Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns
If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…
I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…
I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…
Blogger’s note: This review published in 2011. In January 2015, Alex Malarkey recanted his story and the book was pulled from shelves. You can read more about that here. I’m leaving the review up despite my initial skepticism and the recall of the book.
Kevin Malarkey, with the help of his son Alex, wrote a book. It’s the story of Alex’s time in heaven and some of the revelations he was given by God Himself after Kevin and Alex were in a horrific car accident.
I will admit: I was skeptical. I often am of near-death experience stories and accounts by those who have seen the unseen. That their family name is Malarkey did not help my skepticism.
After reading The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, however, I can say that even if their last name was Truth or Truestory, I could not have believed them more. 
It’s arrogance, really, and pride, for me to be skeptical of their experience. I was caught up in their faith as I read, challenged in my own walk with the Lord, and humbled by circumstances I think are insurmountable or overwhelming. This family is an inspiration, and it’s not because they walked through this trial perfectly without fear or doubt but because they chose to believe God even when the odds, the doctors and the facts offered them little to no hope.
The Malarkeys are honest about their struggles and weaknesses. Alex, who was 6 at the time of the accident in 2004, was even reluctant to write the book because he didn’t want people to exalt him above God. Theirs is a story of hope and encouragement. And while they have a remarkable story of Alex being in heaven, talking with God and having the ability to see angels, they don’t expect you to take only their word for it. The Bible is their source of truth, not Alex’s experience, and everything he tells them, they filter through Scripture.
His story is not the only one of its kind. I’ve read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. I have not read Heaven is For Real by the Burpo family.
It’s easy to dismiss stories such as these as incredible. It’s much harder to accept that God is making Himself known to people in a variety of ways, for His purpose, even in ways that seem unbelievable.
Matters of faith are not always black and white, scientific or tangible; that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.
Kevin Malarkey
The Malarkeys’ story is fantastic. When you think about it, so are the stories in the Bible. Skeptics of the Christian faith may not be changed by reading this book, but Christians can be encouraged by it.
Check out the first chapter here. And stay tuned for a few more book reviews this week. The Tyndale Summer Reading Program wraps up at the end of the month, and I’m sprinting to the finish.
It’s not often that I’m totally committed to a novel in the first few pages. When a friend loaned me Susan May Warren’s My Foolish Heart, I agreed to read it, like a couple of others this summer, for the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. For that reason, alone, I usually give the book more time to grow on me, or I resolve to endure it so that it will count towards the program.
Warren had me at hello. I’d barely finished the first chapter and I’d already laughed and was pulling for Isadora Presley to come out a heroine at the end. I finished the whole book on a recent driving trip from Illinois to Pennsylvania.
Click here for the first chapter to see what I’m talking about. 
My Foolish Heart tackles themes I haven’t seen much or at all in Christian fiction, namely agoraphobia and physical disability. Set in the world of high school football in the Midwest, My Foolish Heart, also paints a picture of transformation and redemption while not feeling like the inclusion of Scripture is forced or an afterthought.
Believable — imperfect and identifiable — characters, descriptive language, real struggles, and a beautifully painted setting combine to make My Foolish Heart an enjoyable escape.
This was my first time reading anything Warren has written. I’ll be back for more!