Interview with Katy Kinard

Here is the interview I did with Christian Media Spotlight's show and voice over announcer Katy Kinard. I hope you will enjoy taking the time to read a little bit more about her and will learn more about who she is.

Q. What was it like for you growing up and did you have someone growing up that made a difference in your life?

A. I had a wonderful simple childhood growing up in Arlington, TX. Loving family with fun traditions, elaborate decorations and events for every holiday, magical backyard, trips around the U.S. in the summers... I feel that I was very lucky/blessed. I think it was important that I also had a best friend who I could be creative with. We used to make up lots of games that often included drawing elaborate pictures we would pass to each other. Parent-teacher conferences usually involved my teachers saying I never paid attention in class!

Q. When do you remember coming to know God and who helped you come to know Him?

A. My family was great about regularly taking us to church, and it was a part of our family culture. But my whole life changed through a fundamental Baptist church in Woodland Park, Colorado (we moved when I was 12). The youth group took a trip to Indiana for a youth conference when I was 17, and this was after I had been attending that church three times per week for 5 years... It's like everything that had been poured into me in those 5 years suddenly all came together and clicked. It was the first time I felt like I was a new creation in Christ.

Q. Was there ever a time when you were in school that you went through different struggles, if so, how did you get through them and how did God help you through them?

A. Oh yes. Middle school and high school were terrible. Those were my most depressing years.. I was part of the all-black-wearing, heavy makeup crowd who wrote suicidal poetry, listened to depressing music, got into whatever substance could take us away from reality...There were many days I didn't want to wake up or be alive.

Deep down, I think one of the triggers was that my step brother (and best friend) ran away and chose to live with his biological mother after a long court battle.

I thought I meant a lot to him, but he never spoke to the family ever again, including me. I also just wanted to fit in and was having a hard time feeling normal.

When I finally surrendered my life to Jesus, it's like he took away all my fears and I didn't care so much what people thought. I think it's important for teens (or really anyone) to get away from their normal crowd for a while, or normal life, to consider what's out there and how important it is to go after what's good and positive, even if it's "different."

Q. Is there a scripture that you would read when you were feeling scared? If so, what was the scripture and how does that scripture help you now?

A. I memorized the King James version of this verse and just love the poetic nature of it: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." - Psalm 62:5

That was what I would repeat to my self when I was scared about the big things in life (potentially never finding a husband, never having children, dreams not coming true).

Also, when I've had anxiety in a particular moment, I often repeat the beloved Eastern prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner" and I add: "Please help." It combines what our rightful view of God should be (exalting Him as sovereign in our situation) with putting ourselves in the rightful place (we are sinners in need of mercy) before asking for His help.

Q. What made you want to start singing and was there someone that you looked up to for inspiration?

A. I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't singing. I was in school talent shows growing up, and I was inspired by the country music of the 90s. The storytelling and strong melodies lead me into a more folky direction with music. In college, I was inspired by Nichole Nordeman, Chris Rice, and Plumb.

Q. At what age did you start getting into doing voiceovers and is it, something you always wanted to do?

A. I was 24 when I got a job as an overnight DJ (my main job was production and editing) at WAY FM in Nashville. That lead to a bunch of other voiceover opportunities including being "The Voice of Wycliffe" for two years and the Living on the Edge announcer (Chip Ingram's ministry). All of this started from simply volunteering answering phones for a Compassion International phone-a-thon helping to get sponsorships. I met the morning show co-host in the break room, and he said I had a good radio voice and got me a starter position at the station! You never know what God's going to do just by simply showing up and serving him in tiny ways.

