Alaska is called “The Last Frontier”. As I prayed in preparation for our trip the first promise the Lord released to me was: “there are none sick among you”. I stood on that promise that none of us would be sick, be exposed to sickness or return home sick and God was faithful to fulfill His Word. He also promised this trip would be an astonishment, an awakening to the glory of God as seen in His creation. He said “this isn’t a resting trip, none of you will be “asleep at the wheel”, it is an “exciting awakening to who you are and what you are created to be. You will explore, encounter and experience an equipping that will set you apart.” This trip was booked over a year ago but had to be pushed back because of ridiculous Covid restrictions which we were unwilling to be forced to meet. This year the Lord said “we will not be delayed and none of us will be denied!” Before our trip a hot water heater burst in our church flooding the floors. I knew the enemy intended much worse, he wanted our church reduced to a heap of rubble but this attack was all that could get through the shield of faith we carry. We had to cancel our Wednesday night service but the church was ready to meet on Sunday. Again the theme of “delayed but not denied” entered the picture. To the reader today let me encourage you there will be no more delay in stepping into this new phase of the glorious plans of God for your life.
In my time with God leading up to this great adventure He continued to prepare me by explaining this trip will facilitate an adjustment in my spiritual vision. I will never look and see the same again after this trip. This trip is about being led away into the presence of God for 2 purposes. First to learn to reach across the Kingdom threshold connecting Heaven to earth and take hold of Heavenly resources which are so opulent that just a small portion could sustain my family for generations. Learning to seek and attain the Kingdom presence, peace and provision. Second to learn to magnify God as the ultimate Great and Mighty God. He must be put in His place as Supreme in our hearts and minds each day.
Day 1: Travel to Seattle
The Lord impressed me this morning that I will see His hand at work as He multiplies my resources and gives me a better experience than I paid for! We experienced an easy voyage across the country with no lines at the airport and a comfortable flight. While we were sitting in our seats in the plane on the runway waiting to take off I saw a vision of my angel army attacking the enemy in a ball of light. I couldn’t even see the enemy only the angels and their swords scrambling in a swirl to clear our path.
Day 2: As I was waking up at the hotel in Seattle the Lord put it on my heart to decree “the wealth of the wicked is laid up to be handed over to the righteous”. As I woke up and started my day I continued to pray for the usual people and things I cover daily but then the Lord interrupted my usual prayer path and interjected: “Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.” Psalms 60:12 NKJV. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”
II Corinthians 2:14 NKJV. My focus has again been trained on seeking the magnitude of the vastness of God’s power and taking hold of Heavenly resources. The minute your finances leave your hand directed toward a Kingdom objective divine multiplication is set in motion over your life. Then I contemplated “what if your giving became a constant focused effort?” We left the hotel on a shuttle bus which took us directly to the cruise terminal to board the ship. The process was so smooth and efficient that when we found our room our bags had already been delivered there. The adventure begins!
Day 3: I found out that we did in fact get a bigger room than what we paid for! We got a handicapped accessible room. Look at God! Yesterday I went to the top of the ship with my family and could see the iconic Space Needle marking Seattle’s skyline then looking over into the distance there sat grand Mount Rainier. This morning I thought of that majestic mountain covered in snow. The sight of it is so imposing it stops people in their tracks and causes them to marvel. Think of the countless thousands that have come to photograph it. Not only is the sight of our God so much grander but His hands crafted this beautiful marvel.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV.
When there are seasons of stillness in our lives, even weekend breaks, we must discipline ourselves to cultivate an atmosphere of constant gratitude and appreciation to God. Let Heaven make a record of your explosion of gratefulness to God for all He has done, is doing and has planned! This will cause you to draw out the resources the Lord has released for you for this moment in time. Vacation experiences can mark you as a family and even align you on a new divine path shifting your course.
