Iron Rose Sister Ministries

New beginnings can start at any time. By this point in January, many people are feeling discouraged because some of the resolutions they made for the new year have fallen by the wayside. Others have opted for a specific word or concept on which to focus their thoughts, Bible study, and prayers for the year.

As a ministry, we are focusing on Preparing for the I AM in 2019. For our annual Prayer Month emphasis in February, we are “Praying to the I AM.”

Each year, we have committed to spending 24 days of prayer leading up to 24 hours of prayer, but this year, after a year of significant growth, we wanted to add a “Plus 1.” 24 days (+1) of prayer will lead up to 24 hours (+1) of prayer.

Here are the applications of “Plus 1.”
• Invite someone else to pray with you, for IRSM, and as a Prayer Partner
• Growing in a life of Prayer.
• Growing in relationship with the I AM.
• Growing in the ways with pray with others.
• Adding IRSM and the vision of equipping women to your daily prayers.
• The Prayer Month does not end with a certain month, a specific number of days, hours, or minutes. We are invited to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17)! Add a “Plus 1” to your life of prayer.

How you can join us as IRSM Prayer Warriors, Praying to the I AM:
• Commit to pray daily for IRSM and download the February Prayer Calendar
• Share the calendar and opportunity to pray with a “Plus 1” friend or Iron Rose Sister.
• Share the Instagram posts (@IronRoseSister) and daily requests from our Facebook page posts (Iron Rose Sister Ministries) or share your own prayers and posts with the hashtags #IronRoseSister #prayingtoIAM.
• Comment on Facebook, Instagram, or write us personally to let us know where you are praying from and the specific prayers God has led you to pray on IRSM’s behalf.

Monday, February 25 will be our Prayer-a-thon, in which people from all over the world will join as one voice to lift up IRSM to the Great I AM.
• Sign up for a 15-minute time slot to prayon Monday, February 25th on our website: (http://ironrosesister.com/be-a-part/pray then click the link to a Google Doc) or contact us with the time slot you prefer and city, state/country you are praying from. Times are listed in Central Standard Time.

Beyond our Prayer Month, here’s what you can do as an IRSM Prayer Warrior:
• Sign up for our monthly Prayer newsletter (different than our e-news). Subscribe on the website or contact us to add your email address.
• Commit to keeping IRSM in your prayers, especially that the I AM will guide and bless our equipping efforts in His name.

Please know that you are in our prayers as well. We cannot do this without you! Your prayers are a vital, integral part of what God has called us to: equip more women to connect to the I AM and to one another, in English, Spanish, and bilingual contexts across the Americas.
Thank you!
Note: The calendar is available in both English and Spanish.

#IronRoseSister #prayer #24hoursofprayerplus1 #IAM #beapart

When facing a new beginning, we have no idea what the end will look like. We can dream of what we hope it becomes. We can plan and set goals toward what we deem an attainable end.

However, unexpected things will happen along the way. We are not in control. Change is a constant. And interruptions are always possible.

Yet, God is not surprised by any of these detours. For Him, they are not detours.

God is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:13). He goes before us, behind us, and surrounds us (Ps. 125:2).

God is the source of life and the conqueror of death (1 Cor. 15:55). He is the Root and the Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16).

He who was and is and is to come, the eternal, cannot be caught off guard.

The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. I AM is the Author of everything.
The First and the Last imply there is an order to things. I AM is in control of everything.
The Beginning and the End illustrate a timeframe. I AM, Creator, knows when and how everything will happen.

What a comfort to believe in The I AM! Are you trusting The I AM with your new beginning?

Written by Tony Brizendine, husband of Brenda and volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries

I can remember the excitement I felt as if it were yesterday. Brenda and I were picking out the paint colors, cabinets, carpet, and light fixtures for our new home. This is something we had prayed about for years and our dream was finally coming true. We received a phone call from our realtor while we were celebrating my birthday. He congratulated us on securing the property to build our new home on. I thought for sure this was God’s hand blessing us. We had already sold our previous home and were living in the basement of my parent’s house while waiting on our new home to be constructed. We also were pregnant with our daughter and were hoping the new home would be finished before she was born.

