4. Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Flowers
Chapter 2 The Fruit
Chapter 3 The Houses
Chapter 4 The People
Chapter 5 The Water
Chapter 6 A Place of Happiness
Chapter 7 Jesus
Chapter 8 Jesus is Coming Soon
Chapter 9 You Have a Job to Do
Chapter 10 God is Light
Chapter 11 More to Come
ENDNOTES
AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION
5.
6. Introduction
Have you ever thought about heaven? Have you ever looked up toward the sky and wondered where
heaven was? Did you think that it must be just above the sky, right on the other side of those clouds
straight above your head?
I have thought on those things. Even though I can’t tell you exactly where heaven is, I can tell you
that I know it is real. It is as real as the nose on your face.
Touch your nose. Do you feel the shape of it? Does your body sense your finger touching your
nose? Look in the mirror. Can you see your nose?
Heaven is just that real. In fact, it’s MORE real because heaven was there before earth was ever
created. Heaven is God’s home and where His throne is. He doesn’t live there in heaven by Himself.
He has lots of angels living there. There are so many angels living there that neither you nor I can
count them.
God also has lots of people living there with Him. People who have made Jesus Christ Lord of
their lives are living there right now. How did these people get there? Their bodies died on this earth,
and because they had made Jesus their Lord and Savior, they were immediately taken to live with
Jesus and Father God in heaven.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 1 through 10 in the New Testament tell us something
about the experience of dying and going to heaven. The Apostle Paul wrote this book and he makes the
statement of how when we are absent from our bodies, we are present with the Lord. He knew a lot
about spiritual things because the Holy Spirit taught him. The Holy Spirit taught him about how when
our bodies die, if we are Christians, we are immediately taken to heaven. There isn’t an in-between
place. The angels are sent to take us straight to heaven.
I want to share with you some things about heaven. I believe these things will excite you just as
they did me many years ago when I first started to learn about heaven. How did I learn this
information? I studied God’s Word, and I also read true stories of people who were actually allowed to
visit heaven and return to earth to tell about it.
I can say with absolute confidence, in other words, I’m very sure, that you are going to love
heaven. Your Heavenly Father and Jesus have prepared it for you. You will go there one day just as I
will. We may even meet on one of those golden streets and you can tell me, “Hi, Carolyn. I read your
book on earth about heaven. You were so right. This IS a great place. God is so good to His children.”
7.
8. Chapter 1 The Flowers
I love flowers. Do you? Most people like to see beautiful gardens of flowers, especially flowers that
have big blooms and are bursting with vivid colors. The word “vivid” means that the blooms are so
bright that they grab your attention. You might glance at a bunch of flowers, but certain colors will
cause you to look more at them and less at the other colors.
As I said, I LOVE flowers and always have. My mother loved flowers, too. We lived on a farm
and had a large yard in which to plant many flowers. We also had chickens. My mother found out that
the chickens loved her flowers. Everything she would plant, except for marigolds, was soon eaten by
the chickens. For some reason, our chickens hated the taste of those flowers. Mama could plant all the
marigolds she wanted, and they would stay right there and bloom, but if she planted any other flower,
it would soon disappear in a few days.
Then here I came and I wanted to plant flowers, too. I soon learned that chickens loved sunflower
plants, caladiums and all the other flowers that I had planted. I remember watching the caladiums
disappear from around a tree. Everyday I would look at those plants and see big hunks missing from
the leaves. After a few days, I realized that the chickens were eating them.
In heaven, there won’t be any missing pieces of flowers. Heaven’s flowers are gorgeous and
perfect in every detail. Think of the brightest colors you have ever seen. Heaven’s flowers are even
brighter and prettier than those colors.
The green of the grass is so bright that you can’t even compare its green with the green of our
grass here. Here’s another thought dealing with the grass. How many times have you sat down in the
grass, or maybe laid down in it, and suddenly you were being stung by these little tiny black creatures?
Those little creatures were ants, and they love to live in grass and build their homes in the dirt below
the grass. Do you think there are any ants in heaven? NO!!!
How about pesky insects like mosquitoes? NO!!!
How about gnats? NO!!!
How about yellow jackets? NO!!!
How about wasps? NO!!!
How about bees? NO!!! Unless they are there without their stingers. As I had a friend tell me, “I
like bumblebees.” They are beautiful. Just remember that heaven doesn’t allow anything to live there
that has the potential to try to hurt anyone living there. Stingers do not exist.
How about poison ivy? NO!!!
How about thorns? NO!!! I believe roses will be there but without all the thorns that can prick and
stick you.
Not one insect or plant that has any harmful effect on you is allowed in heaven. You never have to
look on the grass before you sit down to make sure there aren’t any ants or some kind of insect that
9. will sting you.
The flowers in heaven are perfect in every detail. Now, I’m sure you have noticed that flowers
have blooms on them. That’s those bright red, orange, yellow, blue, or purple colors that you see at the
end of a flower stem. That’s the part everyone likes to see and put in their vases for other people to
see.
Here on earth, those blooms don’t last forever. Some only last a few days, while others might last
a few weeks. At some point, those blooms will die and either fall off or someone will remove them.
They usually turn an ugly brown and really ruin the appearance of the other flowers. That’s one reason
why people remove the dead blooms. The other reason is that it helps the plant to produce new
blooms.
Do you know what happens to those flowers in heaven? They never get dead blooms. You will
never see an ugly, brown, dead, dried-up flower bloom there. If you did, that would mean that heaven
had some decay there and decay cannot and does not live in heaven.
Have you ever had someone tell you to stay out of their flower bed? Maybe the dog ran through it
and stomped a bunch of flowers and your mother or someone became upset about it. Why would that
upset them? Because when you stomp through a flower bed here on earth, you damage the flowers.
You can hurt them so badly that they can’t be fixed. The blooms fall to the ground. The stems break.
Some might even be pulled up out of the dirt, and if they aren’t placed back in the dirt where they can
get food and water, they will die.
