Iron Rose Sister Ministries

by Michelle J. Goff

Six specific times in His teaching, Jesus explains what it takes to be His disciple. The first three are found in Luke 14. The last three are found in John.

1. Jesus must be my number 1 priority. Period.
Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
2. I have to die to myself daily.
Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
3. Everything I have is God’s. I am merely a steward of what He has loaned me while on earth.
Luke 14:33, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

²⁸For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

Have I left my discipleship tower half-built? Am I following through with the initial commitment I made to Christ when I was baptized?

Let’s look at the other three explanations Jesus gave for how others will know we are His disciples.

4. Hold to His teaching and abide in His word.
John 8:31-32, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
5. Love one another.
John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
6. Bear fruit—be a disciple-making disciple.
John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

When we simply look at this list of six characteristics, we may feel good about how we are loving others and doing our daily Bible reading. However, upon further inspection, we are cut to the heart and convicted to realize that we are not a good example of a disciple.

The Lord’s mercies are new every morning and His grace is great, but they are not provided as permission to neglect what it truly means to be a disciple.

What is a specific way you can make one of these characteristics a priority today? How can you encourage another Iron Rose Sister to live this out as she encourages you to be a faithful disciple of Christ?

by Michelle J. Goff

We learn a lot about God through the first few chapters of Genesis. Starting with creation, God reminds us that it is worthwhile to recognize a job done well and call it good. Then, after the job is done, call it a day, take a step back, and rest. There is tremendous satisfaction in a time of rest following the hard work of a big project. Work hard, then rest (Gen. 2:2-3).

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, as One, made man and woman in their own image. By definition and by design, we were made for relationship (Gen. 1:26, 31). Whether walking together and talking in the garden or even in confronting the sin that God knew Adam and Even had committed, God continues to engage in relationship.

After Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit, God begins the conversation by asking them a question, “Where are you?” Did God know where they were? Of course! He’s God! Yet, He asks them a question in order to continue to engage in relationship. Communication is foundational for relationship. God models that listening comes first if we want a relationship to endure. Even though He already knows the answers, God asks Adam and Eve four different questions as He invites them to openly communicate with Him (Gen. 3:8-13).

Sin separates us from God, yet He still longs to be in relationship with us. When we choose something over God and His ways (forbidden fruit, our own desires, plans, ways, or thoughts), they become idols that separate us from God. Sin has no place in our lives—not only because of how it takes place of our number one priority: God, but also because sin brings consequences. There are natural consequences from sin: Adam and Eve knew that they were naked and they felt ashamed (Gen. 3:7). And there are spiritual consequences: Sin separates us from God.

The amazing thing that we learn from God’s priorities is that even though sin separated us from Him, He still made every effort to be in relationship with us. The first sacrifice happened when God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve as clothing (Gen. 3:21). Death and the shedding of blood were necessary when sin entered in because without it, we couldn’t be in relationship with God.

Even when we sin, God still loves us. And He sent the perfect sacrifice of His Son that we might be able to be unified in relationship again (Heb. 10:1). If you do not know of the gift God freely offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, please contact us as we would love to share with you the hope of the promise of our own resurrection from our sinful state—made possible through His redeeming blood.

What do God’s priorities in Genesis 1-3 imply for our redefined priorities?
1. Work hard, then rest.
2. Make every effort to be in relationship, especially with God. It’s how we were designed.
3. Love and listen—first to God, then to others, always through the filter of loving God first.
4. The only place sin has on our priority list is to actively allow God to help us eradicate it.
5. God loves us too much to leave us in destructive sin. Accept God’s redeeming love and forgiveness, only made possible through His Son.

This is not a one and done priority list. It is more like a rinse and repeat. Daily. Hourly.
I encourage you to reread the first three chapters of Genesis and share what else we learn about God’s priorities. How does a view of God’s priorities redefine your priorities? Do God’s priorities change throughout the course of the Bible story?

Written by Michelle J. Goff, Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Obedience is a bending of our own will to the will of another, usually someone in authority. No one can serve two masters. We apply this truth to God and money, but it applies to God and any facet of “self” that has not surrendered to Him.

The Spirit gave me the word “obedience” when I first felt that it was the right time to write One Single Reason: Conversations with Single Women. Over the course of the project, I came to discover a renewed and heightened understanding of that word. God ushered me into an affirmation of His faithfulness that could only be tasted through my obedience.

