Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Tomorrow, we will be conducting a Ladies Day at the Providencia congregation in Santiago, Chile. Mackenzie, IRSM’s summer intern and I have already been in town a few days and are enjoying the opportunity to reconnect with women and develop new friendships with others. The teaching opportunities are a blessing and I can’t wait to connect with all of the visitors and Christian sisters from several congregations who will be in attendance tomorrow.
The topic we will be looking at is Delight! True delight and true joy can only be found in God, which will be our first discussion. We will then look at how God delights Himself in us and how we can delight ourselves in Him.

In many of the classes I teach, we do something called laughter therapyand use the vowels to practice laughing together. Through the exercise, we recognize the physical, mental/emotional, and relational benefits of laughter. God created a natural remedy in laughter, which some call the best medicine.

I always find it interesting to see who is more ready to participate in the activity—to laugh with me—and who is more hesitant. However, once I get started and laugh in a ridiculous manner, their guards come down and many of the women can’t help but laugh with me.

Laughter is contagious. And the genuine belly-laughter of a baby or small child is the best!

Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to see my sister, nephew, and niece. Zeni is six months old and is coming into her own personality. She is also learning to laugh. Her older brother, Kadesh, loves to make her laugh and that night was no exception. He even ran over to Pops (my dad) to make sure he knew that Zeni was laughing (all of which dad captured on video).

Laughter unites us. The shared memories and moments create a lasting impression of love and joy. And that night, we spent several minutes laughing together and delighting in the simple things that create laughter for a child.

Laughter is good for the soul.In that moment, nothing else mattered. I felt renewed by that time of laughter and pure joy. We relished the moment and, thanks to modern technology, can relive it with the click of a button.

Take a moment to laugh today. Find joy in the simple things and if you can’t find anyone to laugh with, message me and I’ll share with you the contagious laughter of my nephew and niece!

Today, I invite you to go through the steps of the spiritual discipline known as Lectio Divina. This discipline can be practiced with any portion of Scripture.
Before you start, spend some time in silence, preparing your mind to hear what God says to you through that passage of Scripture.
The chosen verses (Philippians 1:3-11 or whatever verses you choose) are read four consecutive times, each time asking a different question and following each step with another period of silence.

Today, I invite you to go through the steps of the spiritual discipline known asLectio Divina. This discipline can be practiced with any portion of Scripture.

Before you start, spend some time insilence, preparing your mind to hear what God says to you through that passage of Scripture.

The chosen verses (Philippians 1:3-11 or whatever verses you choose) are read four consecutive times, each time asking a different question and following each step with another period of silence.

1.Readthe passage listening for a word or phrase that jumps out at you. Savor and repeat the word without reflecting too much on it.

2.Reflect or meditateon the word or phrase while reading through the passage a second time. You might ask, “What is it in my life that needed to hear this word today?”

3.Respond. Is there an invitation or challenge that God is calling you to? What is your response to this invitation? Perhaps this scripture has touched a place of pain, frustration, or anger. We can pour out these feelings in the safety of this moment of communion with God, and in prayer.

4.When our response has subsided, we read the passage one last time, incontemplation—to rest in God and resolve that we will walk with Him in our daily life, inspired and encouraged by the word or phrase that we have heard through this exercise.

Portions taken fromSacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton andCelebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

Today, I invite you to go through the steps of the spiritual discipline known asLectio Divina. This discipline can be practiced with any portion of Scripture.

Before you start, spend some time insilence, preparing your mind to hear what God says to you through that passage of Scripture.

The chosen verses (Philippians 1:3-11 or whatever verses you choose) are read four consecutive times, each time asking a different question and following each step with another period of silence.

1.Readthe passage listening for a word or phrase that jumps out at you. Savor and repeat the word without reflecting too much on it.

2.Reflect or meditateon the word or phrase while reading through the passage a second time. You might ask, “What is it in my life that needed to hear this word today?”

