Faith, Music, and God's Timing: Paula Slow's Journey Back to the Stage

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast. A show where I interview guests that teach, motivate, and inspire. Today's guest is singer, songwriter, Paula Flow. You know, sometimes uh we have stories and we learn that God's timing is not our timing because 20 years ago, Paula walked away from the music energy to be able to take care of her family. She knew she would always return. She just didn't know how. Now she's back, and God's timing is now. So we're going to be talking to her about her remarkable story and everything that she's up to, and you know, the music that that she's releasing now. Website is Paulaflow.com. So, Paula, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Well, I grew up in Minnesota, and um we lived in uh a suburb of Minneapolis for many years, and then uh my parents wanted to move to a smaller area up north, but my I have two sisters, and my middle sister did not want to move till she graduated. So as soon as she graduated, we moved. And I was in ninth grade and I finished school in Chissago Lakes, um, Minnesota. Or that's the name of the school. So anyway, it was a wonderful change. I loved it. And the funny part is you know how sports is always important in high schools, right? They it was, but the music department was really important there also. And so we had choir and band, and we had stage choir and stage band. And the first time I ever recorded was in high school. We went to Minneapolis and we recorded two albums using the students for the music and um also for the singers. And I did a solo on one and had a duet on the second album that we made. And the third year uh I was Maria in the sound of music. So that's just kind of nurtured what I'd always wanted to be was a singer. So uh having that high school experience there was probably a God thing, I think.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Speaking of a God thing, more than 20 years ago, God called you out of the music industry to be able to take care of your family. So how difficult was it to walk walk away from something that you love and something that you have invested so much in?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

You know, um, right before it happened, God asked me if I was willing to pay the price. And I had just won the Christian Country Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003, and also the Country Gospel Guilds uh out of Arkansas uh female vocalist uh the same year. And he asked me if I was willing to pay the price. Well, I had had a friend back in Wisconsin, because we lived in Wisconsin by then, and uh he had toured, was a singer and had toured, and he told me one time that he got off his bus and he asked his manager where they were because he was so exhausted from touring. And so when God asked me that question, I kind of went, Well, I know what that means, being away from the family, um, you know, tired, it it's tough. But if that's what you want from me, yes, I'll do it. And then shortly thereafter, um, and then at that point, God said, when it goes, it's gonna go fast. And through the years, he's told me things, and I've written them down. So I wrote that one down. And um so just not too long after that, I just felt like, you know, the music business is not cheap. To get music made and to put it out to radio and to get somebody to push it, all this takes money, and it's especially if you're independent. And so I just said, God, unless you can really help with this, I've got to pull back. And I need to not take the money from my budget for my family. You know, don't be selfish like that. I need to take care of my family. So I pulled back then and I came home. And uh I still ran karaoke shows, uh, and that's how I made money. So um I did that, and we finally we moved uh one year to help my father-in-law with his church in the Chicago area, and then we moved again out to North Dakota because my husband got a job in the oil fields when it started up. So that was my journey. Um, I still ran karaoke shows, but then I um God kept telling me over the years he wasn't done with me yet, and that I would return. And he gave me so many things and I wrote them all down. And every so often I take it out and look at it and tell him what he he told me. And uh then in 2021, um, my husband uh got sick and um we lost him. He it wasn't COVID, but it it had affected his heart, and he had a heart attack and died. So um that's where this all started again. And I I I had been pondering and thinking that we would retire soon and I would go out and start singing again and putting songs out to radio and and going around singing, and then he passed away and kind of took me a year or so to recover, but I felt like it was time to do something. And my oldest daughter had moved to Tennessee, so I decided that I was to come here, and so I did. And in 23, I put out the first song in years to radio. So you have any questions?

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Yes, I do. Uh like you talked about, God promised you that he wasn't done with you, he was gonna bring music back into your life. So over all those years when nothing was going on or nothing was happening, what uh kept you holding on to that promise that you know music was gonna come back into your life?

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Because I knew from the time I was a child that God had that gift in me. I knew that uh it was it it was this deep-seated thing that I wanted to write and sing songs that would make people stop and think about choices that they made, or um give them encouragement to walk out of a bad situation, you know, just that. And I always envisioned having concerts, and people would come back to the table where I'd be signing autographs and stuff afterwards, and they'd say, Man, this song really did this for me, or whatever. And I could see it in my mind that I would be praying with them. And actually, uh, when I lived in Wisconsin and did a lot of karaoke shows, Christian people would say to me, You can't be in those places, and you're condoning what's going on. Well, they didn't see me praying with people, they didn't see me loving them right where they were at. And before I left the area, I had a concert and I had so many people on a prayer list, and I saw a lot of lives that had changed. And it not a credit to me, other than that I was obedient to God. And I shared stories how he'd worked in my life or someone else's life. And I remember one time especially a grown man with tears streaming down his face because something I had shared made meant something to him. So, I mean, I was doing what I was called to do, even though it wasn't on the level it was before. And uh, and then, like I said, I'd take out the promises that he spoke over me because I'd write them down and I'd speak them back to him. So I kept them alive and I'd say, uh, this is what you said you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Well, what did those 20 years teach you about patience, faith, and trust in God's timing?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

