Wonderful thoughts on oneness!

Here are some wonderful thoughts from a facebook friend, Adam Bignell, on how Jesus came to show us that separation between man and God is an illusion:

9:05pm Jan 7

"It seems to me that humanity has always preferred a mediator between them and God. It is also my opinion that it is fear that drives this. The Gospel that preaches separation and delay is stemmed in the need of a mediator. Humanity chose Moses to be the mouthpiece between them and God and it's still the desire of part of Christianity today. However it's interesting that God/Christ the incarnation became another mediator to remove the illusion of separation. Jesus dealt with the fear in the human heart by becoming human and revealing the true nature of the Triune God. Mediation and separation are the same thing. When we allow men, women and ministries to be our relationship with God we enter into the illusion of separation. The incarnations life, death and resurrection has firmly opened our eyes that were blind to see our incredible union that was and is and is to come."  

Adam Bignell, facebook post

Since We Are Carried Along in His Arms, We CANNOT Fail!

Everything is coming together just as it is meant to..no matter what tumultuous feelings are on the surface, our spirit is calm and KNOWS all is well, isn't that wonderful?  The mind can be confused, the mouth can spout off nonsense, the heart can feel depressed and lonely, the body can act out, but the spirit is calm, at peace, at rest in God..the spirit is one with God always no matter what and is in joy and quietness no matter what..sees God no matter what, enjoys love, is love, knows LOVE Himself..the spirit KNOWS!! 

All is calm within no matter what is bubbling on the surface.  In our depths there is no problem, no struggle, no anguish, no fear.  There is only peace and quiet and rest.  There is only God and our spirit is one with Him, joined with Him, part of Him, enclosed by Him and cradled by Him, carried by Him.

So we are safe, so safe and secure!  We are wrapped in God at all times!  Nothing can really get to us, nothing can separate us, nothing can alter this reality of oneness with God, of supreme peace, of belovedness, of fullness of life and joy!  Nothing can disturb our rest there in His bosom.  Nothing can disrupt our relationship there in oneness of Spirit!  We are safe in God's nest of love, deep in the depths of His heart!  Carried along in life, how can we know death?  Carried along in love, how can we know judgment?  Carried along in acceptance, how can we know rejection?  Carried along in strength, how can we know failure??

Carried along  - God is carrying us and HE won't fail..isn't it wonderful to know deep down..somehow it is going to work out, all is well in spite of all the chaos!

That is the biggest revelation God gave me in the past year and it changed my life.  It changed my life!  We can be happy no matter what, we can make it through anything and we WILL all is well and all WILL work out!  Whether we rant and rave or whether we relax and trust, we'll be carried along to the happy ending no matter what..all feelings are allowed, every thought and every real feeling we have is accepted and okay.  WE don't have to act, feel or think a certain way to be okay or make things okay - we ARE okay and everything IS okay..because HE is here embracing us and our feelings and our circumstances in totality!  And HE is the one responsible for our lives, for bringing about the good ending for us all!  So we can relax and enjoy the ride!  All is accepted, nothing depends on us, everything depends on Him, and HE NEVER FAILS!  It reminds me of that verse in the Message Bible "everything is coming together, love is on the way.."

Love holds us, Love carries us, Love does all for us, Love will never fail us!

Merry Christmas, All Is Well!

I just wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas songs, "All Is Well"  - I love this song because it shares so beautifully and so simply what I think Jesus came to do..to show us who felt so orphaned, rejected and alone, awash in a confusing world of fear and struggle, that truly, ALL is well..we are loved, we are carried, we are not alone..God is with us, God is for us, God is here, so all is well!  It was like He came to tell all the lost and confused and hurting little children that Papa is here, everything is okay, and everything is going to ultimately and forever be okay!

I heard a preacher say recently, "if God loves us just as we are, what was the point of Jesus coming?"  And I heard within my spirit the answer ringing out:  "To prove it!"  God proved His love for us in this - He let us kill His Son and still held His arms out in love to embrace us!  He let us do the worst thing we could to Him and then made our crime work backwards on itself, reversing our deed from murder to miraculous resurrection and giving us real life, eternal life, which is the relationship with Him we'd longed for all throughout history and thought we were too far gone to even hope for! 

He loved us at our worst behavior!  Accepted us when we felt at our lowest!  Thus He freed us from the shadow world we'd been living in, freed us from the lies we'd been bound by, lies that said we were unworthy, awful, filthy, hopeless, orphaned...

