United together as One

John 17:11 ~ Jesus' last words and His desire for us from this passage is to ' be one as He is one with His Father.'

I am so drawn to this desire. I am one of Jesus's answered prayers here in 2011. Over 2000 years ago, Jesus prayed for me to one with others and God like He is one with the Father.

I love this so much and totally get it and feel it.

I feel this oneness in the words said by complete strangers to me who write words of life on their blog. Do they know that I am one with them because Jesus makes us one?

I feel this oneness when I read in Habakkuk 3 - that I will be joyful in God my Savior...no matter what!

I feel this oneness when tomorrow's days have not been revealed to me yet.

I feel this oneness when my 3 kids tell me stories of their days and how they are depending on God to get them through.

I feel this oneness in my tears, my laughter and the warmth of my husbands arms around me.

I feel this oneness with my husband who is abiding with Christ too and we are one in every way.

Being one with God is the greatest feeling and I cannot imagine my life any other way.

I am growing in my oneness with Jesus, my Lord, and with God my Father and in The Holy Spirit who softly speaks to me.

John 17:11 ~ ' I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one.'

This brings peace to my soul. The peace knowing that by the name of Jesus, I am one with my God and nothing will ever separate this oneness. Love...this is real and everlasting love.

Breathing in complete unity with my God and so many others today.

Jesus, your prayers have been answered!

~ Giving thanks ~

Why do I give thanks everyday....

'He sent out His word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Psalm 107:20

The beautiful gift of God's Word. I don't know if we realize what we hold in our hands everyday. The very words of God. I am constantly longing to talk to God and hear what He will say back to me in my restless flowing of words.

And I hear Him say to me ~ Come to me, my child and I will give you rest, hope, life, freedom, assurance, confidence, my ear, joy, peace, understanding, perspective, guidance, wisdom, knowledge, forgiveness, grace,mercy, acceptance, love, smiles, healing, courage, purpose, everything your soul needs.

My God is sufficient. My soul finds it's resting place in the Word of God and His promises that are true. Believing what God says is life!

When we come to the end of striving....we will find life.

God says we must believe Him.

I can give thanks today because I believe every Word that God says. I believe all that He says!

I can give thanks today because I believe His Word is true.

I can give thanks today in All things because I believe my life is hidden in Christ!

I can give thanks today because I believe my life is not my own, I have been bought at a price. I am His.

I can give thanks today because I believe He is faithful.

I can give thanks today because I believe in the death of my Dad, I found God to be my Father.

I can give thanks today because I believe when suffering is crushing me , I see Christ suffering for me.

I can give thanks in the betrayal of friends because I believe Jesus is my true friend that sticks closer than a brother.

I can give thanks in the loss of worldly possessions because I believe Jesus when He says do not worry about what you will wear or what you will eat. He takes care of me.

I can have trouble in this world because I believe Jesus has overcome everything in this world.

I can forgive because I believe God has forgiven me.

I can have joy in suffering because I believe God uses all things for the good of those who love Him.

I can have hope because I believe God when He says He will finish the work He started in me.

God's Word has healed me. He has spoken life into me and I am alive today and forever.

I truly and with all my heart can Give Thanks in All circumstances because I know and believe it is the will of God for me in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks for me is everyday. And thanks lives deep in my heart as I live out the purposes God has for me this side of Heaven.

As that one special day approaches on our earthly calendar calling us to Give Thanks ~ I will smile and give thanks for the way God has revealed Himself to me in His Word not just one day of the year but for every 365 days of the year.

Holy Ground

The past few days I have stood intentionally on Holy Ground. Realizing that wherever God is, there is Holy Ground.

God is Holy and He has made my body His dwelling place. I am in awe of this true fact and can see the attribute of God's grace in this truth. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

When God called me to be His very own, set apart for Him, He called me to be Holy like He is Holy. So whatever I do, I am bringing God's holiness with me.

The past few days, Holy ground was at a camp, near a lake with about 50 beautiful children of God. All ages these children, from 9 to 50 years old. God's grace was sufficient for every soul that had breath during the few days we spent together.

As Truth was poured into the lives of God's children, we saw God, Holy and Pure before us. He spoke into our souls what He wanted us to hear. We are hungry and thirsty for the holiness of God. For His pure ways to craft us into all He ever wanted us to be.

O how He must love us...to want us to be Holy like He is Holy. God is love and His ways are the only ways that will settle us down and let us stand on Holy ground.

What I saw this weekend is we all have choices as children of God. We all get to choose what we will 'put on' and what we will 'put off'. Where we will stand or where we will fall. The thing is, God will always be Holy. He never will choose to put on something that isn't holy. His ground isn't shaky, it's solid. I long to never put on something that isn't holy & pure. And to be made to be holy & pure and blameless for my 1st Love, Jesus Christ. Jesus is Pure and when I come to Him, He washes me clean. Jesus is pure. I want to put on Jesus every day. Romans 13:14

Holiness in our lives is a dance of taking off and putting on. Being intentional about the ground we stand upon.

And the world we live in today has ground that gets dark, dirty, muddy and filled with deep holes that cause our feet to slip. In the darkness, my foot was caught in a deep muddy hole at the camp-ground that God's Holiness was present. Praise God, I didn't fall and I knew how to pull myself up out of that muddy, wet hole onto dry ground. We will always slip this side of Heaven. I thank God for that reminder this weekend. It keeps me humbly walking very close to my Holy God. I am thankful that God has given me the tools to walk with Him. Abide with Him and to see more and more the Holiness of God. To see what He means when He says to be Holy as I am Holy.

God's Holy ground is solid. It is high ground where we live above the dark, muddy holes.

Why do we want to lower the ground He wants us to stand on? The safe ground is the high ground.

At the end of the day, I am thankful for God's Word. Jesus prayed for us in John 17:17 that we would be be sanctified by the Truth ..and God's Word is Truth.

As I ponder the ground I stood on these past few days, I thank God for His Word. I know His Word has the power to protect us from the dirty ground and purify us for HIM.

'As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:

"Be Holy,because I am Holy.' 1 Peter 1:14-16