An update, some announcements, an invitation, and a book giveaway

Update

It’s Spring Break for me. Which usually means some travel. Last week, I spoke at John Brown University during two days of International Women’s Day events. From there, we headed to Houston’s Lanier Library and Stone Chapel for The Visual Museum (“VizMu”) symposium, “See Her Story.” I spoke at both the JBU and the VizMu events on “Women in the Early Church: Art and Space.” And I taped three podcasts while on the road in addition to a few in the can that include return visits to Preston Sprinkle’s “Theology in the Raw” podcast (topic: Vindicating the Vixens) and the Beyond Ordinary Women podcast (topic: purity culture). Coming soon.

In late February, I spoke in chapel on the Washington DC campus of DTS, followed by teaching a two-hour writing workshop. I loved meeting students I’ve long known only virtually.

Some announcements  

Early this month, Nobody’s Mother was named a finalist in the 2023 FOREWORD INDIES Book of the Year in the Women’s Studies category. But wait, aren’t “indie” books self-published? At one time, “indie” did pretty much refer only to self-published authors. But now “indie” means anyone not published by one of the Big Five—HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and Hachette. The FOREWORD “Women’s Studies” category focuses on books that deal with the experiences, issues, and advancement of women throughout history. This year more than 2,400 entries spanning 55 genres poured in for consideration. Selected by Foreword’s editorial team, the finalists now await judgment from teams of librarian and bookseller judges nationwide. Winners in each category will be announced in June.  

Last month, Nobody’s Mother was named a finalist in the “Online Presentation” category of the Christian Authors Network’s CAN Excellence in Marketing Awards. These awards celebrate “excellence in Christian media and marketing by authors.” The award was designed “to recognize, educate, and encourage superior marketing and promotional skills of Christian authors.” I’m especially happy about what this means for my intern, Sarah Griffith, whom some have described as the book’s “zealous promoter.” Winners will be announced April 27.

You can find me on new episodes of these podcasts:

Know Why podcast:  How Did Jesus Treat Women? (Part 1)

Know Why podcast: Did Jesus Prescribe Gender Roles? Know About Jesus: Interview With Dr. Sandra Glahn (Part 2)

On the Way with Max Botner Why Does Paul Say “She will be saved through childbearing”?

You can also watch/listen to me here: Artemis of the Ephesians, Northern Seminary’s New Testament World Colloquium with Dr. Nijay K. Gupta     

The Alabaster Jar podcast hosted a mini-series featuring the Visual Museum and works on the site. I appear on or host the following episodes—but listen to more than these! We have some wonderful expert guests.

What you can expect

Why is this project important?

Women of all ages

Art History 101

Art History 102

And you can read some new reviews:  

Dr. Joy Dahl featured a review of Nobody’s Mother for The Denison Forum.

Marg Mowczko featured a review of the book on her fab site, as well.

What’s ahead for me? Speaking at the first commencement for the Opened Bible Academy in Ireland next weekend. Attending the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing with a bunch of my students. And attending board meetings and the national conference for EPA—the Christian media organization I serve as president. Then DTS graduation, my favorite day of the year. Then, before I teach a doctoral course in self-publishing, it’s off to Italy for about three weeks with my students. Speaking of Italy…

An invitation

Lynn Cohick and I are leading a winter trip to Italy that we’re opening up to the general public. (Someone asked if she can bring her husband. Yes, of course!) We’re calling the trip “Art, Faith, and Gelato.” Mark your calendar for December 27, 2024–January 12, 2025. We’d love to have you join us for some key sites (though not necessarily the Top 10 on Trip Advisor) in Rome, Torcello, Venice, Ravenna, Padua, Vicenza, Milan, Florence, Orvieto, Siena, Assisi, and Civita di Bagnoreggio. If you plan to sign up, don’t delay. Slots are filling fast.

Win a FREE reference book

Dr. Nancy S. Dawson has just released a beautiful book titled All the Genealogies of the Bible. In case you wondered, that’s 340 genealogies. I have a copy of this work, and I love it. It’s a thick, hard-bound reference book that presents content in a simple visual format. Dawson was aided by my friend and colleague Eugene H. Merrill (he wrote the “Sarah” chapter for Vindicating the Vixens), and Andreas J. Köstenberger. These two provided brief commentary on each entry. Ever wondered how Elizabeth was related to Jesus’s mother? Or how exactly Jesus and the John the Baptist were kin? You can see the family trees laid out in All the Genealogies of the Bible. How do you win? Just download any free resource from this site (which will capture your email), and I’ll enter your email for the drawing to be held on Easter.  

Happy Spring!