When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous surgery. What they weren't expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed -- a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.
When I first saw the notice about this book, I was skeptical. I thought, "Not ANOTHER book about Heaven." Don't get me wrong. I am excited that one day I will do go Heaven and see my Savior. My concern was that the book would be a "feel good" book that catered to all religions and faiths. Also, since it was written about a child's trip, I was concerned about how I would react to the circumstances that enabled him to make the trip to Heaven.
Once I got the book and started reading it, I was hooked. The details Colton gives are amazing. He was almost four years old when he had his surgery. He was Andrew's age and was talking about things that four year olds don't know and aren't concerned with. He gave detailed descriptions of Heaven that exactly matched scriptures in the bible (he didn't know how to read at the time). He talked with people who had died before he was born. One of these was his sister that had been miscarried at two months gestation. Another was his great-grandfather who died when Todd, Colton's dad, was a boy. Colton was also concerned that people knew how much God loved them and that they knew Jesus as their Savior.
This book is awesome and I highly recommend it to everyone. It is an easy read with short chapters and interesting details.
Todd Burpo is a pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan, a wrestling coach, a volunteer fireman, and he operates a garage door company with his wife, Sonja, who is also a children's minister, busy pastor's wife, and mom. Colton, now an active 11-year old, has an older sister Cassie and a younger brother Colby. The family lives in Imperial, Nebraska.
Lynn Vincent is the New Your Times bestselling writer of Same King of Different as Me and Going Rogue: An American Life. The author or co-author of nine books, Vincent is a senior writer for WORLD magazine and a lecturer in writing at the King's College in New York City. She lives in San Diego, California.
This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publisher for review without compensation.
1 comment:
Michelle, that does sound like a good book. I was on the blogging tour list but since they've started the new format, I haven't gotten any news about new books. Are you responding via fb or email to request your books? Can you email or fb me to let me know? Thanks and happy reading!
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