Month: October 2018

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Uniquely You

Dearest Reader and Friend,

I want to speak to you personally about being uniquely you; about loving and savoring yourself. That may sound conceited to some ears, but there’s nothing wrong with loving and enjoying yourself.

In fact, it is holy. Jesus loves and savors you. You are pleasing to Him. You are so very precious in His sight…inside and outside. He loves you. He created you. He fashioned and formed you uniquely in your mother’s womb, and He carefully and skillfully (probably with a huge smile on His face and excitement in His heart) wove a life for you full of grace and hope using the golden thread of Heaven, and the very pleasure of His heart.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

You are so priceless and precious to Him. There are things—gifts and talents that He’s put in you that nobody else has. Yes, if you’re a painter you will meet other painters, but the version of the talent of painting that you have is unique to you, and it is God-breathed.

I’ve had the bittersweet pleasure of meeting a lot of people in life who are insecure in some way, shape, or form. There’s an “epidemic of insecurity in our society” as Joyce Meyer likes to say. It’s insecurity with a root of fear that sprouts all kinds of ugly branches, like comparison, which leads to jealousy and hatred. This fear comes from not knowing yourself in Abba Father. It comes from a lack of receiving His healing love, for perfect love casts out all fear.

We need to understand and value ourselves, to take the time to connect with our souls and truly see with all our heart the beauty of our spirit and outward design.

There’s a beauty, a radiance within you that is entirely unique to you. This radiance, beauty, and strength is the way God portrays Himself through your soul. You are a one-time masterpiece, and your reaction to His love cannot be copied by anyone else. You are unique, and He wants to love you uniquely. He wants to hold you uniquely. He wants to encourage you uniquely. He wants to have a relationship with you uniquely.

In the same way that no two fingerprints are the same, nobody is like you in all the earth. Listen to the wise words of John Mason in his book title: You Were Born an Original, Don’t Die a Copy. You are the “lily among thorns,” and the “apple tree among the trees of the wood.” God sees you as the “chief among ten thousand!” Indeed, in His eyes you are entirely perfect for Him.

May you see yourself through His washing, through His cleansing eyes of love, through His ecstatic delight. He calls you mighty, He calls you strong, He calls you tender, He calls you lovely. You are called loved. Please friend, whatever you do, don’t wrongfully compare yourself with others, or even with yourself, for the Bible calls this foolish.

Go to Abba, and ask Him what He thinks of you, and then open the Word and let Him minister to your deepest needs.

~This sample devotional was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can purchase a physical or ebook copy by clicking here.

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I Love You

I love Your presence.

Your warm embrace melts me inside, and implants seeds of joy in my heart that grow into suns, melting me even more.

I love worshipping You, and love the feel of Your Spirit rushing within, stirring me, and embracing my skin.

I love the joy You bring.

It is true that in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

You are my greatest love.

My holy, relentless Lover.

My David, slaying all my Goliaths.

My Romancer, spoiling me with the keepsakes of Heaven, with gifts extravagant, with pleasures far more great than any on earth, and with intimacy that awakens the deepest parts of me.

I love Your arms—they hold me like a Father’s:

pulling me closer to Your chest and letting me listen to Your heartbeat.

Your breaths fall on me like a waterfall, moving tendrils of my hair and sweeping over my face.

I love Your kisses.

The feel of Your lips on my head.

Like hot coal it burns me within, tingling every inch inside me, and causing the hairs on my body to prick up with goose bumps.

Oh how I love worshipping You!

It is my greatest joy!

My highest honor!

I think I see why the angels love worshipping You.

I’ve tasted something so divinely sweet in the act and life of worship that I cannot go back to plain food.

The pleasure draws me.

It lulls my heart, calling me more and more.

You are my greatest desire.

My highest joy.

My perfect peace.

My best comforter.

My only real and true friend.

My creator.

You are the Prince Charming who ran after my heart.

You fought every foe, and captured my affection slowly, as your love patiently captivated my heart.

Quote credited to: Madame De Stael

You romanced me until I melted away into You.

I crumbled in Your strong arms that caressed me tenderly.

I evaporated in Your chest.

I dissolved in Your tears.

I floated in Your laughter.

You entranced me in every way.

The brightness of Your face fascinated my eyes.

You are my El Shaddai.

You’re my Rapha.

I am my Beloved’s and His desire is for me.

I love living with You.

Sharing life with You.

Awakening to find You smiling upon me by the side of the bed.

I love the feeling of Your fingers trailing my face, cupping my chin.

I love You so much that I even love Your rules!

I love Your beautiful holiness.

Your righteousness is life.

I love You.

I love You.

I love You.

You first loved me.

You will always love me.

You have secured me as your own.

I am your own.

Nothing brings me greater joy than knowing that I belong to You.