Q. If you could give a piece of advice to those who are struggling in their walk with God, what would it be and why?

A. I remember what a professional speaker one time wrote on the inside of a book... "Don't quit on God!" I thought that was a very jolting thing to write and kind of negative... but I've never forgotten it. She had had a tough life and was unmarried and childless, but in her 60s, God brought her the love of her life. I was fascinated by that, because I have a tendency to get upset with God when he doesn't give people the deepest desires of their hearts. Sometimes it has made me want to "quit on God" just looking around at all the pain and suffering, not only throughout my life, but mostly in the lives of people I love. I think about how strong that woman's faith was, and how she chose to be on God's side no matter what happened to her or to those around her. Just trust that God IS Love, and that He has a plan, and that pain and suffering won't actually matter someday (eternity is forever...this life is a tiny blip on the spectrum).

I would also say... remember that God's yoke is easy. "He has showed thee oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of thee but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with the Lord thy God?" (Micah 6:8) This helps me not to see God as an angry, demanding, apathetic God... Remember he loves you and will be with you through this life.

Q. Do you remember the first song you've written, if so, what was it called and is there a special story behind it?

A. I wrote a simple song called Hand in Hand with a little ukulele owned by my grandparents, and that song is actually somewhere online (it's on my Love Songs CD, which anyone can order through my website), but it started out saying "Hand in hand with my man in the sand...hand in hand." Lol! I made it a LITTLE more sophisticated years later, but most of it is actually the same! My grandparents cried years later when I played them the recording, because they remember me writing that in their motor home on one of our summer trips.

Q. When you were growing up, what was the first instrument you played and did you teach yourself how to play or was there someone that helped you learn?

A. I took piano lessons as a kid for about 8 or 9 years. I learned the guitar years later. I actually gave up after a few months of "learning" the guitar! I was a quitter! The lessons were very technical sheet-music-type virtuoso stuff... individual notes and theory....which is great! But I got bored and put the guitar down for TEN years. Later in college, I decided to simply ask a friend: "Hey, where do I put my fingers to play this song that I wrote?" Then I asked him about another song. Then another. I practiced about 5 of those songs for an entire summer, 30 minutes a day, and I played my first concert at the end of the summer! Little habits can go a long way when you figure out how to make it funand just do it for small amounts of time.

Q. Where does the inspiration come from when you're either writing songs or doing voiceover work?

A. I hardly know re: songwriting! It sounds ridiculous to say "It's not me writing the songs" because if God wrote a song through me, it would be #1 on every chart in every country (haha)... so it's not that. But when I get inspired to write (which, honestly, is very rare), the words that come out kind of amaze me, because I can't write a good song if I just sit down and say "I'm going to write a good song today." However, I would say that serious songwriters in Nashville WILL sit down and write a song every day (those are the really, really accomplished professional songwriters) and anyone can get better and better doing that.

I get inspired by intellectually sorting through scripture or the "whys" of life. Trying to find the meaning in what I'm going through or what others are going through. I would say I have to have a lot of emotion about something to be inspired to write a song about it.

Voiceover work... I get inspired by professional voices I hear in commercials. If there's a voice actor doing really cool inflections while saying "boring" things, or if I'm impressed that someone can sound upbeat while talking about tragedies, for instance... I like to figure out what they're doing to sound truly genuine and full of energy.

Q. When listening to music whether it was growing up or now, a song that helped you get through different things? If so, do you remember the artist and the song that helped you during a time where you felt either alone or didn't have a friend to talk with?

A."If You Want Me To" by Ginny Owens. (album version, not the Live version) I love that song and would listen to it over and over during hard times. It reminded me that I wasn't alone...that God was with me. Ginny Owens, is, of course, a Christian singer who has been blind since the age of three. She has a fascinating story and her love for and faithfulness to God is inspirational.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing has been a song that means a lot to me because of the story behind it.

I've struggled with faith, and the author of that beloved hymn, struggled even more. Rob Robinson was a preacher, a scholar, an author, highly respected, but he later walked away from his faith. I love the honesty in his lyrics (notably "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it... Prone to leave the God I love... Here's my heart, Lord. Take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above.") The whole song is so heart-felt, so genuine, in his love for the Lord. I believe Jesus heard his cries and I believe I will see Rob in heaven someday. Jesus knows our hearts way-deep-down, and I think there was still faith there...a longing for the Lord. I guess I'm encouraged by the fact that even the past "heroes of the faith" had the same hard questions for God that we do and struggled with doubt just as easily.

