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Iron Rose Sister Ministries
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Searcy, AR  72145

  • 20 Years Later… the Transformation of a Country and an Individual

    Twenty years ago today, I boarded my first international flight and headed to Venezuela. I still have the boarding pass, departing Miami, on Viasa, an airline that is no longer in existence.
    There are many Venezuelan things that are no longer in existence... The Venezuelan coffee and whole powdered milk I came to love in my first visit are no longer available. Arepas (a finely ground cornmeal patty and staple in the Venezuelan diet) are rarely seen at any meal because the product, originally produced in Venezuela, and later imported from Colombia, can no longer be found. The scarcity of basic foods and supplies in the markets is a testimony to the overall decline of the country’s economic conditions.

  • A beautiful shade of pink—yes, I said pink

     

    My favorite color is red. Those that know me well know that I avoid and detest the color pink. Maybe because I was super-saturated by it as a kid, or maybe because I see pink as a red wanna-be. Whatever the reason, I don’t like pink; but Easter morning 2014, I gained a new appreciation for the way God showed me a beautiful shade of pink.

    That Easter morning, I joined with two other families in Brighton, Colorado, for a sunrise service at a friend’s property just outside of town. It was difficult to get up that early and the rain the night before made for a very brisk morning, but it was most definitely worth it.

    We prayed, sang songs in worship, read Scripture, and were reminded of the beautiful hope of the resurrection—a hope we don’t have to wait to rejoice in only once a year, but can celebrate every day!

    As the sun was rising in the east, the sky changed from reds and yellows to a clear blue sky filled with a sun that began to warm us. When the sun rose enough for its light to kiss the snow-capped mountains in the west, I stood in breathless wonder of the beautiful sight to behold. The mountains were glowing pink.

    My aversion to pink was totally set aside for several minutes of silent splendor of the beautiful shade of pink God had used to paint the mountains.

    I apologize for not attempting to capture the scene in a picture. I truly believe a picture would not do it justice. However, I encourage you allow God to transform your perspective—to take a new look at the way God paints something you have an aversion to.

     

  • A Community of Mothers

    Mothers Day Celebration title IRSMAt Iron Rose Sister Ministries, we value our mothers—whether a mother by birth, an adoptive mom, foster mom, or a spiritual mother. We all have mothers in our lives and whether or not you have been blessed to be a mom by giving birth, by adopting or fostering a child, we are all called to be a community of mothers in the spiritual sense. Mentoring, discipling, encouraging... Iron Rose Sisters are spiritual moms and we want to honor you!
    Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 14, and we want to give you a few ideas about how you can honor your mother and bless IRSM at the same time.
    Our Rose Cards are a great way to honor a spiritual mom by making a donation in her honor to support our growing Intern Program. You can mail her one of these cards, which represents a family tree of roses or your relationship as Iron Rose Sisters. These 4x6 cards can be framed, or sent in the mail—either way, you’ll be able to include a personalized, special note.
    Choose Iron Rose Sister Ministries as your charity of choice on Amazon Smile. (This blesses the ministry for purchases beyond Mother’s Day.) Just click on this link and make any future Amazon purchases at smile.amazon.com. A portion of your purchases will go to IRSM at no additional cost to you!
    Purchase an interactive Bible study book and/or an IRSM mug as a gift.
    Thank you for your prayerful support of Iron Rose Sister Ministries and for giving us the opportunity to honor a special mom in your life as well.

  • A Network of Transformation

     

    I am at Pepperdine this week and if you happen to also be here, please pass by our table in the Sandbar and say hi!

    If you don’t see me at the table, I am most likely nearby talking with someone and enjoying the fellowship of networking that happens at these events.

    For me, the greatest blessing of the Pepperdine Bible Lectures is to gather with brothers and sisters that I have known for years or just met—all working together in the kingdom.

  • Best Laid Plans

    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.