The months that followed seemed to contradict all of our excitement. The building of our home was delayed for several months due to a shortage of workers. By the time there were workers available, I received news that I was being laid off from my job. We ultimately had to pull out of building the house a few weeks before Brenda’s due date. I was crushed. No job, no house and a baby on the way. I asked myself over and over, “Why would a good God allow this to happen to us?” I felt angry and abandoned by God.

A few days after our daughter was born, I received a call from a former boss of mine. He invited me to apply for an open job with his new company. Within a week after his call and interviewing, I was employed again. My parents and younger sister helped us with our newborn daughter while we were living with them, which was a huge blessing for us. Two months later, our realtor called us and had a great home available for us to purchase that suited our needs perfectly. We were able to move into our house the weekend of my birthday, exactly 1 year after we had secured the property for the home we wanted to build.

After having some time to reflect, I realized that I was not putting God first. In that season, I had become selfish and shortsighted. I didn’t see God as my provider. I saw myself and my job as my provider instead of Him. He is the Great “I AM” and as Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” God is not interested in just granting the desires of our heart, He wants our whole heart. While we see the surface level things, He can see from a much higher level than we can.

While I was very grateful to God for restoring my employment and helping us through that season, I felt as though our dream was lost. Yet three years later, God provided a home that was not far from where we originally wanted to build, and was constructed at the same time we lost our “dream house”. The selling owners took very good care of the house, which was far beyond our expectations, and left it in pristine condition. It was as if God had these people taking care of it for us while He waited for the right time to deliver it.

God had seen what we needed on the surface level, but He wanted us to learn to see Him first, The One, The Whole. Thanks for letting me share this reminder to keep our eyes fixed on the I AM.

Rachel is a volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries, living in Searcy, Arkansas.

Rachel, tell us a little about yourself and your family.
I am originally from Memphis, TN, but I have lived in Searcy, AR, since I came to Harding University in 2001. I received my bachelors and Master’s degrees from HU in Early Childhood Special Education, and I currently teach online. I have been married to my husband, Andrew, for just over 3 years, and we have two children: Abigail is 11, and Logan is 8.

I know from our conversations that the Great I AM has really shown up in big ways throughout your life, even when He didn’t feel present. Can you tell us a little about that?
Absolutely! You might notice the numbers of my children’s ages don’t quite match the length of my marriage. I was married to another man for 11 years. We faced great struggles throughout our marriage, and I did everything I could to save it. When he left and filed for divorce, I could not imagine any good coming from my life or situation. The I AM has carried me through many dark seasons by surrounding me with supportive family, friends, and scriptures. I firmly believe that the relationship I have now with Andrew is a deliberate example of how our God can redeem all things, and I am so grateful for that blessing!

What are some of the questions the I AM has answered in your life?
I grew up hearing people say, “God will never give you more than you can handle,” so I felt like I was weak or failing somehow when difficult times seemed overwhelming. When I finally read 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, I was relieved to read Paul’s testimony: “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself... But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.” Hallelujah! I cannot handle it all, but He can! Knowing that I can rely on His strength when I have reached my limits keeps me going through the darkest valleys.

How has the I AM provided those answers?
He has used His word to speak Truth to my heart when I was drowning in fear and doubt, just like that passage in 2 Corinthians did. He has also brought other sisters into my life who have been through similar struggles and could share the burden with me.

What direction has the I AM led you through the answers He has provided?
I realize now more than ever the importance of being open and authentic with others. When we are willing to be vulnerable and share our personal struggles, we are more able to reach out and encourage one another through difficult times. I believe that I am created and called to express my faith through love, especially by bringing encouragement, hope, confidence, and passion to the hearts of women through spoken and written words.

Is there a specific Bible verse that has been especially impactful in seeking answers and finding the I AM?
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
Psalm 18:16-19

Any final words of encouragement to other Iron Rose Sisters?
Remember that you are to love one another always, but there is only One whom you must please! You are enough because He is enough.

Thanks for sharing your story with us!

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17) And is there any better way to increase our faith and get to know the I AM than through listening?