What do you think the flowers in heaven do when someone stomps on them? THEY BOUNCE
RIGHT BACK UP. People up there walk right on the flowers and the flowers never stay in a crushed
position. They spring right back to their original position. They ALWAYS look fresh and new. That’s
because God is always fresh and new. You could even pick a nice bouquet of flowers for yourself or
someone else and no one would know where you picked them unless they saw you do it. Do you know
why? Because those flowers would grow right back in an instant. Isn’t that exciting? Do you see how
good God is?
The Bible talks about how God takes care of the flowers on earth in the book of Matthew in the
New Testament. Look in chapter 6 and verses 28 through 30. I’m saying this in my words. Jesus was
saying something like this, “Look at the flowers here on earth. They don’t do a thing to make
themselves beautiful. They don’t worry about anything and look how beautiful they are.”
Yes, the flowers here on earth are beautiful, but on earth they are hindered from becoming all they
can be. This earth has decay in it but heaven doesn’t. In heaven all hindrances, or we could say, all
things that would stop them from becoming all they can be, are removed. They are as God created
them to be from the beginning.
10.
11. Chapter 2 The Fruit
M-m-m-m-m!!! How I love fruit! How about you? I like some fruit more than I like others. My
favorite fruit is plums. Not just any plum, either. Have you ever bitten into a red plum? It was red on
the outside and red on the inside. That’s the one I like best. When you and I arrive in heaven, and if
you come to visit me in my home there, I’ll show you my plum orchard. I know it’s already there. I’m
sure my mother, father, brother, sister and grandparents are already enjoying eating some of those
plums.
Heaven has all kinds of fruit. There might even be some fruit there that we’ve never seen or tasted
before. In the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, chapter 22 and verse 2, John talks about
the tree of life which bears twelve manner of fruits. I don’t know what that tree looks like nor do I
know what kinds of fruit it bears, but there is a tree there with fruit that just possibly we’ve never
tasted.
Here are some wonderful things to notice about the fruit that is in heaven.
No Worms or Bugs
Have you ever started to bite into a piece of fruit, but you saw a hole in it where a worm had
crawled in or a bug had been chewing on it? When I was growing up on the farm, we had wild plum
trees. These were tiny plums, not the kind that we can buy in the grocery store today. We always had
to check before biting into one to make sure there weren’t any holes. Holes meant that a worm had
been drilling and was possibly still in there.
Personally, I don’t want to chew on fruit that something else already has been chewing, AND, I
certainly don’t want to bite into a piece of fruit and find half a worm. YUK!!!
No Runts
Do you know what I mean by that? Have you ever seen fruit that just didn’t grow like the other
fruit? While the other fruit became big and juicy like it was supposed to, this fruit remained small.
You can’t eat that kind of fruit. Something happened to it that stunted or stopped its growth. It was
deformed. In heaven we never have to wonder if we’re going to find a runty piece of fruit on a tree.
Every piece there is PERFECTLY formed.
No Rotten Spots
I don’t like runty fruit and I don’t like fruit with rotten spots. Rotten spots occur when a piece of
fruit is bruised or damaged in some way. Sometimes heat can cause rotten spots to appear. If the spot
is not removed, it will ruin a piece of fruit. You’ll never find a piece of fruit in heaven that has a
blemish or a rotten spot. It just doesn’t exist.
No Fruit on the Ground
Here’s another aspect of no decay in heaven. Here on earth, if you walk through a fruit orchard,
there’s usually fruit lying on the ground that has rotted or been knocked off by the wind or some other
12. force. We don’t think anything about it because it’s just a fact that here on earth it will happen.
That’s what happens on earth, BUT, listen to this. If any fruit falls off the trees in heaven, it
doesn’t lie there. It disappears. WHY? For it to lie there is a form of decay and as I said before,
heaven doesn’t have decay of any kind.
What’s your favorite fruit? Maybe you have several. Whatever they are, you can expect to enjoy
them in heaven plus some other fruit that you’ve never tasted.
13.
14. Chapter 3 The Houses
Do you have your own bedroom? I didn’t when I was a child. I had to share a bedroom with my
mother. I so wanted my own room so I could hang up my things on the wall or just so I could have my
own space. I was never allowed to experience that as a child.
Heaven is full of houses that are built for specific people. That means that a house in heaven is
being built for you right now. Even if you were to share a house with your parents, I believe you will
have a section built just for you.
I want to quote you two verses from the Bible about homes in heaven. Jesus is talking here in the
book of John chapter 14 and verses 2 and 3.
“There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for
your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so that you can always be
with me where I am. If this weren’t so, I would tell you plainly.”
Most people who have visited heaven and returned to tell about it have reported seeing their
homes up there. Every person said that their home contained things that they liked. Even books that
they liked here on earth were in their homes in heaven. Of course, these were books worthy to be
included there. You won’t find any unclean books or materials in heaven.
Another thing they mentioned was that dust did not exist. Drag your finger over your dresser or
some other piece of furniture. Most likely, unless you’ve just cleaned it, you will see a layer of dust on
your finger. Dust IS NOT in heaven. Everything is absolutely SPOTLESS and stays that way.
If you like to go swimming here on earth, you’ll like to go swimming in heaven. We’re going to
talk about water in another chapter. You can have your own swimming pool in your backyard if you
like.
If you like to play video games here on earth, I believe you will have them in heaven as long as
they’re clean video games and do not show anything opposite to WHO God is.
If you like to ride bicycles here, you’ll love riding them in heaven and without helmets, too. There
isn’t any need for them because nothing will hurt or destroy there.
If you like skateboarding, you’ll have a outstanding skateboard in heaven. Again, no helmets
needed when riding.
We sort of took a side trip so let’s get back to houses. Every house in heaven is perfectly built.
Certain people are trained there in certain decorating skills that we don’t even have on earth. These
people might go into a house being built for someone who is soon coming to heaven and use their
skills to decorate. The house could belong to someone they knew on earth, so they want to be a part of
helping to make it beautiful for that person.
