The Wake Up Call

In my 2-part Voice From the Vault blog, I share the story of how God used the voice of Reba McEntire to sonically awaken the “God and My Girlfriends” song. But before that awakening could happen, first I had to cooperate with another awakening He was trying to rouse in me.

'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. -Revelation 3:2

It had been nearly 5 years since I’d used my singing voice. My life was busy with our three kids, recovering from the rigors of a new a home build, and running our Accidental Entrepreneur businesses that had sprung up unexpectedly. Most importantly, time with the Lord had been, and remained, firmly at the top of my To Do list.

Although my vocal cords were on the mend with the daily use of essential oils (my voice no longer came out as a hoarse croak when I tried to whoop-a-holler at our kids’ sports games), I still felt a tight restriction around my throat if I tried to sing anything.

But I was OK with it, because I didn’t plan to use my voice to sing anymore. Until… I heard the still, small voice inside.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” -John 10:27

It wasn’t a booming, megaphone-delivered kind of thing. More like a tap on the shoulder from the Holy Spirit (whom I’d gotten to know very well over the past 5 years), with a gentle statement impressed on my heart.

“Get ready. I AM about to wake up your music.”

What?

I don’t know what You mean, Lord.

That’s not possible. I’m done with singing. That’s in my past.

I’m a busy wife and mom with a family and businesses that need my attention.

Plus…I don’t want to sing anymore!

But God had other plans.

The still, small voice kept repeating...and because I knew "in my knower" it was Him, I began to prepare. “Just in case” I really had heard Him correctly.

I went to see a vocal coach, and through a series of sessions, she confirmed I did not have permanent damage to my vocal cords. She wasn’t sure if I would ever fully get the range back that I once had, but she believed strength and clarity would return with breathing exercises and “working out the muscle” of my voice with practice.

The notes were there; the voice was out of the vault. But even as I did what the vocal coach instructed, I still felt a restriction that wasn’t there in my past years of singing.

Each time I tried to push out notes that once effortlessly flowed, an image of an anaconda tightening around my throat would pop into my head.

Even so, I felt the still, small voice cheering me on, nudging me to keep preparing.

Then, He used a dear friend to open the next door. Krissy Nordhoff, a worship singer-songwriter and co-founder of Brave Worship, had been inviting me to come to one of their monthly “Girls Write Out” meetings. I had been resisting, because writing and singing was a thing of my past. She persisted with her invitations, and in March of 2016 (five years to the month since I’d lost my singing voice), I finally said yes.

At the very first Brave Worship meeting I attended, I found the courage to utter a brave prayer.

“Lord, remove the restriction.”

That is all I prayed.

Remove the restriction.

I thought I was asking God to remove the anaconda from my throat….but I would later come to realize that in speaking those words aloud, I was bringing heaven to earth in realms beyond my restricted vocal cords.

Something in the spiritual realm was about to majorly shift because of that prayer. An unseen dam that once blocked the flow of a 7-year-old song was suddenly removed.

Within 24 hours after speaking aloud “Lord, remove the restriction" at the first Brave Worship meeting I attended, I received a phone call informing me that “God and My Girlfriends” was about to be recorded by Reba.

What’s more, I was told it was a “sudden” decision by Reba. Songs she had put “on hold” for a project were suddenly dropped, as she had suddenly decided to record a gospel album, for the first time ever in her career. And along with this sudden decision, the time was suddenly right for this song she’d once considered recording 7 years ago.

Wow!

When I chose to obey “the wake up call” of God, and prepare for whatever He was about to do when I heard him say “Get ready…” , it opened the door to another wake up call: the call that informed me the voice of Reba was about to 'wake up' the “God and My Girlfriends” song.

And the best part of all? The very name of this song shines a light on The One who is the master orchestrator of all “wake up calls". GOD!

For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."