Merry Christmas from Mr. Reu!

Thanksgiving 2007

Reuben helps Daddy cut the turkey at his first Thanksgiving.

The Suire family on Thanksgiving.

The Bishop family on Thanksgiving.

Abigail playing at Nana and Paw-Paw's house.

We thank God for our family and friends. We hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and are ready for Christmas!

Our Ladybug and Pumpkin

Here are the pictures from Halloween night. We went to our church's "Cowtown Carnival" and had a blast! Of course, Abigail's costume pretty much fell apart by the end of the night, but she enjoyed pretending to be a ladybug. Reuben didn't quite fill out his costume as much as his big sister had when she wore it two years ago, but he still attracted a lot of attention for being so adorable.

Sibling Harmony

Happy Together.

Both shirts were a gift from Derek and Kari, whose own daughter is about to be a big sister herself! Don't know if it will be a little brother or sister yet, but we'll probably find out in less than 3 weeks when he/she comes into the world!

Hop on Pop! By the way, we're loving our new love seat (pictured here) and couch (Thanks Deanna!).

Life with two kids

Reuben's new favorite toy is a stationary entertainer. He can support weight on his legs now.

The whole family! It's the last picture on our old couch. Barry went to pick up my sister's couch and love seat last weekend. She just moved into a new house and got new furniture. We gave our old couch to some Burmese refugees. By the way, these refugees need lots of help, so if you have anything you'd like to donate, let us know!

The classic 4 month pose. He loves tummy time now, and can even do the airplane. In fact, I have a hard time keeping him on his back sometimes because he can roll over so well. I think he'll be crawling, or at least scooting, soon.

Daddy has been biking Abigail around campus. It's been fun for both!

In other news, Reuben and I had the stomach flu yesterday. We're doing better today, but I'm still feeling weak. Please pray that Barry and Abigail don't catch it. When we're not sick, I feel pretty adjusted to life with two kids. It's a little crazy sometimes trying to balance Abigail's potty training with Reuben's frequent nursings, and it takes us an hour to leave the house. I tried grocery shopping with both the kids and it was a disaster the first time, but the second time went a little better. I'm glad that Abigail has gotten used to having a baby around and I can leave them in the same room for a little bit without worrying that she's going to hurt him. Reuben has been sleeping about 8 to 9 hours the last few nights. Praise God for that answered prayer!

Here come... Abigail!

At 2 years and 4 months old, Abigail is saying all sorts of funny stuff. Her vocabulary and imagination are exploding. As a doting father I wanted to share with you some of her favorite phrases:

• Mait a mimute! ("Wait a minute!")
• All-lll the animals. (she says this randomly, and it really cracks me up because she says it with such finality)
• Here come... Abigail!
• Beek-a-boo
• Mink mamingo (pink flamingo)
• hippopotamus
  
• Here da church... here da [mumbling]... see da puh-eeple! (this is the old game played with the hands of saying, "here's the church, here's the steeple, open it up and see the people")
• Ouch! hurt da booty (she got this from a Dr. Seuss book where someone is stung by a bee on the butt)
• Wake up Tad, we got a big problem! (this is from a kid video)
• ::singing:: One misty, moisty morning, when poudy was da wedder (also from a kid video)
  

10 Years Ago: A Testimony of God's Changing Power

A lot can change in 10 years. I graduated Leander High School in 1997 as Karen Suire -- the valedictorian and voted most academic (pretty nerdy, huh?). I would have told you back then that I was a Christian. I considered myself to be a good person. I even quoted Scripture in my commencement speech. But I didn't really know God or have a commitment to Him.

Having everyone think I was smart didn't make me as happy as I thought it would, so I decided to seek happiness elsewhere. My main goal my freshman year at UT was to date and have lots of fun, all the fun I thought I'd missed out on in high school. As my life spiraled down into rebellion and immorality, I felt empty and lost and lonely as ever. That year made me realize that I had a heart of darkness. I couldn't kid myself any longer -- I was a "sinner in the hands of an angry God," to quote Jonathan Edwards.

All the while, the Holy Spirit was drawing me into a Christian group on campus called Longhorn Life. A very special girl named Pei Lee befriended me and tirelessly ministered to me. (If you're reading this Pei, I want to thank you for stepping out of your comfort zone and investing in my life.) She and the others I met in Longhorn Life were unlike all the other "Christians" I knew -- they lived out their faith with high standards and they genuinely cared for others. What a stark contrast they were to myself! I remember singing "In the Secret" at a home group meeting and how the line hit me, "I want to know you. I want to see your face. I want to know you more." Because of Pei's love and encouragement, and my increasing hunger to know this God she worshipped, I agreed to go to a 10-week Christian camp that summer. It changed my life.