At times, the obedience provided comfort. I was simply doing what God had asked me to do. At other moments, the obedience provided clarity. God had not called me to please the myriad of groups who wanted me to be their poster child for their cause through this book. Sometimes, the obedience implied discomfort and sacrifice. What God had asked me to do was not easy. Finally, the obedience implied rest and trust. When I trusted God and His guidance through the process, I could rest in the truth that He would do His part if I obediently did mine.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to Him and He will direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Obedience is monumentally more difficult without trust—quite nearly impossible.
Obedience through the pain means that I trust that the pain will be worthwhile and that it is only temporary, not eternal.
Obedience over time means that it is not conditional on when I feel like being obedient.
Obedience is a decision, a commitment, a fulfilled promise.

My obedience required relentless perseverance, continual submission, and complete trust.

What I didn’t know when I first answered God’s call to be obedient in the writing of this book is what other areas of obedience were included in this package deal…

Obedience to writing One Single Reason meant that I had to be obedient in a painful healing process—not just about being single.
Obedience to hearing and sharing more of the stories of other women meant that I had to be obedient and faithful to their voices.
Obedience to researching God’s Word and His will as it related to the topic of singleness meant that I had to be obedient to challenge whatever I did or didn’t think previously—to represent His voice accurately and respectfully.

Obedience may not be easy, but it is most definitely worthwhile. When it is modeled and practiced, we begin to realize all the facets of what God has designed and desired for His disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

All authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Jesus... And a significant part of His final charge to the disciples was to obey what He had commanded, to teach others how to obey what He had commanded.

Obedience to God also comes with the promise that He is will us always, to the very end of the age. Obedience facilitates greater intimacy of relationship with God. It may isolate us from some of the other relationships in our lives, but we are given that choice.

God invites us to choose obedience. It is not a demand that we robotically follow His arbitrary commands. Rather, it is an opportunity to the abundant life, promised to those who choose to follow, to surrender their own will, to trust in our Creator and Heavenly Father who knows our needs and loves us unconditionally.

My own story of obedience is also riddled with moments of disobedience. I do not share my story of obedience as a perfect model. God redeemed my moments of distrust and doubt, and ushered me into a renewed commitment to obedience.

The fruit of that obedience has been the blessing of encouraging, equipping, and empowering single and single-again women through One Single Reason: Conversations with Single Women. When we are obedient, we can be a catalyst for others’ obedience, as well.

Thank you for partnering with us on our obedience journey! If there is a specific way in which we can pray with you on your own obedience journey, please let us know! Finally, we would love to hear some of what obedience means to you. Is there a part of your obedience story you would be willing to share?

Written by Michelle J. Goff

When Iron Rose Sister Ministries first began in 2013, Board President, Katie Forbess, and I, Founder, Michelle J. Goff, knew that God had called us to greater things than we could imagine (John 14:12). Yet we did take the time to verbalize some of what we imagined as dreams and long-term goals, asking God constantly, through prayer, to reveal when would be the right time to fulfill them, drop them, or redefine them.

To explain some of that foresight and vision God provided, when initially registering the name of the nonprofit in Colorado, Iron Rose Sister Ministries was chosen, for multiple reasons. Iron, like iron sharpening iron from Proverbs 27:17. Rose from the uniqueness of the roses in God’s garden, each in different stages of their growth, and more beautiful together, in spite of our thorns. Sister because of how we are sisters in Christ, but also left in the singular for two reasons: 1) We each have a personal responsibility to be that Iron Rose Sister in other women’s lives, and 2) in Spanish, the plural for sister, “hermanas,” as a term that, when used by itself, also means “nuns,” which we are not! Finally, Ministries, in the plural because the English name and U.S. based registered nonprofit would be the parent company (or “big sister”) for other ministries in other languages over time.

Along with the initial registration of our name, we also registered the name Ministerio Hermana Rosa de Hierro, the Spanish equivalent, (Hermana-Sister, Rosa-Rose, and Hierro-Iron). But if you notice, Ministerio is the singular form (not MinisterioS). This is because it is one of the “little sister” companies of Iron Rose Sister Ministries.

Since the beginning, we have placed a priority on providing the same resources in English and in Spanish, in addition to the ways we modeled the use of those materials in bilingual contexts. Over time, we have seen how different needs in each language have altered some of our offerings in each language, for example, publishing the Spanish blog three days/week and the English blog only once weekly.