Daddy came and turned the light on in that dark room in which we were suffocating, and suddenly we saw!  The people in great darkness saw a great light, the light of God's love and favor in the beautiful face of a vulnerable baby, the strong support of a brother to us all who walked right alongside of us in solidarity with us and shared our sorrows and pains, a friend on the cross loving those who betrayed Him and called them innocent, a triumphant deliverer who unlocked the prisonhouse of the fear of death by conquering death and showing us a happy ending awaits in Papa's arms!

He silenced forever the idea that we had to work our way into God's favor, showing us that reality is "God For Us"..and He silenced forever the idea that we were far from God and unacceptable, showing us that reality is "God With Us!"  He came to prove His love for us all, to prove to us when all 'natural evidence' seemed to point against us and accuse us and condemn us, that really all is well!

All is well between us and God:  He'd never been vindictive or punishing but has been accepting and gracious all along..
All is well in His stance towards us:  He'd always loved us and called us His own..
All is well in our own lives  in the deepest and most ultimate way:   He's always been there for us inside, Christ being revealed IN us as our very own life!
All is eternally well and nothing can change that:  we have been carried along by grace all along and there's never been a doubt whether we'd have a happy ending!
All is well and nothing can take that away:  it was never up to us anyways, but always up to Him, and He never fails!

How wonderful when this blessed Light dawned on this world to show us the peace we have with Him, to show us the oneness we have with Him, to show us the relationship of pure love and acceptance we have with Him, to show us we've always been part of the divine family circle of and are wanted, understood, known, celebrated, embraced, and cherished just as we are!

I just want to say to all my dear friends here how thankful I am for each of you, and how much I wish each of you beloveds a wonderful, peaceful, grace-full Christmas in the blessed joy that for time and eternity, because we are unconditionally loved and held by such a Savior who rescued us from all darkness, confusion and lies, All Is Well!

The Real Me

There is a deeper part of me that is the Real Me that is behind all the drama, watching the actors play their parts, seeing the play for what it is, a shadow-show dimly based on the Really Real Life that the Real Self is part of! 

That Real Self is bigger than all the little dramatic scenarios the actors play out with their made up personas, the Real Self loves all those parts of me that are play-acting a part in this drama of earthly life.  The Real Self watches the acting out and loves and accepts every actor and even lovingly, nonjudgmentally allows every action...not going along with the drama yet loving and being present with every actor and every action.  That True Self, the Real ME, is in solidarity with all my hurting parts that ‘act out’ and yet beyond their actions and feelings..caring for all the hurting parts and soothing their fears with love and understanding

That True Self is always firm and stable, always seeing Eternal Reality - always seeing the wholeness at the heart of everything, always aware of the good happy ending that is guaranteed to come, always knowing with that deep inner knowing that all is well..always true and never confused, always calm and never disturbed, always happy and never sad, always loving and good, always connected to God, part of God, made of God, one with God! 

In fact that Real Self is part of God, His divine Breath within this feeble frame, the gentle Blowing of His presence of Pure Love!  We are truly part of this wonderful Being, caught up as part of Him..our True Self is somehow one with God's Self..they are one!  We are flowing with Him at all times, never sad, always at peace, full of joy, part of that great reservoir of love and goodness who is our Papa, the Father of us all, the Source of all that is! 

We are always in perfect harmony with Him in our spirit!  One!  Flowing together as one heart!  No separation, no disturbance, no disagreement!  Right along with Him, we watch the drama of our lives and watch the acting out of all our addictions, struggles, plays for power, fear based mechanisms..and all is accepted, all is loved, nothing is judged 'unacceptable,' no part is rejected, no action is grounds for dismissal..all is loved, all is held, all is accepted, no matter what!  This is the Unconditional Love that we are part of, that we are held by, that we are caught up in, that we truly ARE in our Real Selves, forever!

We ARE That!

How long we have spent trying to get somewhere, trying to change and be better, trying to attain a sense of being 'okay' with God and life..trying to get close to God, get a deeper relationship with Him, get Him to flow out of us more..yet all that was always unnecessary, because all along we have been already there, already at what we were looking for, already who we wanted to be, already one with the One we were seeking!

We can truly say we are not trying to become one, trying to become good, trying to become holy, trying to become filled, trying to become loving, for we ARE that!  It's our identity, our nature, who we are as God's dear children!  The children share the same nature as the Parent.  God is Love, therefore so are we, His kids!  And not only that, we are connected with God so intimately that we are actually part of Him.  Christ even says He is the head and we are His body - all one Person, we being part of God Himself!  Talk about being caught up in a Life greater than your own, a story and existence far beyond your own earthly life!

