Singer-songwriter Laura Story has been awarded her first Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for Blessings (Fair Trade Services/Provident Distribution). The RIAA achievement represents 500,000 units sold.

Blessings, which features the No. 1 hit single of the same name as the album, was released April 2011. "Blessings," which won Best Contemporary Christian Music Song during the 2012 GRAMMY Awards, was named Top Christian Song earlier this year during the Billboard Music Awards.

During the 43rd Annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards last year, Story won Song of the Year and Pop Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year for "Blessings" and Pop Contemporary Recorded Album of the Year for Blessings.

Story said she and her husband, Martin Elvington, are "both humbled and so grateful to God for this, and pray that any attention the song 'Blessings' receives will be used by God to bring hope to others who are walking hard roads."

Story is currently on the "3 in 1 Tour" along with Brandon Heath and Mandisa. The 23-city tour, which ends April 14, is partnering with international relief organization Food For the Hungry. Click here for more information on the tour. 

InterVarsity Press recently launched IVP Crescendo and brought to market its first fiction title under the new imprint. Released last month, Sensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown tells the story of four strangers embarking together on a journey of spiritual formation.

With Crescendo, the publisher "celebrates the significant and serendipitous results that arise wherever women apply their vision and gifts to the good of the whole church."

NBC Today co-host Kathie Lee Gifford mentioned Brown's novel in the show's regular "Favorite Things" segment on Monday, March 11.

"I like to give new authors a chance," Gifford said, noting that Brown is a first-time novelist.

"If you're a spiritually inclined person, I think you'll really love it," she added. "It's about four women, every one of them coming from a different place spiritually, but all of them in need of a new, a new fresh cup of mercy, if you know what I mean. So it's terrific. I highly recommend it."

Click here to watch the segment. 

Other titles under the new imprint include Shayne Moore and Kimberly Yim's Refuse to Do Nothing, which addresses the issue of modern-day slavery; spoken word poet Amena Brown's Breaking Old Rhythms, aiming to help readers discover the rhythm of their God-given potential; and Patty Kirk's The Easy Burden of Pleasing God, which guides readers toward understanding the easy yoke of following Jesus and the light burden of loving God.

As Mother's Day nears, any store that sells gifts for mom will begin to see more and more male shoppers. Here are 10 tips to share with the team at your store: 

1. Assume every man who walks into your store the week before Mother’s Day is there to buy. Remember, we create more sales when we begin by assuming the customer is a buyer.

2. Don't ask if he needs help. You know he's there to buy something and that you are just the right person to assist him. Instead of asking, "How may I help you? or  "Can I help you find something?" say something like, "Welcome. I bet you are looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift."

Voting has started in the 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best awards. Anyone connected with the Christian retailing industry—including authors, editors, literary agents and distributors—is invited to vote for what they think are the best products in the Christian retail market.

Suppliers and authors have nominated 2012 gifts and other products—books, Bibles, music, DVDs, children’s products and more—as well as Backlist titles in the 2013 awards sponsored by Christian Retailing magazine.

Qualifying voters can click here to go directly to the ballot and vote.

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group was recently honored with four sales awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). The publisher received two Platinum Awards for sales of more than 1 million copies and two Gold Awards for sales of more than 500,000 copies via all retail channels.

Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey (WaterBrook Press) and Radical by David Platt (Multnomah Books) were honored with Platinum Awards.

Gold awards went to Every Young Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey and Every Young Woman's Battle by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn (both WaterBrook Press).

Earlier this year, ECPA also recognized God's Inspirational Promises (Thomas Nelson) by Max Lucado and A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers) with Platinum awards. Gold awards went to Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen (FaithWords); How to Hear From God by Joyce Meyer (FaithWords); The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine/Charisma House Book Group); Heaven Is for Real for Kids by Todd and Sonja Burpo; and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan), among others.

The year's recipients of the Gold, Platinum and Diamond (more than 10 million copies in sales) awards will be honored at the ECPA Awards Banquet, to be held April 29 during the association's Leadership Summit at Ingram Publisher Services' headquarters outside of Nashville.

Click here for a complete list of ECPA Diamond, Platinum and Gold Award recipients. 

Wounded Warrior, Wounded Home: Hope and Healing for Families Living with PTSD and TBI (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group) was recently added to the First Lady of the Marine Corps Recommended Reading List.

Established in October 2012, the list features books written for military families, with each title selected by Bonnie Amos, wife of Marine Corps Gen. Commandant James Amos.

Written by Marshele Carter Waddell and Kelly Orr, Wounded Warrior, Wounded Home will be featured in a special section in Marine Corps Exchange stores, and will be available in all Marine Corps base libraries and the Marine Corps Association.

Waddell, wife of a retired career U.S. Navy SEAL, will do a book signing with other authors on the list April 20 at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C.

Orr, a clinical psychologist and Vietnam veteran, became the Waddells' therapist when the Waddells moved to Colorado Springs, Colo. Waddell's husband is a disabled combat veteran with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and multiple TBIs (Traumatic Brain Injury).

In Wounded Warrior, Wounded Home, released this month, Waddell and Orr share their experiences of living with PTSD and TBI. More than 1.5 million troops have fulfilled 3 million deployment tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, with most service members serving as many as nine combat tours. Between 30% and 40% of the returning veterans show symptoms of PTSD or report conditions of TBI.

Click here for all of the books named on the list.

Several competing Jesus movie projects are in the works, including one from the grandson of the "Left Behind" series co-author Tim LaHaye.

"It's been nine years since Mel Gibson's crucifixion drama, The Passion of The Christ, grossed $612 million worldwide," The Hollywood Reporter observed. "Now, after several false starts, competing producers are attempting a natural follow-up about Christ's resurrection."

The "inside track" might belong to Tim LaHaye Productions, run by Randy LaHaye, grandson of Tim LaHaye, the trade publication of the entertainment industry reported.

Seven years ago, the Tim LaHaye reportedly had a deal with Sony's Screen Gems to produce The Resurrection from a screenplay by Lionel Chetwynd, but the movie was scrapped when Ben Feingold, Sony's then-president of home entertainment, was ousted in 2006.

Since then, Randy LaHaye has raised $20 million through private equity, and he plans to shoot the Chetwynd script next year for release around Easter 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

"Our goal is to shoot some of it in Israel, where Jesus walked and the disciples spoke to one another," Randy LaHaye said.

Meanwhile, American Trademark Pictures, which has $30 million to produce and $45 million from FilmCrest—the company that provided the initial funding for The Passion of The Christ—plans to release The Resurrection of the Christ. The title, though, could change to Golgotha, a reference to the place where Jesus was crucified, and the movie could be the first installment in a trilogy.

"Ours is a Ridley Scott, Gladiator approach told from the perspective of the Romans," Producer Bill McKay told The Hollywood Reporter.

A nonprofit called In Jesus' Name Productions is working on The Messiah, a film exploring "the events surrounding Jesus' death, resurrection and Pentecost." Slated for a 2015 release, the movie is from Executive Producer David Wood, who is seeking to raise $25 million through a crowd-funding campaign that asks 1 million Christians to give $25 apiece to become "spiritual producers."

"All the resurrection movies use the Bible as source material, but ours will rely more on special effects," Wood said. "We'll even show heaven and hell and see what's going on there."

A non-resurrection film, Mary Mother of Christ, will be executive-produced by pastor and author Joel Osteen and distributed by Lionsgate.