Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From Fall to Chris...

2007 -- now that's a cool year. It just sounds good. Good things are bound to happen this year. Like the birth of our baby boy, and the marriage of my brother Gary, who just got engaged last night!

I've uploaded our Fall to Christmas pictures, and one video of Christmas morning, at http://picasaweb.google.com/karenallison/FallToChristmas06. You can even view a slideshow. Check them out!

Oh Boy!

It's a boy!!! We are very excited to find out what it's like to parent a boy. Barry is glad the balance in the house is now even again. He was afraid of being overrun by a house full of girls. I am happy, too, and can't wait to meet our first son, Ruben Ellis Bishop (Ruben in Biblical Hebrew means "Look, a son!" and was the name of Jacob and Leah's first son; Ellis was the name of Barry's much-beloved maternal grandfather; REB were the initials of Barry's father, who went to be with the Lord just over a year ago).

Great Expectation

Abigail is going to be a big sister!!! That's right -- we're expecting a little addition to the Bishop family. Above is a picture of the pregnancy test I took on September 30th. I am now 15 weeks along. It's wonderful being out of the first trimester. I feel great now -- no more morning sickness and lots more energy. I'm just starting to be able to feel the baby move, too.

The baby is due in early to mid June. Abigail will be 2 years and a month at that time. We still can't believe it sometimes -- it is an unexpected blessing! Praise God! He also stopped what seemed like an impending miscarriage at one point -- I'm convinced that God intervened somehow. Let's thank Him for that, too. And pray for a continued healthy pregnancy, without gestational diabetes or anything else, an easy enough labor, and for a smooth adjustment for everyone involved.

My doctor is a little sonogram happy, so I got to have another one at my appointment on Thursday. And guess what? They can already tell the sex of the baby! And it's a ...
(to be continued in the next blog entry... )

In the mean time, go ahead and post your guess.

 

More Movie Madness

Ok, well, I guess "madness" is not really the right word, but I wanted to alliterate. Here's a review of the movies I've gotten to see recently:

1. One Night with the King -- YES, I finally got to see this movie after months of anticipation. And NO, it did not live up to my expectations. I did really enjoy the costumes and the sets, and even the actors were pretty good. My main beef with it is that it deviated from the Bible. I realize that there is artistic license, but in my opinion, they went too far with changing some of the facts. And it doesn't make sense to me because the story as it is written in the Bible is exciting and beautiful. I knew going into it that romance would be added in, but it seems to me that it became the main point of the story. We are left glorying in the love between two people, rather than glorying in the God of the universe who's hand was behind all the "coincidences," and who saved His people from annihilation, thereby preserving the line of the Messiah (Jesus). The book is always better than the movie, so read the book of Esther for yourself, in lieu of or before seeing the movie.
   
2. The Nativity Story -- Go see this movie right away and be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Plus, I heard this movie has had low turn-out at the box office and might be pulled from major theaters. Let us Christians show Hollywood that we'd rather see a movie about the real Christmas rather than "Santa Claus III" or "Unaccompanied Minors" (aka, Home Alone 2 Rip Off). The Nativity Story is a well-done, moving, and awe-inspiring film. I think the major facts are correct, and it's very close to the Bible story. The only part it deviates is that the three kings were likely not to have been there the night Jesus was born. But this is necessary in order to achieve the dramatic effect of the full nativity.
   
3. The Village -- We just saw this one on DVD last night, and it was really good. There's nothing "Christian" about this movie, but it did have an intriguing plot and a point that fits in with a Christian world-view. It showed that it's impossible to have a true utopia, "heaven on earth" if you will, because there is pain and suffering and evil everywhere. Now here's where I go beyond the movie: You can't get away from pain, but you can give it to the Man of Sorrows, who took upon the sins of the world and suffered and died for them. And He is coming back, at an unknown hour, and will establish a new heaven and a new earth, where there will be no pain, suffering, death, or unrighteousness. But for those who do not know Christ, there will be judgment and eternal separation from God in Hell, because it is only through the blood of Christ (who lived the perfect life we could never live and is "God in the flesh") that our sins could be atoned for before a holy God. So please, 1) confess that you are a sinner, that you need Christ's sacrifice to pay the penalty you deserve, and 2) repent (turn from sin and follow God), and 3) trust in Christ alone for salvation (Rom. 10:9-10, Eph. 2:8-9). Ok, sorry to get preachy on you, but you never know who could be reading this and making that life-changing decision right now.