Whatever it is we have sometimes searched for, longed for, or hoped to have or become, we can now know that we ARE that!  We ARE goodness, we ARE kindness, we ARE wholeness, we ARE fullness, we ARE faithfulness, we ARE holiness, we ARE peace, we ARE joy, we ARE love - we ARE God in these mortal bodies!  He is our deepest, truest, most real part, the core in us that makes us who we are, the Self that is our deepest most real self!  Just as Christ said, so can we say, "I and my Father are ONE."  With ONE, there is no separation, no lack.  With ONENESS, all is well, all is perfect, all is whole and complete.  With ONENESS there is no struggle to become - for we already ARE - there is no trying, there is only BE-ing in quietness and peace and joy, in perfect communion and intimacy.  With ONENESS there is no more trying to know, there is simply knowing and being known, complete transparency and fellowship.  We are truly part of God, we are at rest, we are satisfied, we are grounded, we are secure, we are safe, we are held, we are home, we are Love! 

We're never a separate self trying to become one with God or let Him flow through..we are part of God, one essence, there's no 'middle man' of a separate individual that has to 'do' or 'believe' or even 'understand' something to achieve oneness or allow the flow of love..we ARE That already, we ARE the Love we long for, love flows out of us because we ARE Flowing Love, we ARE part of God and can't be separated from Him any more than we could be separated from our own selves, for really 'we' and 'He' are one and the same in essence and connection and being and truth! We are God in these bodies, by nature and design!There is nothing to do, get to, or become.  We don't have to do, we can simply BE!  At all times we are effortlessly, naturally being Love Himself in these mortal bodies!  Be yourself - that's Him, wow!  Act natural - that's the Spirit in manifestation, wow!  Love because it's all you can do, because it's all you ARE...it comes naturally since it's Who you ARE as "I AM!" 

You Shall Not...

The old covenant law contained many "shall nots" which had a purpose that is now fulfilled. We are not under that old legislation anymore. Now we are under the new covenant where God provides all for us as a gift and we are free in Him. This covenant also contains some "shall nots" - yet they are so different from the old "shall nots" - rather than making me feel depressed and guilty, they make me feel safe and warm and joyful in Him! They are focused on our secure relationship with God rather than our erratic behavior, for the New Covenant has a relationship focus and not a works focus. These are the "shall nots" I have found in the new covenant. I only used Jesus' words in John. I'm sure if I looked through the rest of the New Testament, I could find many more! Anyway, here are those "shall nots" that I found:

His promises to us in the New Covenant of grace:

1 - You SHALL NOT hunger, but shall be fully satisfied with Him (John 6:35).

2 - You SHALL NOT thirst, but shall have within His very Spirit as an ever-flowing fountain of eternal life (John 4:14).

3 - You SHALL NOT walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

4 - You SHALL NOT be a slave to sin or the devil's lies, but shall be free indeed (John 8:32-36).

5 - You SHALL NOT perish, but shall have everlasting life (John 3:16).

6 - You SHALL NOT be snatched from His hand, but shall be safe (John 10:27-8).

7 - You SHALL NOT come into judgment, but have already passed from death to life (John 5:24).

8 - You SHALL NOT follow a stranger, but shall know and follow your Shepherd (John 10:4-5).

9 - You SHALL NOT have your joy stolen, but shall rejoice with great joy (John 16:22).

10 - SHALL NOT be left desolate, but shall have the His Spirit with you always to comfort you (John 14:16-18)!

With His very Spirit inside us as our best friend and LIFE, holding us, loving us, keeping us, living through us AS us, how can we go wrong? If God is for us, who can be against us? We shall not be put to shame but will always be led in triumph, love and grace! All as a gift through Jesus' work for us and His wonderful grace, not ever through our efforts! What a wonderful covenant the New Covenant is!

The Cross - Where Love Silenced the Lying Voice of Shame

The voice of shame is such a terrible voice because it doesn't just accuse us of doing wrong and therefore guilty, it actually accuses of of BEING wrong and therefore worthless..not worthy to be loved, without any dignity, deserving no care or consideration..shameful and embarrassing, rejected and unwanted, not fit for God's presence, 'good for nothing.'  What a lie!  I believed this lie for so many years. I am seeing more and more how the cross dispels such a lie of unworth and shame.  The cross stands as a testimony of our amazing worth to God and of how much we deserve to be loved, cared for and rescued!

The cross says God loves and accepts us even in the midst of any sin...thus, the cross not only assures us of God's love but puts to death any lies or accusations that we are unworthy, shameful, or rejected..for the cross proves we're worth dying for, the cross proves we're not rejected even at our worst, the cross proves Jesus is not ashamed to be counted with us transgressors! And thus the cross forever silences those voices of accusation! 