That it's really important to be obedient, and at the same time, I didn't just sit there and wait. I I if I saw an opportunity or a door that I thought might open, I would push it. And they didn't open, but it did, but I didn't quit trying. So I wasn't just being um passive either. I was constantly seeking and making sure I wasn't missing, you know, one of the doors that he wanted to open. And uh, so it taught me to um always have your eyes open. And uh even in stores, uh, you can pray with people in stores, you can talk to them, you can give them a smile and make their day. Uh, there's no strangers for me out in that world. And so the same with the music. I I'd try, and if it didn't work, I just would know that God was gonna do it, and then I'd remind them every so often and read through the things. In fact, behind me in my um computer bag is the notebook that I have with all those promises in it.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Well, do you feel like uh stepping away from music or uh God taking you away from the music? Do you feel like it was to become the person that he wanted you to become before bringing you back to the stage?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yes, there are things that um I needed to uh learn, I would say. Um probably having wisdom and uh probably grown in him some more so that what he brings I can handle because what he has shown me is not little necessarily. So I don't exactly know how it plays out exactly, but I know that there is uh it's a pretty big call, and I know because we're coming to the end times, I believe all of us have large calls because the harvest is important and we're we're at that point, and so and also I believe we have a double portion of God's Holy Spirit and that He will do many wonderful, great things in this time, and I just want to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Well, was there a specific uh moment conversation, or basically what was the turning point when you knew that God was bringing music back into your life?

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Well, when my husband passed away, and I also reconnected with someone who had been um in the uh management or or the hierarchy of the Christian country um association, and she had her own independent label. And so I went to Nashville to can't remember what I did, but um I was down there for something and I I connected with her. And I knew then, we talked about me releasing a song, and I knew then that it was time, and then that my daughter lived there was the other reason because I had I had a place to stay.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Well, after being away from the music industry so long, did you uh ever doubt your ability to still be able to record, write, and perform songs?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

No, in fact, I've I had only written a few songs up until that point. But God had given me a word years before where he said, When you get rooted and grounded in a church, I'm gonna give you new chords, new songs, and when you sing, people are gonna be healed. And then along the way, he showed me that one night at my own church when I went over and sang over somebody after playing with my band all weekend and I didn't have a voice left. And when I went over to sing over them to the worship music that was going, I kept singing higher and higher, and I knew I didn't have the voice to do it. And after the Bible study that night, he came over to me and he said, Were you the first person to come over to me? And I said, Yes. And he said, I've had pains in my legs ever since my chemotherapy started because he had cancer. And he said, When you came and prayed over me, it they left. And I knew God was showing me a glimpse of what he was bringing. And then two weeks later, ran into another person from our church and I shared that with him. And he said, Oh, but you don't know the whole story. Those pains have not come back at all. They're gone. And so that was an encouragement from God. And I also had a song that I had recently written with a friend because Christian people were saying, Papa's gonna take us out of here around the COVID time on uh social network. I kept seeing people say, He's taken us out, we're gone. And inside of me, I prayed every day and I said, God, I'm here until. And that's what we wrote, here until. I'm here to do exactly what you've called me to do and be until. Maybe you rapture us out. If you don't, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna serve you until I'm gone from this earth. And then God said to me, No, do not put that one out yet. Put from afar out that I had recorded years ago. And actually, when I was recording that CD that it's on, my house burned to the ground in in Wisconsin. So uh so I put out from afar for the first song in 2023.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Well, let's talk about your perspective on music. Uh how has your perspective changed in regards to singing and performing versus 20 years ago, you know, when you were first uh singing and performing.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Um, I don't know that it's really changed a whole lot. I see how power I know how powerful music is, and the thrill for me now is writing songs that when I sing them live, they're touching people, and exactly what I saw when I was a child and felt would happen happens. They come up to me and say, This song did this for me, or it's so such a blessing to know that God is using the music. I've also learned over the years that even though I may not be singing gospel, because God called me when he called me back, he said, You're going to do country music, secular, and you're also going to do inspirational country. And sometimes the songs I write, I call them stealth bombers because they are gospel, but people don't realize it. And so I believe the Spirit of God is in them. And uh so uh the thing that is so cool to me is my newest song out that's country, and I always introduce it as not gospel. I just had some reviews on it that some people have done on the internet, and they pulled out an inspirational fact out of it that there's a part in it that says, My daddy left when I was three years old, mama left, raised us on our own. I learned to love my wild side, not afraid to be alone. And these people have pulled out that you can have adverse things or things happen in your life, but the song lets you know that it's okay to be yourself. And I was floored. I'm like, I wrote that song. I didn't think there was an inspiration in it, but they found it. And to me, that's cool. That's music.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Well, speaking of that, you use your music to share God's uh goodness. So uh what message do you hope people take away from uh your songs when they listen to them?

