There are books and then there are BOOKS. I just finished one of those BOOKS — a book that really made me stop and think. And think hard. And for my shallow intellect, that was an amazing feat.

The book was Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It is her story of surviving the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. In a bathroom that was 3 feet wide by 4 feet long. With 7 other women. For 91 days. It’s a story of how she was strengthened and supported by her faith in God. And in the end, that faith allowed her to personally visit the man who killed her mother and brother and to forgive him.

How strong would my faith be? Would I succumb to the darkness of fear and despair that Immaculee struggled to overcome? Could I maintain hope — and sanity? And could I do the ultimate — overcome feelings of hatred and a desire to kill those who were the killers of the my family and friends and find forgiveness in my heart?

I would highly recommend this book. But. Be forewarned. What the Hutus did to the Tutsis was horrific. The writing is such that you can see those details in your mind’s eye — yet the details are not explained in grim and gruesome living color as a movie show would display. While this may sound odd, the horror is tactfully and artistically written about.

60 minutes did a story about Immaculee. To get an small idea of what the genocide was like and to see her tell part of her story, go to http://www.immaculee.com. I highly recommend that you view this.

What chills my soul to the very core is this question: Why did the world, and especially the United States , do nothing to come to the aid and rescue of the Tutsis? While we may not have hefted a machete to mutilate and kill the Tutsis of Rwanda, we are no less guilty because of our lack of action.

May the Tutsis find forgiveness in their souls for us.

I stumbled upon a blog by a grandmother who has great ideas! I suggest that you visit her page From Mom to Grandma for some wonderful ideas.

I am back from the conference . . . and am feeling overwhelmed with things to do to catch up from being gone so much the last 2 months. Dust, cobwebs, and dirty floors are the current vogue style at my home . . . Martha Stewart would be proud of the new look that I have developed . . . .

Don’t give up on me. I WILL get those fun songs filmed . . . sometime . . . .

Digi-Gram

Our family spent this past week-end at Bear Lake, Utah.  Had a great time!  One of my favorite activities was learning (or trying to learn) a new song to sing around the campfire with the family.

Our future daughter-in-law, Lisa, shared a song with our family that I just love!  (I can’t wait to meet her mother because it sounds like she knows TONS of those fun songs!!!)  I hope that I’ve convinced Lisa and Tyler to video tape themselves singing it so that I can post it to this site.

I’ve also remember a couple of other songs that we would sing with our children when we went camping.  When I get a moment, I will video tape those songs (they have actions) and post them here.

I’m leaving tomorrow for another conference for work and will be gone through Friday.  Then, Saturday is our niece’s wedding.  So it will probably be a whole week before I can get anything filmed.

‘Til then,
Digi-Gram

In an earlier post, I mentioned riding a zip line in Costa Rica. What a great adventure that was!!!! Here is a picture of my experience. Click on it to see a larger sized picture.

On the 4th of July, we had a family party at my sister-in-law’s home. They have all sorts of fun activities do to there — one of which is a homemade zip line. Here’s a picture of THAT experience. Not quite what it was like in Costa Rica . . . Click on the picture to see a larger version.

My left arm sure looks weird! It’s almost as if it is convoluted into an abnormal angle. . . .

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July (for those of my readers who reside in the United States)!

Digi-Gram