The cross shows that His love is a loyal love, a love that does not take into account a wrong suffered, a love that keeps no record of wrongs, a love that says of His murderers, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing!" He sees past our wrongs to the hurting person beneath, to His little lost child beneath, so in need of his Papa's tender loving care!  
 
The cross shouts for all eternity, "I came to my own and you, my very own children, are worth it! You are worth My very own life! You are so special and beloved and accepted in My sight that I'd rather die than miss out on fellowship with You! I can't get you out of My heart, our of My thoughts, out of My existence! I am forever on your side, forever for you! You're my very own children, and I'd do anything for you! I will never leave you or forsake you. I will never turn you out in the cold, never forget you. You're everything to Me, and I will never let anything keep us from enjoying sweet communion together for ever and always!"

The cross forever stands as our proof of God's love and our value to Him in the face of any accusation or lying voice of condemnation or shame...for He says we're worth dying for, we're loved no matter what we do, we can't drive Him away no matter how we act, He's for us, on our side, to do us good, no matter what, forever and always! Committed, faithful, unconditional, nonjudgmental, generous, self-sacrificing, other-centered, 100% pure LOVE! That's what He is, and the cross is our proof that it is so! Hallelujah!

We're Always Innocent Chilren Before Him!

I just wanted to share some wonderful thoughts that came up in an email conversation with my beautiful friend Rachel recently as we were talking about how our Father sees us, His children:

"I have certainly had many ups and downs but I guess really, all along I was being carried by another, who is living within me and never have I been outside of Him. I think maybe deep down we all just want to know that we are ok and loved no matter what our circumstances are or how we act in situations. So it's really such a relief to think that has been true for us all along and is true every moment. Even greater is the fact that our actions, thoughts, feelings etc. do not determine who we are, and God only sees us as precious children, with pure thoughts, feelings, actions etc. Because if those things were to define us we would be measuring ourselves on a yard stick, unable to fully feel unconditionally loved and ultimately putting ourselves back under a law, which is fine, but rather obsolete since Jesus removed all of that!

"You know I wonder sometimes whether at our core we wish to just be children again. Not in the sense that we wouldn't get to experience the freedoms of being an adult, but children are always loved and doted on for simply being. I know that sometimes children do not get to experience that if their home life is not so good, but children just want to feel loved and free and happy at the core. Maybe God knows that is true about each of us and wishes to love us like that, allowing us to just play, be free, savor the moment and be happy. And maybe even our actions and thoughts, though not always in line with what we hope to be true, aren't even a concern to Him. It is as if He is a parent that watches his young child steal a cookie from the cookie jar- the parent knows it is all out of innocence and could never feel that his child has actually done anything wrong! And in this case, unlike the parent who catches his or her child stealing a cookie-we are never reprimanded or made to feel as if our actions aren't accepted, for every bit of us is fully accepted!"

 

Wow, isn't it wonderful to know that we are truly innocent before Him, even in the midst of our 'hands in the cookie jar' moments, that our hearts are truly innocent and pure deep down, that there is NO shame, blame, guilting, condemning or punishment coming to us from our Daddy at all, ever!  Our performance is never a measure of our worth - His Love is the measure of our worth, and that Love is infinite, eternal, unconditional!  Wow!  That means our worth, our value, is infinite, eternal, unconditional!Just as our own children are worth the world to us and we'd do anything, truly anything, for them, so we are priceless and beyond valuable to Him, worth the whole cosmos times infinity!  For the magniitude of our dignity and honor before Him is beyond infinite, beyond price, beyond understanding or imagining!  You are His treasure, His whole world!  You mean everything to Him!  

 

And He always sees and knows and relates to you just as you are - innocent, pure and sweet like a little tiny child!  Pure, untainted, unmarred, with only innocent thoughts and motives and intentions.  He sees the deepest part of Himself and only sees His own image there!  We are made in the image of Love, Pure Love, vast and open and free, so how could we ever be anything else BUT that pure love?  We couldn't!  The source and wellspring of our very life is God, is a Pure Source, like sweet crystal clear water, a fountain of Perfect Love springing up from within giving us life, BEING our Life..and if the Source (God) is pure, the water springing from it (humanity) is pure! 

As my dear sister Rachel has said so well, we only want to be loved, don't we?  That is our one pure innocent motive behind it all, just a longing to know we are okay and loved no matter what.  When we find out we are truly loved without condition, without measure, without end, everything inside starts to breathe easy and rest.  When we find out we really are His children, being held in Love by our Papa at all times - that we are truly "being carried by another" who is eternally for us, in us, as us - we naturally settle down and fall asleep in His arms!