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Uh that that he's real and that he loves every one of us, and that it uh you even if you've walked away from him, he's constantly looking for you to come back. And that we um each individual has a story, and through music, sometimes people can handle the stories and understand easier than when we try to tell them things, and so um that's what I want people to see. And I like to encourage people and uplift them, and so this fun song that I was just talking about, good kind of crazy, is just a fun song, and it uplifts people's spirits. My the first person who, when I put it out, came back and said something to me was my auto insurance man, and he said, he texted me and he said, I love this song. And I laughed because I thought I thought women would identify with it more than men, but uh they're liking it just as much. So I just think the wonder of God is so wonderful, and if you can put it in music, it's easy for people to see, even just a regular country song, how good they maybe have it as opposed to someone else. Um uh we've been writing so many great songs. Um, and I don't say great to be prideful, just that people are responding to them uh so wonderfully that it means something to them. And that's why you write, that's why you do music.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Well, what would you say to somebody who feels like God has placed a dream in their heart, but uh has that they have had to wait for years for the opportunity to pursue that dream?

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Uh well, the newest one of the new songs that we've written, and actually is a title for a movie about my life that is written and ready to go. We've we've just been trying to get the funds put together to do it. It's called Unbreakable Destiny. If you know in your heart that God has called you to do something, then you are not going to be passive. You're going to be looking for it actively, you're going to see a door and maybe try it. And if it doesn't work, you don't get discouraged. You just keep moving on. And you ask God to give you wisdom. I pray, I ask him every day for wisdom and make sure that I make the right choices and I do the right things. There can be so many options that you would do, whatever your call is, or whatever your dream is, and you need to know which is right for you. And then you just keep putting the dreams and what he's told you in front of him and asking him where you go from here, and you don't give up. You don't give up, you persevere.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Well, tell us about any current or upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Uh, I have a new song coming out around the 10th. It's called That Side of Goodbye. Now, we usually have songs about the guy leaving, right? Now, this is what I call one of my stealth bomber songs. It's country, but there's a message in it. And um it is the woman singing it, Michael, and she's saying that um she's had enough, she knows what he's been doing, and uh he can't hide the fact. And um, this is uh the second verse is really powerful because it says, Um, how do you like that sound? Now, when I wrote it, my eldest daughter that I lived with said, You can't sing that, mom. That's a breakup song. And I went, Why can't I sing it? I mean, I might date and I might break up with somebody. But a friend of mine that I had just met said to me, but that's not all that's in that song. If there's a woman in a Horrible relationship, abusive. She can take courage from that song and stand up and walk out. And you know, when I've sung it out live, that's exactly what they come up with tears in their eyes and say, I was in that situation and I got out like in your song. That is so cool. So I can't wait to put it out. And we're going to try and get a video done in November and get it out also. Um I like concept videos instead of just somebody singing so that you can really see what that story is in the song.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Absolutely. Well, to keep up with everything that Paula's up to, her website is paulaslow.com.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

So Paula and I also have Facebook page, it's Paula Slow Music. And I also have an Instagram account and TikTok. So you can find me on all. But Paula Slow Music is where you need to go. And right now, if I might there's uh a contest going on to be able to go perform in California. I didn't think I would get into the top 10, but I did. And now we have today, tomorrow, and sometime till sometime on Sunday to vote for me. And uh you have to just go in uh on Paula Slow Music, and I do have a personal account too, Paula at Paula Slow, but the you can go in there and you can vote. There's a link, and you can vote once a day. And um let's see if I can get through this next round. I was totally shocked to find out I was number four out of ten, and uh I didn't even think I'd get this far. So what a blessing.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

So close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Well, they need to understand that um it's life is not easy, but when you have the Lord in your life, you can just keep walking forward. And sometimes it's really difficult. And I will give you a humorous example. Last November, the end of October, God spoke to me one day and said, I'm bringing you a husband. So I figured he'd be here by now. It's all it's been, it'll be 10 years, or 10 years, two years, and he's not here. But I'm waiting. And you don't wait, you don't waste the wait. You keep improving and asking God what needs to change in your life, and you keep going forward with what dream he put in your heart, and you keep doing and going forward.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. So Paulaslow.com is Paula's website, Paula Slow Music on Facebook. Be sure to go in there and vote for us so she can hopefully get a chance to perform in California. Paula's really doing some great work through her music and sharing a good word to everybody as she can, or as many people as she can. So share this episode to as many people as possible. Keep up with all things live in the dream. And know every time we release a new episode, visit www.curveball337.com. Share the website and the show to everybody that you know. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Paula, thank you for all that you do with your music, and thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Yes, and they can find my music on all the platforms. So go on out there and check it out. And they should look for what I don't know. That song is dear to my heart, and it just won the award at the Infinity Award Music and Film Awards here in Nashville three weeks ago for Inspirational Country Song of the Year.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.