  • Butterfly Transformation

    butterfly transformationYour transformation process may not be initially visible to others, but God is working to renew and change you, just as He does with every butterfly. Even as an egg, the caterpillar begins to take shape. In the second stage, the caterpillar eats and eats, growing and shedding its outgrown skin four to five times. The third stage is characterized by the most dramatic transformation – metamorphosis. During this stage, the caterpillar builds a chrysalis and within that outer form, all old body parts of the caterpillar are transformed into the body and wings of a beautiful butterfly. As an adult butterfly recently departed from its chrysalis, a final transformation must still take place. The butterfly’s wings are soft, wet, and weak. The insect must use its wings to strengthen them and allow a God-designed transformation to take place so it can fly in beauty, and fulfill the purpose for which it was created.
    Just as the butterfly goes through metamorphosis, our transformation to Christlikeness takes time. Maybe at times we catch only a glimpse of what we are to become. There can be pain as we shed the skin of our old selves and the lies that cocooned us. Radical transformation, unseen by many, takes place in our hearts and minds as we continue to work and allow God to transform us into strong and beautiful creations that rest and thrive in the abundant life He has designed for us.
    This month, we will focus on transformation and community—especially when those two things happen together.
    What does transformation mean to you?

  • C.S. Lewis on Transformation

     

    “We know not what we shall be”; but we may be sure we shall be more, not less, than we were on earth. Our natural experiences (sensory, emotional, imaginative) are only like the drawing, like pencilled lines on flat paper. If they vanish in the risen life, they will vanish only as pencil lines vanish from the real landscape, not as a candle flame that is put out but as a candle flame which becomes invisible because someone has pulled up the blind, thrown open the shutters, and let in the blaze of the risen sun.

    From The Weight of Glory

    Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

  • Church = community = family

    church family communityThe church is a community that extends beyond borders, languages, cultures, and time. I have had the blessing of getting to know members of the community of believers across the U.S. and from many countries across the world. Whether African or Chinese, Hispanic or Indian, Kazak or Russian, Canadian or Southern, the community in Christ is one.
    One thing we all have in common is the desire for relationship—for a deeper sense of community. We long for community with our Creator and with His creation—other people with whom we can relate and share our lives.
    Grandmas and college students alike want to know what it truly means to be in relationship with God and one another—what it means to be community, family, and the church to each other.
    Today, I encourage you to find a community, members of a church family with whom you can be authentic, encouraged and accountable.
    It is my prayer and one of the goals of Iron Rose Sister Ministries, that we might be that community to each other—a church family that spans at least two languages and two continents. I pray that we may be iron sharpening iron to one another and that we might encourage and inspire each other to be as beautiful as a rose in spite of a few thorns—all in the context of community.

  • Common Threads in Community

    Common ThreadsThe Common Threads cannot even be considered outside the context of community—whether between two people or twenty, we need others to encourage us to bloom and grow, to gently and lovingly point out our thorns, and to serve as iron sharpening iron for each other.
    Thank you to those who have been true Iron Rose Sisters in my life! You are the inspiration for all God has called me to through this ministry and that push me to continue to model those relationships to others across the Americas.
    Don’t forget to share these Common Threads with a Christian sister today and thank her for being an Iron Rose Sister in your life.

  • Community Found at Lectureships: A Network of Transformation

    Pepperdine 2017Early tomorrow morning, I will leave for the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in Malibu, California. This is a four-day conference in which over two thousand people descend on the university campus for in-depth classes and workshops, reconnection with old friends and the opportunity to meet someone for the first time you feel like you have known your entire life.
    If you plan to be in the area, or know someone else who will be at Pepperdine this week, please stop by our booth in the Sandbar! I would love to see you, hug your neck, and maybe even grab a cup of coffee and catch up.
    One of the things I most enjoy about the Pepperdine Bible Lectures is being surrounded by other people passionate about knowing Christ and making Him known.
    This year, as a part of the Spanish program at Pepperdine, on Friday, I will have the privilege of sharing three classes for the women. The overall Lectures theme is Spiritual Rhythms: Scrolls for a Robust Salvation. My three classes are entitled: Spiritual Rhythms of Relationships in Ruth; Spiritual Rhythms of Wisdom in Ecclesiastes; and Spiritual Rhythms through Difficult Times in Esther.
    Thanks to the Texas International Bible Institute, these classes will be live-streamed through Zoom. Women from Venezuela, Colombia, and other locations are already signed up to attend the classes remotely.
    Our blog theme for the month of May is transformation and community, especially when those two occur in tandem. An excellent reflection of transformation in community is through Lectureships, like this week at Pepperdine, or later this month at the Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where I will also be speaking. I hope to see many of you at these two excellent opportunities for community and transformation.
    Thank you for your prayers for these and other events! May God bless you this month as we reflect on the transformation found in community.