One such skill these people have learned is how to place live flowers on the walls and floors of
houses. We wouldn’t think of doing such a thing here, but there, these people have learned that skill.
15. The flowers always stay fresh.
I can hardly wait to see my home there. How about you? I don’t have to sit here on earth and draw
up a design. My Heavenly Father already knows what I like and He is having it put in my home in
heaven. What a thrill it will be to be directed to my home when the time comes. When I see it, I will
not be disappointed. God never does anything to disappoint us. Everything He does is good, and
everything He does, He does extremely well. You will not be disappointed in what you see in heaven,
and you will LOVE your new home there.
16.
17. Chapter 4 The People
When I was 9 years old, my father died. I have to say that I was not happy. I was very sad that he left
to go to heaven, and I was sad that he didn’t get to see me grow up here on earth. However, I know that
when I get to heaven, I will see him. In fact, I believe that when I step onto heaven’s grounds, my
mother, father, sister, and my brother that I never saw because he died as a baby, and my grandparents
will be there to greet me.
I also have other relatives living there who have died and I believe went to heaven because they
were Christians. I expect they will meet me also, but my mother and others will be the first ones to
greet me.
Just a few years ago, a Christian preacher died and went to heaven. Another Christian was praying
and God showed her this preacher entering heaven. People were talking and saying, “Brother John
[I’m making up a name.] is here.” You see, Brother John had been responsible for bringing many to
the Lord on earth, plus helping Christians learn more about God. He was very well known here. That’s
why people in heaven knew him because they had heard him while they were here on earth. This
woman who was praying and saw what was happening in heaven said that she saw Jesus put His arm
around Brother John. Then, the crowd parted and let Brother John’s family come through. There was
such a glad reunion. When they had greeted one another, they all walked off together.
When you step into heaven, there will be people you know who will greet you. They won’t be
misty looking people that you can’t see clearly. If you can see them here, you’ll be able to see them
there. If you know them here, you’ll know them there. Some, I believe, you will just know who they
are and not know how you know. Knowledge in heaven flows unhindered. I believe that if you happen
to encounter Abraham, Paul or some of the other Bible figures, you will know who they are. If not, the
angels or someone will tell you.
God isn’t going to change who YOU are once you enter heaven. You will still be you and you will
still be growing and learning. If you enter heaven as a child, you will continue to grow until adulthood
but you will never grow old. You will remain as an adult who does not age. I have always believed and
from what I have heard others say about what they have seen in heaven, the age stops around thirty
years of age by our earth years. You will stay thirty years old for eternity. Your name will remain the
same. If your name is Adam here, then it will be Adam in heaven.
Friendships you had on earth will continue in heaven, that is, if the people have made Jesus Lord
of their lives. This is very important. People can’t wish themselves into heaven. Good works don’t
get people into heaven. What gives people the right to go to heaven is knowing Jesus Christ and
asking Him into their hearts. Jesus Christ paid a great price for us to be able to go to heaven to live
with Him. He died on the cross for us. He shed His blood for us so that we could accept Him and ask
Him to come into our hearts. If you haven’t done that yet, I urge you to do that right now. Just say,
“Jesus, come into my heart right now. I give my life to You. I believe that You died for me and rose
from the dead for me. I accept You as my Lord and Savior.” It’s that simple.
18.
19. Chapter 5 The Water
I love to play in water. Yes, adults like water just as children do. One of my requests of God is a
swimming pool of my own here on earth. If you look at places that have water, you see how water
always draws people to it. People just naturally love to be around water. Some may not want to go in
it, yet they still love to be around it. Water is soothing and calming.
Heaven has water just as earth does. Heaven has lakes and the Word of God tells us that there is a
River of Life. The book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and the last chapter, first verse,
states that John saw a river of water of life which was clear as crystal and was proceeding, or flowing,
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
All of the water in heaven is crystal clear. Why would there be any that was muddy? For water to
be muddy means that something has to be growing there for it to become muddy, or become clouded
so that you can’t see the bottom. However, we know that decay and things that cause decay do not
exist in heaven.
When you enter heaven, you will pass through a river that will wash off all of the earth’s way of
thinking from you. When you step into that river and the water is over your head, you will find that
you are able to walk on the bottom of that river, even breathe and talk underwater without any help. It
will just be a natural thing to do. One of the individuals who went to heaven many years ago and wrote
of her experience said that she thought she would surely drown if she went under the water and opened
her mouth to talk and breathe. The person with her laughed and said, “We don’t do those things here.”
She was still thinking earth thoughts because on earth, she would have drowned. Heaven doesn’t have
death of any kind anywhere.
Here on earth, we must have equipment to help us breathe underwater. Maybe someone in your
family has been scuba diving or even snorkeling. Maybe you, yourself, have done one or both of these
things. If you have, you know you had to have help to breathe under water or you would die.
The clothing you are given to wear in heaven will be so unique and different from any clothing
you have ever worn in your life on earth. You will see that it will not retain water. When you walk out
of that river, you will be instantly dry and so will your hair. Here’s another fact about that clothing
concerning spilling something on it. How many pieces of clothing have you ruined or had to change
immediately because you spilled something on it? Your mother wanted to put spot remover on it
immediately to try to get the grape jam or the pizza sauce out before it set in your clothing. In heaven,
if you are eating a piece of fruit and some of the juice spills on your clothing, the spot just disappears.
It is as if you never spilled anything on it.
Heaven has lakes where people can ride in boats for pleasure or people can just picnic beside the
lakes. The boats do not have motors on them because what would motors do? See, now you’re
beginning to think like residents of heaven. Motors make noise and motors stink. Heaven is a place of
peace and wonderful appealing fragrances or odors. No stinky gasoline motors are there. If the boats
don’t have motors, then how do they move through the water? I don’t know. That’s something that you
can ask an angel or someone in heaven when you get there. The boats move, but they are not propelled
by motors like we have today. God has a special way of moving them.
