Between Heaven And The Real World

For decades, Steven Curtis Chapman's music and message have brought hope and inspiration to millions around the world. Now, for the first time, Steven openly shares the experiences that have shaped him, his faith, and his music in a life that has included incredible highs and faith-shaking lows. Readers will be captivated by this exclusive look into Steven's childhood and challenging family dynamic growing up, how that led to music and early days on the road, his wild ride to the top of the charts, his relationship with wife Mary Beth, and the growth of their family through births and adoptions. In addition to inside stories from his days of youth to his notable career, including the background to some of his best-loved songs, readers will walk with Steven down the devastating road of loss after the tragic death of five-year-old daughter Maria. And they'll experience his return to the stage after doubting he could ever sing again. Poignant, gut-wrenchingly honest, yet always hopeful, Steven offers no sugary solutions to life's toughest questions. Yet out of the brokenness, he continues to trust God to one day fix what is unfixable in this life. This backstage look at the down-to-earth superstar they've come to love will touch fans' lives and fill their hearts with hope. Includes black-and-white photos throughout.

In August in Rio Seco, California, the ground is too hard to bury a body. But Glorette Picard is dead, and across the canal, out in the orange groves, they’ll gather shovels and pickaxes and soak the dirt until they can lay her coffin down. First, someone needs to find her son Victor, who memorizes SAT words to avoid the guys selling rock, and someone needs to tell her uncle Enrique, who will be the one to hunt down her killer, and someone needs to brush out her perfect crown of hair and paint her cracked toenails. As the residents of this dry-creek town prepare to bury their own, it becomes clear that Glorette’s life and death are deeply entangled with the dark history of the city and the untouchable beauty that, finally, killed her.

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven. Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear. Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

“Between Heaven and Mirth will make any reader smile. . . . Father Martin reminds us that happiness is the good God’s own goal for us.” —Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York From The Colbert Report’s “official chaplain” James Martin, SJ, author of the New York Times bestselling The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, comes a revolutionary look at how joy, humor, and laughter can change our lives and save our spirits. A Jesuit priest with a busy media ministry, Martin understands the intersections between spirituality and daily life. In Between Heaven and Mirth, he uses scriptural passages, the lives of the saints, the spiritual teachings of other traditions, and his own personal reflections to show us why joy is the inevitable result of faith, because a healthy spirituality and a healthy sense of humor go hand-in-hand with God's great plan for humankind.

Searching for Heaven in the Real World A Sociological Discussion of Conversion in the Arab World While adjusting to a new identity is akin to adjusting to a new set of skin, even more difficult is realising that this new skin may not be as comfortable or as pleasant as the old one. In Searching for Heaven in the Real World, Kathryn Kraft explores the breadth of psychological and societal issues faced by Arab Muslims after making a decision to adopt a faith in Christ or Christianity, investigating some of the most surprising and significant challenges new believers face. Arab Muslims arrive at a point of new faith with great expectations. With such high hopes for what they will experience in their new identity, they are bound to encounter a reality that is different. They need to invest a great deal of emotional energy in addressing their expectations and what they actually encounter. Even so, those who stay the course of faith usually hold on to their dreams, believing that heaven is not only for the afterlife but it is for the real world as well.

A moving autobiographical testament to the power of divine love and forgiveness, Waking Up in Heaven shares the message of hope, healing, and compassion McVea brought back from her brush with God.

The New York Times bestselling authors of Lessons from the Light offer a new and provocative understanding of heaven and how messages from the afterlife can assist you in the here and now. We live in a world of near-universal acceptance that once our lives on the earth come to an end we continue to a greater world. Whether that destination is called "Heaven," "Nirvana," or simply "The Other Side," tradition teaches us that there is, in most cases, a fairy-tale ending to life, a place where joy and harmony reigns supreme. Yet, as this book attests there is still more to heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophies. George Anderson is considered by many to be the greatest medium living today. After more than 50 years of hearing from souls who have transitioned to the world hereafter, he is constantly reminded by those who have passed that our preconceived notions of this life—and the next—aren’t always accurate. The nine stories in this book illuminate times when unusual circumstances such as sudden death, unresolved emotions, abusive relationships, and painful family dynamics, make it necessary for the dead and the living to find new doors to healing. In session with Anderson, survivors and those who have passed meet again in encounters that are profound, bittersweet, highly-emotional and sometimes, downright, funny. What we learn is that there are little-known spiritual treasures—and lessons to be learned—about heaven and earth that can restore, revitalize, and make new what was once broken. Life Between Heaven and Earth is an inspiring, thought-provoking, path-changing work, one that affirms that no matter how complicated a circumstance is, resolution, peace and acceptance can be found in deep and remarkable ways.

#1 New York Times bestseller with more than 11 million copies sold! When 4-year-old Colton Burpo emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven, his family doesn’t know what to believe. Heaven is For Real details what Colton saw and his family’s journey towards accepting their young son had visited the afterlife. “Do you remember the hospital, Colton?” Sonja said. “Yes, mommy, I remember,” he said. “That’s where the angels sang to me.” Colton told his parents he left his body during an emergency surgery–and proved that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital during his operation. He talked of visiting heaven and described events that happened before he was born and how he spoke with family members he’d never met. Colton also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, even though he had not yet learned to read. With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton recounts his visit to heaven, describing: Meeting long-departed family members Jesus, the angels, how “really, really big” God is, and how much God loves us How Jesus called Todd, Colton’s father, to be a pastor The Battle of Armageddon Retold by his father, but using Colton’s uniquely simple words, Heaven Is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, “Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses.” Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child. Praise for Heaven is for Real: “A beautifully written glimpse into heaven that will encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe.” —Ron Hall, coauthor of Same Kind of Different as Me