registered under Educational Ministries, um, which was basically like a ministry route, like um almost like yeah, the path to full-time ministry. So I sit down in one of my first classes that's called Christian Ministry, and I'm like, I'm not supposed to be here. Um but I stayed in the class and ended up just learning so much about the local church and discipleship and even like inductive Bible study, and it was really impactful. Maybe even, yeah, one of the most impactful classes I took. Um, but I did continue to, I did eventually, you know, do the major change and got to my real major, which was secondary English education. So taught the high schoolers. That's what I loved. And yeah, I uh with obviously being an education major, that's not like there's not like a lot of internships or things. So I tried, I tried Holly, I tried the summer camper out and I just couldn't do it. I just I just was dying there.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

I think I know a couple of stories about the summer camp counselor, camp counselor Callie that maybe need to be shared on the air.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

I mean, I think the most notable one is one of my campers. Um, we were fishing, and my camper like accidentally hooked a fish through the eye, and it was disgusting. And she was crying, and I was crying, and it was the most gross thing I've ever seen. So I just told all the girls to look away, and I threw the entire fishing rod into the lake, and the fish swam away, dragging a whole fishing pole from the heart in its eye. In its eye. Yeah. And yeah, it was it was horrible. And that was just one.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Fun times at Twin Lakes camps with Twin Lakes is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

I can't say enough good things about the camp. I am not cut out for such a life. I like slow mornings, I like um, yeah, warm showers, yeah. Free time.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Not having 12 children at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Right. I think that's a perk. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

So probably life is not for you, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Kids. I do love kids. Yep. Yeah. I love, yeah, really love working with students and discipleship and things like that, but I liked it uh more like in a small group context or like in a church setting, uh youth group setting. And so um, thankfully, a guy at my um previous church, Rock Point, uh, his name was Jeff Strickland.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

He actually I have not heard of this guy.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

I don't know where he's now. I think he wrote a book though. He um basically yeah said, why don't you come on as a student ministries intern?

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Um and we can just This is your sophomore year of college?

SPEAKER_01 17:46

This is after my uh after my sophomore year, I think. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. And so then, yeah, I actually came on for two summers at Rock Point and interned there and did a lot of stuff with student ministries and just learned more of the ropes of discipleship and how a local church functions and things like that. And um I'm a pastor's kid, so I also got to work there with my dad, which is fun.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

The PKs are the worst. Me and Holly.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

We are not the worst. Carson Knox backed me up on this one. Um no, but Holly was also working there, and it was just such a sweet opportunity uh where I really grew to love the local church, and so yeah, then the Lord allowed doors to open where once our son was born, I decided to step away from teaching and have been working for the fields ever since.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Very cool, which has been now a year, a year?

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Like a year and a couple months, yeah. Started in March, I think.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Very cool. In some ways, it's been so fast, in some ways, an eternity as well. Well, so sweet. I'm so thankful. Both of you guys work for the fields. Uh, a couple of just fun random questions for us for listening, somewhat uh, somewhat faster ones, but just to get you know, just to get a flavor for who are who are Holly, who are Callie? What is, Holly, the best restaurant in Westfield? Um in the greater Westfield area.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Yes, this one is in Westfield. Um we love Los Agaves. Love a good meal. Taco.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

It's great.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Well, I don't order tacos there, but what is the order at Los Agaves? Uh I feel like I switch it up either fajitas or um a Rose Con pollo. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

You just don't need to mess around with anything else. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

Callie, how about you? Best restaurant in the greater Westfield area.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Los Agaves is up there. I think there's a sentimental aspect I have, uh a sentimental connection to uh the Italian house. Old cousin Italian, yeah. I actually am Italian. I'm like an I'm an eighth Italian, I think. So I kind of am an Italian house.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Yeah.

unknown 19:44

Yeah. Eighth Italian.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Italian house, super good. Super good. Uh, Callie Holly, favorite song we sing at the fields, if you can think of one.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Yeah, I'm gonna go Come Thou Fount.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Come thou fount. We also sang Come Thou Found at our wedding.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

That's yeah, that's part of it too. Yeah. Nice.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Um, honestly, I struggle to pick one, but I do love it as well with my soul, which we sang this past tonight. Oh, we did. Oh, yeah. So good. I've always loved that song. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Great songs. Favorite dessert?