20. By the way, if you are thinking that you might not have any family in heaven and will you feel
like a stranger there, know this—NO ONE IS A STRANGER IN HEAVEN. You will feel right at
home. Even though you may not know someone, they will not be strangers to you because you’re all
there for the same reason. All of you have made Jesus Christ Lord of your lives and you are there to be
with Him and with Father God. If you are invited to a picnic with a family up there that you don’t
know, go if God hasn’t given you other duties to do. You’ll enjoy it and actually have fun.
21.
22. Chapter 6 A Place of Happiness
Heaven is not a place of sorrow and grief. You will never be sad there. Everything you need to make
you happy and content is right there.
You’ll Stay Busy
It’s a place that will keep you busy because idleness is not part of the day-to-day routine. Of
course, you have time for recreation, fun things and just time for yourself, but there are always things
to do.
You don’t stop learning just because you go to heaven to live. God is so big, and He knows so
much that we don’t know, that He will be teaching us things for all eternity. That means forever and
ever and ever . . . . . We will never reach a point in heaven at which we say, “God, I’m bored.” No, we
will NEVER become bored or regret that we went there.
Peace is Everywhere
All of the people there are at peace because peace reigns as king there. That peace comes from
God. There isn’t any straining or struggling to do things. There isn’t any urgency about hurry up and
do this or somebody is going to be mad. There is a complete relaxing of the mind and spirit.
No Dirty Words
One thing that can affect my peace in an instant is to hear someone use dirty words. I don’t want
to hear them. They make ME feel dirty and I’m not the one who said them. You know what dirty
words are. I’m not going to tell you what they are, but I am going to tell you what the Bible says about
speaking words that are considered “dirty” by God.
Here are two Scriptures in the New Testament.
Ephesians 4:29
“Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and
what will give them a blessing.”
Here’s this same verse from The Message translation of the Bible. This just means that this is
another way of saying the same verse.
“Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps,
each word a gift.”(1)
Ephesians 5:4
“Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, remind each other
of God’s goodness and be thankful.”
Why is it so important that we watch what we say? Jesus told us in the book of Matthew chapter
12 and verses 34 through 37.
23. “. . .For a man’s heart determines his speech. A good man’s speech reveals the rich treasures
within him. An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it. And I tell you
this, that you must give account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak. Your words
now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.”
You don’t want to speak evil words, foul words, polluting words, dirty words, stinky words, or any
kind of words that are not pleasing to God. If your heart is pure before God, then you should be
speaking pure clean words. You don’t take God’s name in vain by saying something like, “God,
d_____ something.” I know you’ve probably heard somebody do that. Movies are full of it. That is
totally disrespectful of God and is calling Him names. It’s calling Him something that He is not. God
is a blesser, not a curser.
God is listening to every word that comes out our mouths. He can only bless the good words.
When you or I say anything that is not a blessing, we remove God’s Hand from our lives. Our angels
have to stand aside because we have pushed them away. We have to act immediately when we say
something we shouldn’t and ask forgiveness of God.
You won’t hear any dirty words in heaven. They aren’t allowed.
Food
Things that you liked to eat on earth that are healthy for you will be available in heaven. You
don’t lose your taste for foods just because you moved from earth to heaven. You still retain all of
those wonderful thoughts and tastes for the flavors that are appealing to you.
Pets
I believe that the pets you enjoyed on earth will be there to greet you. That is part of being happy.
God loves animals, too, or He wouldn’t have created them.
I remember the story told of a little girl who went to heaven to live and was not sure about her
surroundings. Someone brought her the pet cat that she had on earth and she lit up like a Christmas
tree. See, God knew that she loved that animal and that animal loved that little girl. He cared about
her. He cares about you in the same way.
I have several pets that have died over the years and I expect to see all the ones that I enjoyed on
earth in heaven. I have a pet Cocker Spaniel, Blackie, waiting for me. I have a pet miniature
Chihuahua dog, Tiny, waiting for me. I have an orange tabby cat named Tiger waiting for me. I have a
gray tabby cat named Tabitha waiting for me, and I have a black and white cat named Pepper waiting
for me. Now, my parents may have some pets of their own there already but you know, there’s enough
room for all of them. I fully expect to see them all plus my pet cat that I have now.
No Sickness and No Disease
When you walk through heaven, you will never see anyone coughing, sneezing, running a fever, or
lying down because they feel badly. Sickness and disease does not exist in heaven which tells you that
sickness and disease does not come from God.
When I was a child, I was usually sick at least once about every year of my life. One year I had the
24. measles and had to stay in the hospital for nine days. Other years, I probably had the flu. I would have
a temperature and my mother would drag me to the bathroom to give me a sponge bath and then drive
me to the doctor’s office. I can remember him giving me some kind of awful tasting pink medicine.
Sometimes, I had to have a shot. I didn’t like either one.
There aren’t any doctor’s offices or hospitals in heaven. There isn’t any need for them. People
there are totally well and stay well. Their health comes from the goodness of God flowing in that
place. His goodness will not allow the entrance of anything to challenge that. Sickness and disease
would challenge His goodness so you won’t find it there.
Remember, anything Jesus paid for to get rid of in our lives so that we don’t have to have it, won’t
be in heaven. He paid for sickness and disease to be out of our lives. The Old Testament book of Isaiah
tell us that Jesus was whipped on His back so that we could experience healing in our lives.
Isaiah 53:5
“But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was chastised that we might have peace;
he was lashed—and we were healed!”
Since there isn’t any need for hospitals and doctors’ services, there isn’t any need for drugs to
make people well. People won’t have to take an aspirin for a headache. They’ll never get one.
Speaking of drugs, there won’t be any drugs of any kind there, drugs that would heal on earth and
drugs that would harm. They won’t be there at all.
No Gangs or Bullies
You might live in an area where you have gangs that walk the streets in your city and plan to hurt
people. Heaven doesn’t have gangs. God never intended for people to join “gangs” to plot and plan
hurt for other people. Those who are part of gangs are not looking for what God wants them to do.
