To Heaven and Back

"To Heaven and Back" by Mary C. Neal, MD

I know, I know, another died and gone to heaven book. I told my dad I was done with these but he gave it to me anyway. I'm glad he did, it was a good one and it wasn't like the others. This book is less about the author's heaven experience and more about what she learned from it. Mary drowned in a kayaking accident and came back to life. When she was under the water she was told that it wasn't her time and she was specifically told the reasons why she was still needed on earth. One of those reasons was to help her family through the death of her son, which was still to come. Because of this experience her life was changed and she had a new understanding of her purpose on earth. She talks about her longing for heaven and how that has stayed with her. I enjoyed the book and the author's perspective. It made me think about my purpose and my desire for things of this earth that are only fleeting and pale in comparison to heaven and the things of God. I pray for a deeper longing of everything God and realize the ache for heaven when things on this earth don't satisfy.

Flight To Heaven

"Flight To Heaven" by Capt. Dale Black

Another one of those died and gone to heaven books. Don't know if you believe it but this is the third one that I have read. It is about a nineteen year old boy who has his flying license and is in a plane with two others. The plane crashes and he is the only survivor. He has extensive injuries. He doesn't understand why he survived and survived only to suffer. God does a lot of miracles healing he broken body and through it and vowes to serve God completely. He tells about the brief time he spent in heaven after first being taken to the hospital. Most of the book is about how the crash changed the direction of his life. He went on to do amazing things for God. Truthfully I was more fascinated with what God did with his life than the heaven experience. "I wasn't going to get faith by simply praying for it. Faith would come by believing and then acting upon what God said in His Word." Sometimes I forget the acting upon part. I do the believing and not a lot happens. I need to remember I have to do something. "Growth can be a lonely place, but it is a necessary place." Growth is sometimes hard but who wants to remain stagnant? "I knew then and have always known since that although I am small, I am connected to a very big God." Yeah for a very big God, I know I need Him.

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven

"The Boy who came back from heaven" by Kevin and Alex Malarkey

This book is about a boy who was in a car accident with his father and should not have lived. He was internally decapitated and went to heaven. I think this is an amazing story of some amazing miracles that God preformed in the life of a young boy. I would like to meet Alex, he seems like a remarkable boy with Gods hand upon him. Whether you believe he actually went to heaven or not this book is full of Gods miracles and inspiring to read. "God's peace was there, available for me, but I had to receive it by rejecting the Accuser and listening to the Voice of Truth." Oh how many times a day do I search for God's peace? I struggle to listen to the Voice of Truth rather than the voice of lies. "It reminded us again that God's work is not limited, isolate, or performed in some kind of spiritual vacuum. Everything He does is interconnected, so that when He blesses one person there is a ripple effect of blessings at large." God longs to bless His people and since we are all His family when one is blessed we all reap rewards. How cool is that? "Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow. Awareness of others is a healthy antidote to this self-focus." Oh how true. Problems become huge when we can't see anything else. I always try and think of others when I become bogged down with the troubles in my life and I am reminded that I am not the only one struggling and so many others need prayer too. "When we are desperate for God, He is everywhere to be found." If only I could be desperate enough or more often. I need help finding God sometimes and usually it is when I am too busy or focusing on my circumstances. But when I take my eyes off of myself and stop I find Him and find Him so near.

Heaven Is For Real

"Heaven Is For Real" by Todd Burpo, Sonja Burpo, Colton Burpo and Lynn Vincent

I read this book in the relaxing setting of my family's cabin in less than 24 hours. I had seen this book and heard about it numerous times. I also read the first chapter via my Kindle. I read '90 Minutes in Heaven' quite some time ago and was intrigued with the thoughts of visiting heaven. This book is a quick read and not very in depth but tells the story of a little boy who had his appendix burst and who went to heaven while on the operating table. What intrigued me the most was that Colton never died but he still told stories of visiting heaven. The little boy proceeds to tell his parents at different times his experience. He visits his great grandfather who had died way before he was born. Although this book lacked any real depth it was interesting and gets the reader to think about what happens when we die and what realities await us. Colton no longer has a fear of death because he knows what is in store. If only we all could have this same lack of fear. And he also truly felt and knew the love Jesus has for him and for all of us. If only we could all live in that reality every day.

Edge of Eternity

"Edge of Eternity" by Randy Alcorn

I wasn't to sure about this book and it took me about 5 chapters to really get into it but then I was fascinated. This book is about a man who gets a glimpse into the afterlife while he is still alive and then gets a second chance at life. It was a bit too much fantasy at first for me but then I realized that it was the authors take on what heaven would be like and I began to appreciate his analogies. "Was death a comma or a period-a pause in our existence or the end?" "There is no such thing as a private moment. The whole cosmos is our audience for everything we do in the dark" This quote resonated with me. It is scary but true. We think that we do things in private or secretly but God is always watching and everything we do has consequences, good or bad, in the next world. "You may or may not separate yourself from your possessions now, but you will surely be separated from them later. Do it now and you'll be free to serve the King." We cannot wholly serve God when we serve our possessions, drop them and serve with out burden. The author used the analogy of a tapestry to how we see our lives. While we are here on earth we see our lives like the back of the tapestry, with knots, frayed edges and lumps. When we get to heaven we are able to look at our lives from the top of the tapestry. We see the design and the beauty. "A short period of difficulty is a small price to pay for a clearer view of your King." If difficulty allows me to see Jesus more clearly than I don't want to complain about difficulties in my life again (although I know I most certainly will).

Postmarked Heaven

"Postmarked Heaven" by Jack Cavanaugh

This book is letters written from four different characters that have died and gone to heaven. They write letters to encourage those of us on earth to keep strong and to keep living for God. I thought it was an interesting concept so that is why I got the book. It lacked a little but it was insightful. It was fun to think about how great it would be to receive a letter from a loved one in heaven and how that truly would encourage me to keep on keeping on. I loved one letter that talked about heavenly treasures. It told of the woman going to Jesus to get her heavenly treasures and there was a room so full of people that she couldn't even see them all. She didn't know most of them or even recognize any of them. But one person stepped up that she remembered and he told his story of how he was encouraged by her. Then another person stepped up to say how they were encouraged by him and one by one they all came forward, every person in that room was her treasure! Because of one kind word all those people were affected and they became her treasure. It made me think about all the "things" we have in this world and how they mean nothing. I need to be more intentional with my words and actions so my treasure room in heaven is overflowing with those that I have touched through Jesus!