The Prayer Experience

Good morning!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Sometimes at this time of year, we carry burdens with us that we should leave at the Cross. We are troubled by this world and wonder why we have to endure this side of Heaven. Let's take heart in knowing that as we confess our sins to Jesus we are freed from the bondage of sin. We can turn our hearts towards Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. All this thanks to Jesus dying on the cross and his resurrection.

Last night, Paul and I went to our church's Prayer Experience. They had 8 different stations.

Station 1 was about the crown of thorns that Jesus had to wear on his path to the crucifixion. We could touch branches full of thorns and have an idea of what he had to suffer. The presence of the thorn branches made the experience very real!

Station 2 was very moving: THE CROSS
We were encourage to write a sin down on a piece of paper and take a nail and nail our sin to the Cross. This was a two fold experience:1- that Jesus had to pay for my sins by being nailed to the cross, and 2- that I was completely forgiven of that sin and was no longer slave to it because Jesus took it from me! This station moved me very much

Station 3 was The Vinegar
We were asked to take a Q-Tip and dip it in vinegar and put it on our tongue, just like Jesus was offered Vinegar while he was carrying His cross. This was to taste the bitterness of our sins and to reflect on the sweet Love of Jesus!

Station 4 was the Confession
We took a dice and the number of dots that we would get were the number of things we needed to confess that was keeping us from seeking after The Father. This was very meaningful to me as well. To be brought right before God because of the confession of my sins is very refreshing. It is hard to admit and be at a place where you can go to your Heavenly Father and lay your sins down, and see the objects of your affections and ask for them to be changed to JESUS CHRIST.

Station 5 was writing your name
Wriitng my name on big whiteboard was to be reminded of God's everlasting Love and if one has accepted Jesus as Savior of their own life and their personal sin than he will NEVER be forgotten. Each one of us wrote a a thank you note to our Lord and Savior. This was to take from the passage in the Bible where the thief on the Cross says to Jesus: "Jesus, remember me in your kingdom. "

Station 6 was the tearing of the curtain
In order to get to the next station we needed to tear the curtain ad behind was an Easle with a passage of scripture and different cloths. I was able to rejoice that we can now boldly come to the Throne of Grace thanks to Jesus' death and how He tore the curtain of the Temple and basically invited EVERYBODY to confess their sins and be freed by HIM directly. At His death we did not need any more Priests and high priests to intercede for us, because Jesus became our High Priest!

Station 7 was Communion
Paul and I broke bread together (It's an actual loaf that you break!) and drank the wine (juice really) and we were able to worship Jesus Together! It was beautiful!

Station 8 was being the light of the world!
It was a very unique experience to be at that station. There was a big mirror with candles and what the station was about is that throughout the evening, the other stations prepared us for being the light to the World because the light is in us through the Holy Spirit. That by communing with God and seeking after forgiveness and for His love we come to a place where He wants us for service and to be light in a dark world!

You see, like I said yesterday in my other blog, God the Father made me not because he needed me but because He wanted to share Himself with me and show me how loved I am. In and of Himself, He can display his glory better without me. But we are created to worship him and enjoy Him forever. It is because of His love for me that I am enabled to serve Him. Not because I first loved Him but because He first loved us!

The father did not just make me in my mother's womb (Psalm 139) but He bought me with a price! he bought back what was rightfully His! WOW! Now THAT is love my dear friends!

My Chains fell off. I've been set free!

On these words I bid you a very wonderful day!

Stephanie

Seeking Jesus at the Cross

Good morning!

I have been reading a book called "The Heart of the Cross" by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. That is where I am getting my inspiration from this week. I strongly recommend it to anyone who desires the Cross to be the Center of their lives. By this I don't mean that we go to the Cross and wait and not live the life that God has given us, but to satiate our thirst for knowing our Lord and Savior(If that is even possible)!

