The Nativity Story and Jot Update

Tim wrote:
Dear Friends,

Thanks so very much for covering our family in prayer. We deeply appreciate your efforts and concerns.

Jot and I saw several doctors earlier today with good result. In a nutshell, the bleeding Jot experienced in his eye was explained pretty easily. His long standing condition (venous lymphatic malformation) can occasionally cause blood to spread to various neighboring tissues around his body. This time the blood presented itself in the layers of the left eye. A little bit of blood is released and then compressed between the clear covering of the eye and the white portion of the eye. A small amount of blood looks terrible but will be reabsorbed by the body over time. There is no immediate danger or concern with this issue. Watch and wait is our current mode.

The MRI results were reviewed today. The optic nerve is supported and surrounded by the proper type of tissues and does not appear to be compressed at all. That is just about the best we could have hoped for in this case. Jot may experience some more bleeding episodes from time to time, but they are not a very, very serious concern presently. This may change over the next few months as we watch and wait. An additional MRI is tentatively planned for sometime in a few months.

For now, Jot is permitted to ride most of the fun stuff at Disney World with the exception of really intense stuff like super big roller coasters and Mission Space.

Again, please accept our most sincere thanks for your prayers and concerns over the last week or so. It is a privilege to be a part of the body of Christ and receive His love through your lives.

Tim and Jen Bergeron

Now about The Nativity Story ...wow! I really enjoyed this movie. Tim and I went and saw it (at the ONLY showtime) last night. One review I read said it focused too much on Mary??? Umm, how can the story of Jesus' birth NOT include a lot about Mary? In truth, there was only one small thing that could have been criticized and that is that they had the wise men at the stable at the time of the birth, which is sort of inaccurate. But you know what? to show the family waiting a few years for the wise men to appear would have made the movie really long! Honesty, to me it wasn't a big thing at all, it made it a nice picture ending and didn't distract from the main point of the story in my opinion. I thought the casting was super and really liked the characters a lot. For one thing, they were actually Israeli-looking...not a blonde in the bunch (contrary to many pictures we see of Jesus and Mary!) My favorite parts I think were Mary and Joseph's conversations on their travels to Bethlehem. In one, Mary asked Joseph to tell her about his dream. Joseph details that the angel told him to not be afraid and that the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit, etc. Mary then asks Joseph, "So are you afraid?" to which he replies "Yes, are you?". She says, "Yes." It was so realistic. I think they did a great job of showing how real these people were... the relationship of Mary and her parents....their response to their pregnant daughter. Lots of neat details that I was pleased to see. I was as touched by this movie as I was by The Passion, really. I think mostly because of the fearfulness and almost despair Mary seemed to feel at times. I could relate. The pains she felt at disappointing people and not being understood. We all can see ourselves in that. And even Joseph and his doubts. At one point he wonders aloud, "Will I be able to teach him anything?" Human emotions... from real human beings walking in faith. I think we too often think Mary went through her life skipping for joy that she was called to this enormous responsibility, when I believe more often she was unsure, confused and feeling alone. Anyhow, for what it's worth, I give it a thumbs up. I think it is one to have in our DVD collection of Christmas movies. Go see it :) I wouldn't recommend it for young children though. Herod's orders to kill all the young boys of Bethlehem is pretty powerful as is Rome's treatment of the Israelites. There are also some images of crucified people and violence.