3.Respond. Is there an invitation or challenge that God is calling you to? What is your response to this invitation? Perhaps this scripture has touched a place of pain, frustration, or anger. We can pour out these feelings in the safety of this moment of communion with God, and in prayer.

4.When our response has subsided, we read the passage one last time, incontemplation—to rest in God and resolve that we will walk with Him in our daily life, inspired and encouraged by the word or phrase that we have heard through this exercise.

Portions taken fromSacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton andCelebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. 

Today, we are going to practice meditation.
You can use any biblical text for meditation on an aspect of God or the application in your life.
For example: Using Romans 8:28-39 and 1 John 4:7-10 & 16-18, describe God’s love and spend some time meditating on the love that God has for you.
Another example: Using Psalm 23 and John 10, meditate on God as the Good Shepherd.

Today, we are going to practice meditation.

You can use any biblical text for meditation on an aspect of God or the application in your life.

For example: Using Romans 8:28-39 and 1 John 4:7-10 & 16-18, describe God’s love and spend some time meditating on the love that God has for you.

Another example: Using Psalm 23 and John 10, meditate on God as the Good Shepherd.

Today, we are going to practice meditation.

You can use any biblical text for meditation on an aspect of God or the application in your life.

For example: Using Romans 8:28-39 and 1 John 4:7-10 & 16-18, describe God’s love and spend some time meditating on the love that God has for you.

Another example: Using Psalm 23 and John 10, meditate on God as the Good Shepherd.

Written by Jocelynn Goff

As I go about my day, I am aware of immediate needs for divine intervention, answers, comfort, inspiration, or divine presence. I pray on my own but often feel the need for an army of prayer warriors. My IRSM Bible study group is just the prayer warriors I need. We have deep prayer with each other during the week as we meet for study. However, during the workday we also stay connected in prayer. It’s different but effective nonetheless.

When one of us feels the need for prayers from the other ones we will text each other. Since we also need to continue on with our work we are unable to communicate the whole thought behind our prayer request. We have solved this problem by using code words to communicate prayer need.

My word is “arrow,” another sister’s is “bump” and another sister’s is “QC”. When the text comes that says one of those words we each know to send a quick prayer up for that sister. God knows the exact needand so we can leave it in His hands but we are assured we are not alone as our Iron Rose Sister is praying for us.

We need each other day-by-day, moment-by-moment.We have discovered how to stay connected in prayer throughout our workdays and it is a comfort.

We multi-task. We juggle various responsibilities with grace and style. Okay, maybe not so gracefully and the style may be outdated.
But in the middle of the complex lives we try to manage, our health is one of the priorities that can slip through the cracks.
A woman’s spiritual health is intricately connected to physical health, mental health, emotional health, and the health of her family.
How do you feel when you’re hungry? Does your patience wear thinner?
And if you’ve had a stressful day... Is it more difficult to trust God?
What about if you’re discouraged or depressed? Does it make it harder to rejoice in everything?
And finally, if a member of your family is having their own struggles, how is your faith affected?
Women’s spiritual health cannot be separated from the other aspects of women’s health. Therefore, this month, we will explore the multi-faceted health of women and the way in which each aspect related to our spiritual health.
Which aspect of your health is most affecting your spiritual health at this time?

We multi-task. We juggle various responsibilities with grace and style. Okay, maybe not so gracefully and the style may be outdated.

But in the middle of the complex lives we try to manage, our health is one of the priorities that can slip through the cracks.

A woman’s spiritual health is intricately connected to physical health, mental health, emotional health, and the health of her family.

How do you feel when you’re hungry?  Does your patience wear thinner?

And if you’ve had a stressful day… Is it more difficult to trust God?

What about if you’re discouraged or depressed? Does it make it harder to rejoice in everything?

And finally, if a member of your family is having their own struggles, how is your faith affected?