This weekend, I was reading about the plagues in the time of Moses and how God was showing His Beauty and power through Moses. It struck me when there came the plagues of the frogs that once The Lord stopped the frogs from invading houses and lands that He kept His promise and all of the frogs fell to the ground and died. 3 things struck me, 1- God does not need us to show his Greatness in all the land, which means that 2-God gave us the gift of life so that we could enjoy fellowship with him and taste of His Mercy and Love, and 3- That God can take my life away just like those frogs. It made me realize just how fragile life is, yet if I keep my eyes on Jesus, My life is secure! God gives life, and God takes it away.

When we look at Luke's passage of the crucifixion, we see that there are 2 thieves hung on each sides of Jesus. Both of them ask for salvation. The unrepentant thief mocks Jesus like the crowd below and is only thinking about himself and how he wants to live the here and now: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" He does not see passed the present. He is talking of a physical salvation and he asks with his lips.
The second thief realizes that he got what he deserves and rebukes the other Thief: "Don't you fear God since we are under the same sentence? We are punished Justly but, for we are getting what are deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. And then he said 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." This passage is powerful for 2 reasons: 1- The repentant Thief admits that he is a sinner and also admits that Jesus is God and 2- He sets his mind on the future and asks Jesus to remember him in the life to come. He came to Jesus with His whole heart and met him at the cross. He did not want to be saved from this life, He wanted to be saved from all of his sin and believed in the unseen, Christ's Kingdom.

This passage reflects what we should do when we go to the cross. In this passage, the thief pays for his sins but we don't have to pay for ours. We don't have to hang on a cross or be judged for our imperfections in this world because Jesus payed the price for them on the Cross!

I challenge you all to take a moment and think of your life and bring it all before the Cross and surrender it all to Him; your treasures, your worries and most of all your hopes and dreams. It is so much more secure in His hands than in your own!

Let's meet together at the cross and share our burdens with our Savior!

Easter Week!

Hello Family and friends!

I have been pondering all week end on the marvelous Love of Jesus. His empowering Love which pierced through our hearts and continues to do so every day. More so, His sacrificial Love that we are preparing to celebrate in less than a week from now!

Let us be reminded of Jesus' words on the cross: "Forgive them Father for they do not know what they are doing."

If I was hanging from a tree with nails pierced in my hands and feet and people mocking me below, it would not be my first reaction to forgive those who were hurting me. THAT is how we know that Jesus is truly God.

Let us be reminded of His great Love for us and the cost that comes with true forgiveness! As we believe in Christ and The Salvation he offered on that Cross, it may not have been costly to us but it was costly for Our Lord. It would not have been JUST for God the Father to have no payment for our sins...Only we did not pay for them. In THIS truth do I rejoice and find Peace, and yet feel sad for my sweet Lord and his sufferings.

Thank you Father for forgiving me and considering me your child on the basis of your perfect Son's sacrifice on the Cross. Help me find TRUE meaning in my life on that Truth alone. That gratitude would be the fruit of a thankful heart.

Happy Easter week and let us find strength at Jesus' Feet!

Stephanie!

A Tribute to my Grandfather

Paul and Steph in Tallahassee, Fl (Christmas 2009)

Hello dear friends!

I endeavor in this New Year 2010 to try something new: I will develop my creative side and share with you different topics that have either been happening or simply have been prevalent in my thoughts.

On this January 25th 2010, I remember my grandfather Richard E. Pare as he would be celebrating his birthday today! He would have been 90 years old! I love and miss him! Unfortunately I have not found a digitized picture to post of him. He passed in 1991 and has shaped my life in many ways. I can thank my grandfather for the job I have today: He taught me most of my English as he refused to speak to me in French growing up! He loved his wife, his grandchildren, his entire extended family (As his family was VERY large-8 siblings) and loved Jesus very dearly.

He enjoyed many sports, participating or simply watching. I will always remember my father and him watching football together. He also never missed a game of Tennis! He loved sitting on his balcony in the country and watching the sunsets in the summer time. He was a peaceful man with many passions and I always new he loved me and my sisters very much.

