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Our guest for Episode 10 is someone you might know … without knowing it. You might’ve seen Alissa Teo, a Liberty Christian School alumnus from the Class of 2008, on TikTok with her rice art.

She has 3.3 million followers and her artwork features handmade creations like the Minions, holiday celebrations like Easter, emojis, and so much more.

On this episode, Alissa explains how her rice art began, she shares about her experience at Liberty and which teachers and friends left an impact on her (shoutout to Kathleen!), plus why she believes God can use anyone at any age for His purpose.

You can listen to the podcast below, as well as find it on Apple or anywhere you consume your podcasts.

A brief transcription of part of the podcast embedded above can be found below. The transcription starts around the 11:30 mark.

Johnny: It looks like from videos I've seen, [your art has] kind of taken some steps to where you are now, as far as where you were at first. I saw a video, your first couple, I guess, throws. Is that what you call it? And then where you are now. So, what's kind of the wildest thing, I guess, that's come about from throwing rice? 

Alissa: I think the opportunity to glorify God. My father had a huge impact on me. He was a pastor and he always reminded me whatever you do and pursue in life, do your best for the glory of God. And so that has always been my mindset and whatever I do. I give it my 100% and see where God takes me. 

I never I never anticipated something like this. Like you have people that go out there wanting to become famous or well-known. That was never my intention. I was doing something that was just random. And God can use anyone at any age for His purpose. I always shared with people in my life that I'm not good at anything. 

Like the one thing I know I'm good at, though, is encouraging. This generation definitely needs that encouragement to stay focused on the Word of God. How can I do that and yet still keep your attention span more than three seconds? So, if I can do that like that, that's amazing.

Johnny: What do you see kind of moving forward? What would you like to see [with] your art? What’s next?

Alissa: I'm leaving it to God. I never know what the future holds. But like the song goes, ‘God holds my tomorrow.’ At this moment, I'll be honest, my focus, number one, is my church, my faith, my family, and comes in second when I have a little bit of time, my art.

So, I try not to put [my art] as my number one [priority]. My best friend Kathleen – shout out to Kathleen – she always reminded me, you know, like, no matter what you do, God will take control and take care of you. I love how she put it. She's like, ‘God’s your PR. You don't need to do much.’

Like you don't have to go out there and stress yourself and try to get your name out there. God will take care of it. If you put Him first in your life, He will take care of the rest.

Be sure to listen to the whole episode to hear more from Alissa!

Want to listen to more episodes? You can find the podcast page on Spotify here.