Iron Rose Sister Ministries

I returned to a perfect welcome home present: Boxes of Who Has the Last Word? and ¿Quién tiene la última palabra?
Before leaving on my trip to Bolivia and Peru, I was feeling overwhelmed by the final steps of the publication of the book, some personal family stresses, and other responsibilities...
However, the relief I felt after approving the final digital proof of the books, paralleled my feelings after completing my master’s thesis and graduating from Louisiana State University in 2011. (They are almost the same length at over 300 pages of stories from current women’s lives and from God’s Word.)

An airplane has two important indications on the instrument panel: altitude and attitude. Altitude indicates the plane’s distance from the ground and attitude indicates where it’s pointed (straight, up or down).
Even if the plane has sufficient altitude, if its attitude is not adjusted, the plane can crash into a mountain or go through a very bumpy landing.
I’ve had days like that. They start out well. I’m counting my blessings, thankful for a new day... but then something happens and my attitude brings me down. I’m on a course that has me clashing with everything in my path. And if I don’t correct my attitude quickly, I will crash and spend days picking up the pieces of the collateral damage I’ve created in relationships and in life.

An airplane has two important indications on the instrument panel: altitude and attitude. Altitude indicates the plane’s distance from the ground and attitude indicates where it’s pointed (straight, up or down).

Even if the plane has sufficient altitude, if its attitude is not adjusted, the plane can crash into a mountain or go through a very bumpy landing.

I’ve had days like that. They start out well. I’m counting my blessings, thankful for a new day… but then something happens and my attitude brings me down. I’m on a course that has me clashing with everything in my path. And if I don’t correct my attitude quickly, I will crash and spend days picking up the pieces of the collateral damage I’ve created in relationships and in life.

The best remedy in those moments is an attitude of gratitude. It lifts my eyes to heaven and corrects my downward spiral.

Thanks be to God for his patience with me and for always helping me correct my attitude.

Count Your Blessings
Throughout my recent two-week trip, I was able to count many blessings, especially those for which we prayed specifically.
Before starting the list, I would like to recognize the blessing of you joining me in prayer. Thank you!
• No hassles when taking food through customs.
• Health and smooth logistics during travel.
• While in Lima, the opportunity to visit and encourage missionary and former coworker in Venezuela, Jonathan Hanegan (now serving in Buenos Aires, Argentina).
• Deeper connection, spiritual conversations, and prayer time with many women in both cities.
• God spoke through me powerfully through the classes.
• God used me to inspire many women.
• The blessing of time spent with Butch and Trish Sandoval, tremendous servants in the kingdom and lifetime missionaries to South America.
• The chance to reconnect with many Bolivian Christians who are such a special part of the lives of Jeff & Katie Forbess and their family. (Katie is the IRSM Board President. She and her family were missionaries to Cochabamba for seven years.)
• Meet and encourage missionaries to Lima, Peru, Jonathan and Bani Cooper, and their son, Andrew.
• Bible study, encouragement visits in several women’s homes.
• Follow-up conversations and prayer time with women met through the area-wide event.
Other days, when I count my blessings, the list is not so glorious. Either way, when I count my blessings, the list serves as a reminder of the countless ways God has blessed my life—guided, protected, provided, and redeemed.
When I feel down or discouraged, the exercise of counting my blessings lifts my eyes, transforms my perspective, and renews my spirit.
What blessings can you count today?

Throughout this three-week trip, I have been able to count many blessings, especially those for which we prayed specifically.

Before starting the list, I would like to recognize the blessing of you joining me in prayer. Thank you!

1. No hassles when taking food through customs.
2. Health and smooth logistics during travel.
3. The opportunity to visit and encourage missionary and former coworker in Venezuela, Jonathan Hanegan (now serving in Buenos Aires, Argentina).
4. Deeper connection, spiritual conversations, and prayer time with many women in all three cities.
5. God spoke through me powerfully through the classes.
6. God used me to inspire many women.
7. The blessing of finally meeting Butch and Trish Sandoval, tremendous servants in the kingdom and lifetime missionaries to South America.
8. The chance to meet many Bolivian Christians who are such a special part of the lives of Jeff & Katie Forbess and their family. (Katie is the IRSM Board President. She and her family were missionaries to Cochabamba for seven years.)
9. Reconnection with friends I knew at Harding, Zane and Tae Perkins, missionaries to Santiago, Chile.