They are focusing on what THEY want to do and it is to TAKE from someone else.
Also, in heaven you won’t find any bullies. Do you know what I mean by that? You may have met
a bully in your school or in your neighborhood. A bully is someone who picks on someone else. He
tries to intimidate this person or scare him into doing what he wants. It gives him satisfaction to make
this person afraid of him. He may even beat this person up to prove that he is stronger and can make
him do anything he wants.
Being a bully does not please God and since it doesn’t please Him, bullying is not allowed in
heaven. Bullying is a selfish act. The person doing the bullying is only thinking about himself OR
HERSELF. Girls can be bullies too. Sometimes, girls can hurt each other worse than boys can. Girls
tend to use their tongues to lash out at other girls more than boys do. A good rule to remember for
boys and girls is that if you can’t say something good about someone or to someone, keep your mouth
shut.
No Flying Bullets
I know there are some children who live in neighborhoods where bullets can come flying through
their windows at any time. The best thing these children can do at the moment is to pray and believe
God for protection. Their parents should be praying that over them, but if their parents don’t know
25. how, the child can do the praying. God listens to children as well as adults.
If you are one of those children who live in that type of neighborhood, a good place for you to
begin is to read Psalm 91 and claim that over your life and the life of your family. Then say this,
“Father, in the name of Jesus, I plead the blood of Jesus over my life and the life of my
family. By faith I draw a blood line around my family and our house.”
In fact, you need to do that every day whether you live in that type of community or not.
You need to pray this over your school. Say,
“Father, in the name of Jesus, I plead the blood of Jesus over my school today, over every
student including myself and over every teacher that no harm comes to any of us this day. By
faith I draw a blood line around my school this day.”
Even though you may not understand what all those words mean, God does and so does the devil.
The blood of Jesus is powerful and the devil cannot cross the blood line. If you can, get another
Christian student to agree with you. Make the prayer stronger by having two of you agree on it. You
need not go to school in fear.
But, back to our subject of heaven, there aren’t any guns there to hurt people in any way.
No Skinned Knees
Are you one of those children who fall down a lot? I was when I was a child. I skinned my knee a
lot of times. I would take off running and get my feet tangled up and down I would go. If I landed on
rocks or concrete, I usually had a bloody knee. It wasn’t very bad, but it made a scab.
You can fall down in heaven as much as you want and you won’t skin your knee. You won’t even
have a bruise. Skinned knees and bruises are not allowed.
I’m sure you can think of other things that will or won’t be in heaven. As you learn to know God,
you will learn what He likes and what He dislikes. You will learn what a GOOD God He is. Once you
learn that, it isn’t hard to imagine what heaven will be like.
God knows what makes His people happy and as I said before, YOU WON’T BE
DISAPPOINTED.
26.
27. Chapter 7 Jesus
How much do you REALLY know about Jesus? Is He a stranger to you? I hope not. He does not want
to be a stranger. He wants to be family to you because you are family to Him. He is your Elder
Brother.
Jesus is also our Savior and soon coming King. He paid such a wonderful price for you and me to
be able to come into the family of God. He died on the cross for us. He rose from the dead for us. He is
right now seated at the right hand of God. HE IS ALIVE!!! When He died on the cross, His shed
blood was for us to become the righteousness of God through Him.
What does Jesus look like? Have you ever wondered? I have. Those who have been to heaven and
returned to tell about it say that He has brown hair and is about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall. If you
can’t picture that height, ask someone to help you with a yardstick or someone who is that tall. Most
people can’t remember what color his eyes are because they say when you look into His eyes, all you
see are pools of love. He is full of God’s love. One look from Him will melt all trouble away.
Does Jesus like children? OF COURSE! He loves them. He said so in Mark chapter 10 and verses
13 through 16.
“Once when some mothers were bringing their children to Jesus to bless them, the disciples
shooed them away, telling them not to bother him. But when Jesus saw what was happening he
was very much displeased with his disciples and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me, for
the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don’t send them away! I tell you as seriously as I
know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a little child will never be allowed into his
Kingdom. Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and he
blessed them.”
That’s what Jesus thinks of you. He is very much displeased when people try to keep you from
coming to Him with your needs, your wants, and your requests of Him. You are just as important to
Him as any person on this earth. Never think that just because you’re a child, you’re not important to
God. You are NOT a bother to God. He loves you and He expects you to pray and believe for what
you need from Him.
In heaven, you will see children running to Jesus and jumping up in His lap for Him to talk to
them, hug them, laugh with them and tell them stories of God’s goodness toward them. There isn’t any
fear that keeps children away from Jesus.
YOU shouldn’t allow any fear stop you from coming to God with ANYTHING that is bothering
you. It doesn’t matter if your friends agree with you or not. IT DOESN’T MATTER!!! What does
matter is that YOU do not allow their thoughts about you stop you from doing what you know is right.
Crawl up into Jesus’ lap by faith. Just sit on your bed or in a chair or even on the floor and just picture
in your mind Jesus sitting beside you and you crawl up into His lap and lay your head upon His
shoulder and tell Him what is bothering you. And when you crawl out of His lap, leave what was
bothering you right there with Him.
28.
29. Chapter 8 Jesus is Coming Soon
Heaven is even now getting everything ready for a big bunch of Christians to come streaming into
heaven at once. Do you know what that event is? It is not a bad event that will cause that many people
to leave earth at once. It is a very good happening. It is called the Rapture. That word means “a
catching away.” Those of us who are Christians will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
I Thessalonians chapter 4 talks about this in more detail.
Verses 16, 17
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a mighty shout and with the soul-
stirring cry of the archangel and the great trumpet-call of God. . .Then we who are still alive and
remain on the earth will be CAUGHT UP. . .in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain
with him forever.”
You need to read those verses for yourself. Actually, you need to read several verses before that. I
typed two of the words in caps to show you how the Rapture is a “catching away.” I also left out some
of the verses to emphasize to you that we who are alive on earth when Jesus comes back will be caught
up. Study these verses with your parents.