Q. How have you seen God help you through quarantine, and now, that God has shown you?

A. I almost feel guilty, because my life was not much different during the quarantine. Beside only playing a couple of outdoor festivals (and not having more shows like I usually would), I retained my full-time caregiving job, and I loved that job so much. I actually gained extra income covering extra shifts, and my fiance and I got a lot closer during that time, as we didn't have events to go to or many people to hang out with. It's ironic that I look back at the worst of Covid and I'm thankful for that time. Since then, my client (and very close friend) of 7 years, has passed away.

Brian and I are now getting married.

We have both had Covid. His was awful...mine was very light. We've also both been affected by knowing those who have had Covid and went through a really hard time or passed away.

My heart goes out to anyone whose life has drastically changed from the pandemic.

Q. If you could collaborate with a band or an artist, who would it be and why?

A. Maybe Dave Barnes. He's an incredible singer-songwriter, but he's also stinking hilarious and would make me laugh the entire writing session! That would be fun. He's a comedian as well as a serious songwriter, and he's awesome at both.

Q. Is there a story behind God's Doorstep, and what does that song mean to you?

A. It came from a sermon I heard. Sometimes we feel like we're hacking through vines and trees and shrubs trying to pave a path to God's doorstep, and we get frustrated about how hard it is to "find" Him. But then we turn around and realize we've been in our own yards the whole time. All the clutter....all the overgrowth...put there by us and by others. My life is often way too busy and cluttered. It's hard to find God when there's no spare minute to seek Him.

Q. What was it like to do the voiceover for Christian Media Spotlight and how has that experience helped you continue to grow in your walk with God?

A. It was very encouraging to hear from Joe, because I had lost a voiceover job due to Covid (had to do with the ministry's fundraising/donor base) and I was honored that Joe would ask me to record for CMS. It's been wonderful to be a part of a ministry that cares so much about all sorts of Christian artists and creatives.

Q. Do you remember a time when you got an email or letter from a fan? If so, how did their letter or email, make an impact on you?

A. Yes, it's very impacting! Most people don't ever think to write an artist and tell them how much a song means to them. They probably assume the artist gets hundreds of messages per day or that it won't ever get to them. I love knowing how God is working in someone's life and how a song of mine somehow impacted that! Every email or letter has been very special to me,.

Q. When people hear your music for the first time, what is your hope that they get from it?

A. Something they have never thought of before. A new angle on an old subject, or a challenge that sticks with them/a conviction, or a metaphor that means a lot to them and helps them stay steady through a tough time.

Q. Next, how do you prepare when you get ready to write a song and is there a process that you go through before writing them?

A. I usually write while I'm driving!... usually road trips to and from shows. The fluidity of the trees passing, the rain on the windshield, or the sunny reflections of water as I pass lakes and rivers... all of that keeps the songwriting kind of "moving" in my mind. I sing and write lyrics and melody first, recording them as voice files in my phone. Later I put guitar or piano chords to it. It's kind of unusual songwriting, because most come up with songs while playing their instruments.

Q. Finally, when you're writing a song, is there a scripture that inspires you when writing the lyrics?

A. Sometimes scriptures will come to me when writing a song, if it has to do with the subject matter. I've also had to re-write songs when they weren't biblically correct... like the song "For You" - I based one verse off of the Charlton Heston movie "The Ten Commandments," which one should always do - look to Hollywood for true biblical accuracy (haha). I wrote that Moses had to leave his wife for a long time while he rode off to free God's people. In the Bible, it actually says that she went with him. The point of the whole verse was that sometimes we have to give things up for God for a time. So it made no sense after I realized what the Bible actually said!