Other days, when I count my blessings, the list is not so glorious. Either way, when I count my blessings, the list serves as a reminder of the countless ways God has blessed my life—guided, protected, provided, and redeemed.

When I feel down or discouraged, the exercise of counting my blessings lifts my eyes, transforms my perspective, and renews my spirit.

What blessings can you count today?

I want. I need. I wish. I hope. I. I. I.
We may think we know what’s best. We make our petitions known and in crying out to God, it is easy to become more consumed with our needs than our blessings. By focusing on what we lack instead of what we have, our perspective is skewed.
Paul spelled out the necessary balance when we present our requests to God in Philippians 4:6.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.

...For He is Good: for his mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1

In a time when we stop to gather with friends and family to reflect on the things we are grateful for, let's also take time to delight and meditate on God’s word. May we remember Who we give thanks to and why we give thanks to Him.

O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalm 95:1-3

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4

With praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
Ezra 3:11

For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 51:3

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 2:14

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
Revelations 11:16-17

In the wake of the Paris attacks, we are left with more questions than answers. Our memories are stirred of prior acts of terror across the globe. Fear, anger, and sadness overshadow all other emotions.

Syrian refugees arrived in New Orleans this past weekend and meaningless suffering in the world seems to be more prevalent. My chest tightens and my thoughts become overwhelmed with all of the misery.

In the midst of disheartening news (not just from Paris), it can be hard to find a way to give thanks for things beyond our own protection.

So today, through such harrowing circumstances, I give thanks that even though Satan may win a battle, God has won the war.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

What do you give thanks for today?

Always the social butterfly and extrovert, my closet introvert has dominated the past few years. That may not have been obvious to most or evident to those who even know me best.

Before the emotional trauma of my fiancé ending our relationship, I had never experienced social anxiety or panic attacks. However, in the months and years following that event, I felt like an unknown extension of myself or someone who was merely going through the motions of being who I knew I truly was.

It wasn’t a mask. I guess you could say that I was trying to fake it until I made it… Because I knew that the truest version of myself was still in there, waiting to reawaken and return to the land of the living.

Severe depression can do that to a person. And it is a process to walk through—notice I didn’t say “come out of,” because I believe it is a continual journey and struggle for those who face it.

The past three years have been extremely stressful and emotionally intense, for reasons and in ways that are not worth enumerating. I will not elaborate because my current focus is one of gratefulness.

Open, honest, and authentic conversation has characterized my interaction with many of you regarding the challenges I have faced. And so, I am thrilled to share with you that over the past few days, I am extremely grateful to have seen my head lift from out of the fog.

Tonight was the first time in a long time that I actually wanted to be a part of church apart from Sunday morning worship. I sang with abandon, prayed with passion, and greeted others with genuine interest.

Does this mean that what I have been doing for the past three years has been insincere? Was I doing it all for show or just going through the motions? Not at all.

Everything was done on faith. Faith in God to redeem me and restore my first love. Faith in God to continue to guide my steps and clarify my calling. Faith in others to be patient through the process. Faith through the tears, the nightmares, the anxiety, the depression, the pain, the frustrations, the stress…

And now, whether this feeling lasts only for another day or another week, I thank God that, through faith, I reached a point where I truly wanted to go to church tonight—not to fulfill a duty or to do my job, always knowing I would find joy once I got there. Tonight, I finally wanted to go to church to be the church and be with the church, to worship with other Christians—to celebrate our faith by doing and being all of what church is about.

Because faith is not based on a feeling. It is based on obedience and trust in the one who can return us to the truest version of ourselves and transform us more and more into the image of His Son.

So, I invite you to rejoice with me in the power of faith. I encourage you to persevere in faith and hope. And I pray that God strengthens you to continue to obey through faith, even if you spend a day, a week, a month, or years “not feeling it.”

My personal theme for the year was Growth. While I could testify to the growth in my own life, I will endeavor to share and reflect on the growth that God has provided for IRSM. I am overwhelmed at the prospect of summarizing the blessings we are thankful for, at the close of this year, but it is a humbling honor to attempt our expression of gratitude as a ministry.