The summer of '98 is the first time I really understood the Gospel and responded in true repentance and faith. I asked Jesus into my heart at a young age, and I think that God had been working on me ever since then, but I don't think I was born again until that summer. My eyes were opened to my state as a lawbreaker before God who could offer nothing to save myself. Romans 6:23 says that my sins earned me death (i.e. eternal separation from God in Hell). A holy and perfect God cannot be around sinners. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). That's the Good News, folks. Jesus Christ -- God in the flesh, the only one who lived the perfect, sinless life -- paid the penalty we deserved by dying on the cross. But not only that, He conquered death, rose again, and now offers us eternal life (see Romans 6:23 again) and we can be with Him in Heaven forevermore! Isn't that amazingly wonderful!? So, how should we respond? We need to repent (tell God we're sorry and turn from our ways to His ways) and put our faith and trust in Jesus alone to save us.

Well, that summer I learned that it's more than an intellectual assent to the facts. One of the speakers challenged us to count the cost of being a disciple (Luke 14:25-33). To follow Jesus, you must commit to let him lead. And the path will be narrow and difficult, but it is worth it for the reward. We're talking about eternity here -- our short lives are but a blip on the radar screen. "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." I'm not saying that our good works save us, but we are only saved by the kind of faith that produces good works (see James 2).

I'd like to say that after I made that commitment to follow Jesus that I never again wavered. No, I still had my struggles. But after that summer, something was different in my heart and life. When I fell into sin, He picked me up again and restored our fellowship. He has proven faithful and true, even when I haven't been. He continues to work on me, to chasten me, to sanctify me. He has poured out his goodness on me. He has satisfied me as with the richest of foods (Psalm 63 -- my favorite psalm!). He has blessed me with a wonderful husband and two precious children. After working for a Bible software company for 3 years, I have even had the opportunity to stay at home with my children while Barry attends seminary. All glory be to God!

Our Cute Kids

Here are some recent photos of our beautiful children so you can see how much they've grown. Abigail is 2 and Reuben is 3 months old.

School Days and Books

I want to be a life-long learner but not a life-long student!

As the fall semester of seminary begins for me I find myself excited and overwhelmed. I am excited by the wisdom and knowledge I am getting through my classes and through the mentoring of my professors. Also, I am excited about growing in character as I try to put into practice what the Lord is teaching me through the Bible. However, I am overwhelmed with the amount of reading and work that goes into my classes. This is why I said I do not want to be a life-long student.

In a couple of weeks I will turn 29 and in a couple of months I will attend my 10-year high school reunion. I feel a little sheepish about telling people that I am still in school. I guess I am worried that they think I am a loser since I don't have a successful, secure job or a big house or other things like that which I could drop casually into a conversation.

But I should really get over any feelings of embarrassment because I am happy about where Jesus is leading me in regards to full-time ministry. (Editorial note: my happiness it not really the determining factor though. Jesus is the leader of my life so I would follow Him anywhere even if it meant pain, sorrow, or death.)

I am hoping that my 10-yr reunion will be a good opportunity to share with my classmates about Jesus and what He has done in my life. I hope to give every one of my classmates a gospel tract and to share the gospel verbally with as many as possible. Those of you who are Christians and are reading this please pray that God will use me to do this on Oct. 12-13. (Those of you who are reading this and are not Christians probably think everything I have said up to this point is pretty strange. Check out THIS and maybe on down the road the type of things I have written above will make sense.)

On a different note, I've noticed that I am addicted to books! I've always liked books, but only recently have I discovered that they are the essential tools of a pastor. The number 1 book of the pastor is the Bible of course. But in studying the Bible it drives the pastor to other books as well: Greek books, Hebrew books, commentaries, background books, books about the Lord's Supper, the Trinity, Heaven, Hell, and so on. And the irony is that all the books that the Bible drives the reader to are then measured by the Bible.

For example, I find myself reading a commentary on the Bible to get insight to what a passage says and then sometimes I find myself disagreeing with the commentary because when I read the passage in the Bible again, it is clearly not saying what the commentator says it said!

In addition to the crazy amount of books that I have to read for this semester, I have created my own list of books that I want to buy and read. You can see it by clicking on my Amazon wish list on the right side of this blog. Check out some of these books for yourselves. Although, I haven't read any of these yet, they have come highly recommended from others. If you are feeling especially generous you can buy one of these for me through the same site.

