Iron Rose Sister Ministries

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
Teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer... These were the foundational building blocks that made possible what happened in the rest of the verses and throughout the book of Acts.
How can you be that kind of community this week?

Things are wrapping up at Pepperdine and late tonight I will be catching a flight to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I will be conducting three seminars at the Baxter Institute Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week on the topics of Depression and Discouragement—How to Minister to the Women in Your Congregation; Women’s Spiritual Health; and Delight! (how God delights himself in us and we delight ourselves in him). Please join me in prayer for safe travel, good health, and that God will speak through me to minister to those in attendance.

Blessings on your Mother’s Day weekend!

As Christians, we have a special community with which we can actively communicate. We recognize the blessing of gathering with other Christians around the world, even if we have never met.
Another community, within the community of Christians, is those with whom we have shared in the same congregation, school, university, or institute.
Seventeen years ago, I graduated from Harding University. I consider myself a part of the Harding community, and now, living in Searcy, I have become reconnected with many in that community.

I 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).

I feel a part of multiple communities or cultures. Even though I was not born to a Latin family, I feel very much a part of the Hispanic community and as comfortable in it as I do with my own family.
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.
Thanks be to God for those opportunities and also the chance I will have tomorrow 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?

As 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?

Written by Wendy Neill
When you were a kid, you may have been in a club. Maybe it was Girl Scouts. Maybe you had a tree house and created a club of your closest friends, posting “No boys allowed!” on the door. In high school, your club might have been the journalism team or FFA. You may have walked around with Greek letters on your shirt in college, or maybe you were in chorus or band.
As an adult, you may find yourself in a club to which you never intended to belong.

Written by Kara Benson, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him”” (Gen. 2:18). We were not made to be alone. From the beginning of creation, God purposed that people should have companionship. As the poet John Donne observed, “No man is an island.” Instead of intending for us to live in isolation, God designed us to live in community.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…” (Psalm 68:5-6a)

Indeed he has. He has set us in a family of fellow Christians. We should not have to go through life feeling alone because we have been given brothers, sisters, mothers, and children in Christ (Mark 10:29-31).

However, there are many who may be struggling with loneliness. Who might they be?

• An elderly resident living in a nursing home or retirement community
• A mother at home with her children
• A young adult who comes home from work each day to an empty apartment
• Someone who doesn’t have any family members living nearby
• A couple that just moved to the area and doesn’t know anyone in the congregation yet.

How can we help them?

• Visit the elderly and simply spend some time by their side.
• Invite someone to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas with your family.
• Throw a housewarming party for the young single lady who just bought her first house.
• Call someone who is homebound and listen to their stories.
• Check on a stay-at-home mom and see if you can meet her for coffee – or better yet, if you can bring coffee over to her house and visit with her for a while.
• Plan a weekend fellowship opportunity for young families to get together and get to know the new family in the congregation.

Sisters, I will share with you my personal experience of loneliness. During our second year of marriage, I was working from home on editing a Bible study workbook in Spanish. Aside from my husband and the students I tutored weekly in Spanish, I only saw people on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, and when I went to the grocery store. The hours I spent in silence, alone, seemed endless.

Then the pandemic hit.

Thankfully, a congregation in another town continued meeting. We drove up and met with them in the parking lot on Sundays. That was the highlight of my week – seeing their faces and waving to one another through the windows. Watching Hebrews 10:25 lived out was so encouraging to me. There is a reason that God inspired the author to write that command to not forsake the assembly – it is both for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of others. Even though we were singing in our cars and hearing the sermon broadcasted through the radio, we were still able to find a way to assemble and worship truly together.

We belong to one another. Paul writes, “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (Eph. 2:19). As members of God’s household in Christ, “we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Rom. 12:5). Has someone helped you feel like you belong? During my season of struggle, a mom from our congregation invited me to breakfast with her and one of her young children, and then to tag along on their grocery shopping trip. While going grocery shopping may seem mundane, it can be made into a ministry opportunity. Her invitation welcomed me to come alongside her and reminded me that I was not alone. What we did together was immaterial; I was grateful for being included in their lives. She made me feel like I belonged, and I hope her simple action will inspire you to do the same for another sister.

#IronRoseSister #HIStories #loneliness #community #oneanother #notaloneinChrist #guestwriter #blog

Driving north on Highway 1, also known as Pacific Coast Highway, my friend Mandy asked what I was most enjoying along the drive. Of course, the Pacific Ocean is beautiful, but I was also really enjoying all the flowers in bloom. She responded that she had never paid attention to the flowers, but looked more in the shops along the road. “It’s funny how we all see different things when we’re looking in the same place.” She continued, “Before having my oldest daughter, I would’ve never thought to look for mermaids, but that’s what she told her younger sister to look for during a recent trip we made along this same highway.”