“Ashley presents us with a true cornucopia of modern psalms, personal testimonies, and short stories. She has set out to reveal and unravel some of the most complex heart issues mankind faces in our quest of understanding what true intimacy with God really looks like. Prepare to have your soul massaged and worked on as you read Visions of Celestial Love.” — Jeremy Minard, Servant King Apparel

~This poem was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can purchase a physical or ebook copy by clicking here.

Cover photo by Edward Eyer from Pexels <3

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Washing Eden

Written when Eden was a baby:

This morning I woke up to something I really didn’t want to see. Eden had overflowed. It was the 2nd day in a row after an already tiresome morning. I peeked at her laying in her playpen and sighed loudly, “again.” She looked up at me with wide blue eyes, watching me in anticipation for an embrace and milk.


I unclothed her and drew some warm water for a bath. Leaving her with my mom for a moment, I went downstairs to make a bottle. After placing her in the bath I gave her the bottle and began to gently pour water over her skin and hair. She drank deeply as I worked. I then massaged lavender scented shampoo in her curly dark brown hair and then began squeezing lemon shea perfumed body wash over her. A thought came to my mind, “breakfast & a bath at the same time. I don’t think she’s ever had both in a moment?” Taking her bottle away I rinsed her off and set her snuggly on my parents’ king size bed. I dried her off quickly so she could return to eating. She laid down peacefully and finished off her bottle while I lathered creamy baby lotion over her.

I put on a lovely purple and gray ballerina dress on her and took her downstairs. She sat on my winter ruby red blanket with sheep fur and I reached for the baby oil. As I dripped some oil on her head I remembered my mom’s words when she saw me do it for the first time, “it’s like you’re anointing her lol. Most people put the baby oil in their hand first and then rub it in.” Carefully I ran my fingers through her oiled hair and then took out her brush.


As I stroked her hair a soft loving realization came to me. Eden soiled herself & instead of receiving judgment she was cleansed, pampered and dressed. I realized that if she hadn’t wet her onesie, then I wouldn’t have given her a bath today. She wouldn’t have received fresh milk as I cleaned her. Her hair wouldn’t be oiled. I would have waited a day or two later when she wasn’t clean to wash her. I felt God’s love in the events of the morning.


So many times when I find myself stained in my own mess (relational, physical, emotional, etc) I often find that I don’t look up at God the way Eden looked at me this morning. She expected goodness. And she received a more lush morning because of her mess. As I look back on my life…there have been so many times where God as a good Father met me in my mess & gave me such gracious care that I left better for it.


I’m not saying making a mess is a good thing…but rather God’s goodness overwhelms our messes so that they don’t linger to us. In fact, He clothes us in rich apparel and oils our heads. No one looking at us would guess where we’ve been. Expect mercy today instead of judgment. Love is close. And Love cannot help but give to His children…He responds graciously to our messes.


“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” ~Isaiah 1:18

~If you’ve enjoyed this short devotion, check out my book Visions of Celestial Love. It’s filled with mini devotions just like this one. Enjoy a cup of coffee, a pumpkin spice latte or a cup of herbal tea as you savor each moment with Father.

“When I read Visions of Celestial Love, it is as if I am brought down to my knees to worship. What the Holy Spirit has done in and through Ashley, He is doing also in me. What a wonderful experience. It is very rich. Thank you for sharing the treasure.”—Riko Suci Alam, CEO of Ligar Jaya and owner of Clove Garden hotel in Bandung Indonesia. 

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Sweep Over Me

To listen to this poem, click below:

Here You find me again.

Oh, when did I become so hardened from You?

So swept away in the insecurities of life?

So surrounded by the doubts of tomorrow that arise from my lack of faith?

So numbed by the mirror?

Sweet Jesus, You see my heart and You claim it as your own; yet You never force me to rest in Your arms, or hear You sing to my heart a song that brightens my face and lightens my soul like a feather in the gentle strength of Your summer wind.

Here You are.

I feel You tell me,

“It’s okay to cry. Let go of your pride, for your humble tears are beautiful. Now then, I can wash your garments clean.”

I’ll never understand how You can delight in me.

Yet may Your obvious love for me melt away the enemies and the world’s ice of lies that grip my parched heart.

Oh God, I desire to be raised by You!

See, I want to be swept away in the torrent breeze of Your Holy Spirit to a righteous land where I can live with You.

Please visit me again like You used to, for I am shaken with fear in this body.

Oh, please take control of me and sweep over me like a wave of warm water spiced with lavender oil that I might be overwhelmed by the aroma of Your holy love for me.

I desire to be wrapped in Your arms and soaked in Your soul.

May the current of Your love loosen and, alas, open my grip on my dreams and desires until I am so close to You that the very breath I breathe has been mixed with Your exhales.

Bind me to Yourself in holy matrimony and claim all of my heart, for it is Yours alone to own now and forevermore.

