dying to live

for some reason, i've become a reader. this kinda undermines my reputation as a no-fantasy, no-book girl... but i've gotta do something with my spare time, eh?

recently, i've started two books. the first one is c.s. lewis' "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe". yes, i will fully admit that i jumped right on that trendy bandwagon, cause i wanna be able to see the movie with my friends!! plus, i know that mark sidarous will def. be butchering the movie in it's entirety, so i figured i'd want to have some sort of opinion before he forms mine!! :)
the second book is actually considered cheating because it's required for class. it's "we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families". the class started reading this book in, oh, october, but i decided to have fun and cram it in during the last 5 days before the exam. in fact, i didn't even buy it until yesterday! (mom, i hope you're not reading this)

surprisingly, i'm thoroughly enjoying this required read. it's about the rwandan genocide of 1994. although slightly gorey, the auther makes alot of religious parallels that i find interesting. i thought i'd quote a couple lines to give you something to think about over the weekend.... cause i'm sure you don't have much else to do!!

let me set up the scene here: paul is a guy who was not of the "race" being eliminated, but he helped hide those individuals who were. this was extremely dangerous (as is in every genocide).

"paul had devoted all his diverse energies to avoiding death - his own and others' - but what he feared even more than a violent end was living or dying as what he called a 'fool'. regarded in this light, the option of kill or be killed translated into the questions: kill for what? be killed as what? - and posed no great challenge."

therefore we must ask ourselves the question: in trying to avoid 'death', are we living as 'fools'?


"...If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self."

Luke 9:23-25