When will this happen? I don’t know. Even Jesus doesn’t know. The Word of God says that only
the Father God knows the day and time. But, Jesus knows the time is near. He is telling His people that
the time is short and we must be up and about our Father’s business.
A minister was taken to heaven many years ago and during that trip, Jesus put His hand on this
minister’s shoulder and said, “Tell my people that I’m coming soon.”
This minister said, “Jesus, they know you’re coming soon.”
Jesus answered him very sternly and said, “No they don’t. That’s why I brought you to heaven. I
am telling you to tell them that I am coming soon.”
My Dream
I had a dream several years ago. I dreamed of my earthly father. As I said before in another
chapter, my father went to live in heaven when I was nine years old. That was many years ago. I have
missed him during that time, but I know he is happy where he is living now. He is there with my
mother, sister, brother and other family members.
In this dream, he walked into my mother’s bedroom. I was standing there and looked up to see my
father come through the doorway. I immediately knew him. I knew that this man was my father. I was
so excited to see him, but at the same time, I was puzzled as to why he was there. I knew his home was
in heaven now, and when you’re living in heaven, you don’t return to earth.
He didn’t say a word to me. I did all the talking. He held out both hands to me. I looked at them
and saw a farmer’s hands which is what my father was on earth, a farmer. I asked him several times
what he was doing there. It was really bothering me that he wasn’t in heaven. I knew that something
30. was different if he was in my mother’s bedroom.
He walked past me and sat down in my mother’s orange recliner chair. My eyes followed his
every move desperately wanting to know why he was there. I knew he wouldn’t just show up like that
for no reason.
After he sat down and looked up at me, I again asked him, “What are you doing here?” I guess I
meant to find out.
He still didn’t open his mouth, but suddenly he smiled. When he smiled, I immediately knew why
he had come. How did I know? Because the Holy Spirit revealed it to me in an instant. I knew exactly
WHY he had come into my mother’s bedroom. He had come to tell me that it was just about time for
Jesus to come back to get us.
I almost squealed with delight. I said, “Oh,” and I said it with a longing in my voice to go back to
heaven with him right then, but also I said it with a sudden knowing and understanding of what he
meant. I said, “Oh, it’s just about time for Jesus to come back.”
Then he finally spoke and said, “Yes, it’s just about that time.”
At that, I buried my face in his shirt and just started crying and weeping, almost uncontrollably,
but with great joy in my heart. I woke up immediately after that and was so comforted in what God
had shown me.
You see, God had given me what is termed a “spiritual dream.” It was a dream that really meant
what it said. It wasn’t one of those dreams that you dream when you’ve had too much to eat or you ate
something that didn’t agree with you. It came from God.
I knew that God was speaking to me through that dream by using my earthly father. My earthly
father represented my Heavenly Father. It was the same as if I were burying my face in God’s shirt
and crying with joy because He had said, “It’s just about that time.” Every time I think of that dream,
my heart leaps with excitement. I know without any doubt whatsoever that Jesus is coming soon. It is
a joyous event to me.
Jesus wants you to be ready for His coming. He wants you to go when that time comes. It is a
happy time and stepping from this earth life to heavenly life will be so easy. We won’t have to strain
to get to heaven. God’s power will do all the work in getting us there. All we have to do is obey God
and watch for Jesus’ coming by being ready at all times. If you make a mistake and sin, repent
immediately. Don’t wait. Tell Jesus you’re sorry right then and then go on your way believing that He
has cleaned you up.
31.
32. Chapter 9 You Have a Job to Do
I know that some of you after reading this much about heaven are thinking, “Let’s go! I want to go to
heaven right now!” Actually, so do I, but I stay here because I know that I have a job to do and so do
you.
While you are on this earth, you have a job to do that has your name on it. Don’t ever think that
you are too young. Ask God what your job is. He will tell you, but it will be one thing at a time. Your
first BIG job that God expects you to do is to obey your parents. If God can’t trust you to obey your
parents, then how is He going to trust you to obey Him?
Another BIG job He expects you to do is to be diligent about doing your schoolwork. God is
always looking to see how people, including children, do work assigned to them. Are they lazy or are
they really hard workers? Let’s look in the book of Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 11 at a very
revealing verse.
“The character of even a child can be known by the way he acts—whether what he does is
pure and right.”
Let me tell you about two lazy children. I used to teach at a Christian school. Yes, I said a
CHRISTIAN school. These children knew about God and Jesus. I had two students, one was in the
fourth grade and the other was in the sixth grade. Both of them were just alike in their lazy behavior.
Every time I assigned homework to the class, these two students most often did not do theirs. I would
keep them in at recess and even took some of their lunch time to MAKE them do their homework. I
shouldn’t have had to do that. Both of these students were smart but they were just LAZY.
What can God do with a lazy person? Not much. He can’t count on them to do anything for Him.
You see, the boy that was in the sixth grade had been lazy all of his school years. Teachers who had
taught him in the first grade remembered his actions. I had taught the other boy for two years and I
saw the same thing in him as a younger child. I couldn’t change them. Their parents could change
some things, but it really came down to these two boys WANTING to change.
There’s a word that goes hand in hand with the word “lazy.” It’s the word “procrastination.”
Whew, what a big word! Just break it up into syllables and you should be able to pronounce it. It
means that a person puts off doing something until tomorrow when he could and should do it today.
People who are lazy are always thinking about the future. Today just doesn’t exist for them unless
it is something THEY want to do. They would rather “procrastinate” and put off doing it until another
day.
Here’s another word that goes along with the word “lazy” and the word “procrastination.” It’s the
word “rebellion.” To rebel against something that you’ve been asked or told to do, is to say, “I don’t
care what you say, I’m not doing it.” It’s also called disobedience.
