In this brief and intriguing testimonial, Gartenmayer recounts his experiences with God. He tells his story of salvation and being visited by the Holy Spirit for the first time, and how his life dramatically changed. He recounts stories of being in the military and working in a jail and the things that God showed him through those experiences. There are stories of being taken up "in spirit" to visit heaven, to see Jesus at the cross, and experiences with angels and demons.
This is not a good book to "review" as such, I would never dare to critique someone's personal testimony. There should be a healthy fear and responsibility associated with thoughts and statements such as, "this is or isn't of God." I believe every word, as I have personally had experiences with God in such ways, as well as hearing many other such stories from around the world of these kind of "interactions." If they happened in the bible, it is possible to experience such things now.
At times I wondered, "who is this book geared toward? Believers or people that don't yet know Jesus?" I would say the answer is both. There is much to glean here. One thing Gartenmayer makes no qualms about is that it is not a teaching book. There are no scriptural references, simply a statement leading the reader to read the bible and find out more about God.
All in all, I would like to thank Gartenmayer for his contribution. One day we will meet, whether on earth or in heaven my friend.
I got this book from BookSneeze for free, contingent on an unbiased review. This book is for sale for $3.99 digital copy on Amazon, great price.
If you are interested in these and other such stories, here are some websites that I would recommend.
Sid Roth, It's Supernatural
Patricia King, XP Media
Heaven is For Real is a true story of a four-year-old's account of heaven in which he encountered a near death experience during surgery.
The beginning: as a parent myself of young children this part was honestly excruciating to read. The moment of Colton's sickness to his emergency surgery after his appendix burst was truly harrowing. I truly honor Todd Burpo (Colton's dad) for his honesty and forthrightness in this account and throughout the book.
Obviously, the details of heaven and Colton's visit there are truly remarkable. I like the story of how this experience brought healing to the family (and I am sure to many others now) after Colton described how Jesus' dad adopted his sister when she died in the womb. There are so many fascinating accounts like this and I don't want to ruin them for you!
The writing itself was very well done. The book had great flow and all the little side stories drew a greater picture of the family and let the readers see them as real people, not fictional characters. I appreciate how the Burpo's tried very hard to keep the integrity of Colton's story by not asking him any leading questions or offering any information. It took years to collect his story in its entirety.
My favorite part of the book was when after years, Colton identified Jesus looking like the painting that
Akiane Kramarik did when she was 8 years old. I have always thought personally that that painting looked most like the Jesus I would imagine. I know someday I will see that precious face, whether it is here on earth or in heaven.
It is a truly remarkable reminder to us all that Heaven is For Real.
An amazing story and a perfect gift book.
This book was provided to me for free by Book Sneeze for an unbiased review.
