Just in the process of re-reading "Heaven is for Real", telling about four-year-old Colton Burpo's experiences of being 'in heaven' when he was so ill and near death. Millions of copies of the book, written by his dad, Todd, have been sold and within this past year, a popular movie was made based on the writings.

I hadn't read the book again since I had seen the movie. Chapter after chapter tells of what the young Burpo relayed to his parents over a number of months following his life-changing experiences.

Here is one that I grabbed this morning:

Dad is telling how Colton had a habit of not paying attention to cars: backing out of parking spaces or moving through shopping parking lots.

The excerpt begins with Dad yelling, "COLTON, STOP!"

Seems Colton was paying more attention to his ice cream cone than where he was walking.

 "How many times have we told you, you can do that?"

Dad then noticed a pile of fur nearby. "That's a bunny who was trying to cross the street and didn't make it," he said. "That's what can happen if you run out and a car doesn't see you! You could not only get hurt; you could die!"

"Colton looked up at me and grinned over his cone. "Oh, good!' he said. ' That means, I get to go back to heaven!'"

"I just dropped my head and shook it, exasperated. How do you scare some sense into a child who doesn't fear death?

"Finally, I bent down on one knee and looked at my little boy. 'You're missing the point,' I said. 'This time, I get to heaven first. I'm the dad; you're the kid. Parents go first!'"

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