Looking for mermaids. We all see things differently.

I encourage you to look for mermaids today, to see something through someone else’s eyes and appreciate the value of their perspective—one of the many blessings of small groups.

There is greater value as part of a whole than as an individual.

Or as Aristotle put it, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

But I think the best is how Solomon expressed this wisdom, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

#IronRoseSisterMinistries #smallgroups #community #mermaids

There was a paralyzed man brought to Jesus in an unconventional way in Mark 2. He was lowered on a mat through the roof by four of his friends. It's a powerful story of friendship, support, faith, and yet another opportunity Jesus took to teach.

Please take a moment to reread the story in Mark 2:1-12. (It is also pasted below so you don't have to use the excuse that it would take time to look up).

My question is: which character are you?

• the invalid on the mat in need of support and healing
• the four friends whose faith prompted Jesus to forgive the man's sins (Yes, it was THEIR faith, not the invalid's faith. Did you catch that in verse 5?)
• the skeptical teachers of the law who questioned Jesus
• a spectator in the crowd, amazed at what Jesus did that day

No matter which character you find yourself to be today or in this season of life, I encourage each of you to take a moment to call on four friends to lift you up in prayer to the Father on your behalf for healing. Commit to lifting them up in prayer as well. At times, our faith can believe in healing for someone else more easily than we can believe it for ourselves. Let's lower each other through the roof and lift each other up to the Father!

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”(Mark 2:1-12 NIV)

There was a paralyzed man brought to Jesus in an unconventional way in Mark 2. He was lowered on a mat through the roof by four of his friends. It's a powerful story of friendship, support, faith, and yet another opportunity Jesus took to teach.
Please take a moment to reread the story in Mark 2:1-12. (It is also pasted below so you don't have to use the excuse that it would take time to look up).
My question is: which character are you?
* the invalid on the mat in need of support and healing
* the four friends whose faith prompted Jesus to forgive the man's sins (Yes, it was THEIR faith, not the invalid's faith. Did you catch that in verse 5?)
* the skeptical teachers of the law who questioned Jesus
* a spectator in the crowd, amazed at what Jesus did that day

A rose bush does not have all of its roses budding at the same time. Part of the beauty of the bush is the bud barely blooming next to the full-bodied rose in full bloom.

Which rose are you in your community? In our Christian community, there are people of different ages, stages, and walks of life. And therein lies the beauty.

Another beautiful facet of a diverse community is that we can grow and learn from one another. Mentoring relationships are a dying art, but Jesus himself modeled how we can invest in the lives of twelve or three to make a greater impact in the community at large. Paul highlights the same teaching to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” Teach to teach to teach—makes it easy to remember that it’s 2 Timothy 2:2, two by two by two.

Who can you mentor today? What does it mean to mentor in community?

“Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
1 Corinthians 12 compares the church to a body, with Christ as the head. I like to tell women that they may feel like they are the most insignificant part of the body, but ask a cancer patient after chemo how important nose hairs are and you’ll remember that there is no wasted part of our anatomy or insignificant member of the Lord’s body.
Many long to be the hands and feet of Jesus—noble goals, for sure. However, if God has called you to be a pinky fingernail, I applaud you today. You are the only one that can reach to scratch the itch on my back or handle the tickle in my ear.
Who can you appreciate today for their unique diversity in your community?

“Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

1 Corinthians 12 compares the church to a body, with Christ as the head. I like to tell women that they may feel like they are the most insignificant part of the body, but ask a cancer patient after chemo how important nose hairs are and you’ll remember that there is no wasted part of our anatomy or insignificant member of the Lord’s body.

Many long to be the hands and feet of Jesus—noble goals, for sure. However, if God has called you to be a pinky fingernail, I applaud you today. You are the only one that can reach to scratch the itch on my back or handle the tickle in my ear.

Who can you appreciate today for their unique diversity in your community?

I have safely returned from Tegucigalpa and the seminars at the Baxter Institute. Thank you for your prayers and I will be sharing pictures and stories soon!

Tomorrow, I will be conducting an area-wide Ladies Day for the Hispanic women in the Raleigh-Durham area. The event is being hosted by the Cole Mill Road Church of Christ in Durham, North Carolina.

We will look at the very concept of community and why it is so vital to our personal and congregational growth. What does it mean to be sisters connected in Christ—to be Iron Rose Sisters?

