I had heard from several folks that the book “Heaven is for Real” by Todd Burpo, was an awesome book. and that I needed to read it. I am rarely moved to immediately buy a book when someone says this, as my stack of “to reads” is many. The way I choose the next book to be read usually goes like this: It’s the middle of the night, my husband is asleep, I flip on the light and say, “Close your eyes, I’m looking for a book.” I then go through several and wait for one to speak to me. After that, I am the books and the book is mine.
I had finished reading “90 Minutes in Heaven” by Don Piper. The message and info were good, but, in my opinion, the book did not flow very well. That was a “read” struggle for me. But a book, like a person, is placed in your hands for a time in your life because you need it. Maybe for yourself or maybe to help someone else. Maybe to solve a question or a problem or to simply make you laugh. But, I finally decided it was time for “Heaven is for Real”. Putting on my skeptical face, I started the book. I was immediately taken in and just ate the book up in a couple of readings. It made me laugh, think, and cry. But mostly, it made me relive a crisis in our young married life.
In the book, Colton, the little boy who visited heaven, only relayed small bits of information at a time about his visit there. His parents did not force it, but listened when he did recall things to help him and them process it. One such conversation was when he told his mother he knew he had two sisters, not one. He knew that he had a sister in heaven that had died in her tummy. And here is the conversation that followed:
Colton ~ “ It’s okay, Mommy. She’s okay. God adopted her.” Mom ~ “Don’t you mean Jesus adopted her? Colton ~ “No, Mommy. His Dad did.” At this point the mom realizes her son just said SHE, and that they had a daughter in heaven. Colton went on to describe who she looked like. And then he said, “She doesn’t have a name. You guys didn’t name her.” The mom is thinking, ‘How could he know THAT?’ Mom ~ “You are right, Colton. We didn’t even know she was a she.” Colton replied, “ Yeah, she said she just can’t wait for you and Daddy to get to heaven.”
Twenty-seven years ago, we lost a baby to a miscarriage. Raegan was the name we had chosen for our little girl. And I just kept reading the above passage over and over and saying to myself, “but our little girl has a name and she is waiting ever so patiently for us.”
Yes, I highly recommend this book. It makes you kinda homesick for a place you’ve never been. While I am in no hurry to get to heaven, when my day does arrive, I will be thrilled knowing who is waiting there for me. And I truly believe that Heaven is for Real.
stuff i tell my sister 
Hey Paula, my sister has read this book and was truly touched by it as well…now that you’ve talked about it, it makes me wanna buy it and read it!! Thanks for sharing it!
Let me know what you think after you read it, Juliana. Pretty inspiring ~
It is an amazing book Mom. I can’t wait to see my big sister.
♥♥♥ Thanks for pushing me to read it! Or maybe that was Angie…. 😉 ♥
I HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS ALSO AND LIKE YOU THOUGHT HEAVEN IS FOR REAL WAS A WONDERFUL READ. COLTON IS SO AWESOME TELLING HIS STORY LIKE IT WAS A NORMAL ACT THAT HAPPENS IN EVERYONE LIFE. TELLS SO MUCH ABOUT THE BEAUTY THAT AWAITS EACH OF US.
I agree, Linda….we have much to look forward to ~
I think I saw an interview about this little boy…I was in awe listening to his story. Need to get this book and can’t wait to see my son!
Read it, Darla….it will give you hope and reassurance~ ♥ and it’s through the voice and eyes of a child, which makes it so simple.
A woman at church was talking about this book, I asked her is she would bring it the following Sunday so that I could read it, and she said that she would. Monday, when I got home from work, there was a book stuck in my front door, and my neighbor came out and said “I thought you might be interested in reading that book, so I put it in your door for you.” When I took the book out of the front door to open it, I noticed what book it was….the same one that the woman at church was talking about, and was bringing that following Sunday. I started laughing and told my next door neighbor what was so funny regarding that whole situation. For some reason, I felt like the Lord was telling me to read the book NOW, not later. So after I put my little one to bed that night, I sat down and started reading, and like you Paula, it made me think, cry, and think some more…WOW…I was so amazed with this little boy who had really went to heaven and actually saw God and spoke with him! I had told my older son about that book, and said that I thought he would really like it and maybe he should read it. After a couple of days, he did read it, and we sat down to talk about it. That was amazing in itself, because my 17 yr old doesn’t really like to read any books!! I very happy that he sat down and actually read it, and that we were able to sit down and actually talk about it. I is an AMAZING book, and I would recommend that everybody reads it!!! Thank you Paula for sharing your experience in reading it!!!
Weird and awesome….sounds like it was really meant for you to read! And WAY cool that your kiddo read it too, there’s a LOT of discussion that can go with this. Thanks for sharing!