That is just a glimpse of my grandfather's life in a nutshell through the eyes of a 13 yrs old. How very little do I know of my grandfather and yet I know that I have a part of him in me! That is comforting.

While I have a very limited knowledge about my grandfather, the same goes for my knowledge of my Saviour! How comforting to know that even if I know him very little, He still loves me and shines through me!

I am constantly seeking after Him who sought me first! He is my constant and will always remain my rock!

Jude 1:24-25

" To Him (The Lord) who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!
Amen!"

Until next time,

I bid you good night!

Giving Thanks!

Paul and Steph at the Dicksons !

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God...(Ephesians5:1-2)...Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus. ( Ephesians 5:20)

Paul and I want to give thanks to our all of you, our friends and family who continue to uphold us in prayer and continue to bear witness in our lives of the TRUE love of Christ. On this week end of Thanksgiving, we acknowledge everyone who has brought so many blessings into our lives! We would not be where we are today if it wasn't for your love and support and of course, our heavenly Father's grace on our lives. Thank you for serving us, thank you for ministering alongside us, thank you for sharing your lives with us, thank you for crying with us and laughing with us. Thank you for sharing meals with us, thank you for taking care of the ones we love so much, thank you for praying for us, thank you for taking time for us and loving us in your own special way, and thank you for speaking truth and wisdom in our lives. You are all very special to us and we are grateful to have been involved in your lives in one way or another.

We want to thank our heavenly father for having provided us with everything we need in Toronto, especially a very unique church family who are already demonstrating God's love to us in many ways! We give him all the praise for equipping us with everything we need to overcome our journey from Thunder Bay to Toronto with Joyful hearts!

I will continue the story of our journey to Toronto at a later date but for now here are a few people among many who have impacted our lives in this past year! Please note that it would be impossible to have a picture of everyone who has been present in our lives... and therefore either from a lack of pictures or out of respect for some individuals who prefer not being seen on camera this display of pictures will surely not portray everyone we are thankful for.

Peter (Paul's brother) and Paul at High Falls, Thunder Bay, Peter we have been so blessed by you! your friendship means so much to us! You would take your shirt off for anyone who needs it! How precious you are!


Trudi, Mackenzie-Skye & Poul-Erik Binderup, you are dear
friends of ours and consider you sisters and bother! Thank you for loving us!


Carla, Trudi, Mona and Shannon (From left to right to bottom). To the women who spoke into my life, who made themselves vulnerable and who gave me courage, thank you!


Paul, Steph, Angie Hedrick, Rod Kapitan, Alicia Hedrick, Justin Hedrick, Sky Hedrick and Richard Lebar. To our friends who minstered alongside us and served the Lord and who invested in our lives, Thank you!


Steph and Michele A.K.A Mom! Merci maman pour ta presence continuelle et ton amour si radiant! Je t'aime!


Mackenzie-Skye and Sarah Vanderleest! Sarah, you have been my friend through thick and thin and I thank you for your valuable friendship even through this move I feel you close to me! Thank you! Mackenzie-Skye, well, you are Paul and I's little sunshine! Keep on shinning for Christ!


Steph Abronzo and Dan Muzzin! Thank you for sharing your lives with us in the past year or so! You are fun to be around and have let us in your lives! Thanks guys!

So thanks to all of you who were not shown in pictures! You mean so very much to both Paul and I!

Have a happy Thanksgiving !

The Journey

Paul and Stephanie In front of Don Cherry's Restaurant in Sudbury

Greetings to all of our friends and family!