~This sample poem was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love:

“Come, all you are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” – Isaiah 55:1-2 NIV

Are you ready to taste of the sweet delicacies of God in a deeply reviving and personal way? For those who want to drink, for those who want to eat and be refreshed and renewed, Visions of Celestial Love is a feast between you and the King of Heaven, who loves you more than anyone else. He invites you to dine on wholesome, good, savory food and delicious, zesty, fruitful drink. He awaits you with a sparkle in His eye. He is ready for your company. He delights to have you as a guest.

“Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love.” – Song of Songs 5:1 NIV

“Ashley presents us with a true cornucopia of modern psalms, personal testimonies, and short stories. She has set out to reveal and unravel some of the most complex heart issues mankind faces in our quest of understanding what true intimacy with God really looks like. Prepare to have your soul massaged and worked on as you read Visions of Celestial Love.” — Jeremy Minard, Servant King Apparel

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Inner Peace

I wrote this poem when I was a teenager. The journey of experiencing Jesus’ promised peace began for me after I was filled with the Holy Spirit. I’ve discovered He brings about our inheritance in Christ. He makes Heaven become a reality on earth. I remember the night so clearly…I was in bed and it was like everything within me was still. I had just been divinely freed from a demon of anger. I never told anyone at the time but it was like when I searched for the old familiar feelings of rage that marked my life…they were gone. As I laid still on my bed…the quiet became a soft symphony of heavenly harmony balancing everything in me like grace-soaked currents. I never included this poem in my book Visions of Celestial Love because I thought it wasn’t profound. Finding it again a few days ago, I realize, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The world…the human heart cries for peace and often finds entertainment instead. Most people are great at numbing their need for peace through an array of physical activities. I’ve been there hundreds of times. Here is Inner Peace:

Freedom. It’s not freedom of the body but freedom of the mind that truly liberates. His mind fills my head with celestial thoughts that create an internal haven. I feel heaven has moved in. I feel the warmth of his heart against my chest. His affections roll over me like gentle water…washing me with grace, changing me with truth.

Once He’s inside, this inner peace, this godly love becomes yours and nothing can hurt you physically or mentally. No force, no man, no spirit, no element can harm you inside.

Inner peace, an unknown feeling that will forever be unrecognizable to those who do not experience it. Shimmering silvery oceans, cloud-covered temples above mountains, grassy emerald meadows, orchards, groves, clear blue skies and snow dappled plains cannot even begin to describe your uncontainable tranquility. Soft drums faded with a peaceful tune forever plays in your mind with God’s indescribable voice, soothing to the air and calming to the sea.

He stays inside.

Flutes, violins, windpipes, harps and fluid instruments do not compare with the music of his soul. Songs of pure light. Abundant life floats in the air like whimsical pollen. Stronger than a first love and more powerful than the sun’s internal core, more beautiful and mysterious than the solar winds, your peace extends to the ends of the universe and beyond.

Infinity and infancy are only the beginning.

Your path is destiny, your spirit is legend and only by God’s hands is this possible. It is not the works of man’s hands but by amazing grace. Jesus has broken the veil. This ripped veil, this torn curtain blows in the breeze of my heart’s imagination and it is the most beautiful sight. Sunlight streams behind the shredded royal fabric like gold brighter than fire. The sweet scents of heaven cascade through the torn pieces to meet me. Molded clouds of fog and thunder roll in the sky. These clouds are heavy with the life of God and soaked with His wisdom which cannot be contained by books or man but only through God’s voice, through His Word. Not with an infinite amount of years could man obtain this.

Freedom from this world, from this portal.

Congratulations, you are reborn. Your home is Heaven and God sets a table for your soul. 🌈

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Reflections of Home

I look at myself and what I see goes beyond my skin, to somewhere in the deepest part of the ocean where the water is golden and holds the rippling image of a tree. I hear the moving water and still I can hear the wind play between the branches of the tree rustling the leaves. I hear the breeze kiss my fruit. I look at myself in the mirror and what I see goes beyond my coco-colored flesh to somewhere high above, beyond space, and past the colorful stars.

 I breathe and what I breathe in are the scents of candles made of fruit and flower oils. The taste of cherries lingers on my lips and tongue, and I feel the coolness of it sliding down inside the warmth of me. I fall into the depths of the ocean, into and outside of myself. I soar across green valleys, orchards, fields of wheat, and snowcapped blue mountains.

Is all of this me? Are these beautiful places my home? My roots have sunk deep inside of here yet my branches stretch up toward the sky, toward Heaven. I’ve soared with glassy eyes from the wind on a mountainside. It’s warm here, and this shining mountain glows like the sun. It is day here because of the light that comes from Mount Zion.

