My Cat Thinks I'm a Chair

One of the reasons I love this cat, is he likes to be on top of things... LITERALLY!

"Yes, human, you are my throne... get used to it."

I was talking to Chris and working on a computer problem, and my cat decided it needed to lounge upon me... Ahhh where would we be without animals in our lives? I love him!

For some reason, he likes to sit his bum on your head...

Like a leopard, he likes to dangle his paws on either side of you!

"As We Forgive" - A movie you should try to see...

I saw one of the most amazing films last night. It's called "As We Forgive." It's about the genocide in Rwanda that took place in the early 90s. For those of you not familiar with that massacre, or if you've heard about it and don't know what it was all about, I'd like to share some things with you.

As many of you know, I was in the Air Force Intelligence Directorate at Scott AFB, Illinois. I wasn't a dedicated intelligence resource however, but I made briefings which outlined the infrastructure status in countries we may need to move troops or supplies in to. I briefed the four-star general there every week about the roads, railroads, power, natural gas, airports etc. that a certain country possessed which would support our various ships, and aircraft. One of the reasons I opted to leave the Air Force was because of the genocide in Rwanda. I remember everyday having to be subject to CIA and the NSA's briefings on how many people were killed everyday, and of course, we were made to look at all the horrid pictures and video clips of people butchering eachother with machettes, axes, hammers, or even heavy clubs. It was brutal. I was completely losing my faith in man-kind. How could you be so calloused as to hack someone to death with a machette, regardless of sex or age.

Rwanda is in the heart of Africa

The crux of the issuse was this - there are two predominant people groups in Rwanda - the Hutus and the Tutsi tribes. The Hutus had traditionally been the farmers, the laborers and the lower class. They were darker skinned, more heavily lipped, nostrilled, and eyebrowed. Whereas, the Tutsis had lighter skin, finer features, with more of an asian cast to their features, and had traditionally been the ruling class, and had little but contempt for the Hutus. Initially, these two peoples had lived next door to each other for generations, and had many cross-marriages, and relationships. Then suddenly the Hutus were incited to revolt, and initiated the worst barbaric genocide I've ever seen. "Official" reports say that 800,000 Tutsis died, and half again as many Hutus. Over a million people were ruthlessly butchered in the most barbaric way.

Some skulls of the victims of this genocide

Now, here's the most amazing part. The majority of people in Rwanda - on both sides of the argument, are all CHRISTIANS! When all the murderes were rounded up and imprisioned, the jails could not hold them any longer, and so the president of Rwanda released all of the attackers who had confessed their crimes and expressed remourse and sorrow. This shocked the country. Buth then, the miracle happened. The church got actively involved with the process of forgiveness and reconciliation, and have created an atmosphere of peace, cooperation, love and forgiveness that is unparallelled in our history. The country is at peace. The Hutus and the Tutsis are once again living in harmony, and the movie shows how the murderes of families have been reconciled to their victims surviving families, and are spending their lives showing them how sorry they are for their crimes. The Tutsis on the other hand, have had to forgive and accept the Hutus pleas for forgiveness.

I sat there completely stunned at what I watched. One example was of a man who murdered the father, mother, and siblings of one woman's family, literally leaving her alone in the world. The show followed his confession, and his asking to be forgiven, and how hard it was for the gal to accept it. She was angry... But she said that she kept praying that the Lord would teach her to love and forgive this man who had brutally murdered her ENTIRE family. Now the man has built her a house, and is helping her with her farming, and has made sure that she is never in want. They openly love eachother, and give the praise to the Lord for their reconciliation.

The amazing part of it all is that the president of the country said flat out that had they not all trusted in the mercy and grace of the Lord to get them through this time, the country would still be divided. The whole show basically was one long documentary on REAL CHRISTIANITY. How many of us in this country could find it in ourselves, or have even been exposed to this kind of radical forgiveness... how many of us could do it? I don't believe I could. I was moved to tears to see the extend of God's healing power and the power of forgiveness.

I HIGHLY recommend you find a way to watch this show. I saw it on channel 115 on cable - PBS's "WORLD" channel... look and see if it may be broadcast again... it is ABSOLUTELY WORTH seeing more than once!

You can find the website here.

Check it out if you can!

I've just had a brush with eternity!

Dramatic title, huh?

What I'm talking about though, is the wonderful Father's Day gift I received from my beloved and my youngest, Zach! They blessed me with two months of oil-painting lessons from one of Utah's best artists - She is currently painting all the portraits of the Federal Judges in Utah!

Anyway, I've always wanted to paint in oils! I've painted a lot in watercolors, and done a lot of digital stuff, but always dreamed of learning to paint in oils. So, the first night was great. Our assignment was to paint a tree. We were shown many different styles of trees done by other artists to get ideas, and then we were cut loose!

I had to laugh while I was doing this... I was imagining Bob Rosse (sp?) putting a "happy little branch here, and maybe his little friend goes there..." and realized I was doing the same thing. I suddenly became very self-conscious and reflected on how I was acting... I peeked around the class and was relieved to see there were other "Rosse-ites" in the class as many of them appeared to be putting their "happy little something or others" here and there, and following it up with a "lovely puffy cloud" swish, followed by a self-approving little nod. I WAS NOT ALONE! I finished my tree... with some embellishments, and had time to brush in an awesome background on a new canvas for next week's class... it's a wonderful gradation in red... and the brush strokes that make oils so wonderful, are fascinating to me... any way, I gush...

Anyway, I thought, if for no other reason than my own self-amusement and interest, that I would post my assignments here, and hope for feedback? And to record any improvements... IF they come! Check them out!

Red fade brush stroke details

Assignment #1: Paint a tree... It turned out to be an old oak with Spanish moss...

Another view of the red fade and brush strokes

Detail of the tree... No, they're not fence posts...

Tree painting shown from a distance for perspective

A very fast test painting in Corel Painter X - first time using the Bamboo Wacom Tab

Going forward, I hope I can resist the urge to remove my ear!

Van Gogh's Starry Night

My Father's Day this year was amazing. My beloved and my youngest son got together and purchased two months of oil painting classes for me! They start tomorrow! I have always wanted to paint in oils, but never had the money or the self-confidence to pick it up and try. I've always worked in watercolors - they make more sense to me, but with oils you can do so much more!

I have dreamed about oil painting, and now I'm going to have the chance to learn how. Something inside of me tells me that I'm going to really like it, and that it will make sense to me, and that I'll keep painting for life.

Thank you so much family for your love and your thoughtfulness! I won't let you down!

Now, where did I put that 10W-30? Let's get painting!