CHRYSANDRA :
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling’s radio show, To All the Dreamers. I’m your radio host, Dr. Christandra Brunson, and it is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after their God-given dreams because they are afraid to fail, and that is just plain wrong because if God has given you a dream and you’re not living it out, you are wasting it, and we do not want you to live or die with regret. And that’s why at The Calling we love to inspire, empower, and equip people to after Jesus’ calling on their lives to reap the best kind of eternal legacy possible to have immediate impact on themselves and their families. We love to do this through so many different avenues and custom tools and programs. conferences, workshops, but especially through this radio show to all the dreamers where we bring on world renowned guests to share how they’re going after their God given dreams and how you can do the same. You guys, you’re in for such a treat. I’m so excited to announce we have the one and only Blanca Reyes on with us. Blanca, welcome to the show.
BLANCA REYES :
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I feel very excited to be with you guys today.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, it is such an honor. And Blanca, you’ve become such a dear friend and just a heroine in the faith. And we cannot wait to be able to hear just all the details of what Jesus is doing in your lives. But we just saw each other recently, too, on the red carpet. And I know everyone, they’re like, oh, Blanca. And they know you, but just for just a kind reminder to people to tuning in, tell us the platform that God has had you on throughout your lifetime.
BLANCA REYES :
Yeah. So over the years, of the christian music ind in a group called group o that a lot of people from were just, you know, you on the scene for the fir such an incredible journe them for quite some time decided to go on my solo venture back in like 2015 and so here i am uh still doing music after all these years still trying to use this platform that god has given me to bring encouragement and um just truth to to people so it’s been such a an incredible honoring journey. Like I feel so honored and so grateful that I’ve gotten the years that I have in doing what I love.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, and Blanca, you have touched millions of souls with just your obedience and saying yes. Can we just hear what are your favorite songs that have stuck out to your heart with group one crew? And even just recently that?
BLANCA REYES :
Group One sure is like a whole lifetime ago. But of course, there’s the classics for Group One. We have songs like He Said with Chris August. And even like our first, first song on the scene was Forgive Me. And I remember that was like such an impactful song for so many people because it was very raw and honest. And so those are just like… they come straight to my head because they were so crucial in our journey and were so impactful. But now in my solo journey, man, oh man, I have a lot of songs that, a lot of my music in general has come from like a very of honest place a little vulnerable place and so i have songs like who i am which is from my my first album ever as a solo artist but then we got into uh shattered songs like shattered and real love is like still to this day one of my favorite songs that i’ve ever written i think it’s Yeah, it was just like something that I needed for myself. And then to see how people connected to it was such a blessing. And then we go into the heartbreak and the healing and we have songs like the healing new day, which I love. Now I’m about to release my next album. So we’re in an exciting time.
CHRYSANDRA :
This is so exciting. And I think, you know, you’re just the epitome Blanca of someone seeing their life just being like, oh, Can it get better? And God’s like, the best is yet to come. And just when you continue to walk by faith, we’re seeing that through your life and are so excited for your new album coming out. And just this journey that you’ve been on, Blanca, can you just take us back to your beginnings? And when you were a little girl, how you can just see Jesus just dropping these little seeds in your heart to now be knowing that this is your calling today.
