“Heaven Has Blue Carpet” is a refreshing reminder of how we are like sheep and the love the Good Shepherd has for us all. Sharon and Ron Niedzinski left the suburban lifestyle to buy their dream farm and Sharon raised sheep for 16 years. She was able to weave a wonderful and warm account of her love for sheep in a story line that pulls on your “heart-strings.” She invites you to read the next chapter with anticipation of adventure, learning and laughter.

She broke her story line into two parts. The first is “The First Year” and the second is “The Sheep World.” You can imagine the great stories of a city person learning how to acclimate to the farm life, especially when related to raising animals – specifically sheep. Fortunately, she had the support of her family and they spent many trips out to the barn in the heat and the cold in order to care for their sheep. She gives a delightful picturesque manner of describing sheep wrestling, lambing and other sheep developmental stories!

Sharon is an obvious Christian as she weaves beautiful Scriptural passages from throughout the Bible relevant to her shepherding accounts and seeks to honor the Lord Jesus in giving credit to Him for His watch-care over His sheep. Her connections and illustrations of what Christians are like to sheep are clear and humorous, although very incriminating.

In many of the chapters there are several additional insight “boxes” as she makes application from the story and Scripture. Her “Chew on This” are good reflective thoughts for personal application. Her “Shearing Shed” are exhortations on how you as a Christian should consider the life-application principle from shepherding to your own Christian life. And her “Good Grain” boxes are digging deeper admonitions of Scriptural application. You’ll enjoy the practical manner in which she seeks to shepherd the souls of those who humble themselves before the Great Shepherd.

You’ll have to wait for the last chapter to understand the title of the book, but her testimony is clear the Lord was blessing her and her family, because they sought to honor Him. What a blessing to read this book just as I transition in life to consider the Lord’s opportunities in a more rural setting!