Snippets of memories flood my mind: Teaching laughter therapy to Ecuadorian women as an aspect of our spiritual health, then “leaping” for joy in giving thanks for the trials we face (2 Cor. 12) with women in Dallas... Both stand in contrast to the faces of women in Panama who understood all too well the pain of abuse I described. They clung to words of truth from the Bible about the loving way God longs for His daughters to be treated.

Single women missionaries resonated with the isolation felt by the woman who was healed from the issue of blood (Luke 8), as expressed in a monologue during one of the classes at a renewal retreat. Many other single women, and women of all ages and stages of life, on many occasions, appreciated the reminder of what it means to be content and complete, singly with God, through various classes during the year. Sharing the truth from my own life, “Single and Lovin’ It! (Mostly)” became a championing call for other single women seeking God’s will for their lives, not whatever the world wants for them. (Stay tuned for a book on that topic someday...)

The IRSM Board of Directors and I exchanged texts of excitement and rejoicing in the answered prayer when Brenda Brizendine applied, was interviewed, and then accepted the job of Assistant Director.

And I cannot express the joy of gathering most of the IRSM Team together for our first weekend meeting! Most IRSM Team members had never met personally. Board members had only worked together via video conference and corresponded with other team members via email. One funny story from the weekend and getting to meet face to face for the first time: After having only seen Katie Forbess, our Board President, as she appears on the computer screen for the meetings, another Board member’s first reaction to meeting her was, “You’re tall!”

The greater joy for the IRSM Team came from humbly rejoicing over all God has done since IRSM began in 2013 and dreaming together about what God is calling us to in the next five years. And during a break in the meeting, God blessed us with the testimony of Maria who “happened” to be passing by. A vivid example of God multiplying our efforts to equip women to equip others... Maria was baptized in March after witnessing the passion and commitment to God that her friend Fernanda radiated after her own baptism on February 14th. Fernanda had studied the Bible with me and with former intern, Mackenzie Lancaster. God is good!

I am grateful for Iron Rose Sister Prayer Warriors who have championed God’s vision for IRSM, even when I have felt overwhelmed or weak, and for Iron Rose Sisters who have served as iron sharpening iron, when I allowed the thorns in my life to hinder my growth as a beautiful rose in God’s kingdom.

I giggled in delight when an Iron Rose Sister from Tampa, Florida, called and told us about two Hispanic women who started attending the Ladies’ Bible Class in English because of our Bible study books available in both English and Spanish!

A smile that starts on my lips spreads quickly to my eyes every time I read an email from one of our Cuban sisters who has been touched by a blog post—arriving in her inbox at just the right moment when she most needed that encouragement, and knew someone else with whom she could share those truths from God’s Word: equipping to equip!

One more highlight for the year for me has been the number of women across at least six countries and five U.S. states that have specifically studied Who Has the Last Word? and have shared the impact it has made in their lives. Women who are giving God the last word and whose lives have been transformed by being equipped to Recognize the Lie, Replace the Lie with Truth, and Remember the Truth through Scripture.

Dozens more small groups across the Americas, representing hundreds of women in English, Spanish and bilingual contexts, have used IRSM Bible Study books as practical tools to be equipped to connect to God and one another more deeply. More than 1150 books have been sold, subsidized, or gifted in 2018. And we anticipate even more women equipped through these and other resources in 2019.

The God stories continue and I have more of them to share... but I will close with my gratefulness to YOU. In the midst of an overly-busy schedule this year, I have not been as communicative about all God has been doing in and through me over the recent months. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your financial support. And thanks to many who are getting more involved, more equipped, and are spreading the word about ways IRSM can help equip even more women. If you can do me one more favor, please share this good news and our needs for 2019 with someone you know who is also passionate about the vision God has given us.

Humbly grateful,
M.
P.S. A great opportunity to express your appreciation for Iron Rose Sister Ministries is by spreading the word about #Giving2x2TuesdayIRSM, Tuesday, November 27. Help us equip women 2x2x2 as Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2. Find 2, 22 or 222 others to join us in this vision. More information is available on our Facebook page, including videos! Donations can be made there or on our website. Thank you!
#Giving2x2TuesdayIRSM #IronRoseSister #IRSM

Today, my mom is having the family do an exercise together that we participated in at the first IRSM Destination Retreat. I invite you to join with us today as well.

It is also a great segue as we near the month of December since the blog theme for that month will be Hope and Love.