We are now also privileged to introduce Ministério Irmã Rosa de Ferro, the Portuguese branch as we begin, in the first part of this year, to roll out Portuguese materials! The need for Portuguese resources to equip the more than 106.5 million women in Brazil has been on our radar since “across the Americas” has always been a facet of our primary vision statement. However, we did not envision what God would do to open doors in Portuguese-speaking Africa, specifically in Angola and Mozambique!

We have partnered with Luso African Missions Partners International (Luso is like saying Portuguese-speaking in Africa). Their purpose is to help facilitate the translation of Bible study materials into Portuguese. LAMP, Int’l’s director, Nathan Holland, and I have been discussing the need for Portuguese women’s materials for years, but during COVID shut-downs, the timing was right for LAMP, Int’l to initiate their services and for Iron Rose Sister Ministries to partner with them, as well as develop our own Portuguese Team. There will be an International edition of the books, highlighting the African dialects. And the Brazilian edition, which will be distributed in Brazil and in the U.S. A new Portuguese-speaking mission team in south Florida is excited to receive these resources, as well.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Prov. 19:21)

This proverb comes to mind as I reflect on the way God has used prayer to guide, and even transform the timing and the direction of the initial dreams. Prayer has been integral in the redefining that has taken place in Iron Rose Sister Ministries and her “sister” ministries:Ministerio Hermana Rosa de Hierro and Ministério Irmã Rosa de Ferro. It is our prayer that God continue to redefine our dreams and guide us each step of the way.

A special thank you to our Iron Rose Sisters and Iron Rose Sister Ministries Partners all across the world who continue to dream and grow with us through your prayers and your support!

Why is grass inviting for rolling down a hill, while a rock invites a climb?
Why did God give sunrises and sunsets glorious displays of shifting color variations?
Does a centipede need all 100 legs?
Would a lion roar as loudly without his impressive mane?
Why does a fish have many small scales instead of one or two big ones? Or would two big scales on a sea creature just be a clam?
Did God always intend for there to be fish large enough to swallow a rebellious person?
Have you thought about how the feathers of a bird facilitate its flight? Beyond the functional necessity of the feathers, their myriad of colors and head-shapes are not out of necessity, but rather out of God’s extravagant design.

Gratuitous extravagance.

Gratuitous… a big word that encompasses and even bigger meaning. If something is gratuitous, it means that it is above and beyond what is expected or deserved. Louisiana natives may compare it to “lagniappe,” which means a little something extra, like the 13th donut of the baker’s dozen.

Extravagance… the gratuitous beauty with which God created the world is beyond what we might’ve expected or imagined. It is most definitely more than we deserve. The lavish splendor of creation points to a loving Creator who delights in the art of His handiwork.

Gratuitous extravagance.

James, the brother of Jesus, uses two contrasting facets of nature to describe the Father from whom all good gifts originate.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

God’s gifts are good. His gifts are sacrificial. His gifts can never be repaid. Many of His gifts are unnecessary, but all His gifts inspire gratitude. And His greatest gift? His love.

Paul attempts to describe God’s love in Ephesians using words like “glorious riches” and “how long and high and deep is the love… that surpasses knowledge.” Some of my favorite verses are at the conclusion of that inept description. They are a benediction and call to action.

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)

 There is no way that we can repay God for His extravagant gifts. Rather, His gratuitous beauty serves as an invitation to thank and praise Him.

God’s gifts are an invitation, not an obligation.

Do I have to delight in the question of why a giraffe has so many spots? Nope. But I am invited to chuckle along with God, who creatively and carefully designed and delighted in each animal’s unique beauty, each blade of grass, every fish in the sea and myriad of birds of the air.

And when we take a moment to celebrate and express our gratefulness for His gratuitous extravagance, we are redefined by our gratitude and transformed by His beauty and love.

P.S. Special thanks to the Creative Response Sunday morning Bible class at Downtown and to Makoto Fujimura’s book, Art and Faith, for some of the inspiration and vocabulary for this blog post.

Written by Michelle J. Goff, Iron Rose Sister Ministries Founder and Director

“Do you need story time?” A slow nod would be the only response from many college students who would enter my office near LSU’s campus. As they curled up in the oversized chair across from my desk, I would reach behind their heads praying over which children’s book’s tattered cover I would pull from my bookshelf.