I AM longs to be in relationship with us. He invites and speaks to us as the Good Shepherd, Creator, Father, Son, Spirit, and through the five senses... but are we listening?

Amid the noisy world we live in, listening has become a lost art. We know that “anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand” (NLT). But how should we listen? What is I AM saying?

We may not hear from a burning bush like Moses, but we can hear His voice through His Word, through nature, through Christian brothers and sisters, even through silence... But again, the question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we listening?”

Called to Listen: Forty Days of Devotion is an invitation to personal devotion through forty days of Daily Listening Exercises, and to six weeks of small group discussion through the Weekly Reflections.

We are equipping ourselves to listen to I AM and listen to others, growing in our relationships by doing so. Thank you for joining us in devotion to listening!

I am so excited that this resource is now available on Kindle in both English and Spanish! Order your copy today and invite a friend to listen with you. Print copies are also still available.

Join us March 6 to April 14 as we listen together. This first week we are listening to I AM the Good Shepherd, since His sheep know His voice.

#IronRoseSister #listentoIAM #listentoothers #calledtolisten #MichelleJGoff

Happy New Year!
His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23), but there is something special about the New Year. It is a milestone that marks the closure of one year, the welcoming of the next. No matter what happened in the previous year, the page has been turned, a new chapter begun.

There is nothing magical about that midnight moment in which we change our notation of the number of the year... just ask the thousands of people who will continue to make the mistake of writing the previous year for the first few weeks of the new one. New beginnings can take some getting used to.

New beginnings and new years are a time of reflection of all that has happened in the past and the anticipation of the future.

New beginnings can imply celebration or mourning: the couple who just got married or the family that lost a loved one.

New beginnings may come from choices we make or are the consequences of someone else’s decision: graduations or divorce.

Whether from positive or negative circumstances, whether you were ready for it or not, new beginnings offer us the opportunity to start over, learn from the past, and take the next step forward into the future.

And guess who was there walking with you before and who will continue to walk with you into your new beginning?
I AM.

I, personally, am not pretending to state that I am with you in your journey. I would love to walk with you through whatever you are going through. But I am limited, physically, logistically and emotionally, from doing that.

Please allow me to remind you of the I AM who is limitless in His ability to walk with each of us in our journey.

No matter what your new beginning in 2019, please welcome the I AM as the author of your journey.

This year, as a ministry, we will be preparing the way for the I AM—in our hearts, our minds, and in our conversations. We seek His perspective and are growing in our belief of the I AM and each of the names He represents.

Some of this focus is in anticipation of the next book (which I am working on right now!), entitled I already AM and also in conjunction with the Destination Retreat the first weekend in November.

Let’s join together and champion our new beginnings as iron sharpening iron, encouraging one another to bloom as beautiful roses, in spite of the thorns. Specifically, as a ministry, one new beginning is a renewed confidence in our belief of the I AM as our everything. As such, we are preparing the way for Him to work through us to equip more women to connect to I AM and one another more deeply.

We are praying with you and for you in your new beginnings with the I AM this year.

Are you burdened by the need to do more, be more, accomplish more? You may feel that you have no room to add “one more thing” to your plate.

Martin Luther is known to have said, “I have so much to do today, I cannot spend any less than three hours in prayer.”

Prayer is our conduit of communication with God. It is about listening and speaking. It is the foundation of our relationship with I AM.

Jesus gave us a model of how we should pray (Matt. 6), yet His example of consistently stepping away from all of the other demands of life to talk with His Father, is the most powerful testimony of the importance of prayer.

Whether you are a fervent prayer warrior or a thank-God-for-your-meal-occasionally kind of pray-er, we can all grow and bloom into a life of prayer.

As a ministry, we acknowledge the vital, essential, life-giving blessing of prayer. And we value the prayers of others as we go to I AM on behalf of one another.

Prayer is our constant connection and testimony of our belief in I AM.

For the first five years, IRSM has spent 24 days of prayer leading up to 24 hours of prayer, but this year, after a year of significant growth, we added a “Plus 1.” 24 days (+1) of prayer will lead up to 24 hours (+1) of prayer on February 25.

What does “Plus 1” mean?
• Invite someone else to pray with you, for IRSM, and as a Prayer Partner
• Growing in a life of prayer.
• Growing in relationship with the I AM.
• Growing in the ways with pray with others.
• Adding IRSM and the vision of equipping women to your daily prayers.
• The Prayer Month does not end with one month, a specific number of days, hours, or minutes. Pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17)! What does “Plus 1” mean for a life of prayer?

Share a “Plus 1” picture of you and a Prayer Partner praying for IRSM! Tag @IronRoseSister on Instagram or @Iron Rose Sister Ministries on Facebook with the hashtags: #IronRoseSister #prayingtoIAM #IRSM #prayer

(taken from I already AM: Testimonies of Belief in the Great I AM, chapter 1)
The illustration is made of five blind Chinese men who were asked to describe an elephant.
The first man stepped up to the elephant, felt with his hands, smelled with his nose and said, “It is long and narrow, very flexible, like a snake, but with a little brush on the end. It is also very stinky.”
“Long and narrow?” responded the second man. “It is more like a thick hose that, ay! Sprays out the end!”
“It is no hose at all,” said the third man, the shortest of the five. “It is most like a tree, rough and solid. Much thicker than a hose.”
“If my friend declared it a tree,” interjected the fourth man. “I most definitely have the biggest leaf I have ever encountered. It is thin and waves in the wind.”
“No. You all have it wrong. It is broad and wide, like a wall,” concluded the fifth man.
Which man was correct? And which man was wrong?
How does God see the elephant?
How are we like the blind men?
Only God has the clear perspective of the big picture. Only God is able to address the whole elephant. What we are dealing with... our questions in life... They are barely a wrinkle on the elephant’s knee.
Reflection: Am I trusting the I AM with the whole elephant?
We will be looking through the lens of the I AM because it matters not what the world says, but rather what the Word says.
And when I keep my eyes fixed on the I AM, when I strive to see things from His perspective, I avoid the trap of the futile searches for answers, identity, purpose, provision, or whatever else I am seeking. Because everything else falls short of the I AM.

And God said, “I will be with you.” Exodus 3:12a

*Written by Rachel Baker
On the rare days when my son is the only one at home with me, I know from the start of the day that we will be spending a lot of time in close proximity. It’s not that he always wants to do things with me, but he likes to know that I’m close by – just in case. If I’m being honest, I completely understand how he feels. There is comfort in knowing that the person who cares for you is right there with you, able to help when you need it.

There are many times in scripture when we see the I AM extending this same comfort to His people. When the Lord tells Moses he is being sent to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses responds with doubt and fear: “Who am I that I should go?” (Exod. 3:11). This sounds a lot like my kids when they are nervous and doubt their own abilities: “But, I can’t do it!” The I AM reassures Moses by saying, “I will be with you” (Exod. 3:12). In the book of Judges, we see where Gideon is told to go and save Israel from Midian. In a reaction similar to Moses, he questions the Lord’s command, asking how he can do such a huge task. The I AM is consistent in His response: “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16).

In this season of thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for the ultimate example of God’s presence among us:
“...an angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:20b-23

Not only did our Lord come down to live among us, He also promises to never leave us:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b)

Just like my son is comforted by my presence, we can take comfort in knowing that when we need Him most, we are able to rest in the I AM who is with us... always.

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Iron Rose Sister Ministries, through the very image of our logo, and the application of the Common Threads, uses roses or plants to illustrate a point. Jesus Himself relied on many agricultural analogies, making His teaching personal and practical to His hearers. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds the church members in Corinth that while one plants and another waters, it is always God who brings the growth.

I would like to borrow from another image in order to highlight and celebrate the parts that we, as a ministry, and each of you individually play in the big picture that the I AM has designed. We are participants as His handiwork (Eph. 2:10) as each one does its part (Eph. 4:16). We may never see the ripple effect of our impact (Heb. 11:39-40), but we can trust that God uses our piece in the puzzle to create a vivid tapestry, narrating and weaving a story of redemption and love.

