Nancy B. Kennedy

The second book in the Miracles and Moments of Grace series, Inspiring Stories from Doctors released yesterday.

Congratulations to the 10 people who won copies of the book in the goodreads giveaway: Yaritza S., Venice M., Denese D., Emily T., Kara P., Valerie K.,
Tricia B., Emily M., Heather S. and Elzahraa E. I hope you enjoy the book!

If you didn't win a copy -- and 528 of you didn't! -- it's not too late. Enter to win one of 15 copies offered on LibraryThing. And, if you miss the deadline for that (March 26), head on over to ACU/Leafwood Publishers book club. If you have a blog, you're welcome to request a review copy of the book.

If you liked the stories from chaplains in the first Miracles and Moments of Grace, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book's fifty stories from doctors. They sure made me feel better about ending up in a doctor's exam room!

A longtime friend has invited me to speak at his church about Miracles & Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories from Military Chaplains. (I'm going to have to spell out full titles now that there are two MMGs!)

My friend, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth C. Larter, is pastor of the historic Deerfield Presbyterian Church in South Jersey. He has a long-time interest in military history and in ministering to military families.

“My first exposure was the poetry of Wilfred Owen," Pastor Larter said in an interview with The News of Cumberland County. Owen's poems, he said, provide "a penetrating insight into the effect of war and those who participate in it: on their minds, their hearts and their relationships."

Pastor Larter spent many vacations with his sons visiting Civil War and Revolutionary War sites. His interest has also been stoked by the presence of many military members in his congregation.

“It has fascinated me, not because it’s a happy subject, but because it’s as if the conflict of war brings things out of people that in more normal circumstances would not be there: both the horrible things of war but also the love of comrades, the devotion to each other, the willingness to sacrifice their lives for the other," he said in his interview.

Last year, Deerfield erected a monument to military veterans who have served in peacetime and in war from the earliest days of the Revolution to the present day. It was placed in the church's cemetery and is open for anyone to visit.

My book talk at Deerfield will begin at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 18 at the Christian Education Building across the street from the church, at 530 Old Deerfield Pike, Deerfield Street, NJ 08313. For more information, contact Peggy Barricknan at the church office by phone at 856-455-1222 or by e-mail at dpcoffice@comcast.net. The book will be available for $10 at the event (30 percent off list price).