BLANCA REYES :
This is, it’s such a big part of my testimony. So I always love to share it because it was, you know, how I got to know Jesus, but also like, get to do this Christian music thing was, I grew up, my parents were divorced, and my dad was had an addiction problem, which is why he ended up leaving me and my family. And I went through a lot of things that was very hard for a young girl to deal with. But the craziest part of the story is that my dad got clean and he was the first in my family that got to know the Lord. And so he came back into our lives and asked for forgiveness. And his request to my mom was to be able to take me and my brother to church. And so I started going to church with my dad, which is crazy. Like, cause I’m, I’m a lot like my dad my dad is very charismatic he’s a singer he was a singer as well so like he gets saved radically starts bringing us to church and he starts singing in the church and my family’s from Puerto Rico so he would sing you know like salsa music and very traditional music to our culture and just seeing the transformation in my dad I always had a passion for music something since i was very little i would say five six years old my mom was like she doesn’t have a normal five-year-old voice like i think this is a gift and so i always knew that it was something that i wanted to pursue but this kind of like tangible um experience that i went through with my dad and seeing the change in him and then how he was using this gift to like glorify the lord and the journey that he was on just really impacted me so i was 17 years old at this point and i was with my dad he took me to a local church here that was having a play and i ended up giving my life to the lord through my dad and i knew in that moment being there i was like this is what I was made for. Like, I want to use everything that I have to like sing for him. And like, he placed all the pieces in my life. That was the church. that had a bible study for musicians called group one and so it was about 13 of us that were we loved music we sang we rapped we did we played drums like whoever wanted to come that loved music would attend this bible study and that’s where i met the guys for group one crew we came out of this church so when i was like i didn’t have goosebumps i think we all do it’s like when you start putting th and you just see like, ma you had this beautiful pl from a lot of, you know, h but to see that you, you’r the very beginning and it to where I’m at and who we have to know. So what Okay, so I live in Orlando, Florida. I was born in New York, but raised in Orlando. I’ve been here most of my life and the church was called Faith Assembly of God. And so they’re a church that still to this day, they’re down the street from my house and I love them. I love the pastor there. And They were a crucial part in just like those those primitive, you know, those first years for me. Yeah, they were important to me. And I joined like fine arts at that time. Like, I’m just like, this is a whole different world. I had no idea what I was doing. But God really surrounded me with the most amazing people.
CHRYSANDRA :
oh my goodness and you were right where he wanted you to be without even knowing it and yeah it’s almost like an esther story i think you were you’ve shared this before but just you know how god’s fingerprints are on so many pages that we have no idea how he’s going to connect the dots or he seems you know far off but lo and behold he starts threading it all together And you couldn’t come up with a better story. Blanca, so in this journey of just singing for the Lord and saying yes to him, How have you been able to overcome the different giants that have come in the way? You know, just to be able to stop you, to overcome you with fear. Is there a circumstance or a situation that you can think of that you had to really press into him and through?
BLANCA REYES :
yeah oh my gosh i feel like there’s been so many of those moments in my in my life and um i remember when i first met the group the first verse it become it became like my life first but the first verse that we memorized uh with group one crew and that bible study was joshua 1 9 and it’s like do not be afraid do not be discouraged for the lord that is with you wherever you go and because of my upbringing you know, not having my dad losing him to addiction for most of my childhood, going through abuse and a lot of things that a young girl shouldn’t deal with. Like fear had just like crippled me. It was something that was so hard for me to work through and So as I start kind of pulling back the layers in this journey, little did I know that there was going to be a lot of hardship that was going to come along the way. I’ve lost both of my parents to cancer. And I think that would be like hitting rock bottom for me. But through that process, I don’t know who’s listening, but if you’ve ever had experience, it’s, it’s something that, you know, especially for me, my parents were both 54 when they passed. So it was like, they were very young and something that was not expected, but like. God just shows up. There’s no other way to put it. Like there’s no way to prepare outside of just putting your weight on him. Like there was many times, like I remember when my mom was sick and I had already lost my dad to cancer. And then we found out a year later that my mom had breast cancer. And I remember just looking at like my family and being like, if she passes like i think i’m gonna go crazy like i really don’t know how i’m gonna survive it but somehow some way like every day god would just give me the strength that i needed to like show up for her to have you know these conversations that were very needed for like healing within her and myself um to be present i had a i think my son was probably two or three years old at that time so like dealing with like this experience with my mom and having to show up for my son like but he does it and he does it all for good and it’s not to say that those things like good in any form, but to see how he uses it all for our good is something that I can testify through my life.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, you have us in tears and in pure joy, and we do need to take a short break because we have the one and only Blanca Reyes with us today and will be forever changed. There’s so much more to discover. Stay tuned. Hi guys, this is Crisandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com.
