Waking Up in Heaven

"My name is Crystal McVea, and in 2009 I died and went to heaven.

"How is that for an icebreaker?

"I am sharing that story with you, in this book. I knew God's plan for me was to share what happened with as many people as I could. Now, are there people out there who will think I'm a fraud, or a religious nut, or crazy? I'm sure there are. The truth is, I know my story is hard for some people to believe. I know what I went through is beyond the realm of what we can experience on Earth. But I also know that this book deals with the biggest and most important question of them all: Does God exist? Is there a heaven? What is God's plan for us? Why are we even here?

"I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers. In fact, I still have plenty of questions. Nor am I claiming to be anyone special. But what happened to me did happen, and now I know - after a lifetime of not knowing - that God does exist. He gloriously, beautifully, wonderfully does exist.

"And since God told me to share my whole story, that is what I'm doing - even though much of my story is painful and not always pretty. You will learn as you get deeper into this book that for most of my life I lived with terrible shame and horrible secrets. For the longest time I hated myself and believed I was worthless, and as a result made so many bad choices.

"But it's important to realize who I was in order to understand who I became. Some of what I describe about my time in heaven may be familiar to you from other accounts of people dying and coming back - the quality of the light, the shimmering entranceway, the presence of angels - but some of it probably isn't. Everything I describe is absolutely, 100 percent how I remember it - that has always been my one and only rule for sharing my testimony. Nothing is embellished or exaggerated even the tiniest bit. What I describe is what I experienced, nothing more or less.

"What I can say is that the things God showed me were simply astonishing in their power and impact, and now the reality of God's presence bursts forth from my heart every day. The truth is, I was more alive in those nine minutes than I have ever been in all my years on this Earth. I can only hope that through my descriptions, however inadequate they may be, you will feel even a fraction of the power and the impact and the absolute glory of what I experienced." (pg 4-5).

In the book, Waking Up In Heaven, author Crystal McVea shares her experience not only of her incredible nine minutes in heaven standing alongside God, but also the testimony of her entire life before and after that moment. It is painful to know and read how her childhood was and how often times, these things go on right next door and we never know it's going on. The people we may interact with may have stories similar to Crystals but we can never know unless we are willing to get to know them more and have them peel back the layers of shame and pain to reveal the person they really are on the inside. The book toggles back and forth between the moments of Crystal's experience in Heaven with chronologically walking with her from her childhood to the present through the chapters.

I received Waking Up In Heaven by Crystal McVea and Alex Tresniowski compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publisher for my honest review and received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. I was excited to read this book because it's not just another book about a person's experience of dealing with a life after death encounter, but also incorporates a memoir of Crystal's life. It's not always easy to hear stories that aren't the happily ever after fairy tales, but then again, most our us have stories in our own closets we aren't willing to let anyone see. I applaud Crystal for taking the step to share her life story as well as her after life story with readers. The time she shares of her heavenly experience is one I have always imagined it would be. Difficult to capture in words that pale in their description in human terms and one is which I look forward to sharing in one day. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone who questions if God exists and what Heaven will be like!

For more information about Waking Up In Heaven, Crystal McVea or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Waking Up In Heaven by Crystal McVea

Video clip of Crystal McVea's testimony.

An Invisible Thread

"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break." ~ Ancient Chinese Proverb

"Excuse me, lady, do you have any spare change?"

This was the first thing he said to me, on 56th Street in New York City, right around the corner from Broadway, on a sunny September day.

And when I heard him, I didn't really hear him. His words were part of the clatter, like a car horn or someone yelling from a cab. They were, you could say, just noise - the kind of nuisance New Yorkers learn to tune out. So I walked right by him, as if he wasn't there.

But then - and I'm not sure why I did this - I came back.

I came back and I looked at him, and I realized he was just a boy. Earlier, out of the corner of my eye, I had noticed he was young. But now, looking at him, I saw that he was a child - tiny body, sticks for arms, big round eyes. He wore a burgundy sweater that was smudged and frayed and ratty burgundy sweatpants to match. He had scuffed white sneakers with untied laces, and his fingernails were dirty. But his eyes were bright and there was a general sweetness about him. He was, I would soon learn, eleven years old.

He stretched his palm toward me, and he asked again, "Excuse me, lady, do you have any spare change? I am hungry."

What I said in response may have surprised him, but it really shocked me.

"If you're hungry," I said, "I'll take you to McDonald's and buy you lunch."

"Can I have a cheeseburger?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"How about a Big Mac?"

"That's okay, too."

"How about a Diet Coke?"

"Yes, that's okay."

"Well, how about a thick chocolate shake and French fries?"

I told him he could have anything he wanted. And then I asked if I could join him for lunch.

He thought about it for a second.

"Sure," he finally said.

We had lunch together that day, at McDonald's.

And after that, we got together every Monday. For the next 150 Mondays.

His name is Maurice, and he changed my life.

Thus begins a life changing adventure not only in Maurice's life, but also in Laura Schroff's as well. How one day when you make a small step towards doing something different in your routine, it will alter your life and take you on a different path that will make you a better person than you ever dreamed.

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski is the true story of 11-year-old panhandler, Maurice, and a busy sales executive, Laura Schroff and their unlikely meeting with destiny that fateful day. Much like the movies, The Blind Side, this novel takes the reader into the journey of what that one encounter did for both of their lives to enhance it and make it more than they ever imagined. It also shows us just how similar their lives were in how they grew up and how it made Laura more empathetic to the situation Maurice was in.

Forced into making a living for himself since his mom and family were hooked on drugs and in selling them as well, they didn't have time to look after Maurice. This is where Laura finds him that Monday afternoon, looking for some spare change to get enough to eat and a warm place to kill time before he heads back home in the welfare apartments that he shares at times with twelve other family members.

Laura is a successful ad executive now working the USA today and is single. All she does is spend time working and finding more clients to purchase ads for the newspaper. It isn't until that one Monday that she realizes that there is more to life than simply putting all her time and effort into her job. There is a life outside just waiting and she will at least change one life, one day at a time through her meetings with Maurice on Mondays.

I received this book compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review and LOVED this warm story of hope being revived in both of their lives. Laura doesn't want to rescue Maurice and become his family, she simply wants to make sure that Maurice understands a different view of the world than what he has seen. She takes the time to really know Maurice and in return shares a part of her life that she hasn't shared with anyone, not even close family or friends. They compliment one another very well and the reader is in for a very memorable ride and an opportunity to see that there are no "chance" encounters! Hands down a wonderful 5 out of 5 stars that will restore our faith in humanity again!

For more information about this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski