"ASK JAMIE JO"

Surprise unveiled! Yes, ladies, what we’ve been waiting for is this: a separate password-protected forum that will provide a more private place strictly for women serving cross-culturally, where we can get down to the nitty-gritty and discuss the things that concern us, stir our hearts, bug us, and make us laugh. [Editor's note: Although the forums are still in the research and development phase, we will keep you updated with the launch date. How could we stifle JJ's unabashed enthusiasm?]

In the meantime, I am proposing we have a monthly “Ask Jamie Jo” blog post where we post someone’s question or concern, and then have an open forum for you all to post your solutions or viewpoints. We'll use the current comment section to do that.

Don’t you love it? I sure hope you do, since I stated three times last week that you would.

The benefit of an “Ask Jamie Jo” question is to allow you to ask things you might not feel comfortable posting if you had to sign your name to it. Being in the line of work we are in does not prevent us from having occasional marital disputes or even (gasp!) personality clashes with our coworkers and conflicts within the Christian community. However we do need to be discrete in addressing these publicly. Thus, the “Ask Jamie Jo” feature. Once we get the forum up and going, "Ask Jamie Jo" will move there.

The forums will not be exclusively tied to this particular blog, but will provide a safe place for us to discuss articles from the onlineMagazine, movies and books we recommend, things we are learning from the WOTH Writer’s blog, etc. You could even “Ask Jamie Jo” about things I have written here. For instance, Cindy Blomquist was asking me last week for an update on the Friday afternoon Bible study I mentioned leading in Spanish. On the forum we can tie up loose ends like that.

Can you tell I am seriously jazzed about the potential for this new WOTH Forum?

In my spare time, I love to read the different blogs listed on Coffeegirl’s sidebar. It’s a way for me to connect with you and get to know you. The forum will make it even more personal. Blogging sometimes feels like speaking to an empty auditorium, but a forum is community. We may not always agree with each other, but we will learn to love each other better online and IRL as we see different sides of potentially hot topics.

Until the forums are up and running (pray for our dear techie guy in the WOTH office who got dumped with this great vision!), let’s start with our first “Ask Jamie Jo” blog post next week. Send your questions to Cindy (editor@womenoftheharvest.com), and she will select one for me to address next week. Let her know if it needs to be anonymous or if we can use your name. When needed, Cindy can sign your name appropriately like on Ann Landers and other columns, “Friendless in Mexico,” “Sleepless in Saigon,” “Snarky in Singapore.” Things like that.

IRL*Creating community EXCITES me!