Decision Points

One of my favorite things to do is read. Mostly I stick to fiction, kind of a quick escape. Within fiction though I will read anything from a murder mystery by James Patterson, to a love story always set in NC by Nicholas Sparks to the tween favorites about witches, dragons and vampires!

I made a decision recently that I need to read more non- fiction. I've read two great books lately I recommend.

First, a book called Heaven is for real. If you are or aren't a believer it is a great look into the childlike innocence of what I believe is an authentic account of a little boy who met Jesus. The Bible talks a great deal about Jesus and his love of children, and how we should follow with that blind faith of a child. As a Christ follower it was a way to look at heaven in the way Revelation and other parts of the Word describes, but in not so confusing terms as sometime scripture can be. I really had some moments of true joy at what eternal life will hold for us, as well as grounding moments of what I need to be focused on here in this life. Please read it, if anything it will raise questions and challenge you to read your Bible! From the mouth of babes...

The second book was way out of my normal reading... But not my interests. I love history. I wish I knew more, and I also love understanding why people made choices that have affected us in this world, whether it was 1000 years ago, or 8 years ago. Watching history on tv or a movie and gaining insight into why or how wars were fought, why or how pyramids were built, and much more is so neat! Ok I'm kinda a nerd...oh well. I love American history as well as world history. I like reading about explorers, founders, monarchies, presidents and the foundation of our nation intrigue me. While I try to stay somewhat informed on politics and world news it can also be overwhelming for many reasons. Some of it is confusing and most
of it is just plain scary or sad. I am not someone who votes straight republican or democrat. I try to truly look at issues, what a person or group says and figure out who I think i agree with and who i think would do what is right for the whole, not who is being influenced by crooks
or lobbyist. All that said it led me to the book Decision Points by former President Bush. The son, not dad.

In general I've never had to much interest in reading a life story or anything about a president, but this book was different. While I think no president makes perfect decisions I think it has to be one of the hardest jobs ever! You are criticized no matter what you choose and people
say the meanest things. I'm not by any means a George W. fan, but i also don't dislike him. I think he made good and bad choices just like all leaders and humans do... but he wrote the book in a neat way and it intrigued me. Each chapter is based on a controversial decision
he made... such as The Surge, Iraq, Katrina, personnel decisions, 9/11, etc. Whether he is telling the truth or not about every issue, and remembering there are always things as citizens we will not know, and that there are always multiple sides to the same story, hearing
explanations and hearing info we weren't privy to at times helps people understand and see different sides to topics. I found it really
interesting and it truly changed my thoughts on some topics, some good and some bad. It is worth the read. I wish more people would do
this that are leaders.

Also, I wish we as a people would pray more for our leaders. Whether you like them or not, agree or disagree, pray they will make the right choice, pray they will be honest and make good decisions that will benefit the people. After all, at the end of the day they are someone's child, someone's parent, someone's friend and our leader. In the least, they deserve respect.