AUTHOR

I FOUND A PUBLISHER FOR MY FIRST BOOK! Wipf and Stock Publishers have sent me an "Offer to Publish" for my first book! its title is, "Thanks: Giving and Receiving Gratitude for America's Troops; A Soldier's Stories, A Veteran's Confessions and A Pastor's Reflections". This is a book about faith and moral issues facing America’s troops. As someone who spent four years wearing U. S Army Uniforms I have plenty of my “Soldier’s Stories”. But I don’t start my book with these. Instead I introduce my work with the telling of Simon’s service when he carried the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I argue that “Service” is the same as Jesus’ call to: “Go an ‘Extra’ or ‘Second’ mile”. I further argue that Americans are called by Jesus, God incarnate, and common decency to “walk” a “Second Mile”, for America’s troops and veterans. Finally I argue that this is necessary because troops and vets are in trouble as demonstrated by things as their suicide rates. This sets up Part One “The Case for Thanking”. Part Two relates my “Soldier’s Stories”. Part Three called, “A Veteran’s Confessions” records my stories which could never be told by an Army Recruiter’ but deal with life as it is the service and the before and after context of my time in uniform. Part Four is my, “Reflections”, as, “A Pastor”. My Conclusion asks the question, “What Would God Have Us Do? And partially answers that question with, “Avoiding Worshiping the Rate of Return & Ourselves” Then a I offer, “A Postive Vision for America” My “Final Word” is for, “For Veterans in Particular and The Public in General”.