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Patriots'
courage, faith transcend generations
Fort
Worth Star-Telegram staff writer
By
TERRY LEE GOODRICH
Oct 20, 2007
The
Revolutionary War was in full swing, and Commander-in-Chief
George Washington and Maj. Gen. Nathanael Green were at odds.
Washington
was displeased because Green had sent a scouting report by
horseback messenger rather than delivering it in person. Green
explained that a face-to-face account would have wasted time
better spent finding food for his army. Luckily,
Washington
did not hold a grudge.
"I
used that story in my book to illustrate the verse in Proverbs
about how if you criticize a fool, he'll despise you, while a
wise man will love you," said author Jane Hampton Cook, 37,
a former Fort Worth resident. "Some things never
change."
Cook's
recently published book -- Battlefields & Blessings:
Stories of Faith and Courage From the Revolutionary War --
includes 365 devotionals. The book mixes expressions of faith
from patriots -- among them Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and
Abigail Adams -- with tales from the Revolution that illustrate
biblical principles.
Cook,
a former Web site director for the White House, will sign copies
of her 550-page book Oct. 27 at Family Christian Stores in
Arlington
. The book also is available at Christian and
general-distribution bookstores.
In
her research, "I was looking for those common human
conflicts and emotions -- loneliness, contentment, anger,
conflicts with the boss -- that transcend generations,"
Cook said.
A
grateful
Washington
wrote to his brother about "the miraculous care of
Providence
." That was after he emerged unscathed from a battle in
which four bullets pierced his coat and two horses were shot out
from under him, Cook said.
Very
different emotions were expressed by Sarah Hodgkins, a soldier's
wife who turned to her faith for comfort.
"At
the beginning of the war, people thought it would be over after
a couple battles," Cook said. "But her husband had
stopped writing about coming home soon, and the separation was
getting to her."
Historical
sources
Cook,
who lives in
Vienna
,
Va.
, researched the Library of Congress Web site and other reliable
research databases on the Internet, she said. She had learned
much about research during her time designing President Bush's
Web sites when he was governor and when he became president.
"Because
of expired copyrights from books compiled in the 1800s, I was
able to access hundreds of original letters and documents
electronically," she said. "These weren't easily
available a decade ago."
Cook
did much of her writing on a laptop while on bed rest during her
pregnancy with her second son.
Local
inspiration
She
credits her confidence in writing historical books to retired
teacher Susan Hotard of
Fort Worth
, who taught Cook creative writing and English at
Eastern
Hills
High School
. "I didn't do so much teaching as encouraging,"
Hotard said. "When she e-mailed me a chapter or two, I
thought, 'This is going to be entertaining.' She has a Christian
spirit without being preachy or judgmental."
Cook
is "always ahead of the game, with fresh ideas and fresh
approaches," said former co-worker Fawn Escalante. She
served as event planner and media coordinator for Bush when Cook
was his webmaster in Austin.Cook said a favorite example from
her book is Benjamin Franklin's urging delegates to the
Constitutional Convention to pray daily together when they could
not agree over the "sticking points" of the
Constitution.
Franklin
later told
Washington
that "Our prayers, sir, were heard; and they were
graciously answered."
Cook
also included excerpts from sermons of the 1770s.
"Americans
wanted their king to follow God but not act like he was divine,
which some English monarchs believed they were," she said.
"In
many ways, it wasn't that different from now," Cook said.
"That's why so many candidates volunteer their religious
affiliations.
"Americans
want a president who is humble, willing to pray for strength and
wisdom. But they also want that faith to be genuine and not
contrived or abused."
Book
signing
What:
Signing of Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of
Faith and Courage From the Revolutionary War, (Living Ink
Books) by Jane Hampton Cook
When:
1 p.m. Oct. 27
Where:
Family Christian Stores, 780 E. Road to Six Flags,
Suite
224
, in
Lincoln Square
,
Arlington
Cost:
$17
Information:
817-548-8877, www.janecook.com
Jane
Hampton Cook
Age:
37
Occupation:
Author and former White House deputy director
of
Internet news services
Home:
Vienna
,
Va.
Birthplace:
Nuremberg
,
Germany
; grew up in
Fort Worth
Education:
Valedictorian and 1988 graduate of Eastern Hills High
School; bachelor of arts in music from Baylor University in
1992; master's in educational administration from Texas A&M
University in 1995
Previous
books: The Faith of America's First Ladies and
Maggie Houston: My Father's Honor
Hobbies:
Scrapbooking, aerobics and Pilates
Family:
Husband, John Kim Cook; sons Austin, 2, and Zachary, 6
months
tgoodrich@star-telegram.com
Terry Lee Goodrich, 817-685-3812
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