Joey and Rory Feek Earn No. 1 Album: 'This Is God's Record,' Says Terminally Ill Singer

Joey and Rory Feek

Even as Joey Feek braces for her last breath, she is celebrating new firsts.

This week, the 40-year-old singer – half of country gospel duo Joey+Rory with her husband Rory Feek – learned their new album Hymns That Are Important to Us is debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's country and contemporary Christian charts and No. 4 on the top 200 chart.

"When the label called to give us the news I immediately took the phone in to Joey," explains Rory, 50. "This recording was 'hers' from the beginning. This is one that she has always wanted to make, and she's worked so hard to make it happen, in spite of the difficult circumstances she is facing. As I congratulated her, she responded through tears: 'No, honey, this is God's record.'"

The album – a deluxe version of which is available at Cracker Barrel – is inspired by Joey's enduring faith, which she has relied on while battling terminal cancer in her hometown of Alexandria, Indiana.

"I pray that one morning I just don't wake up," she shared in her emotional interview with The Tennessean last year. "But I don't fear anything because I'm so close to God and we've talked about it so many times. I know he's close. And I know he loves me. I'm really at peace."

While preparing her family for life without her, Joey has made the most of the time she has left. Earlier this week, she made dinner from her hospital bed for Rory and their daughter Indiana, 2.

Rory shared a photo of the bittersweet moment via Instagram, writing, "When a mother can't get to the kitchen to help make her family dinner ... you bring the kitchen to mama."