As a ministry, and as Christian women, the I AM has invited us into other women’s lives to equip them to connect to Him and to one another more deeply. The equipping tools and encouragement that women receive through our resources empowers them in their own spiritual walks, but then, is later multiplied as they share those resources with others, who in turn share them with others... multiplying our efforts in ways that we will never fully know. And I love that!

When we lose track of the multiplied effect our piece of the puzzle has made, the I AM, who designed the big picture and brings about the growth, gets all the glory! It is no longer about what we have done, but rather about how He has taken our small part and done His thing, as only He can. And for that, I am grateful.

We are humbly grateful to be one piece of the puzzle. And when we cannot see the big picture, we trust the I AM to use and multiply our efforts for the larger impact in the kingdom.

In 2020, we will continue to explore what it means to obediently serve as one piece of the puzzle and to be part of the whole.

In the meantime, we invite you to be one piece of the puzzle through our end-of-year fundraising efforts, specifically through Giving 2x2 Tuesday, December 3, in which matching donations will multiply our financial efforts. Details on our Facebook page.

While speaking on a panel for Harding University’s Bible Lectures, I was tasked with representing three different marginalized groups: women, singles, and Latinos. The discussion was on “Making Our Churches More Welcoming” and I invite you to listen to the audio.

The conversation from that class and other conversations in which God has called me to speak have reminded me of two important truths:
1) The I AM is present in everyone’s lives. He sees the ones that others may forget, the outcasts, the marginalized, and the broken.
2) It is important to create a space in which those voices can be openly heard and respectfully represented.

Iron Rose Sister Ministries exists to equip women to connect to God and one another more deeply in English, Spanish, and bilingual contexts across the Americas. We encourage and empower women in their spiritual walks, inviting them to draw closer in relationship with the I AM and with each other.

With those purposes and truths in mind, there are two exciting things I am thrilled to announce:
1) The newest book, I already AM: Testimonies of Belief in the Great I AM is now available in both English and Spanish!
2) A survey for single and single-again women is open until November 30, 2019, in order to present, as a collective voice, the perspectives and needs of single and single-again women. The survey results and interview summaries will be shared in the following book on which we are working, Single and Lovin’ It, Mostly.

Please invite any single or single-again women you know to participate in the survey!
Also, we encourage you to order your copy of I already AM, available on our website or via Amazon.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

It happens every single time we are in the car and see someone holding a cardboard sign on a street corner. “Mommy, why do they stand there and ask for help? Can we give them something? How can they get some money or a job?” Both of my children have what many people would call “bleeding hearts.” They cannot stand to see others suffering, and they want to come up with solutions to help everyone. If my daughter sees someone who looks upset or stressed, her immediate reaction is to give them a hug. Where does this instinct come from? This seems to come so naturally for children, but adult hearts are often more hardened and cynical after years of struggle and disappointment. In a world that can seem so calloused and self-centered, how do we respond in a way that demonstrates love?

One of the most difficult things we encounter in life is how to cope with grief and stress. When times get tough, people instinctively search for something to ease the pain or lighten the load. We just want something – anything – that will make us feel better, and Satan is more than willing to provide cheap substitutes that will momentarily fool us into thinking we’ve got it under control. Peter tells us “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We are the most vulnerable when we are hurting. So, what trait of the I AM can we draw from to reach the hearts of those who seek comfort?

The compassion of the I AM is mentioned many times throughout scripture. Psalm 103 tells us He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love... As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” In Matthew 9:36, we are told when Jesus saw the crowds, “He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” and similar examples can be found in chapters 14, 15, and 20. The I AM came down and lived among us, fully human, enduring the physical, mental, and emotional strains that come with our earthly limitations. His willingness to suffer as we do shows the extent of His love for us.

How, then, do we extend this love and compassion to those around us? In his letter to the Colossians, Paul instructs the church “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” When we turn to the I AM in difficult times, He provides a comfort and peace that goes beyond our understanding. He does not hammer us with advice or tell us to get over it. We are not yelled at from the heavens or told to hurry up and move on. He comforts us in all of our troubles, which then allows us to extend that same comfort to others.

So go ahead and give the hugs. Lend an ear. Offer comfort. Be brave enough to have the compassionate, bleeding heart.

“Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matt. 10:8b)