SPEAKER_02 20:15

Uh definitely chocolate-covered strawberries or Reese's of any.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

It's great.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

I think I'm also gonna say chocolate-covered strawberries just to stick it to Joe. He doesn't like them. You don't. They are a little bit messy.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

To clear the air, everyone, do I like chocolate-covered strawberries? I do, but I think I would rather like just strawberries by themselves and just chocolate by themselves. I also have kind of sensitive teeth too, so it's like when I buy if they're kind of cold, it's all they're always kind of cold. And I buy it into them, it's like, ah, they're gonna hurt a little bit. Chocolate-covered strawberries. Wow. And Reese's for Holly. Anything else for you, Callie? Just chocolate-covered cookies.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Ah, chocolate chip cookies is also high on the list, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Mm-hmm. Uh, question if you had to live in another state that's not Indiana, what state would it be? Holly Line, how about you?

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Um, I also I'm just I'm just a very indecisive person and cannot choose another state, but I would say right now, just somewhere that is not this humid.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

A dry uh perhaps a drier place, the desert.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

I don't know if I would love to live just as hot there in Arizona.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

I don't know if I'd love to live in California, but also it's like 75 and sunny, yeah, and I don't think super humid. So that just sounds very appealing.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

That'd be nice.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Yeah. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Callie, how about you? Alaska, perhaps?

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Probably not Alaska. Um, I I would probably go somewhere where it's never winter.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Yeah, yeah. We talk in Florida, we talk in Alabama, Hawaii, Arizona, Texas.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

You could see like a South Carolina in a fun experience. Summers are hot, but I I can handle the heat. I like the heat.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Unless you're pregnant, though.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah, it's been less fun this summer.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Fun fact about Cali is well, yeah, it's been different with you being pregnant. You're like more of a normal person. When yeah, I there's a point in time I realized, oh my goodness, Cali just loves to be if to be like over 95 degrees outside. And I am like just cannot hang. I just can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

It's oh I do not like to be cold. I do not like to shiver. That hot though. You need access to a pool. True. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Two more questions. Holly Callie, favorite book of the Bible.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

I also couldn't choose on this one. It's good.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Um, they're all they're all great.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

But I've been going through psalms um just prepping for the TGC conference, and it's just been sweet um to read through. So that's sweet for right now. I will say psalms. Good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

I've given different answers to this question as many times. Callie's favorite book of the Bible at this point in time.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

This fine, it's been pretty consistently for several years now. I uh I just love Philippines. I really do.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

That's great. And then last question for us here uh if you have either like a life verse or a favorite verse uh from the Bible um that especially stands out to you, what would that be?

SPEAKER_02 23:07

Um, I think just in the season since becoming a mom, I have just really loved Isaiah 40, 11, uh that says he tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young. Um, and I just love that reminder that uh like Jesus specifically is gentle with those that are moms. Um, and I need that reminder often. Um, but he's gently leading us and we're always close. Um yeah, sweet, super sweet in this season of kiddos, which can be crazy. Also, yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

We're just finding this out ourselves. There can be some craziness. Oh, yes. We need some calm, we need some gentleness. Yeah. That's great. Callie, how about for you?

SPEAKER_01 23:59

I'm gonna have to go with Psalm 121. Um I yeah, it's just carried me through a lot of difficult seasons, and I love the idea that the Lord does not sleep or slumber, and so he's always watching us. And it's been a sweet prayer to pray over Luke, like when we lay him down, especially like in the early days when we were so anxious to, you know, put him in his crib and try to fall asleep, like knowing that the Lord doesn't sleep. And um, I just love the final two verses. The Lord will protect you from all harm, he will protect your life, the Lord will protect your coming and going, both now and forever. It just doesn't get much more all-encompassing than that.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

So amen. Well, Callie Holly, thanks, guys, for your time, even just us to get to know you better. Hope for it um for all you listening. That uh helps you to know Callie Holly better. That um, if you don't know them, if you're a member of our church, if you are listening or digging into our church and you have not met Callie and Holly, you need to that on a Sunday say hi to them and uh get to know them. And I just want to thank you guys for all the work that you do for our church. Um, and uh I think especially for you guys, a lot of that work goes unseen. That sometimes there's people who do. I get to just be up in front of people all the time. Like people see people see work that I do, but you guys often don't get to. So um, yeah, those listening, be sure to thank Callie Holly too for um yeah, the tireless, tireless work that you guys do um to serve us, to serve our church, but really you guys are serving Christ in doing that. So press on in that button. Thanks, you guys, and we are signing off for Fields Notes.