Women’s spiritual health cannot be separated from the other aspects of women’s health. Therefore, this month, we will explore the multi-faceted health of women and the way in which each aspect related to our spiritual health.

Which aspect of your health is most affecting your spiritual health at this time?

We multi-task. We juggle various responsibilities with grace and style. Okay, maybe not so gracefully and the style may be outdated.

But in the middle of the complex lives we try to manage, our health is one of the priorities that can slip through the cracks.

A woman’s spiritual health is intricately connected to physical health, mental health, emotional health, and the health of her family.

How do you feel when you’re hungry?  Does your patience wear thinner?

And if you’ve had a stressful day… Is it more difficult to trust God?

What about if you’re discouraged or depressed? Does it make it harder to rejoice in everything?

And finally, if a member of your family is having their own struggles, how is your faith affected?

Women’s spiritual health cannot be separated from the other aspects of women’s health. Therefore, this month, we will explore the multi-faceted health of women and the way in which each aspect relates to our spiritual health.

Which aspect of your health is most affecting your spiritual health at this time?

I have never broken a bone, but I think a lot of that is due to my graciously loose joints. My right hip is one of the ones that is especially loose. And lately, it has been more sore than normal. Aggravated by weather, a strain, a pull, a lengthy car ride, sitting too long at a desk... I honestly don’t remember the recent trigger, and it is likely a combination of those things.
My physical therapist sister has encouraged me with some specific exercises that can help keep it in line and strengthen neighboring muscles. Yet my primary purpose today is not to regale you with my physical ailments.

Rather, I want to draw some parallels between our physical and spiritual state because literally and figuratively, or even spiritually speaking, my hip hurts.
Remember when Jacob and God wrestled all night and the next morning, as a part of his blessing, the angel wrenched Jacob’s hip? What an awesome war story Jacob got for his hip injury! Glorious story or not, the truth hurt. And every time his hip bothered him, it was a gentle reminder of his time of wrestling with God.
I am learning to treat the physical pain in my hip as a spiritual reminder of God’s patient wrestling with me through the watches of the night. He is faithful. And He has a plan. My pain is minimal in relation to His mighty working to mold me into His image and lead me in His way everlasting. 

I will spare you the enumeration of my detailed wrestlings with God in this context, but I know that you have them too. What are you wrestling over right now? What is God teaching you through this time?
As we conclude our emphasis on women’s spiritual health this month, I encourage you to share the battles and the lessons with a Christian sister and friend, an Iron Rose Sister. Just as God Himself works in us using the firmness of iron, sharpening us to be His best instrument possible, He gives us Christian sisters that can serve as iron sharpening iron. And as God, the Divine Gardener, treats us with the tender delicacy of a rose, He places others in our lives to encourage us in the areas we are striving to grow and bloom.

Take a moment today to share your wrestlings with an Iron Rose Sister. Pray together through the Common Threads and you walk together on the journey toward healing and fullness in Christ.

#IronRoseSister #spiritualhealth #CommonThreads #wrestlingwithGod

There are various ways to pray and patterns for prayer. The command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:16) does not specify how we are to pray.
Jesus provides one pattern and instructions in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.
Another pattern to follow is to look at our PART in prayer—the four elements of prayer listed below.
For today’s spiritual discipline, I invite you to pray using this structure.

There are various ways to pray and patterns for prayer. The command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:16) does not specify how we are to pray.

Jesus provides one pattern and instructions in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

Another pattern to follow is to look at our PART in prayer—the four elements of prayer listed below.

For today’s spiritual discipline, I invite you to pray using this structure.

