Not Backing Down with Blanca Carter

Blanca Callahan started doing family talent shows when she was five years old. At fourteen, her career became more serious as she joined the entertainment division of Disney World and by seventeen years old, she signed with the Group 1 Crew. She would go on to spend a decade travelling with the band as their lead vocalist. During which, she met her husband, who was the drummer for the band. When the two welcomed their first baby, Blanca, made the decision to start her solo career. She put her fears behind her and stepped out in faith to what she felt God had placed on her heart. We interviewed Blanca in 2016 and talked with her about not letting others stand in the way and her faith journey.

Blanca shares about the background of the song, “Not Backing Down,” and how she has learned not to play it safe.

“My whole life I’ve lived in fear. I feel like that has been my struggle to a point to where it cripples me or I won’t do certain things because of how it overtakes me. Just the worry, the doubt, the fear of the outcome, of failing, of not being enough, of messing something up; just all these negative things that step in our way. This new album, and where I am now as a mom, as a woman of God, as a wife, I wanted this to be the defining moment and the anthem for myself that says no more. I’m not going to back down. I’ve played it safe and I’ve been afraid my whole life, but this is where it changes. I’m not going to be silent. I’m going to speak when I feel I have something to say. It’s okay to get messy sometimes: that’s part of life. I think that’s my problem, I want to keep it clean and structured all the time. There’s something in life and experiences where it doesn’t always work out necessarily how you think it would and you grow from that.”

 ^“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:16-18

Blanca opens up about her faith journey.

“I wasn’t really raised in a church or anything like that. The Spanish culture, I feel like it on its own is very faithful and faith-based. We all have a fear of death and God and we are all taught about certain things, but we weren’t living it out in my particular family. My dad was the first person in my family to give his life to the Lord. On his own, he had a God-moment and came to Orlando for his kids. He apologized to us and his one request was to be able to take us to church with him on Sundays. We would get to split time [between parents] and we would go with him every other weekend. I got to spend time, experience, and hear his testimony. God just began to pull on my heart, so at seventeen I ended up giving my life to the Lord with my dad. I did it at my local church – which I still go to in Orlando. I knew at that moment that my talents and this voice that I had been given were for a purpose. I wanted to use it to bring glory to God and something bigger than myself. I got plugged into the church and I started singing with the worship team and I met the guys in Group 1 Crew. Group 1 was a Bible study at the church for musicians that wanted to get plugged in, be accountable and grow. There were thirteen of us that would get together and of course if you put a bunch of musicians together in a room, we’ll make music. We started helping each other out with different projects and putting it on MySpace and we just became a local band…”

Risen Reflections

Don’t back down. Whether it is fear of outcome, failure, messing up, not being enough, or other negative thoughts, take them to God. Pray and ask Him to give you His truth for the situation and for you to do what He has called you to do. Ask Him to give you faith and send others to encourage you so that you will not back down.

Share your faith with your family. This can be the hardest group to share our faith with. They knew us before we were Christians and see us on a daily basis. It is important to remember that no one is perfect. Don’t allow your past or your mistakes to stop you from sharing your faith. Instead, ask God to show you unique ways or questions to ask your family members so that you can be a light to them. Begin by praying that God would soften their hearts and give you opportunities to share your faith with them. If another family member is a Christian, pray together for the other family members.

Use your gifts. Each of us has been entrusted with gifts and talents. God wants us to use them to glorify Him. We don’t necessarily have to go into full-time ministry or use them at church to glorify God. Take time this week to pray and ask God how he wants you to use your gift and talents for Him. Ask a small group leader, pastor or ministry leader if they have insight too. Often, it can be helpful to get feedback from others as it is easier for people to see what our gifts are and how we can use them for the Kingdom.

To read our entire interview with Blanca Callahan, click here.