There is Someone in us, in our depths, Someone who is for us, Someone who is carrying us, Someone who is loving us, and we will never be anything other than His beloved, innocent children, held fast in His arms!  We are ONE with this wonderful Someone, this wonderful Father, made of His DNA, breathing His Spirit as our breath, having His very nature of Love, feeling His heartbeat sound out His presence in us at every moment..We are ONE, never TWO!  We are ONE, together, a unity, ONE Spirit, and we can never be separated or apart!  We are ONE, we are HOME, we are PURE, we are LOVED!

A God Beyond All Imaginings..

If we had never heard of God, had never read anything about Him or been taught anything about Him, and we were to start imagining what we would want a God to be like, what would we imagine?

I would imagine:

Someone that is just one immense bundle of pure love, acceptance and joy...

Someone who would forgive all I did wrong, understand me perfectly, hold me no matter what...

Someone I need never fear but instead a protector who sheltered me safely and put away all fear...

Someone of infinite peace who made me feel so comfortable in His presence, who always brought rest to my weary heart and comforted me in every way, who took care of me and made sure everything in my life worked out for the very best...

Someone who would be like the perfect parent, spouse and friend all wrapped up in one and magnified by infinity...

Someone who would love me like I'd always dreamed of being loved, who would never leave me...

Someone whom I couldn't drive away no matter what I did, who was committed to me no matter what, who would see me through to the end and make sure I'd be with Him forever!

Well, wouldn't God be more wonderful than any of those amazing thoughts? Yes, surely God is way beyond what we could ever ask or imagine! Surely He is infinitely better than we could ever dream! All the ideas you could imagine of the most wonderful, perfectly kind, gentle, accepting, protective, caring, friendly, joyful and peaceful and loyal Being of pure Love...multiplied by infinity...all that is just a tiny glimmer of the beauty of all God is for us and to us!! He is more wonderful and more loving and more accepting than we could ever imagine!

He is truly a Love beyond all imaginings!  Thank You Papa!  We couldn't have imagined a better Friend, a more loving Father, a more wonderful GOD than You are to us every moment!   Any time we have ever thought You to be any less than Perfect Love, it only meant that our vision was clouded by lies and confusion..for Your name is Love and Love is the ONLY expression of Your nature!  Thank You dear Papa and thank You dear Jesus for showing us this very thing in the incarnation, the cross and the resurrection..You revealed the Father's face in Your very own face, and what was revealed is that God, our Papa, is Love and ONLY Love, and that we are His beloved little children!  And thank You Holy Spirit for making that love a real experience in our lives!

Falling in Love with Grace All Over Again

I feel that lately, I am falling in love with Grace all over again, as it hits me in a new way, that beautiful old message that sounds so fresh and new...that I am accepted, that my life is accepted, that everyone is accepted, that ALL is accepted, unconditionally, eternally, radically accepted!

All is accepted, so I can accept myself and my life as they are right now, in this moment, without any requirement or pressure for change..

I feel like Papa is opening my eyes all over again to see that right now, everything is okay, I am okay, life is okay...everything really is perfect somehow...what a wonderful feeling it gives, don't you think? 

And it allows me to actually enjoy this moment without feeling pressured to change.  To just BE! 

I feel like I am also realizing my oneness with God in a deeper and more profound way, that we are truly ONE, that I am like a little bit of God in this human body, just feeling so whole and free and expansive knowing that the deepest truest self down deep in me, my real Self, is really one with and somehow part of God my Father - one! 

It makes me feel so complete and whole and strong, so good about myself!  If I am really one with Him like that, then at the most fundamental level, I don't really have any problems, do I!?  I don't have any faith problems, love problems, issues to work on, or deficiencies..I don't have any insurmountable difficulties, overwhelming troubles or empty places..for I am one with infinite perfect Love, I am so whole! 

And it makes me feel so good about other people..that they are all perfect expressions of God as well!  They don't need changing, fixing, or improving, they simply need to hear, as we all do, the wonderful message of grace - that all is accepted, loved, held, and carried by the One Lover who is the heart of all!  All is whole, complete, perfect and deep-down okay and all right in the One who makes everything all right!

Isn't grace wonderful?  I feel it takes my breath away again and again, like a fresh breeze on a steamy summer day..or a child's bright laughter..or the way the sunlight dances on the glowing leaves of autumn..Thank You Papa for being Grace through and through, a grace that holds us through it all, accepts us through it all, carries us through it all, so that we can know that at the deepest level, everything is alright, and nothing can change that!

