Do you Believe Heaven is for Real?

                                          Heaven Is For Real
                                          Excerpt from book

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus Christ


                                               Child of God
This past Sunday I was browsing my favorite smelling bookstore, B&N, and spotted a bright yellow cover from a short distance away and knew exactly what book I was about to pick up, smell and thumb through...Uh Huh, just like I thought(and hoped)...it was Heaven Is For Real.  I had already read a few reviews and the synopsis on this book and decided to add to my "to-read" list a few weeks ago. I'm a BIG front cover book lover, so the title and boy on the cover alone intrigued me...but I had no idea how reading it would effect me.

These past few months have been somewhat of a whirlwind for me.  I've been working 3 different types of part-time jobs(2 that require me to leave the homefront)...balancing family/spouse time...advertising...and trying to remodel my beauty/book boutique.  So, at no surprise at all I'm sure...I've become somewhat overwhelmed...and have not spent quiet time with my creator.  This is a big No No for me...I know this truth...I know this about me...but yet I have allowed "life" to take precedence.  I do belong to a church in my hometown. I do try to visit regularly, but my excuse of Sunday being my only day off, I justify not going as I should. I also attend a weekly bible study group for women called "Dare To Believe" on Monday evenings...and do attend regularly.  I am drawn to Jesus speaking through Mrs. Vicki and the beautiful ladies that attend with me...It is sweet fellowship.  But, what I have been lacking in these past few months is "personal time" with Jesus. So, I decided to take the book to work with me the next day at Indoor Beach Tanning Salon.  Usually, the place is hopping with customers all day long around this time of year. But, on that day I had some down time...and that was a blessing for me...I dived right into the book. By the time I had left the tanning salon for the day I had 75% of the book finished...and couldn't wait till supper was complete, family fed, animals fed, some laundry done, dishes put in the dishwasher...well, you get the picture. I couldn't wait to finish the book that evening.  So, I did and went to bed in thought.

I don't think I can articulate what I got from reading this book. I feel some books aren't meant to be put into words...some books need to be read and experienced.  But, what I can share with you is an exerpt that spoke to me:

When the disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus called a little boy from the crowd and had him stand among them as an example.  "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Whoever humbles himself like this child...
What is childlike humility? It's not the lack of intelligence but the lack of guile.  The lack of an agenda.  It's that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think.  The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven.  It is the opposite of ignorance--it is intellectual honesty; to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard.

I do believe in this book...I do believe it has changed the way I think of eternity.

To put it plainly...It was a convincing comfort read for me. 

Most days, I do carry on in my daily walk with a "child-like" heart.  Most days, I do have a "child-like" spirit.  But yet, most of my days lately have been over-booked, over-stimulated, and over-worked.  Just like a child, I need a reminder...a reminder to regroup, rethink, and reprioritize.
 
Heaven Is For Real deepened my Faith~ in an elementary way.  The way God intends for us to believe.
And I'm grateful.


Interested in finding out what you may think about this book and Colton's astounding trip to Heaven and Back?
IF so, please stop by my Backyard Beauty and Book Boutique to take home a copy today.

Blessings!