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CHRYSANDRA :
We are back. Thank you for listening to all the dreamers radio show. I’m your host, Dr. Cassandra Brunson, founder of The Calling. And I’m so humbled and honored to share that we have the one and only Blanca Reyes with us. And Blanca, you were just sharing right before we went to break. It’s almost a heart-wrenching story of having to overcome heartache and loss. It almost is this paradigm of the Lord gives and he takes away. And you had to show up for your little two-year-old son at the time while losing your parents back-to-back. both through health issues and it’s almost like just the nightmare that you never wanted to happen came to be. But you were just sharing that the Lord just met you in that. And how would he meet you in those moments? I think it was in ways…
BLANCA REYES :
A lot of the things, it’s like you hear about the peace that surpasses all understanding or the fruit of the spirit and like all these things, it really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. Like he just, if you’re, if you’re open to receiving it, like he just shows up with what you need in the moments that you need it, whether it’s comfort or love, peace, some, you know, even like, you know, tangible things like finances and Um. Clarity like there was just so many things that in that time that felt so chaotic and so overwhelming that people would just be like, how are you doing? Like, how are you getting by? How are you doing this? I’m like, I have no idea because if it’s in my own strength, if it’s out of my my own understanding, like I think I would go crazy. But he just kept showing up and bringing little miracles, even I hardly ever get to share the story, but even at my mom’s celebration of life, like she loved dolphins. That was her thing. And so we had a celebration of life like on Clearwater Beach, which is a beach here in Florida that she absolutely adored. And when we did the final closing prayer, it was overlooking the ocean and there was like a school of dolphin that just like we finished the prayer and just like was the the landscape of our backdrop and i’m just it’s like moments like that where i’m like god in your kindness you just like find ways to like comfort us and let us know like she’s okay she is she’s with me and like you’re going to be fine so there was many many moments like that along the way but um yeah i think It’s all been a part of my process, a part of my music, and he’s used it to also help others who are going through loss and need kind of that encouragement.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, Blanca, I don’t think we’ll ever look at dolphins the same way. And, you know, just to remember your mom. And can you share her name? What was her name? And her name is Blanca. I’m Blanca number two. My mom is the original Blanca. She’s Mama Blanca. We’ll always think of Mama Blanca when we do see dolphins and even more so her legacy of God’s faithfulness and showing up in the midst of heartache. But just knowing that God is going to use it for his good. And Blanca, you’ve been able to walk through so many different miracles by faith. Can you share with just all of us and our listeners of how Jesus has come through for you, some of your favorite memories of walking in obedience and seeing the fruit of that, of lives changed? Oh, yes.
BLANCA REYES :
I mean, I feel like I live that every day. There’s so many, there’s so many times, especially I’ll speak on it from an artist perspective, even when it comes to what I what I do when you try to place like. your worth and what you do or what others like hoping others would like you and like you or the affirmation i think this culture is built on needing some type of validation and affirmation with social media and all these things like there’s a constant i live i feel like a constant miracle of God just showing up and saying you are so much more Blanca than anything you can do out of you know your gift or your own strength or like your music like you are mine and that is enough and so I feel like there’s been countless moments where I’m like I’ve been doing this for 20 years now, like in the music industry.
CHRYSANDRA :
And there’s so many times that I’m like, I think they were like, what do you mean 20 years? Thank you. I love you. You’re probably listening to us on the radio, but also you’ll see this on our socials. But there are times I’m like, what am I doing? Am I still, you know, like, in his will? I’m so tired. All these things.
BLANCA REYES :
I feel like… God is just so gracious and he meets me there and he, he always finds the way to like bring the right people along, bring community to lift me up or to encourage me. So he’s just been so incredible. I know that we can all sit here all day and talk about like the faithfulness and the goodness of God and what he’s done. But honestly, I like, I feel like it’s such a, personal thing for me because I didn’t come from the church necessarily and so my experience with the Lord has been one that’s been just like a very personal you know it’s just like been something that I’ve experienced hands-on and I’ve had to wrestle with a lot of things but I’ve seen how he’s shown up so I hope that that sums up the question.