We were at sea for the day but enjoyed a great adventure. We kept hearing from other passengers that whales were being spotted. Orcas and Humpback Whales! My youngest son and husband attended a seminar discussing the different species of whales in these waters and how to identify them by the water spout they produce. Some spew water straight up and high, others blow forward and some blow up and the water forms the shape of a bush in the air. On this day we also were fortunate to experience a trip in a ride called The North Star. It is a sphere attached to a crane on the top of the ship and once inside it can be operated by crew personnel to go high in the air to the left and right side of the ship with dramatic aerial views. At one point we were as high above sea level as the Empire State Building. All day my family raced from one adventure to the next. The revelation filled my mind: “this is what Heaven will be like, we will constantly move with great excitement and joy from one incredible experience to the next and it will take eternity to see it all”. Sadly for some people this may be the only “Heaven” they ever know. Then at dinner that night we happened to glance out the window at just the right time and to our astonishment spotted a group of orcas traveling alongside the ship! After dinner we stopped at a table in a smaller room to enjoy the music of a talented piano player. I looked around the room and noticed a mix of couples young and old holding hands and sitting close, and entire families with children of all ages enjoying the music together relaxing peacefully after an exciting day and a delicious meal. The songs she played that night were sweet and happy. This too is a picture of Heaven, except there we will sing ballads recounting the phenomenal moves of God we witnessed in our lives on earth. I marveled about that beautiful experience on the way back to my room and the Lord said “you carry the Kingdom in you”. I realized how one child of God could change an entire atmosphere just by being in the room.
Day 4: Juneau
For years my husband has made the joke “Ju know the capital of Alaska?” And today here we are. Alaska is called “the last frontier” and it is as far away from home as we could possibly be and still remain in the United States. I considered the different climates we have traveled to, and how hot and muggy it was when we left Louisiana. When we arrived in Seattle we were refreshed by the cool summer breeze that felt like air conditioning. Then as our ship headed toward Alaska I began to feel a chilling and the ship switched from air to heat. I pondered how God in His great wisdom created and installed climates over certain areas of this beautiful world. The feel of the climate combined with the visualization creates an entire experience and shapes your perspective.
“I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.” Psalms 119:31-32 NKJV
“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
II Thessalonians 1:11-12 NKJV
We went whale watching and saw many majestic humpback whales up close. It was extremely special for this Gulf Coast family who still gets excited about seeing dolphins when they come around our pier to fish.
Day 4: Skagway, Alaska
Overnight a strange presence came into our room. I was awakened by the sound of my 12 year old suddenly going out the door into the hallway! Even asleep “mommy reflexes” kicked in and I immediately found myself across the room racing to the automatic door to our room as it was closing and I called out his name. He heard my voice and responded and came back into the room. (This same bizarre thing happened to my older son in Scotland earlier this year, only I was not there to let him back into the room so he had to go to the front desk for a key.) After he was settled back in bed I tried to go back to sleep but felt wide awake. I recognized that God was requiring something from me. My older son began to talk in his sleep. I prayed a standard prayer “I command every unclean spirit to leave this room in Jesus’ name. I close every portal to hell and open a portal to Heaven right now. I command my children’s angels to watch and protect them”. This became one of those 2am moments where one begins to worry about things they cannot control and “what ifs”. Then I remembered my directives for this trip so I prayed in the spirit and focused my thoughts on magnifying God. As I began to think of His power and might over my life and this situation suddenly the revelatory words came to me “Heavenly peace”. I understood that the purpose of this situation I was to teach me how to reach across the threshold of Heaven and access the peace that passes all understanding and literally pull it in our room. Peace is part of Heaven culture, it will be mine one day but I don’t have to wait, I can have God’s peace now. As I continued to pray, reaching into Heaven in my mind, a peace soon entered the room and all was still and quiet. I awoke at sunrise as we were docking in Skagway. Today we will take a train trip through the mountains.