Now, if someone is trying to get you to do something bad, of course, you don’t do it. I’m talking
about when your teacher or your mother or father or grandparents or an adult who is in authority over
you gives you an instruction, what are you going to do with it? If they tell you to take out the trash,
33. what are you going to do? You may think, “I’m going to take out the trash.” When? That’s the key.
That’s the important thing that God is watching. When you are given an instruction such as that, He is
watching to see what you do with it. When do you think you should take out the trash? Do I need to
answer that for you? I don’t think so.
Here’s a wonderful story that I heard as a child in Sunday school. This story was about a twelve-
year-old girl, whom we’ll call Abigail, whose constant reply to her parents’ requests was, “Wait a
minute.”
Hardly ever accomplishing anything her parents requested, her procrastination [Remember what
that word means?] caused THEM to have to finish the job if it got done. If they told her to feed the
dog, her answer was, “Wait a minute!”
If her mother said, “Abigail, come set the table for dinner, please,” her response was immediately,
without thinking, “I’ll be there in a minute!”
Over the years, even as a child, she was setting up an unhealthy pattern in her life. In fact, she was
TRAINING herself to reject immediate obedience.
One day an incident happened which jerked her out of her pattern of procrastination. Her family,
including her brothers and sisters, decided to go on a picnic. After piling all the wonderful food into
the car, along with some fun things that a family could do together on a day off, they started looking
for Abigail.
“Where is that child?” her mother asked.
“I don’t know,” Abigail’s father responded. “Maybe she’s in her room.”
Walking toward the house and standing underneath Abigail’s window, her mother loudly called,
“Abigail, we’re ready to go.”
“Just a minute,” Abigail answered as she continued playing the video game on her computer. She
was just about to win and she wasn’t about to let anything stop her from finishing.
Now, Abigail would much rather have gone and had fun with her family. Ordinarily, video games
took second place to family picnics, but, you must remember, Abigail has developed a horrible habit.
Again, her mother called out, “Abigail, we’re leaving.”
“I’m coming, just a minute,” Abigail answered, still so involved in her desire to finish her game
when SHE wanted to, hardly realizing that she had even answered her mother.
To Abigail, who was so absorbed in her own thoughts of what SHE wanted to do and when SHE
wanted to do it, it was as if her mother’s voice were calling from some far off place—a land far from
where Abigail was living at the moment.
The next noise Abigail heard was the sound of a car engine starting. She raised her head and
listened for a moment, thinking she had heard something which sounded as if people were leaving.
Then, she shook her head. “No, I’m just hearing things,” she thought, “they wouldn’t go off and leave
34. me here. They’ve always waited before.”
Then, the sound of a revving car engine grabbed her attention. She stopped her game for a moment
and listened carefully. As the last person climbed into the car, the sound of a car door slamming
trickled up and through Abigail’s window. Then, she heard the gentle hum of the engine and the sound
of tires running over gravel.
Suddenly, she realized what was happening. She raced to the front of the house as fast as her legs
would carry her without tripping up and falling flat on her face. Her feet seemed as if they were flying
down the steps of the porch. In all her efforts to get there on time, she was TOO LATE. She arrived
just in time to see her family driving down the road WITHOUT HER.
Her heart sank. For once, her words, “wait a minute,” hit her in the face like a ton of bricks. She
couldn’t believe what she had done. She had been left behind because she had unintentionally
TRAINED HERSELF to be a “wait a minute” person.
Now, let me ask you a question. Why do you think that story has stayed in my memory all these
years? I’m sure you know. Because I was that kind of person. My mother would call me to come help
her in the kitchen and I would holler back, “I’ll be there in just a minute.” Well, I would be there, BUT
AFTER I had finished what I wanted to do. By the time I arrived in the kitchen, my mother had
already finished the dishes or set the table or chopped up the boiled eggs for salad or whatever she had
requested of me.
I was also one of those people who would come through the front door, kick off my shoes, and
never go back to pick them up UNTIL I needed them. Usually, the next morning when I would be
trying to get dressed for school, I would start looking for my shoes. “Mama,” I would yell in
desperation because I had searched everywhere I could think of, “do you know where my shoes are?”
She would usually yell back, “Probably right where you left them yesterday when you got home.”
You know, she was right. I would think, “Now, what did I do yesterday when I got home?” and
sure enough, my shoes would be right there.
I was also one of those children who did not want to hang up her clothes. I would throw them on
the bed and that’s where they would lay until either my mother would tell me to hang them up or she
would do it.
I had to change. I had to make the decision as I grew older that I did not want to be like that as an
adult. I asked God for help and I determined to do better and I did. God has been and still is a GREAT
help.
You don’t want to be like Abigail or even like me as a child. You want God to use you. I know you
do. You’re reading this book which means you are hungry for God. Ask Him to help you change any
bad behaviors that you are presently doing. Ask Him!!! He is right there to help you.
God can’t use “wait a minute” or “just a minute” people like He would like because they drag
their feet. That hinders God’s plans. That will hinder His plan for you and possibly other people.
God’s plans for you are ALWAYS good and you don’t want to miss a single one.
35.
36. Chapter 10 God is Light
That is such a simple statement. “God is light.” Of course He is. The book of I John in the New
Testament chapter 1 and verse 5 states,
“This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no
darkness at all.”
We are going to talk about how God is light in relation to heaven. Here on earth, He placed two
things to give us light. Do you know what those two things are? One was to give us light in the
daytime and the other was to give us light at night. Yes, I thought you knew. The sun and the moon.
In heaven, there isn’t any need for those two things. Heaven doesn’t have a temperature problem
so there definitely isn’t any need for the sun to warm the people living there. Also, heaven doesn’t
have a darkness problem that causes light from the sun or moon to be needed. Remember, in heaven,
everything needed there comes from whom? GOD!!! God supplies everything, even the light.
What did I John 1:5 say? Did God have any darkness in Him? Didn’t He have one speck? NO!!!
God is light and there isn’t any darkness in Him at all. Heaven is lit with God’s light. Those who
have visited there say that there is plenty of light and it never gets dark like we know darkness.
NEVER!!!