Wonderful, magical Grace!

Jesus Dispelled the Lies!

Jesus came to show us the truth, to do away with lies that had confused us for too long, lies of unworthiness, shame and alienation, lies of unlovableness and inherent badness.  He came to dispel the lies we'd believed, to show us those thoughts and feelings of separation were only in our mind!  "You were alienated from God in your MINDS."  The reconciliation Jesus worked was bringing our mind back to seeing reality, wasn't it, because HE never left, and we only thought we did!  It was a reconciliation of the mind, really, for we've always been together in reality. 

Confused thoughts and lies trapped us in a way of life thinking we were far from God, when really He was in us all along, waiting to be known and enjoyed!  Paul spoke of the day he saw the truth of God's presence in him, saying:  "It pleased God to reveal Christ IN me."  IN!  The wonderful truth is that we have always been IN God and He IN us, wow!  The separation was only in our mind all this time, never something real! 

Even when we acted out our deep fears stemming from the mind's belief in being a separated, shameful, unlovable, 'bad' person, even when we acted on those fears and doubts and killed God's own Son, He showed us the truth, didn't He, by forgiving us, saying we didn't know what we were doing! 

That is perfect LOVE, unconditional Love, Love that embraces the worst thing we could do!  At our worst moment, He loved us..He proved His love by the cross..He showed us we were always lovable, always beloved, always cherished by the Father!  We had thought we were unloved, unlovable..and the cross did away with this lie!  The cross proved how loved we were and are, as if He were saying, "You can do your worst and I'll still love you..You can even kill me and I'll still LOVE YOU!"

And He came out of the grave, basically erasing our crime - ! - without a mention of our wrongdoing, as if to say, "I always knew you were innocent, I always knew you were good!" 

He always knew we were God's children, HE was always our core nature, we always had our Father God's DNA of goodness and love, we just didn't know it..we forgot..our minds were deceived and we fell into transgression..in our minds!  But not in reality, for we could never change our DNA, never stop being in God's perfect image and likeness of LOVE!  It was always there inside us all along, the Great Heart of Love was always beating deep within us, loving us, being Pure Love, in us, as our very DNA!  We were encoded with God/Love all along!  Jesus came along and confirmed that even if we acted totally contrary to that nature, that DNA, it was still true deep down! 

He declared us innocent by the resurrection, wow!  And He confirmed our purity by unleashing the Holy Spirit, rivers of living water that had been pent up in us for so long rushed forth 'from within our innermost being!'  Where He had been all along!

I love how Jesus nailed to the cross every belief we ever had in every lie that ever existed..through His death and resurrection He did away with every lie that ever held us back from enjoying what is rightfully ours by birthright - the right of the children to enjoy their Papa's lap, to hear His voice of tenderness, to feel His warm embrace and KNOW Him in joyful relationship..safe at Home in HIM, where we've always belonged!

Safely IN!

IN!  It just doesn't get any closer than IN!  No matter what we are going through, no matter what long and winding side pathways we wander into here on our earth journey, we are safely IN God at all times, no matter what, and our relationship with Him, being so close that we are IN each other - ! - is always perfect, complete, whole, intact, full, perfect and strong!  Never wavering or changing!

We can't get Him out of us, and we can't get ourselves out of Him..we are IN, IN, IN!  There is just no separation with IN..there is no distance, no waiting for some future closer relationship..it is NOW, for we are closer than close, more intimate than 'beside' or 'with' - we are IN!

We never were out of the One who contains the whole universe, were we?  The distance we 'felt' was really only that, a feeling.  The separation we dreamed was between us was really only that, a dream.  The thought of being away from Him was really only that, a thought.  The sense of lostness was really only that, a sense we had and not real at all.  Did we really think our Papa would lose us, or that He would ever leave it up to us to 'find' our way back?  Did we really think He would ever for a moment not have the whole matter of our existence safely in His hand?  Did we ever really think He did not have things safely in His love plan all along, have US safely in His heart all along?  We have always been so safe in Him and His love!  He can't let us go!  He can't let YOU go, can't let ME go..

He cannot get us out of His mind, out of His thoughts, out of His heart!  He cannot imagine a world without us in it!  He wouldn't want to even exist without us!  His heart would break at the thought, for He cannot bear to BE without us even for a moment.  We have always been the objects of His care and keeping and love, and always will be!