  • Community of Those Who Have Met Jesus

    met JesusAn instant connection. A feeling of family.  Several hundred individuals have descended on the campus of the Baxter Institute this week, many of whom have never met before. Nearly a dozen countries are represented, but the spirit of oneness felt and shared has little to do with a common language, but rather a common Lord.

    I have the privilege and honor of reconnecting with some families and meeting others for the first time.
    What a joy to get to see Venezuelans I have not seen in years! Their children have grown and God is doing amazing things in their lives.
    Yet the joy in meeting others for the first time, who also have a passion for God and His church, is unrivaled.
    The beauty is that what we all have in common is our brotherhood in Christ.
    Please join me in praying for these brothers and sisters in Christ who are serving in churches of all sizes across Honduras and in other countries across Latin America. Here are some specific prayer requests on behalf of those who are here attending the Baxter Lectureships:
    • Many Venezuelans are here studying in the midst of the extremely difficult economic and political situation in their country. Please pray for their families, for Venezuela as a country, for the churches, and that God will be glorified through it all.
    • Preachers, missionaries, and their families are here being equipped and encouraged to go back and fight the good fight in their respective congregations. Let´s join in the spiritual battle with them through prayer.
    • Prayers of thanksgiving that God has given me the opportunity to inspire, equip, and encourage many of the women in specific areas that they can take back and share with others.
    Thank you for being part of the community of those who have encountered Jesus. May we all be inspired and equipped to share that Good News with others!

  • Community Reminds Us

    iron sharpening ironThe theme for the 2017 Pepperdine Bible Lectures was Scrolls for a Robust Salvation, focusing on the Scrolls of the Megilloth. I admit that I knew nothing about these scrolls or their intention in the annual spiritual rhythms of Jewish life. The scrolls of Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Lamentations, and Song of Songs are the five Scrolls of the Megilloth, which are read at certain, dedicated times or festivals in the Jewish calendar. Their purpose is to remind us of God’s plan, God’s love, and His redemption/salvation. And they are read in the context of community to solidify those reminders.

  • Faith Transforms

    Faith pushed Abraham out of his comfort zone to leave home and move to a country he didn’t know... and his life was never the same.
    Faith gave Esther the courage to go before King Xerxes to be the instrument through which her people could be saved... and the Jewish nation continues to celebrate her valor.
    Faith allowed Noah to build an ark even though he had never seen a drop of rain... and his obedience changed the course of life for everyone.

  • God will give you the desires of your heart

     

    Katie Forbess, IRSM Board President, wrote the following in preparation for one of our early IRSM newsletters. It is a perfect example of transformation—on a personal and a ministry level. May you be blessed with this story of God's working in Iron Rose Sister Ministries. I invite you, as Katie also does at the close, to join us in prayer for the ministry and your possible role in IRSM for the future.

    "God will give you the desires of your heart"

    No one could have told me last year at this time (November 2013), as I was packing up my life and my family to make the international move back to the states what God had in store for me. I have been incredibly blessed over the last year and one of the major sources of these blessings has been Iron Rose Sister Ministries. I didn't want to leave my life in Bolivia but it was happening. I didn't want to leave my co-worker, Trish. I cried every day and sometimes would go to her door, cry, and then when I had myself somewhat together, knock on the door.

    I have another friend in Cochabamba that prayed that God would send me friends in Arkansas. That's a true friend. She did such a great job and I have incredible friends here. Yet one of the greatest friendships came with the rekindling of an old friendship.

    Three months after returning to the states, I read Michelle's announcement about her new ministry and I knew that I had to be a part of it. Even in the smallest way, I wanted to help her, pray for her, and be a part of this awesome ministry. It was the first time since I left Bolivia that I felt like there was meaning to me returning.

