A vision of Heaven

So last week (October 17) we were worshiping at elevate and I felt like God said, "Sit down, I have something I want to share with you." And what he showed me really still blows my mind. For awhile I just thought God showed me this because he loves me and he wanted to give me revelation.. but after speaking with people, I realized this revelation was for anyone who will listen.



So.... In this vision I was taken to heaven. I started at the gate, and I was a child. The gate had beautiful small jewels that made an extravagant design. and the gate was super tall. When I walked inside and there were a few angels around. I heard "Holy, holy, holy." And the angels fell down and started to worship. I (for some reason) was still able to stand and I started running to where the music was. When I got there, there were millions of people singing worship songs. Each person was singing a different song, but I was still able to distinguish the individual songs. ((Because I don't believe I could fully understand, Jesus gave me a picture. The worship was like an ocean.. it had the roaring and chaos of the waves but there was still rhythm and harmony to it.)) Jesus was at the center and just receiving all of the songs and praises. All of the children and heaven were gathered at his feet (including myself). The people got quiet and then praises filled the heavens.. similar to a loud speaker. Jesus said that these were the praises of the people on earth. In fact this was the praises of my Elevate class right now. ((When we sing and worship, it literally fills the heavens) Crazy!))

The next place Jesus took me was to his armies. They were angels and heavenly creatures dressed in full armor and weapons. They were giant-especially because I was still a child! Waters fell from the heavens and anointed them and then fire fell from the heavens and anointed them. Then Jesus was at the front telling them, "WE ALREADY HAVE THE VICTORY, NOW GO!" and they randomly started to disappear. I could see them on the earth fighting against demons.. Alongside of us. But when they were on earth they didn't have any weapons, they only needed the power God had given them. ----I love this. We should never have fear because we are fighting with an all powerful God! Not to mention alongside angels... And We already know what the end results will be.. VICTORY! We are more than conquers. No doubts, no fear, no second guessing if God will show up or not. okay..

The next place I was taken to was very serene and peaceful. It was just me and Jesus and he showed me this pool of water/ pond. He said that this was an intersession pool. When we pray they are sent up into heaven and caught into this pool. Then I saw the smallest drop of water leak from the pool and fall to the earth and there was a huge explosion. I started playing in the water and swimming around and then I said to Jesus, "this pond seems really small to hold everyone's prayers." Then he said, "This is YOUR intercession pond." I looked out beyond my pond and saw oceans of intercession ponds and then I saw them rain down and flood over the earth. Then God reminded me of Matthew 17:20  He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." ---Our prayers are lifted up to heaven and then they come back down in power! They are powerful and effective and will move mountains in the spiritual realm..and or natural realm :). Never doubt the power of prayer!

The last place I was taken was to the throne room and this time I was 22 years old. I was walking down the aisle.. I was dressed in a beautiful gown, with a robe that had a trail and there was a crown on my head. As I was walking there were people cheering and singing and rejoicing for me. When I got to the throne, Jesus was there and he handed me a scepter. It was gold and had jewels embedded in it. I took the scepter and pounded it three times, and then I saw God's power released over the earth. I pounded it again three times, and again I saw his power released over the earth. I felt like God said that this isn't a reward that I will receive in heaven, but this is something I have access to now on this earth, during this life.  Then I was reminded of Moses and the staff he carried. When he pounded his staff, God revealed his power and wonder. God said that I (and you) have that same power and authority that Moses had.

Then I opened my eyes and I was back in Elevate.. A little confused as to what was going on, but more amazed and what I had just experienced. When you read this I hope you don't finish thinking, "Wow Alyssa is special for experiencing this and this only applies to her." Because that is definitley not my intention in posting this blog. I want you to take away that heaven is our reality. Even though we don't fully see or understand it, as christians, we are constantly connecting and accessing things in the heavenly realm! From our worship, to our prayers, to our warriors, to the power and authority God has given us! I pray that this would increase your faith, hope and trust in the Lord. I pray that you claim and walk in the authority God has given you!