Sometimes, we would read, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst. Other times, we would read tales of Hermie and Wormie, worms who became butterflies in Max Lucado’s children’s books.

The simple stories would reveal and affirm greater truths: Even people in Australia have bad days. We are all a work in progress and God may not be finished transforming us into a beautiful butterfly yet.

Other days, a student would bounce into my office, itching to tell me a God story from their day. Many of my favorite memories are with Christian sisters, sitting in a coffeeshop, swapping God stories and joyfully delighting in the ways we had recognized how wise, active, loving, nice, patient, faithful, gracious… just how GOOD our God is!

Every time, the exchange of God stories drew us closer to God and to each other.

The Bible is one big love story. God is the Author and the main character. He invites us into His story as recipients of that love and co-laborers in the storytelling. We each have an individual part to play in the story, but Our Story in God is that we are part of His bigger story. And the primary plot point to His story is good news!

Iron Rose Sister Ministries’ theme for 2022 is “Our Story in God.” Each individual’s story is woven into the tapestry of God’s greater story. Hebrews 11:40 concludes the chapter of the heroes of faith with, “since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

We all long for connection. We want to feel safe and understood… for someone to identify with us, our lives, our story. We may wonder where our story fits in the bigger picture. Or we may wonder what is going on in our story, grateful that the final chapter has not yet been written.

Stories foster connection and provide an opportunity to relate on a new level. God stories offer an invitation to the hearer to connect to God and to the one telling the story. As a ministry, that is what we are all about—equipping women to connect to God and one another more deeply. In 2022, we will fulfill that vision through stories.

This year, Iron Rose Sisters will be provided the opportunity to share their God stories in a written form through this blog. This is only one way in which we are equipping and empowering women to share their stories with others.

When we reflect on the ways in which God has worked in our lives, we open our eyes to His hand at work and His Spirit’s guidance. When we tell those God stories, our own faith is renewed, and it sparks an interest in the minds of those who hear the message.

This emphasis for our annual theme implies a slight shift in the frequency of the blog emails you will receive (2/week). In English and in Spanish, the Tuesday blog will be the story of a Bible character—seeing their story through the lens of one facet of their life and journey with God. On Thursdays, we will hear from an Iron Rose Sister, seeing her personal story through that same lens used on a Bible character that same week.

For example, next week, Wendy will talk about Daniel’s story of his Hebrew citizenship while living as a foreigner in Babylon. Then, Stefanía, a Salvadorian sister, will share an experience she had that brought greater insight into our citizenship in heaven.

If you would prefer to not receive two blog emails in your inbox each week, you are always welcome to opt out of this blog subscription. If, however, this year’s theme sparks your own interest and you think of others who would be blessed by Our Story in God, please invite them to subscribe to the blog. Again, it is available in English or in Spanish. (INSERT LINKS)

Finally, if you would like to be a part of sharing a Bible story or some part of your own story through this blog, please respond and let us know!

2 Corinthians 3:2-3
"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

Written by Michelle J. Goff, founder and director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Every time I write a book, I wrestle. I wrestle over what to include and exclude. I wrestle with my thoughts, with finding enough time, with how to best express something, and so many other things. During at least one stage of the writing process, I also wrestle with God.

The writing of Bible study books are not the only times I have wrestled with God. We have wrestled over my health and the health of loved ones, especially spiritual health. We have wrestled over my longing for understanding of a certain passage of Scripture, over a prayer that His will be done coupled with an expression of the deepest desires of my heart.

Awake all night, conflicting thoughts and wordless prayers have robbed me of peaceful slumber. Grappling with uncertainty and a lack of clarity, I have wrestled day and night to understand where God was leading. Impatient with confusion, the tension of the wrestling squeezes and bends to the point of breaking. I am forced to keep fighting or to give up.

Yet imagine if I had never engaged in the wrestling to begin with… Would I have exercised my spiritual muscles, fortified my trust in God, or come to know and be known through the depth of relationship?

Wrestling is a form of conflict. I would venture to say that Genesis reveals that Jacob lived a life of conflict. He started in conflict with his twin brother, Esau, from the womb. When he stole the birthright from his older brother, the conflict it created forced him to leave the region, fearing retaliation.