We can serve as iron sharpening iron, encouraging and inspiring one another to be as beautiful as a rose in spite of a few thorns. We mentor one another, pray for each other, and fulfill the more than fifty “one another” references in the New Testament.

Please join me in prayer for this event: that God will speak through me, that the women will be edified and equipped to connect more deeply to God and one another.

I have always loved kids. Over the years, I always had an easier time picturing myself as a mother than I did of wearing a white dress down the aisle for my wedding.

I have never been married and I have no children. However, I have many adoptive nieces and nephews all across the globe. I’m “the fun aunt” to many of my friends’ children and I love being able to live currently with my nephew and be “Aunt M” or “Tia M” depending on which language is being spoken.

In Venezuela, and a few other places, there are a number of people who call me “mom.” Not “mom” with a roll of the eyes and a sarcastic drawl of the vowel like my younger sisters said when I was being the bossy older sister. Rather, “mom” as a term of appreciation and respect for being a part of their spiritual birth and walking with them through their early years of faith. “Mom” as someone who will always keep them in her prayers. “Mom” as a cry for help when the journey gets too hard to walk alone.

I thank God for the opportunity to be “mom” to many spiritual children. I thank God for transforming my attitude from disappointment at not having any children in the traditional way to a feeling of belonging and fulfillment through the countless children whose lives I have had the opportunity to touch as a spiritual mom. I thank God for altering my expectations. If you have had similar frustrations or disappointments, I pray that He can fill you with a similar peace and perspective. We need more spiritual moms! 

But most of all, in honor of Mother’s Day this Sunday, I thank God for my spiritual moms. First and foremost, my own mom, Jocelynn Goff. Also her mom, Barbara Brown, my dad’s foster mom, Evelyn Cobb, and many other spiritual moms (more than I can list) who have taught me by their example to be the spiritual mom I have the opportunity to be today. May God bless us all to pass on a legacy of spiritual motherhood.

One special way to honor your mom and/or a spiritual mom in your life this Mother’s Day, is to make a donation to Iron Rose Sister Ministries in her honor. We will send her an e-postcard or a traditional postcard of roses and a special note. Your donation will help us continue to equip women to be spiritual mothers through the resources we make available.

(If you want a traditional postcard mailed to a special mom, today is the last day.)

Thank you! And have a blessed Mother’s Day.

What is the purpose of a spur? It gives the horse a poke in the side as an encouragement to get on with what it should be doing.
When we are in community, we rejoice in our shared interests, and enjoy spending time together. However, it’s not all about the fun times...
We are called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, but what does it look like to spur on a sister in Christ? What words and actions serve as a gentle, loving spur? Are there spurs that have more of a negative than positive effect?

This Saturday, Harding University will host its commencement exercises. Better known as “graduation weekend,” family and friends will flood the campus to celebrate the achievements of the students who have spent four or more years of their lives working toward a degree in their selected field of study.
Since I am at Pepperdine this week, I will not be there to celebrate with them, but I want to recognize several who are graduating and leave you with a thought for reflection.
IRSM’s former summer intern, Katie Lynn Finch, and other students who have been a part of local IRSM studies will be among those walking across the stage. Congrats to Katie Lynn, Megan Albers, Leahndrea Landrum, Elizabeth O’Briant, and Rosa Perez. Congratulations also to Debora Rodrigo de Racancoj, a blog contributor and friend, who will be defending her dissertation in Spain next week, and graduating with her doctorate, before returning “home” to Searcy, where her husband is a student.

A rose bush does not have all of its roses budding at the same time. Part of the beauty of the bush is the bud barely blooming next to the full-bodied rose in full bloom.
Which rose are you in your community? In our Christian community, there are people of different ages, stages, and walks of life. And therein lies the beauty.
Another beautiful facet of a diverse community is that we can grow and learn from one another. Mentoring relationships are a dying art, but Jesus himself modeled how we can invest in the lives of twelve or three to make a greater impact in the community at large. Paul highlights the same teaching to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” Teach to teach to teach—makes it easy to remember that it’s 2 Timothy 2:2, two by two by two.
We are commanded to be teachers of those who will teach—to equip those who will equip others.
Our lives are more transformed by the life of an individual who has walked with us in a mentoring, teaching, and equipping relationship than someone who delivers a powerful lesson on Sunday morning.
Iron Rose Sister Ministries has as its primary goal to equip women to connect to God and one another more deeply. And our desire is to inspire and equip YOU to serve in that role. God is calling you to be His instrument for transformation in the life of another.
Who can you mentor today? What does it mean to mentor in community?

How can you be this kind of community this week?