END OF THE YEAR NOTES

Happy almost New Year everyone! We had a very blessed Christmas this year. My husband's parents spent the whole week with us. My mil and I went to Kohl's several times. This is her favorite store. We also had fun doing other things, like watching movies. Every time my in-laws are down here for Christmas we end up watching A Christmas Story. I think every year TBS runs a 24 hour marathon of this movie. While we didn't ever actually sit down and watch the whole thing from beginning to end, we did watch the ending several times because it's sooo funny. If you've never seen this movie let me sketch the background of it for you. It's set in 1940s mid America. Ralphie lives with his parents and younger brother and all he wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun. Throughout the movie you hear Ralphie narrating the story from his future adult perspective. The way he tells this story and the serious tones he uses, along with the huge vocabulary is hilarious. I won't ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it but I have to say something about the ending. Their Christmas turkey is ruined (I won't say how) and so they go out to eat on Christmas day at the only restaurant that's open, a Chinese restaurant. The owner is so gracious and supplies them with their own personal choir to sing Deck the Halls. ROTFL!!!!!! You have to see this movie.
Another movie we so enjoyed watching was Fiddler on the Roof. My in-laws received it for Christmas from their son and his new wife who are missionaries in Albania. We miss them a lot especially because I couldn't go to the wedding which was in Belarus. Anyway, we really liked this movie as well. It was the classic version with Topol playing Tevia. The songs, even though I had heard them many times, were so great in the context of the movie. And the ending was really sad. But for days afterward, you could hear someone in the house singing, "Tradition, tradion....tradition!"

Christmas morning was one of the best we've had. Great food, great company and the kids weren't too antsy to open their gifts. We're still trying to set up kid #2's fish tank. This is more expensive than I thought at first. Oh well, it's a trial run for buying a dog for kid #1 next Christmas.

We're laying low for New Year's Eve. We've never been ones to go out and party all night long. For one thing, it's REALLY hard to get a sitter for that night. So the last couple years we've gotten together with a certain couple and sat up playing games or watching movies and eating munchies until midnight. We'll do the same this year.



TO ESV OR NOT TO ESV (?)

I've been excited about the English Standard Version ever since I heard about it from Ligonier and skimmed a book about bible translation that was written by one of the people who put the translation together. But I've been reluctant to buy a new Bible because my current one is so precious to me. I'm the kind who writes all over her Bible and circles and dates verses that God has used in my life. Plus I can find almost anything in it because I have a sort of photographic memory. For example, I can remember where a certain verse or passage is because I can picture the page in my mind. Or I remember it was on the left hand side of the page or the right hand side. By the way, I have NASB. I have liked this translation and in looking at certain passages in the ESV it doesn't seem that much different.

Everything I've read about the ESV has been positive. The fact that Ligonier has been using it in Tabletalk for the past year or so has, in my mind, put its qualifications beyond reproach. But I recently read the first negative comments about it. If you subscribe to the Bluedorns' email loop you may have read Harvey's review of the ESV. It was in general, not positive. He criticizes the translation from a couple angles. He says that it has a poor textual basis. This means that the manuscripts it relies upon are not the most accurate. He also says that it isn't literal enough to satisfy him. He recommends the NKJV because it relies on more accurate manuscripts.

Question: If this is true then why has Ligonier spent a bunch of money recommending this version and marketing it? Why did they switch from using NKJV in Tabletalk to using ESV? I am confused. I respect Harvey Bluedorn's opinion, but is he a Greek scholar? What are his credentials? Are they equal to those at Ligonier? Have any of you heard of this? What is your opinion? For now I'm going to stick with NASB.

If you want to read all of Harvey's comments go to www.triviumpursuit.com/list/issues/332.php.

Blessings.