    Michelle and I were friends in college. We shared a love for Spanish and a major in Communications, not just our own verbal communication, but the actual study of Communication Disorders. She recently reminded me that we would sit side by side and write notes without moving the page because she is right handed and I am left. That is such a symbolic image of how we have worked together over the last 9 months (now more than two years!). Endless phone calls, emails, texts, and many prayers. This ministry has gone from being a vision to dozens of conferences and one book printed in both English and Spanish. Not translated. Written. (2nd book to be out in September 2015!)

    We are the embodiment of this ministry. Sisters who share our Common Threads daily as we work on this ministry. We have cried, laughed, and sat in awe as God has worked through us to make this ministry work.

    I had the awesome blessing of being a part of the first bilingual conference in Denver, Colorado, and I think I went away feeling more blessed than anyone as it was a day where my two worlds collided for just a brief moment in time.

    I know that there is so much more that God has planned for Iron Rose Sister Ministries and I pray that you decide to become a prayer partner with us.

  • Growth is a transformation process recognized at milestones

    Scrolling through the pictures on my phone, in search of an old picture that I wanted to show someone, shock overcame me as I recognized the tremendous growth of my nephew in a relatively short amount of time.
    Whether inspired by Pinterest or the example of others, many new moms take pictures of their babies at each month’s milestone—either in the same chair, with the same stuffed animal, or with a sign designating the month completed.
    In previous decades, small school pictures were placed in a special frame that had a circle of slots for each year’s picture, culminating in the full-size high school graduation picture in the center.
    We love to celebrate the milestones: birthdays, graduations, anniversaries... but they are not when the transformation takes place. A child’s growth is not stunted for a full year and then, on the anniversary of their birth, sprouts and blossoms into the size they will be for the next year.
    Growth is a transformation process recognized at milestones.
    This is true of our spiritual growth, as well. Baptism is the moment of rebirth. And we celebrate our spiritual birthday each year on the anniversary of that date.
    Just as with a baby who grows so rapidly during their first years, we can become unrecognizable, compared to our former selves, thanks to the transforming power of the Spirit.
    Spiritual growth and transformation do not happen overnight. Satan may be trying to thwart your growth with frustrated feelings brought about by an apparent lack of change, or a step backwards in your progress.
    Take a look back to last week, month, or year. Are you the same person that you used to be?
    Let’s not let Satan get us down, but rather remember that growth is a process recognized at milestones—a slow transformation that can more easily be recognized by looking back in comparison than dwelling in the momentary frustration.

  • Hispanic Community

    hello holaI feel a part of multiple communities or cultures. Even though I was not born to a Latina or Spanish-speaking family, I feel very much a part of the Hispanic community and as comfortable in it as I do with my own family.
    Sometimes, I spend time with women who are only English-speaking. Today, I will spend time teaching Spanish-speaking women through three classes this afternoon at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. If you, or a Spanish-speaking person you know, would like to participate in a live version of those classes, you can! Information and a link to the online classroom is available through the Texas International Bible Institute (IBIT in Spanish): http://ibitibi.org/es/las-conferencias-de-pepperdine-2017
    And through Iron Rose Sister Ministries, God has given me the opportunity to form bonds between the two communities to which I feel a part. When we conduct a bilingual event, we see Christian sisters who had never before understood things from the perspective of another sister, joining together in worship, study, and prayer. Join us for an event in the Miami area, Saturday, June 3 at West Broward Church of Christ!

    Thanks be to God for those opportunities and also the chance I have had to inspire some English-speaking sisters about what they can do to help cross those barriers, as well.
    It is a two-way street and we cannot pretend that it depends on the other person to take the first step. Crossing pews and crossing borders is not about the physical barriers, but rather the ones we form by our perceptions and prejudices.
    It is easier to point the finger at others as the problem and not see ourselves as part of the solution. What can you do to bring these two communities together as one in Christ?
    I shared some specific ideas, solutions, and illustrations through two classes at the Harding Lectureship last year (audio available on our website).

  • How love transforms: Twitterpated senior citizens and God

     

    Teenagers are not the only ones to get lovesick. In the Disney movie Bambi, it’s called being twitterpated. Friend Owl warns Bambi and his friends of this condition as spring approaches. You know, it’s that feeling when the whole world stops and the only thing you can see is the face of the person you love.