We are so safely enveloped in His being, so tenderly held in His heart, so gently embraced in His arms!  The giant, enormous, wonderful God of Love who explodes beyond the bounds of this universe has got all of us so safely enfolded in His loving Being!  We are held against the chest of the Lover who fills the whole of creation, wrapped in eternal Infinite Love that stretches beyond all our past, present and future.  We are uplifted and carried along by a Love big enough to handle all our issues, confusions and doubts, big enough to contain all our fears and troubles and questions, big enough to carry all our pains, sorrows and remorses.  We are surrounded by a Loving Acceptance large enough to accept us with all our failures, inconsistencies and deceits.  A Love big enough to contain ALL!  ALL!

Nothing we do, say, think or feel could ever take us out of Him, make this Love evaporate, cause a breach between us.  This Love is our atmosphere, the space we exist in, the air we breath and the realm our whole life is played out in!  "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."  This Love is the DNA of the universe, the code upon which all existence is based.  We can no more escape this Love than we can escape our own DNA!  It is so true that "God is all, and is in all!"

So how could we ever be out of Him?
And how could we ever get Him out of us?

IN!  IN HIM!  What a wonderful  place to find ourselves, what a wonderful place to live in, what a wonderful home for us, what a wonderful Being to BE IN!

Grace = Rest!

Grace means that we can breathe a sigh of relief, get off the endless merry-go-round of seeking, works and struggle...and rest!

We don't have to do anything..don't have to get anything..don't have to become anything...
We already ARE! 

We already are who we have always wanted to be, where we always wanted to be, one with the One who is everything..everything!

We can rest..rest!  Nothing is required of us, nothing is asked of us, nothing is expected of us.  We are perfect just as we are, and our life is perfect just as it is..with any inconsistencies, confusions, lapses, or contradictions..

Just as we are right now, just as it is right now, in this very moment, without changes a thing or ever needing to do so, we are PERFECT!  Perfect to Him, perfect for Him, perfectly with Him!

We don't have to wait for tomorrow to have that special relationship with God we've been longing for and looking for..we don't have to wait for some super spiritual state to come before we can have that deep bonded closeness with Him..we don't have to wait till we've solved all our issues and made our life work perfectly before we can REALLY have the good life with God..the good life with God is NOW!  And we are already all we seek to be, already at the place we long to be - IN HIM!

Living as the Whole Person I Already Am

I can live a whole and full life, because I already am whole and full!

For so long I have seen myself as 'messed up' and therefore needing to be repaired.  I was always thinking there was something wrong with me.  I was always thinking I had so far to go, that I was still 'not there yet,' wherever 'there' is!

But God has been showing me that not only does He love me with all my so-called, flaws, fears, issues, struggled, mess-up places and failures, that those things are not the real me anyway!  Those things, even the thoughts and feelings I have, are not the deepest thing about me and don't define me at all!

I am not what I'm thinking, I am not what I'm feeling, I am not what I'm doing...I am who I am BEING, and I am always being a precious child of God, a Spirit-self, one with God, pure, free, holy, loving, carefree, open-hearted, genuine, perfect, happy, and WHOLE!  

I am not needing to be fixed or work through my issues or be changed, improved or made better.  I am fine as is, I am whole deep inside and always have been!  My life is that of a whole, complete, intact person who is not lacking or flawed in any way!

Jesus came to reveal and release this inward whole person that has always been our true and real core self!  This is the 'very good' creation God made, in His image of goodness, purity and love, connected with Him and having only pure desires, thoughts and ways!   This very good self simply IS, and nothing can change that!  Not any failure, confusion, calamity, struggle, lie, illusion, doubt, fear or hurt can change my core Spirit self made in His very good image of Love!  Like Father, like children, our spiritual DNA never can be changed or eliminated, oh what a relief!  Jesus came to show this, He came to collect the long lost children of the King, the rightful heirs, from the land of confusion and distress where they had been held prisoner in a fog of confusion, enslavement and lies as to their true identity and parentage!  He freed us and brought us home to ourselves inside, to knowing ourselves within and also knowing our Father within in perfect family relationship!  Those blood ties, those family bonds, could never be broken, no matter what lies were told us, no matter what crazy things we thought about ourselves or what crazy ways we acted in response to such lies and thoughts!

Praise God we can never stop being His created children, in His image of love!  Thank God that we can never change who our father is or whose child we are!
Hallelujah that we have never been anything other than His beloved and holy and WHOLE children, Spirit beings at our core, full of the life and character of our Father, who passed those traits on to us!  I think deep down our spirits have always known, it's only that our hearts and minds forgot.  Thank You Jesus for awakening the sleeping children so that we rise like ones rising from the dead and enjoy that lovelight of our Papa that has been shining on us since day 1!  It only seemed dark because our eyes were closed!  Now with eyes opened by His grace and love and truth, we know ourselves as we've always been, as He has always known us, and we feel the arms of our Father that have always been around us!  How wonderful to enjoy Him, to enjoy life, to enjoy being our true selves, the whole and intact spirits that we've always been, in a beautiful union relationship with our Dad!