A vision of God's Glory

(October 11) We were in Elevate worshiping and meditating on Exodus 33: 7-23.
This is the passage where Moses leaves the camp to enter the tent of meeting. It was here that here that the Lord would "speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
 ¹⁹ And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
 ²¹ Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

As we were meditating on it, I asked God to show me Your glory. And I had a vision of me taken to outside the tent of meeting. It was so real, I could feel the warm sand under my feet. I walked into the tent and this marvelous light was flowing all over the room along with this gentle breeze. Then the light disapeared and then I saw Jesus sitting in a chair. I immediatley fell to the ground at his feet and started weeping. Kinda funny, but I remember thinking about the dirt that was getting all over my face and in my hair, but at that point I didnt care about anything. I started kissing his feet and he looked down at me and picked me up and set me in his lap. I rested my head on his chest and could feel his warmth and hear his heart beat. He wrapped his arms around me and just held me. Then I heard God say, "This is my glory." I wrote this in my journel: His glory cannot be contained. His glory wraps himself around me. His glory does not pass by, but is forever with me. His glory sustains me always. His glory shines and flows from within me. Jesus is the ultimate Glory of God! He is everywhere and is in everything. The earth shouts his praises and screams his glory. How thankful am I that I can see him face to face! When I feel like I am unworthy, he picks me up and wraps himself around me. We no longer have to hide in the cleft of the rock.

How did I get here?

Hello. So I am not really sure what to expect from this blog, but I hope that God will use my story and testimonies to change lives... because He is that big :) So to start off, God is so cool. That is truth. For the past few years I  really have been discovering who He is and that is definitely one of the many conclusions I have come to. Alright so here is how I was led to apply to Elevate: As many of you know, I studied at Baylor University for my undergrad. My original plans were to get my undergrad, go to physical therapy school, become a PT, get married, have a family etc etc etc. Those were my plans, but the Lord had something different and so much greater in mind for my life. Junior year God really started to draw me back to himself. It was a great year of God redeeming me and it was during that year (spring break mission trip 2010) that God spoke missions over my life. This gave me so much peace and joy. Actually, growing up I always remember declaring that whatever I did, I wanted to do it for God. I somehow knew that my occupation was going to be for the Lord. I thought it would be something along the lines of a camp counselor, or doing something in church, but really I had no idea what it would look like. However when I came to college, I listened to lies such as "I'm not christian enough for something like that." And I decided to go into PT. So when God reawakened that dream, I was pretty excited. But logically, those two plans were in conflict.. PT and Missions. I knew I could combine the two, but I didn't have peace about it. Senior year begins and I needed some direction... soon. Through a lot of prayer and seeking God, I finally got the okay to let go of PT school. And even though I was one step closer towards what God had for me, I had no idea where I was going. I guess that is what it looks like to take steps of faith? haha. I was never disappointed that I chose prePT, because I believe God used those years at Baylor to do a deep work in me. No regrets :). Alright, now I have this blank sleight before me and no idea where I am going, so I just started praying. Over that year God was pretty silent on what the next step was, He just kept saying "I will let you know when you need to know." So I trusted Him. I don't know what it is about spring break mission trips, but every time I have gone, that is where he reveals my next step. Elevate had been put on my heart. It sounded so great to just spend a year soaking in God and getting to know him, giving him a whole year of my life to mold and shape me however he pleased. But for some reason, I felt unworthy of that? LIE.. Okay, spring break through a series of things God has spoken to me, I received overwhelming amounts of confirmation that Elevate is what he wanted for me. He wanted this year for me way more that I did for myself! He said this will be a year of me sitting at His feet and enjoying Him. So here I am! In elevate! And it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has only been two months.. and in this time I have gone through so much transformation it is crazy. I am blown away, not because the school is the best school in the world, but the way God shows up there.. not just sometimes, His presence is so heavy in that place. And if I didn't believe this before, I believe it now: God has no limits and he has no bounds. God is not confined to this classroom. He has been actively showing up in ways I have never seen Him before. He is always full of surprises :) Before I started Elevate, a couple people told me that they heard God say that He was going to take me to new places, places I can only get to by Him taking me there. He has been faithful to His word. Every week there has been something that happens that I never expect. I am going to try and post some of those stories later though! So that is my journey on how I got into Elevate. I am currently praying about future plans, leaving all doors open, allowing God to lead me where ever he wants me. It makes life so much more fun! But I will let you in on what He has spoken to me this last week!! I am excited. I feel strongly called to Asia. and I feel strongly called to planting churches. Nothing is ever certain.. but  I will just leave it at that!