His mother, Rebekah, sent him to her people, where he fell into immediate conflict again. Having experienced “love at first sight,” he worked for Laban for seven years, never losing sight of the goal of coming to know his bride, Rachel. Yet Leah was the older sister who greeted him the morning after the wedding. He worked another seven years, becoming one of the first men to have “sister wives.” Talk about conflict!

Conflict with his father-in-law. Conflict between his wives. Conflict amongst his children, especially after his favorite son Joseph received a colorful coat from him. Conflict regarding the decision to travel back to the region of his childhood home, fearful of stirring up more conflict with Esau who may or may not have forgiven him…

Through all of this conflict, he had seen the faithfulness of the God of his father and grandfather, the God of Abraham and Isaac. The majority of the time, the Almighty’s blessing was born out of conflict and wrestling.

To wrestle… to take part in a fight, or to struggle with a difficulty or problem.

Jacob knew both physical and metaphorical wrestling. Figuratively and literally, he had been wrestling through more than his share of struggles and victories his entire life. And by this point in the story, he was an old man.

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Gen. 32:22-28)

Jacob was a well-practiced wrestler. He “had struggled with God and with humans and had overcome.” Instead of avoiding those conflicts, Jacob had learned how to persevere through them and come out on the other side a blessed child of God.

During my times of wrestling, a tension is created from which I sometimes think it would be easier to flee than to embrace. This tension is uncomfortable, exhausting, mentally draining, and most definitely frustrating. But it is also healthy. The more times God and I wrestle, the more growth comes on the other side of that tension.

Like Jacob, I have learned to embrace the tension, to lean into the fight, in order that God might bless me—personally or as a ministry. I don’t do this perfectly and please don’t hear me minimizing the struggle. It is a battle… but one that promises a blessing!

I will close with one very recent example. My current health hinders me from traveling internationally—a truth I am still struggling to accept. Yet, I still did not feel at peace releasing the plans for us to provide resources for Brazilian women and women’s ministries. I couldn’t go to Brazil, yet neither could I the let go the plans for our launch of these resources. Leaning into that tension, as Board President Katie Forbess and I served as iron sharpening iron in conversation and prayer, God revealed am amazing plan—a blessing that could’ve only come from Him.

To make a long story very short: At the beginning of September, we launched our Portuguese resources in partnership with a Brazilian church plant in South Florida. To God be the glory!

For more God stories that affirm the truth of the blessings of wrestling, turn to the story of Jacob in your Bibles or ask me for a few more stories of my own… Lean into the fight ladies, the blessing is worth it! And you are not in the struggle alone.

#IronRoseSister #HIStories #wrestlewithGod #Godsblessings #leanintothetension #MichelleJGoff #blog

Taken from I already AM: Testimonies of Faith in the Great I AM, written by Michelle J. Goff

A peaceful state in God’s right hand comes when we trust His provision. The I AM gave my family a concrete example of that when I was in high school…

Dad had lost his job in corporate downsizing after having worked for the same company for fourteen years. We were all in shock and his job search lasted a year and a half.

In the meantime, mom recertified and took a job at as a special education teacher in an inner-city elementary school; we girls rotated cooking dinner and other household responsibilities; and we all got creative in our spending—or lack thereof.

Through it all, the I AM’s provision was astounding and humbling…

During the stressful, yet joyful year and a half, each and every one of our needs were met without fail—sometimes anonymously and at other times through our Christian brothers and sisters.

Always on her feet as a teacher, my mom valued her comfortable shoes for standing and worked to make them last. One afternoon after school, she took her worn pair of shoes to the cobbler wanting to stretch their usefulness as long as possible.

“Well, ma’am. I can stitch them here, but they’ll come apart over there. I can glue this, but it’s not going to hold. There’s really nothing more I can do with these shoes. I think it’s time to get a new pair.”

Mom returned to the van where we girls were waiting, “Ladies, our forty years in the wilderness are about up. God promised the Israelites that their shoes would not wear out (Deut. 29:5). My shoes have finally worn out, so it must be time for your dad to get a job.”
One month later, he did.

As soon as my dad got a job, each of my sisters hit a growth spurt (aged 14, 12, and 6 at the time), I left for college, and mom got a new pair of shoes for teaching.

YHWH Jireh means the LORD Provides. And the I AM’s provision is always perfect—in His way, in His timing.