CHRYSANDRA :
It’s a hard question and I think, Wonka, you just said you nailed it on the dot of know sometimes just being faithful and questioning where like is this where you still have me and being obedient in those seasons and i think we see that throughout the scriptures how so in those moments even just recently um you know being able to be at the dev awards and some of these other events or concerts or just uh worship nights in particular
BLANCA REYES :
how do you how has the lord just be able to keep your heart soft to know that he’s with you and he’s going to keep moving you forward to the next step oh yeah i feel like if you just tap in like god is always locked in how the young it’s just a matter of you getting your mind there and understanding like as soon as you allow yourself to be open to what he’s doing you see it everywhere and so i feel like I’ve learned one to stay flexible. Like I feel like wasn’t hold on to things so tightly and try to control. It takes away sometimes from the beauty of what God is trying to do. So I’ve learned to just like to flow with what he’s doing. And that keeps my heart soft. That keeps me present, which is another big part, too, is just like we can live in. just all these other places, the fear of the future, the threat of the past, autopilot from like just doing the same old same every day. But I feel like God is in the present moment and he really wants us to tap into that and like be in the here and now. Because like I said, he’s constantly working, constantly doing just like beautiful things all around us. So I think the more that we can get out of our own way, we’re able to do it.
CHRYSANDRA :
and let him come. And you that walk in such a profo know where time goes or o towards the end of our s though that we need to, we and that we want to hear about so we want to hear all about your new album coming out and then also right before that can you just share with our listeners there’s someone tuning in and they’re just they’re so afraid to go after what they’re called to they’re just they’re paralyzed by fear almost when you’re sharing in the beginning of your your life and um paralyzed yeah by the fear of failure What would you tell them to encourage them to move forward?
BLANCA REYES :
okay so i’ll start with the album okay i have an album coming out on october 17th called full bloom i’m super excited about it i’ve been living with these songs forever and it’s finally here finally time for you guys thank you it’s what i feel like it’s the visual of where i feel god has my heart right now and yeah um so i’m really excited about it make sure you check it out there’s a lot of songs. I think I have like 14 or 15 songs on the album, so you’ll find one on there you love. So we’re really, really excited about that. And then for the person listening that feels crippled by fear or is just kind of like afraid to fail, man, I would encourage you by saying number one, you’re not alone. I think a lot of the times we feel we’re the only ones kind of in that place. But you would be shocked to know how many people find themselves in that exact feeling or place. How many people on social media that give you their highlight reel are going through identity crisis and their own fears of failing. And but something that has been encouraging to me is to understand one with god not like nothing is final everything is temporary there’s always room to make your wrongs right if this makes sense in any way i have a fear i have a fear of making the wrong decision or or going down the wrong path but the beautiful thing about god is that he will course correct you as many times needed to get you where you need to be so like don’t be afraid of failure know that he can make every wrong right and he can put you on on course um at his perfect timing so i think a lot of the times that shuts us off or you know like stops us from really trying to do things but like all we’re called to do is to show up and meet him halfway he’ll take it the rest of the way but you gotta just show up and take that first leap of faith forward um another big thing is understanding that your identity and who you are is not found in what you do, is not found in what others think of you, is not found in your gifts, but it’s found in being a child of God. You are worthy because you’re his. And with that, I’m like, when you know who your father is, it gives you a little bit more confidence to step out there and do some things that may be a little scary to do at times. So yeah i have stuck by that um and yeah like just ask god to give you the mind of christ to take you know your own doubts and fears away and to really show you your life through his lens and i think you’d be pleasantly surprised to see all the good things he has in store for you oh blanca couldn’t i mean i think
CHRYSANDRA :
we all need to be able to write all of that down if you guys are on the side of the road go jot that down um i i mean just simply just quoting too forever more everything is temporary is life changing. And Blanca of one of your favorite s album full bloom. Yeah, l my gosh, you’re gonna pu Well, one of the ones I a song called I’m yours.
BLANCA REYES :
the chorus simply states that truth it says i’m safe i’m loved i’m more than enough i’m worthy cause i’m yours with strength and grace you keep showing up one thing i know for sure is your love’s been the same through the ages so i’ll trust although everything’s changing cause i know that what i’m facing i’m safe i’m loved i’m more than enough we’re all cheering here in studio
CHRYSANDRA :
Blanca, that was such a treat and I put you, you were on the spot and that was a piece of heaven. We are so honored to have you on Blanca. You guys check out this incredible new album. You’ll see it on all of the Calling and I socials and you guys don’t want to miss out. I can’t wait for the tours to be coming around. and concerts and we love you, Blanca. Thank you for being a hero and into the faith and just challenge everyone to ask themselves, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? You like Blanca? Say yes. Thank you, Jay. Until next time, learners, keep dreaming big.