The mountain rock feels like spa waters in some places and in others like beach sand kissed by the sun. I walk around until I find a crescent-shaped room in the mountain that seems to call my name. I lay on a fanning red rose in the center of this room. My lips touch, and I hear the music of angels. My skin admires the feel of my petal bed. It feels smooth like cream, and is softer than clouds. I lay my head back and hear a voice in my heart say, “This is your home.”

~This sample poem was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can find a video promo of this book at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC4Ge4Rm8vw&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop&fbclid=IwAR3KDqd5xc7pzi_UAcSeflWosOCk6FBqKYj138b-1pXNT4e_3Vp-8ui9K5M

~You can purchase a physical or ebook copy at: https://www.amazon.com/Visions-Celestial-Love-Ashley-Thompson/dp/0999590901/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540154355&sr=8-1

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Jesus

Jesus.

Your eyes are like amber glass

Your warmth like cinnamon atop sugary bread out the oven

Your voice is more beautiful than the undercurrents of the ocean

More deep than rolling thunder

More gentle than rose petals fresh with dew in the opening sun of early May

You are so precious to me

You are more pleasant and radiant than rolling hills of green sprinkled with bright polychromatic flowers

You are more soft than powdery snow glinting like pearl beads from the sky

You are the tender of my garden, the One who waters my soul with sweet intimacy

You are the Lover of my soul.

My nearest and dearest friend

My Savior

The Lord of my life

You saved me in every possible way that I could be saved…and I am Yours eternally.

~This poem was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can find more about it on the Purchasable Goodie page or purchase a physical or ebook copy by clicking here <3

“Visions of Celestial Love is a book of inspiring quotes and beautiful prose about God’s unconditional love for mankind. The insights of this book help us to understand that it was the Father’s great love for us that made a way for us to have life together with His Son, Jesus Christ. Through it we get a glimpse into the true meaning of Christ’s sacrifice of love expressed through His death, burial and resurrection as God’s magnificent gift of grace to us. His blood made it possible for all those who put their faith in Him to have fellowship with His Father again. I am confident that at the completion of this book, you will also seek after God with your whole heart and want to be in His presence forever.” —Alice Paige, True-Heart friend of author

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Let My Soul Expand in Worship

Let my soul expand in worship to the One who is more beautiful than a thousand waterfalls, each flowing with liquid clearer than crystal and more bright than opal blue.

They form mountains in the clouds and their rivers of spirit-water create the vastness of the skies.

Let the aromatic rains of worship fall and cover the earth! Let my heart drink in His lovely image.

He is more powerful than the gravitational pull of a thousand planets.

He is more majestic than the mightiest mountain, more breathtaking than all of the canopies of trees in the amazon forest.

He is grander than the vastness of outer space.

Nothing can be compared to His beauty.

Infinity cannot describe His wonder.

To find Him is to find life.

To seek Him is the highest joy.

To love Him is to have tasted His love.

To be filled with His love is to be in a union higher than Heaven.

He created you to be filled with His goodness, with His life.

This is who you are; this is who He made you to be.

There is no fight for it, no struggle; He longs to fill empty places; it is His duty, His high delight, His supreme pleasure…to heal…to fill…to love.

And His love is like a magnet that cannot be pulled away from you, for you were created for it and you cannot uncreate yourself.

His love created you, therefore you were designed to be one with His love.

~Let My Soul Expand in Worship is a small poetic sample from my book Visions of Celestial Love. To purchase a physical or ebook copy of Visions of Celestial Love, click here.

The heading photo of my daughter and i was taken by Ruthy Esquivel Photography

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Nothing is as Sweet as Jesus

Nothing is as sweet as Jesus

My gosh!

Who can compare with Him?

There is none

You are the Romancer

Your sweetness is more sugary than a billion berries juicing from the mouth of a child in the warm summer air

You are lovelier than a field of lavender

More extravagant than the stars of the galaxy

More majestic than Niagara Falls

More peaceful than a bubbling brook

More mysterious than an Atlantic cave with glowing blue waters

More free than a bird’s song

More captivating than the wings of a butterfly flickering in a field

More desired than a lover…than gold, than riches

You are what I crave

You are Who I crave

You are all

You are the bringer and bearer of peace

The Lover of all lovers

Your love is like translucent waters that glow in an array of colors that resemble a rainbow

Those waters move and dance like silk in the wind

Those waters rush into the broken

Passing through skin they alight white and enter into the blood, detoxifying every impurity

The waters of your love dart like an arrow to the heart with all the force of a whirlwind

Yet as it splashes inside it feels softer than a dewy rose petal

Your love goes straight to the spirit of a man and soaks and revives every dead area

Your love is amazing

You make Yourself one with us

And nothing is sweeter than You

~This sample poem was taken from my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can find out more about it on my Purchasable Goodie page or purchase a physical or ebook copy by clicking here.  

~Be most blessed! xoxo