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  • On Our Way Home: Reflections on Heaven in the Face of Death

On Our Way Home: Reflections on Heaven in the Face of Death

Available Formats

Format: Paperback
Your Price: $13.99
Expected Availability: 10/7/2025

Product Description

Marvel at the true home Jesus has prepared for you and me.

Deep in our souls is a longing for a home—a place of beauty and goodness. A place where we—and the ones we love—are not touched by grief and sorrow. We long to live without the threat of disease or violence, a place where there is no shadow over our joy. But this isn't that place. The home we long for is . . . heaven.

For the past three-and-a-half years, Colleen Chao has been living with a terminal diagnosis. In this precious time, she's been pondering questions like:

What is heaven like?
What happens to me the moment I die?
Will I be able to see my loved ones from heaven?
Where have I been mistaken in my ideas about heaven?
How can I practically experience the hope of heaven in the face of death?

Including soul-sustaining comfort from the Scriptures and the testimonies of faithful saints, Colleen shows how our deepest desires—for beauty, wonder, peace, healing, happiness, power, worship, and belonging—are permanently (and increasingly!) fulfilled when we get Home. On Our Way Home draws deeply from God's Word, infusing our hearts with hope, even in our darkest days. Come, and experience the comfort of our promised eternal Home.

Whether you're facing a terminal diagnosis, or your loved one is—or suffering of another kind is causing you to desperately need the hope of heaven—I pray you will sense the God of all hope with you, holding your right hand, comforting you with his counsel, and preparing you for an eternity of glory.


About the Author

Colleen Chao
COLLEEN CHAO writes about God’s goodness in the unexpected chapters of her life, including singleness, chronic illness, and terminal cancer. She makes her home just outside Boise, Idaho, with her husband, Eddie, and their son, Jeremy.

Endorsements

"On Our Way Home gently guides us in how to think through the complex questions confronting us in our inevitable suffering this side of heaven. A gifted author, Colleen Chao illuminates God's soul-sustaining promises to His children as we journey home. With stories from Plato to Anne of Green Gables, from John Flavel to J. I. Packer, Colleen tenderly invites us to accept one of the sweetest gifts of suffering—'a coveted invitation into more of Christ.' If you've ever been worried or wearied over the darkness and disappointments you live in, On Our Way Home is for you."
—Jani Ortlund, Renewal Ministries

"On Our Way Home deftly reveals Jesus welcoming us to the place we were always intended to be. Sister Chao has been graced with a poetic, reflective, and prophetic voice that ushers us from the valley of shadows to the shade of God's protective wing. Chao reveals the struggle to live as if we already dwell in our true Homeland before we arrive, and offers glimpses of the victories that come when we spend this life anticipating the next. On Our Way Home takes us deeper into the mind and heart of Christ—the best place to be as we all journey Home."
—K. A. Ellis, Director of the Edmiston Center for Christian Endurance Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary, Atlanta

"I love Jesus more because of this book. I long to see Him more because of it. Colleen is dying. She can feel the cancer in her body. And here you get to read her delight in being called home. She does not pretend this walk has been only roses and daisies. You will see her honest wrestling and yet deep trust in the Lord. You will laugh with her, cry with her, and learn to trust the Lord more with her. It will help you suffer well as she coaches your eyes toward heaven—toward home. This book will help you love and long for Jesus today and in whatever tomorrow will bring."
—Don Straka, Pastor, Table Rock Church, Boise

"Colleen Chao's On Our Way Home is a radiant testament to living fully in the face of terminal illness. While many deny their mortality, Colleen embraces it with unshakable faith, proving that death has lost its sting. Her life radiates trust in Jesus, transforming unbelief into faith with a courage that inspires. This book is a seed of hope, planting God's faithfulness in countless hearts for Christ's glory."
—Jason & Lisa Wolin, Cypress Bible Church, Cypress, TX

"The moment we sit in is often skewed by skepticism. We have become a pessimistic people. And as a result, we reject a lot of good. How will we connect the goodness of God to a generation that generally doesn't see things as good? More so, connect the goodness of God to times that are bad? Colleen's book is not trite, ignorant, nor passive. She has done what our culture has hoped to do. She says hard things that are also good. This book is for people in hard times who still yearn for soft hearts. Rooted in Scripture, it can grow a faith so alive that not even death can choke out the joy God offers everyone. Her work will be a bedside companion for anyone who needs hope. Her voice calls out that God is good, especially in the bad."
—Tim Kuhl, Lead Pastor, Hill Country Bible Church, Austin

Product Details

ISBN: 978-0-8024-3777-8
Publish Date: October 2025
Dimensions: 5 x 7
Format: Paperback