Heaven Changes Everything: Living Every Day with Eternity in Mind by Todd and Sonia Burpo is a devotional that builds on the story of Todd Burpos’s bestseller Heaven is for Real, which details the Burpos’ son Colton’s experiences during a near death experience. There are 42 entries which are written by one or both of the Burpos that follow the same format. Each chapter opens with a brief excerpt from Heaven is For Real, followed by a narrative that builds on the principles of the excerpt or discusses events that have happened since the publication of the first book, a thought to contemplate and finally a Bible verse linked to the devotional’s main point. The topics covered vary from serving, grieving, the afterlife, evangelism, prayer and many more.
As I read though this devotional, I found that it would be what most would expect from a devotional reader with brief chapters that can be mulled over. I believe that this offering would be of interest to two audiences. First, fans of Heaven is For Real will likely enjoy this text since the Burpos expand on stories within the original book and share stories from their life about what has happened since. The second audience is those who are wrestling with grieving. Having lost a child to heaven, and have him returned they speak of loss in a different way than others that did not walk through journey. Additionally, as a pastor and his wife they have seen and helped others in their periods of loss. Overall Heaven Changes Everything is a typical devotional that fans of Heaven is For Real will likely pick up to enlarge the story of the Burpo family.
Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson
