About a month ago, I asked my Facebook friends for blog inspiration. I said they could ask me any question they wanted and the answer might appear on my blog. For the most part, this was an attempt for me to get over the writer’s block that plagued my summer, but one of my friends gave me a kick in the pants when she asked, “Why haven’t you been writing?”
I won’t bore you with the many excuses for why this summer only saw one post on my blog. I won’t make any promises to do better (although, as you can see, I’m totally on a roll!). No, I won’t, because you (hopefully) come here to read my writing, not for excuses or promises.
While Rev on the Edge did not see much action this summer, I did not completely disappear from the blog-o-sphere. What little writing energy I had was spent on pieces for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Baptist Women in Ministry, the Baptist History and Heritage Society, and Passport, Inc.
Here’s a look back on the writing I did this summer in case you missed it:
This spring and summer, I wrote a number of articles for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s fellowship! magazine.
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Photo of Sam Bandela presenting sewing machines to women in India courtesy CBF
A Listening Servant: Sam Bandela lives into missionary calling, serves God in India – Writing about Sam Bandela gave me a glimpse into the heart of a man who can’t imagine a life outside of mission work. He strives daily to meet the needs of men, women, and children in India, giving them the tools to succeed on their own. After writing this article, I found that his story resonated with many people, including my grandparents, who told me that they donated enough money to send multiple sewing machines to India for his ministry.
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Missy posing with students at Amani Sasa, courtesy CBF
Amani Sasa: Missy Ward-Angalla transforms lives with ministry of healing and empowerment in Uganda – Missy Ward-Angalla is a dear friend from seminary, so it was an honor to write about her ministry in Kampala, Uganda. Her story is so moving, and her passion is contagious. I was and am excited to share her story with the broader Fellowship.
Restoring Hope in the Midst of Struggle: CBF field personnel help #EndHunger among Latino families – I have known Greg and Sue Smith since 2009, when they brought a group of students to the Passport Camp where I worked. Their compassion and determination to help the Latino community in Fredericksburg, Va., hasn’t faltered since. As CBF places an emphasis on ending hunger through the Offering for Global Missions, I am ever eager to share about the work the Smiths are doing to advocate for and meet the needs of others.
Photo courtesy cbf.net
This year, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship also created a Bible Study curriculum to accompany the Offering for Global Missions promotional materials, and asked me to write the adult Bible Studies, which you can find here. There are also Bible Studies for children and youth, written by friends of mine, available here.
- As an interesting side note, if these Bible Studies has been available five years ago, I would have been responsible for calling your church to ask them to place their order!
Photo courtesy d365.org
One of my favorite writing assignments this summer was the D365 Devotions for the week of June 22-28. This was my first experience writing for D365, and I found that I really enjoyed the devotional writing. These are timeless devotions, and I hope they will be as meaningful for you as they were for me!
Photo courtesy bwim.info
Baptist Women in Ministry also featured me in their “This is What a Minister Looks Like” column. I was so excited to be asked, and hoped that my story would resonate with other female ministers.
I hope no one has gotten sick of seeing this picture yet.
Finally, the Baptist History and Heritage Society asked me to write for their monthly column, “Why I am a CBF Baptist.” Over the past year, the BHHS has chose to feature young Baptists who share about their love for CBF. CBF is cross-posting these on their blog, and I was pretty proud when I went back to re-read the post.
In further news, I am spending the long weekend working on a chapter of a book to be published this summer. I am super excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to be able to share it with all of you! Who knows, maybe someday you’ll be able to search for me on Amazon!
Rev. on the Edge 
Hey Rev, glad u still r writing and thanks for letting us know all that’s been going on with u. Hope u r still doing the strings u do so well and would be good to hear u at our reunion next summer. Blessings, Jim B