I was delighted to visit Bible & Archaeology (bam.sites.uiowa.edu) recently to talk about early nativity scenes! 🤓 youtu.be/nKBm6FYKoEc?... We cover the catacombs, frescoes, Life of Brian. And it's the closest I've ever come to invoking "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals"...

It’s here!!! So exciting to finally see a printed copy of my book!

Miracle of miracles: all of my advisees signed up for an advising appointment, showed up at their scheduled time, and came with a tentative course schedule. Amazing.

So exciting to see this up on the web site! brill.com/display/titl...

Who am I likely to forget in writing acknowledgments that I absolutely should not forget to thank?

Getting pulled away from book manuscript revisions to attend a committee meeting feels like such an intrusion.

11-year old lunch box pseudepigraphy … my favorite part of this child taking over school lunch packing responsibilities this year.

Share with your friends! To celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth we’re giving away a guest’s book every week in March! Post a review of the podcast on your favorite app to be entered into that week’s drawing. On Sunday every week we’ll draw a winner.

I assigned all of 2 Maccabees for my students to read for class today, and they actually READ it!

I only recently discovered Luhrmann, and wow - having grown up in a charismatic Pentecostal tradition, I feel so seen.

Yesterday I told the kids they could not go out to play in the snow because there was less than 1” - not enough to play in. They responded with a 6-page, illustrated treatise, arguing why they should be allowed to go out anyway. They got to go out.

Hanukkah is most identified with the menorah, which of course commemorates the so-called miracle of oil. Or does it...? 1/12 🧵

Hanukkah is typically commemorated as a "clash of cultures". It represents the battle between a clearly defined and largely monolithic "Judaism" against a clearly defined and largely monolithic "Hellenism". This narrative is increasingly problematized in scholarship. 🧵 1/20

Catching up on some recent(ish) publications on time, while enjoying the snow flurries.

My article, "Jewish Divination in the Greco-Roman Era," is out in Religion Compass, and it is Open Access! compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Final grades submitted. Now it’s on to “time and temporality” in the DSS and time at home with the kids!

One of my favorite end-of-semester questions from students in my DSS class is “Why weren’t any of these texts included in the Protestant Canon?” Maybe there needs to be a final activity where they debate/argue/campaign for the inclusion of a particular text.

Never dreamed I’d be excited about revising my book manuscript, but reviewer 2 came in with some clutch recommendations I cannot wait to read! It’s currently my motivation to get through grading and a short writing assignment.

60 final projects graded. 8 to go.

Favorite coping mechanism for end-of-semester grading: I get to drink all the coffee I want.

Half off! Worth grabbing! Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture) a.co/d/i0VNFCf

Probably my favorite (ever) student depiction of Sheol - the basement at Grandma’s house where it’s dark and you can hear the TV and voices upstairs, but if you scream no one will hear you.

Surprise pictures from my son are the best. Came home to an angry scarecrow with happy clouds in the background.

The one who got me started on the PhD journey and the one who saw me through the finish line. Such incredible scholars, professors, and mentors! (Also featuring my amazing SBL roomie and my doctor-sister!)

One of the highlights of #SBLAAR24 for me was meeting so many of you in person for the first time, including @rebekahjhaigh.bsky.social who shared some Women Who Went Before swag. One of my favorite podcasts!

Thanks, friend! It was so great to have you there!

I recommend both of these all the time. Definitely essential reading!

Woman Zion’s (Round) Table was one of the best sessions I have attended at SBL/AAR. Not only were the presentations super engaging, but the discussion times (interspersed throughout) were so thoughtfully planned and facilitated. Excited to see Cindy Dawson’s book coming out soon!

Folks, another starter pack - this one devoted to scholars of Early Judaism. (If you are a PhD student or have a PhD in the field and want to be included let me know.)

Super excited to see everyone at SBL/AAR and participate in this session on women and women’s voices in Pseudepigrapha/Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature!

Snow is the best antidote for the post holiday slump.

!!!

Seems strangely appropriate to be returning to a book project on liminality after a 9-month hiatus spent working on birth imagery in 4 Maccabees. Now if I could just get some momentum going before the semester begins …