PS. Time does not allow me to write out all the love and appreciation I have for my friends and family. We recently visited our old church in Austin and it was so good to see again the people we love--you know who you are! Thanks for being our friends.

Red, White, and Reu

I never thought I would love another. After loving my wife and our sweet daughter Abigail, I thought I didn't have any more love to give, but my love for our son Reuben grows day by day as I get to know him better. He is just over a month old now.

Here's our little guy dressed for the 4th of July. Like many Americans, we celebrated Independence day by dressing up in red, white, and blue and having a cookout. In fact, Karen and I went to one set of neighbors for a cookout at lunchtime and then a different set for dinner. I am pretty full of meat today. It was a great day of food and friends and enjoying our family.

I feel like I should say something deep and meaningful about freedom since today is the 4th. Freedom is something we take for granted... soldiers have died... America is the best... You've heard all these sorts of things before, so I will take a different angle.

It is true that Americans (including myself) enjoy amazing freedom that was bought at a costly price that we often take for granted. But let's look beyond that and realize that anything that we have that is good comes from God.

Matthew 5:45 For he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

All people on the earth are blessed by God in some way. We should first of all be thankful to God, the Creator. As the verse above shows, we are living in a time when good and evil people alike are enjoying living, breathing, eating, etc. Even people who don't acknowledge God and commit wicked crimes like rape are often not brought to justice and live relatively comfortable lives. However,

it is appointed for man to die once, and after
that comes judgment... (Hebrews 9:27)

Judgment? That's right all people will be judged by God and He will punish them justly for what they have done in this life because He is a holy and perfect God. No longer will the wicked person sin and flip God off and go on living in comfort. God will send them to Hell.

Woah, Barry, what does this have to do with freedom? Everything. People talk about freedom as being able to do what they want. But people already do whatever they want to everyday. If you don't believe me then watch the nightly news. So that is not where true freedom is found.

Many people turn to religion hoping to be free from drug addictions, poverty, divorce, and other problems in their lives. But no one can be completely insulated from these problems. How many people do you know who die rich, healthy, happily married, free from addictions, and pain? True freedom is not found in solving these problems.

What about guilt? Can you feel it piling up? You lie, steal, swear, hate, lust, and other things you don't want to admit and wish you could get rid of the guilt or those who make you feel guilty. Or perhaps you learn to justify it through lame, just-so, reasoning that always makes YOU the exception to the rule. I know, I have done the same thing.

What if we could be forgiven for our sins? What if we did not have to fear the judgment of a holy God when we die who demands nothing short of perfection? Would that be true freedom? Yes! To be free from the guilt of our sins... To know that a God who can throw you into what is described as an everlasting fire has pardoned you... That would be freedom. No country could take that away. No gunpoint, torture, disease, poverty, could erase that eternal freedom.

But how can this be? The way I described God above sounds like every person who ever lived would fall short of God's perfection and be condemned to Hell.

God himself is the answer. Only He is perfect and could pay the punishment for our sins. Because God is not only holy but also loving, He sent His son, Jesus, to earth to be a man and pay the punishment that scum like you and me deserve. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, could pay the infinite price that mankind owed. Jesus did this as a sacrifice for us by dying on a cross. He was a sinless man and the only one who could pay the penalty for the wrath of God that you deserve. On the third day after dying, Jesus rose from the dead which shows that death had no power over him.

What you need to do to be truly free is to cry out to God and admit that you have broken His laws, you have sinned against Him, your Creator. If you do not believe you have done wrong then you have made a mockery of Jesus. You are saying, "No thanks Jesus, I am perfectly fine without you doing anything for me." That is called self-righteousness. And might I remind you that if you stand before God in your own righteousness you would be justly condemned.

Again, you must cry out to God to ask forgiveness for you sins against Him, and turn from them (with His help) to show you are serious, and trust in Jesus alone for your forgiveness then you will forgiven and free. You will be saved by trusting in Jesus alone for your righteousness, for Jesus is the one who can save you from the God's wrath. Only God can save you from Himself.

Which would you rather have: God's wrath upon you, or God's undeserved mercy?

There is so much more I wish to say but I pray that the God will draw you to Himself even through these few clumsy words of mine. Post a comment if you have any questions for me.

Here are some lines from a patriotic song. Happy 4th of July!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord/
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored/
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword/
His truth is marching on.