I won't tell myself I am messed up any longer.  I am the whole and holy child of God!  I am spirit, one with His Spirit!  Thus, just as He is, I am kindness, goodness, peace, joy and bliss!  I am gentleness, sweetness, light and love!  Whole, not broken or needing to be fixed!  Perfect, not flawed or inadequate! 

Whole and perfect and good!  That's who I am!  Just like my Papa!

Treat Yourself as Your Papa Does!

Sometimes in the past it has been so hard to love myself, and I've been very hard on myself, treating myself badly and condemning myself.  Yet God loves me!  God IS pure Love and nothing else BUT Love!  It is alright to act like God, and God loves me!  That means I can love myself, really love myself!

We can treat ourselves just as our Papa treats us...and how does He treat us? 

He always treats us kindly, gently and tenderly! 
So we can treat ourselves kindly, gently and tenderly!  We can speak kind and uplifting words to ourselves and tell ourselves the truth, that we are truly good and pure deep down, that we never have evil motives deep down, that we never mean to do wrong or hurt others, that we always mean well, always want the best for others, always love others!

He has only the purest love and affection towards us!
So we can have pure love and affection towards ourselves!  We can celebrate ourselves, delight in our uniqueness, and be happy with our personality, seeing ourselves as the beautiful and amazing people we really are, holding ourselves with high regard as valuable assets in this world, as shining stars that make the world brighter just be being ourselves, as important beings who have something beautiful and special to share with humanity!

He never breaks our heart, never wounds our spirit, never hurts us!
So we can do the same, holding our wounded heart so tenderly, never hurting ourselves with unkind words or accusations!  We can soothe our troubled mind, can speak kindly to ourselves, especially when we are confused, hurting, and maybe lashing out in that confusion and pain, especially then when we feel alone or have moments when we can't see the truth of our belovedness as clearly..treating ourselves with understanding even when we act in erroneous ways, being generous and thoughtful and good to ourselves, giving ourselves room to breathe, slack when we fail, and space to heal!

He is always supportive, understanding, generous, thoughtful, and good to us!
So we can be the same towards ourselves - always supporting ourselves, pampering ourselves and treating ourselves well!   We can call ourselves beautiful, worthy and powerful..worthy of love and respect, strong and powerful as the God-lights we are in this world, shining with His Holy Spirit glow!  We can remind ourselves we are a beautiful Temple housing God Himself, a radiant Bride dearly loved by the King of all the universe!

He always looks at us with love and treats us with compassion!
And we can do the same!  Let's treat ourselves as our Papa does and love ourselves today!  I have found that when I have messed up, when I get confused, when I feel out of sorts, what a great difference it makes to just give myself some space, not be hard on myself but instead kind and understanding, and just speak words of love and kindness to myself.  I guess it is really like I am speaking/hearing the words of my Papa towards me!  And in those moments I see how His words truly are Spirit and truth and life!  It's like the wind shifts, the atmosphere changes, and there is a great something that gives way as the negative thoughts and feelings fall away and I feel okay again, remembering that God loves me, that I am lovable and understood no matter what, and that I truly am God's good and beautiful girl, held tightly by Him in sun and shadow!  Love is so powerful, and to love yourself with His Love is the most powerful thing you can do, I think - it's letting His own Love Presence just flood every nook and cranny of your mind and soul and fill you with pure joy, pushing out every dark thought!  I guess I never realized how powerful and important an act that could be, to love myself! 

I am realizing something about what being 'godly' really means:  To be godly does not mean pointing out one's sinfulness, saying that one is evil, or condemning oneself.  No, it means just the opposite, doesn't it!  For to be godly is to be like God, and God does not point out or convict us of sin, God does not call us evil but instead calls all His creation 'very good,' God does not condemn but instead affirms!  God practices love, not hate!  So If I am going to act godly - "God-like" - that means I am going to love myself, not hate on myself, put myself down or accuse myself!  To be godly is to love...to love in the same way as He does, intensely, purely, perfectly..and thus to be godly and act as He does means I love myself  - intensely, purely, perfectly!  HE does, so I can too!  Wow!

It is perfectly alright  - and even the most important and holy thing you can do - to love intensely the one God loves so intensely - YOU!!