Our PART:

Praise – Luke 4:8, John 4:23-24 (worship our Creator and heavenly Father – an example: make a list of the names or characteristics of God alphabetically)

Admit – 1 John 1:9, Romans 10:9 (recognize our condition as sinner before God and confess specific sins we’re working on)

Request – Philippians 4:6, John 14:13-14 (make our requests to God – for yourself, for others, for the church…)

Thanks – Philippians 4:6, 1 Thes. 5:18 (give thanks to God for the many blessings he has showered on you—physical, spiritual, and other blessings)

Some days I get overwhelmed by all of the diet or supplement programs that my friends are promoting on Facebook. I rejoice with them in their weight loss and in finding what worked for them. However, there is no one plan that works the same for every single person. We are all different. We are unique. We cannot expect the same results for one person as for another.

The same concept applies to our spiritual diet. It is different for everyone. There are days in which I need to exercise my spiritual muscles in the Word. Or I am lacking in vitamin “P,” in need of extra prayer.

My mom was craving vegetables last week—probably a sign that her body needed one of those nutrients.

Spiritually speaking, we sometimes don’t know what we are craving, but there is a spiritual void that can only be filled by our Creator.
What element of your spiritual diet do you need an extra dose of today?

Some days I get overwhelmed by all of the diet or supplement programs that my friends are promoting on Facebook. I rejoice with them in their weight loss and in finding what worked for them. However, there is no one plan that works the same for every single person. We are all different. We are unique. We cannot expect the same results for one person as for another.

The same concept applies to our spiritual diet. It is different for everyone. There are days in which I need to exercise my spiritual muscles in the Word. Or I am lacking in vitamin “P,” in need of extra prayer.

My mom was craving vegetables last week—probably a sign that her body needed one of those nutrients.

Spiritually speaking, we sometimes don’t know what we are craving, but there is a spiritual void that can only be filled by our Creator.

What element of your spiritual diet do you need an extra dose of today?

Praütes – a Greek word I was unfamiliar with recently and am still trying to grasp the full meaning of. According to Peter vanBreeman in As Bread That Is Broken (1974), it is a word that “can only be translated very inaccurately into English.” It’s more like the fruit of the Spirit that isn’t a list of nine qualities, but the combination of those qualities that embodies the Spirit itself and the qualities we have access to through the Spirit.

The translations of praütes that most resonated with me were the ones that described a “stillness of the heart” and one that “knows him/herself loved by God.” For me, those two things are very connected. I cannot attempt to manifest a stillness of the heart if I do not know myself loved by God and allow that and only that to define me.

Praütes – a Greek word I was unfamiliar with recently and am still trying to grasp the full meaning of. According to Peter vanBreeman in As Bread That Is Broken(1974), it is a word that “can only be translated very inaccurately into English.” It’s more like the fruit of the Spirit that isn’t a list of nine qualities, but the combination of those qualities that embodies the Spirit itself and the qualities we have access to through the Spirit.

The translations of praütes that most resonated with me were the ones that described a “stillness of the heart” and one that “knows him/herself loved by God.” For me, those two things are very connected. I cannot attempt to manifest a stillness of the heart if I do not know myself loved by God and allow that and only that to define me.

When I think of Jesus’ reaction to the crowd that wanted to kill Him and yet He just walked right through them (Luke 4:16-30), only a man with stillness of heart and that knew himself loved by God could do that. When I think of Jesus going to the cross, facing all the human emotion and inner turmoil that came with those circumstances—only a stillness of the heart and knowing Himself loved by God would get Him through. Praütes. May we have the hope and peace that come from stillness of the heart and knowing ourselves loved by God.

As a part of our individual spiritual health, I encourage you to follow the model of Christ and be characterized by praütes.

Special thanks to Mandy Lillich for sharing her book and her insight!

We forgo our physical needs to care for others. We pray that our loved ones do the right thing, but may neglect to model our walk with God.

“Thanks for listening. I feel better just by being able to talk it out.” A sister expressed this sentiment to me after a lengthy, tearful conversation in which she shared some of what is burdening her heart and affecting her family.
When we verbalize what we are going through, to God and to others, the load is lightened, the sting is lessened, and the pain is reduced. Also, as we share the burden of what we are facing, we are reminded that we are not alone.