    The ailment of twitterpation is not exclusive to animals or teenagers. My grandpa, widowed at age 79, remarried a few years later to a lovely lady that accompanied him until the day of his death last December. When we first met Mary, I was shocked to see my Grandpa, a senior citizen, acting like a teenager discovering a new love. He was twitterpated!

    Love transforms us—the giving and the receiving of it. When we realize the height, depth, breadth and width of God’s love for us, how enamored he is with us, we are forever changed.

    God is love (1 John 4:8). Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). Unquenchable love sacrifices his own son so that we might live (John 3:16).

    I invite you to be transformed by love today. May you act twitterpated and be considered a crazy, lovesick individual overwhelmed by the magnitude of God’s love for you and your love for him.

     

  • How: Small Groups

    SG howAs we conclude this mini-series on Small Groups during our month-long discussion of Transformation and Community, I want to offer some of the specific HOWs, as specifically shared in the IRSM Small Group Bible study books.
    If you are interested in starting a small group using an IRSM interactive Bible study, specially designed to be done in small groups, you can order books through our website, or contact us by phone or email (see our Contact page on the website).
    Suggestions for HOW to realize an IRSM small group study:
    • Rotate the leading of the discussion among each of the women.
    o Everyone can lead!
    o Everyone will grow!
    • Commit to reading the chapter ahead of time.
    o The discussion will be richer and deeper if everyone comes prepared.
    o How much you put in will be directly proportional to how much you get out.
    o You will need to do these studies with your favorite Bible in hand.
    And a few more specific suggestions if you are the one leading the group discussion that week:
    • Make it your own and allow the Spirit to lead—these studies are a resource, not a script.
    o Select which questions you would like to discuss and plan for ones you might need to skip if you are running short on time.
    o You are welcome to add questions of your own or highlight portions of the chapter that most stood out to you, whether they were designated for discussion or not.
    • Leading is about facilitating the discussion, not about having all the answers.
    o When someone brings up a difficult situation or challenging question, you can always open it up to the group for answers from Scripture, not just personal advice.
    o The answer may merit further study of Scripture or the consultation of someone with more experience in the Word and/or experience regarding that type of situation. And that’s okay! We’re digging deeper.
    • Be willing to answer the designated discussion questions first and use your own examples, but avoid the temptation to do all the talking.
    o Allow for awkward silence in order to provide the opportunity for others to share.
    o It’s okay to call on someone and encourage them to answer a specific question.
    o “Why or why not?” are good follow-up questions for discussion.
    • Include additional examples from Scripture and encourage others to do the same.
    o Online Bible programs, such as BibleGateway.com, provide excellent resources: multiple versions of the Bible, concordances (to look up the occurrences of a word), Bible dictionaries, and commentaries.
    • Give a practical wrap-up conclusion or “take-home” application from the week as you close with the Common Threads.
    • Be sure to budget some time for prayer.
    • Remember our purposes as Iron Rose Sisters, students of the Word and daughters of the King.
    Do you have any other suggestions for women meeting in small groups?

  • I must die, so he can live

    That statement reminds me of the blessing of organ transplants for the recipients, and the pain for the family of the donor. But in the midst of the pain and death, there is new life and hope restored.
    In the spiritual sense, we can’t get around this truth: in order for Christ to live in me, I must die.

  • In God’s image or man’s

     

    “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”” (Genesis 1:26)

    Our very first moments on earth were created in perfection. The earth was perfect and newly formed. All God had formed was declared to be good.

    We had been made in His image and whatever else that means, it means that we started out perfect.

    I think one way of summarizing the fall from perfection was that we got things turned around. We started making God in man’s image instead of allowing ourselves to be man made in God’s image. It’s easy to do. We make other things into gods or limit God by expecting Him to answer our prayers according to our will, not His. What have you allowed to be conformed to fit your own image or the world’s? I invite you, as we focus on transformation, to allow yourself to be transformed back into the image of God and allow Him to take His rightful place on the throne of your heart.

    “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

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