Have one person read Psalm 136 aloud and have everyone else join together to repeat, “His love endures forever.”

We are now going to create our own version of Psalm 136.

Rotating around the circle, have each person express a statement of what God has done in his/her life. After each statement, the group will respond as one voice, “His love endures forever.” Feel free to do this as many times as you would like!

What if we had listed statements of current challenges in our lives? Does that change our response of “His love endures forever?”

Feel free to repeat this activity on your own, extending your own version of Psalm 136.

The answer always remains the same: “His love endures forever.”

Around this time of year, as I did in yesterday’s blog post, I count my blessings, and thank God for all He has done over the past calendar year. Before my thoughts begin to turn to the plans for 2017 and the prayer focus I will have for the upcoming year, I pause.
Overwhelmed by all God has done to bless me personally and the ministry, I give thanks. You are a vital part of that blessing, and for that, I thank you!
However, not every aspect of the year can be described as an immediate blessing. At the time, they were burdens, challenges, or obstacles. Now, I can look back at them and be reminded that “His Love Endures Forever,” just as Psalm 136 repeats.

“Make known among the nations what he has done...” (1 Chron. 16:8, Ps. 105, Is. 12:4)
I returned safely from South America yesterday.
What a blessing to proclaim among the nations what God has done in my life, what He can do in others lives, and what it means to walk with Him and one another! It’s what Iron Rose Sister Ministries is all about: equipping women to connect to God and one another more deeply.
Thank you for your prayers that accompanied me on my travels.
And in the spirit of thanksgiving this month, how can you make known among the nations what he has done?

“Make known among the nations what he has done…” (1 Chron. 16:8, Ps. 105, Is. 12:4)

I returned safely from South America yesterday.

What a blessing to proclaim among the nations what God has done in my life, what he can do in others lives, and what it means to walk with him and one another! It’s what Iron Rose Sister Ministries is all about: equipping women to connect to God and one another more deeply.

Thank you for your prayers that accompanied me on my travels.

And in the spirit of thanksgiving this month, how can you make known among the nations what he has done?

I have had the blessing of meeting with groups of Christians throughout the United States, across Latin America, and even in Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, and the Czech Republic. As you read this, I am in Cochabamba, Bolivia, preparing for the ladies’ track of classes at the Family Camp this weekend.
What most amazes me, in my travel, is how the Almighty God works in abundant and powerful ways in each of those places. He is worshiped in diverse languages, cultures, and contexts. He is preached in church buildings, parks, school buildings, and homes.
It is easy to put God in a box—to limit Him to what we are familiar with, to restrict Him to what is already known. But my God is big enough to be a living and active God in each and every one of those distinct places—at the same time, in different ways. Yes. He’s more than big enough.

I have had the blessing of meeting with groups of Christians throughout the United States, across Latin America, and even in Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, and the Czech Republic. As you read this, I am in Santiago, Chile, preparing for a ladies’ day this weekend.

What most amazes me, in my travel, is how the Almighty God works in abundant and powerful ways in each of those places. He is worshiped in diverse languages, cultures, and contexts. He is preached in church buildings, parks, school buildings, and homes.

It is easy to put God in a box—to limit Him to what we are familiar with, to restrict Him to what is already known. But my God is big enough to be a living and active God in each and every one of those distinct places—at the same time, in different ways. Yes. He’s more than big enough.

Let’s take a moment to give thanks to God for being “big enough.” There are tremendous blessings when we allow Him to come out of the box we’ve created for Him and take a look around to see His hand at work.

In what ways is God big enough for you today?

Have you ever received something for which you are deeply grateful? I am not often speechless, but that is one of those times. Maybe it was a surprise, an unexpected gift, or an undeserved blessing. If you have ever felt like I have, we feel inadequate in our expression of thanks and our words seem cheap in thanking the person.

I have a friend who always seeks ways to bless others.

Another friend never tires in her service to the Lord and preaching the good news to others.

If you were to ask either of these friends about their motivation, they would tell you that they see it as the only way to express their thanks to God for all He has done in their lives.

God wants us to thank Him for what He has done and what He has given us. But there are many other ways to express our thanks. God loves when we thank Him verbally, but He also wants us to live a life of thanks.

When we recognize the depth of His love and unmerited blessings, “Thanks,” just isn’t enough... We long for a better way to express ourselves. How can we live a life of thanksgiving?