Have you ever had to get up in the night to go to the bathroom or to get a drink of water and you
couldn’t find the light switch? Did you stump your toe? I have. I have run into pieces of furniture
trying to get to a light.
Every day you spend in heaven will be a day of brightness—no darkness at all. It’s not the kind of
bright that requires you to need sunglasses, either. It’s enough light to be comfortable and enjoy
looking at everything heaven has to offer.
The fact that God doesn’t have any darkness in Him at all brings us to another fact about heaven.
Let me bring this thought to you. What do you think about shadows? What causes shadows?
Something is blocking the light which causes the shadow to appear. Shadows come from darkness.
Are you thinking about that? Do you think heaven has shadows? If God is THE light of heaven and
there isn’t any darkness in Him at all, do you still think heaven might have a shadow hidden
somewhere up there? Remember, whatever heaven has must come from God. If darkness doesn’t exist
in God, shadows don’t either.
The book of James chapter 1 and verse 17 in the New Testament tells us this about God and
shadows.
“But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he
shines forever without change or shadow.”
One of the men who visited heaven noticed that he couldn’t find his shadow. The angel
accompanying him through heaven kept asking him what he was doing because this man kept stopping
37. and looking all around him. The man said, “I’m looking for my shadow.” The angel answered him
with the obvious answer, “Shadows don’t exist here.”
Here are two more verses talking about how God is the light of heaven.
Revelation 21:23
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to light it, for the glory of God and of the Lamb
illuminate it.”
Revelation 22:5
“And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will be their
light; . . .”
As I close this chapter, I know that I have not told you everything about heaven because I don’t
know everything there is to know about it. I know what God’s Word says and I have shared those
things with you. God’s Word—the Bible—does not lie. If you find it in God’s Word, you can believe
it without hesitation. You don’t have to wonder if God is lying to you because HE IS NOT. God never
lies. He ALWAYS speaks the truth.
Whatever you do not understand in God’s Word, ask the Holy Spirit for help. The Holy Spirit was
sent to the earth to help God’s people understand the message of Jesus Christ. You’re one of those
people just as I am. When I don’t understand something, I ask the Holy Spirit for revelation. I may not
get it right that instant, but it will come.
As you prepare each day to go to school, play, church or whatever you have scheduled for that
day, keep God first place in your heart and mind. Keep your heart open to hear Him. He will talk to
you. He loves you very much and He desires for you to be with Him in heaven for all eternity.
Make the decision today to be God’s boy or girl and grow up to be His man or woman. Don’t be
ashamed to say, “I belong to God.” He’s not ashamed of you. He’s very proud of you and He’ll use
you in ways that you never dreamed right where you are.
38.
39. Chapter 11 More to Come
In heaven there will ALWAYS be more to come. More what? More of everything. God is an endless
supply of ideas and exciting things to do.
I can tell you some of the things I want to do when I get to heaven. I probably won’t do some of
them for a while because I expect to be visiting with Jesus and my family at first. Then, I expect God
will give me assignments to do. In my leisure time, I plan to explore heaven as much as possible.
After all, I will have all eternity to do so.
Here are some of the things I want to do.
I want to see Noah’s ark. I’m sure they have a replica in heaven. I want to take a tour and
explore the animal’s cages and see where Noah and his family stayed while the flood was on the earth.
I want to go to the lecture hall and sit and listen to Noah tell about God’s goodness to man
and how God told him to build the ark. I want to hear him tell in detail how he went about getting the
wood to build the ark. I also want to hear how God helped him gather in all the animals into the ark.
I want to talk to Daniel and ask him how the lions’ acted the moment he was thrown into the
lions’ den. Did he say anything to the lions or did he just quietly sit there and watch God do the work?
I want to talk to the three Hebrew children and ask them what is was like to be in that roaring
fire with an angel of the Lord, not feeling a burn or sting of any kind.
I want to see David’s harp.
I want to hear David tell about the times God rescued him and gave him the strength to kill a
lion and a bear. I want to hear him sing songs to the Lord playing his harp.
I want to see how the earth was created from nothing. I want to watch as God speaks and each
part is formed and comes into being. I believe God has this recorded for us to watch.
I want to see Joseph’s coat of many colors.
I want to ride to other planets and be a part of making them beautiful just as God did earth in
the beginning.
I want to see Jesus’ horse. The Bible says that He rides a white horse. I don’t believe anyone
else can ride him, do you?
I want to hear Moses tell about how God delivered the children of Israel and how he saw the
plagues that came as a result of Pharaoh’s stubbornness. I want to hear him tell how they were up
against the Red Sea and heard Pharaoh’s chariots coming to get them. I want to hear him describe the
screaming of over 1 million people when they heard that horrible sound. I want to hear him say how
God told him to stretch his rod toward the Red Sea and it parted and the waters heaped up on either
side, leaving a dry pathway for the children of Israel to walk on to the other side. I want to hear how
they watched as Pharaoh and his men tried to pursue them but when they got in the middle of the sea,
40. the waters suddenly uncongealed and drowned ALL of them.
I want to hear Joshua talk about the walls of Jericho crashing down as they obeyed God and
marched around the city seven times. These walls were so thick that people had houses built on the
wall. Yet, they came down at God’s command.
I want to visit God’s recording studio and see how the dinosaurs came into existence. I want
to watch them as they lived and walked this earth. I want to see what happened the day they died.
I’m sure you can make a list of things you’d like to do when you get to heaven. Don’t make a
boring list. HEAVEN WILL NOT BE BORING. Don’t limit God.
SEE YOU IN HEAVEN!!!
41.
42. ENDNOTES
1Eugene H. Peterson, THE MESSAGE NEW TESTAMENT WITH PSALMS AND PROVERBS
(Colorado Springs: Nav Press, 1995), p. 483.
43.
44. AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION
To contact the author or for information about other books by Carolyn B. Anderson, you may do one
of the following:
Call toll-free: (866) 942-0790
Website address: www.andersonpub.com
