Author: Ashley McClelland

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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