I have been thinking of my blog every since last Wednesday when I last blogged. I have been strangely longing to get back into the writing mode. Whether it would be free verse or simply conversing with you about our journey to Oakville, ON, which ended up being Paul's home during his studies at Sheridan College in Media Arts before we met! Ever since then, Paul had a desire to return to Oakville and here we are. God can hear the simplest of wishes! But to share with you how we got here I will start with our move down.
Paul and I rented a U-Haul to move down. We desired to bring a little bit of Thunder Bay to Oakville so we thought what better way than to make a transition from our home, where we met, got married and lived for the last 5 years, and Oakville, the new place, full of adventure and growth. We both felt like we were leaving a part of ourselves in Thunder Bay. What comforted us was the certainty that God was leading the way and that even if we didn't know what the next step was, He did, and that was all that mattered. Of course, on my part, it helped that I was getting closer to my mother!

However Don't be fooled! As we distanced ourselves from our home, we realized that it was much harder to keep our eyes ahead than it was to look back at what we were leaving behind. Paul and I took time to reminisced about our time with our family and the times spent with friends.
When we arrived in Toronto, it hit us both in different ways but nonetheless, it hit hard as we realized how woven we were with our dear ones back home. I guess that is why we call ourselves "The Body of Christ": the heart cannot function without the head and the foot cannot function without the leg. We are all connected by the Spirit of Christ. As some of you might have heard me say this before, it was like cutting the umbilical cord: hard to let go of the past, but still full of God's goodness ahead which we would be fools not to embrace and trust Him for what lies before us.

Here are a few pic from our trip down.

Some glances at nature on our way to Southern Ontario...

As we travelled South, the vegetation became more lush!

Paul in front of Don Cherry's NHL team photo in the Restaurant!And if anybody asks...Yes! It did rain the entire trip down! Well almost...

Until soon my friends and with Love and prayer, I pray that you would seek wholeheartedly after the Truth!

Steph

A walk in the woods!

Hello everyone!

Today was a weird day for me. I felt as though I could conquer the world and then I was reminded of how I don't have it all together. I guess the lesson to learn is that I don't have it all together but there is one who does and has enabled me to come back on this page and recommit to the pouring of my heart in writing to whomever cares to read. Since I can do all things through God who strengthens me (Phil 4:13), I do conquer the world, a little bit each day. One day at a time.
As I walk through the woods some of you might know me well enough that I enjoy pondering on the promises of Jesus Christ. A prayer turned into a conversation as He showed me today that I too could have a disciplined and enjoyable lifestyle.
I feel like the prodigal son having been gone from the blogging world for the last almost 8 months now! Wow that is a new low! I must say discipline is just not my bag. ;)
I miss you all, my blog friends, the ever so supportive people in my life that encourage me through your own blogs.
Many things have happened since last February and there is too much to recap it all in words but I have a few pictures to give you a glimpse in our lives and feel like you were with Paul and I this whole time. But in a nutshell, Paul and I had one last presentation at Fort William Baptist Church to show the documentary for Sky and Angie Hedrick that Paul filmed and edited for 'An Eagle's Cry Life Centre'. It was a very encouraging evening for many people and we witnessed that night what Paul and I long to do for missionaries all over the world! We saw the church body become unifyed and we saw brothers and sisters in the Lord step up to the plate and Honour their Heavenly Father. What a night that was!
We slowly geared up for leaving towards Toronto with no job or place to stay in sight, only the certainty that it was time to make a step of faith in that direction.
In June I went down to Toronto with the mission of finding a job and an appartment in 1 month. I was positive it could be done regardless of the economic downfall. Indeed, God faithfully provided and here we are in Oakville, Ontario since July 2nd, thrilled to have obeyed our calling and yet sad for being so far away from great friends and wonderful family! We miss them oh so much.

So here are some pictures from the last 7 or 8 months!

Paul taking in the beauty of God's creation at Quetico Provincial Park

Lake at Quetico at Sunset! I'm so mesmerized during the sunset I forget to take a picture on time!

The Muzzin brothers with the two Steph's one last time on Avondale Place! Home Sweet Home!

Paul and Poul-Erik at the Men's Retreat