Skip to main content

Nice to Meet You


Hello!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am a writer. I love everything that is old and have an insatiable curiosity about the past.

Age 4 - rockin the pigtails and bangs
Today - Still haven't given up the bangs!

When I was little, I was huge fan of Nancy Drew mysteries. I enjoyed looking for clues and imagined secret passageways hidden in our 1960s suburban home. Of course, our home held no surprises, so I turned instead to books for my source of adventure and enjoyment.

I grew up in the Baptist church where my dad played piano and my mom taught Sunday School. The faith I learned as a very young girl has been foundational in my life. I come from a family of teachers, and I served 16 years on the faculty at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

My husband and I have been married for 27+ years. We love vintage clothes, architecture, cars, and music - and renovating our mid-century home. Our teenage daughter is decidedly modern and introduces us to the 21st century on a regular basis. Today, I am the managing editor of Today in the Word and content strategy manager (aka storyteller) for Moody Bible Institute, working remotely from my Florida home.

My first book, When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up, was published in February 2014 by Moody Publishers. In it, I tell the stories of eight turn-of-the-century women who changed their worlds by following God.

In 2011, I was awarded first prize for non-fiction in the Hal Grutzmacher's Literary Contest. You can read my winning essay at this link: "Naked As They Come".

For more information on my book, speaking opportunities, or just to say "hello!", I can be contacted via email at: jamie.janosz@moody.edu.



Comments

Hi Jamie, I found you through the Easter Stories syncroblog. Another participant on the syncroblog just recommended your book to me. I looked it up… It's a small world... My husband is a Ph.D candidate at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is writing his dissertation on women in the Holiness movement in the late 19th-20th centuries who started urban missions for the lower class and immigrant communities in Chicago. Amanda Berry Smith is also one of the women he is featuring in his dissertation. We will be getting your book and both reading it. What a fun connection!
Jamie Janosz said…
Emily - Thanks so much for writing. How wonderful that your husband is studying Amanda Berry Smith as well - I was fascinated by her autobiography. I think I just connected with him on linkedin! Glad to meet you both!

Popular posts from this blog

Mary McLeod Bethune: She Has Given Her Best

I first heard about Mary McLeod Bethune when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. She was an early graduate of my college - and an African American woman. I knew she had gone on to become one of the greatest women in our country. She was so well known that she earned the status of being featured on our postage stamps. But I didn't really know much about her. As I researched Mary McLeod Bethune for my book, When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up . I learned a bit more about her remarkable life: She was the 15th of 17 children, born to former slaves. From an early age, she hungered for education. She graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a desire for missionary service to Africa - an opportunity she was denied because of her race. Undeterred, she started a school for African American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, that went on to become Bethune Cookman University. She was asked to work with Franklin D. Roosevelt and led many ...

Pacific Garden Mission: A Bed, A Meal and the Bright Light of Hope

In 1877, a woman named Sarah Dunn Clarke and her newly-wedded husband George started a rescue mission on Chicago’s south side.   They were wealthy, but their hearts were broken by the men and women who struggled to survive on the city’s streets.   The Pacific Garden Mission is the 2 nd oldest operating rescue mission in the United States. Now located on 14 th St and Canal – just south of Chicago’s loop – they offer shelter to as many as a thousand men and women on any given night.   As part of my book research to understand how the work of Sarah Clarke continues today, I visited the mission with my friend Dawn Pulgine. Entering through the side, we felt a bit out of our element. Men, black and white, old and young, clustered near the doorway. Some carried bags of personal belongings. Others were working the desk and security. It was mid-day at the Mission. We were given a tour by one of the “program men” – residents who choose to stay a...

My Life as a Cosplay Mom

Cosplay?! What's that? When I tell people that my teenage daughter loves to cosplay, they often have no idea what I'm talking about. About five years ago, my daughter created her first costume to attend a cosplay convention. What I quickly learned is that her love for "cosplay" (defined as costume play) would definitely involve her mom! Together, we have made countless trips to the fabric and craft store as I learned to sew, trace, and glue, create patterns from scratch, and apply stage make-up. In the photo to the left, you can see my husband and I, with our daughter, in full Pokemon cosplay. Attending ACEN (Anime Central) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, two mild-mannered parents were instantly transformed into Team Magma. Our daughter had full design control, helping me create our group costume. Apparently we did it right, because the moment we entered the conference center, we were stopped for photos. Milt and I had to fake i...