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLT
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT
Day 5: Dawes Glacier
We were prepared the night before that from 5:30am-8am we would be veering into a fjord to observe the majestic Dawes Glacier. We left our curtains open and at 5:20am our eyes popped open as the first sight of land appeared off our balcony and our spirits were filled with anticipation. We saw snow capped mountains skirted in green trees with rocky edges that touched the seashore. Most had waterfalls dripping down the sides and we strained our eyes to see if they were flowing or frozen. We sat on our balcony under a warm blanket captivated by the constantly changing scenery filled with anticipation of the ever approaching glacier for what seemed like 20 minutes but was actually 3 hours! Every time I put my phone down to rest my arms the sun would break through the clouds and shine on a new side of a mountain revealing a spectrum of color I had not yet seen then we would behold and hear a loud gushing waterfall racing down the mountain and tumbling into the sea and felt compelled to capture it on film. I couldn’t help but think of the many facets of God and how just gazing upon Him one day would be so marvelous we would remain entranced in a captivated stare unwilling to look away for fear we might miss the best part! Imagine, every time He moves even the slightest we become more enamored and drawn in. He will be the most marvelous thing we have ever seen. Our anticipation heightened as the ship began to turn and tiny brilliant white ice burgs appeared floating in the water. As we approached the narrowing passage way the ice burgs became enormous with a bright glowing aqua blue hue at the base. Finally the Dawes Glacier came into view. It was like a mountain covered in gemstones. It looked like blocks of blue topaz stacked on top each other sitting on a bed of white snow. It looked as though it that had spilled down the mountain and suddenly frozen in place motionless.
“May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT
Mountains are non living solid structures. They do not have ears. They don’t respond to you in any way when you speak or move around them, they remain perfectly stoic as though you aren’t even there at all. Mammoth Mountains are landmarks, some are even given names. The Lord calls us to have faith that could cause a mountain to move from its place and be cast into the sea. Can you imagine having faith to shift landscapes? Imagine the demonic fortresses you wreck in the spirit each time you worship God? Imagine the spiritual climate change that takes place when you arrive full of the presence of God bringing the Kingdom to that place.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.”
Psalms 121:1-3 NKJV
Day 6: At Sea
This morning I began my day by visualizing how big our God is and a revelation came to my mind regarding travel. Our gracious Lord has distributed geographic marvels and stunning natural features all over this beautiful world but we must travel to see them. It is an illustration of the life in the spirit with Him that is available to those of us willing to seek! In the natural we must pack our bags and go but in the spirit we must close our eyes, still our minds and draw near to Him.
“It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.”
Proverbs 25:2 NLT
“‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”
Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
“Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’”
Jeremiah 33:9 NKJV
Yesterday we attended an oceanic seminar and learned to our surprise that the oceans provide 75% of our oxygen (50% from plankton, 25% from algae) and trees and grass only provide 25%. I was immediately in awe of God’s genius. He first covered our earth with oceans and they are constantly oxygenating our atmosphere. He is so kind, He has provided so much to enrich our lives that we are unaware of and might live our entire lives never discovering it fully understanding.
Day 7: Victoria Canada
We stepped off the ship and began walking. This part of Canada is blessed with a very mild climate and the entire landscape is covered with enormous colored flowers, bushes and trees framed by colorful ships in the marina the ocean as a backdrop. Everywhere you look you see vast explosions of nature’s extravagant colors and shapes bursting out from every green place surrounded by historic buildings with attractive architectural features differing from one to the next. As we began our walk we saw quaint beach side cottages and in the front yard of one in particular there were giant daisies covering the yard and spilling over the fence. As we continued the buildings became larger and more imposing. Their government building was made of stone with copper roofing. We walked and explored for again what seemed like 20 minutes but by the time we made it back to the ship we realized we had walked 8 miles! I stopped to consider how just exploring the work of His hands entranced us and drew us irresistibly through the entire town until we had seen it all unaware of the passage of time and how far we had walked, can you imagine visiting God’s home and walking through the streets of Heaven for the first time?
End
I challenge you to take hold of these directives and discipline yourself to dominate your thoughts with how big God is, what His home in Heaven is like and how to reach in and take hold of what will be yours one day now. Try it for 7 days. You’ve been pleading with God to change you, this is how you will be changed forever. Keep an exploratory journal and take note of how God responds to this feat.
Evening sunset, last view of Alaska
This is so beautiful and powerful. I could see through your words. Excellent! Excellent ❤️❤️