The Story Behind Iris Ministries

The story behind Iris Ministries… where do I even begin?

I guess the best place to start is with God.

For a long time in my life, God was just an idea. I couldn’t even tell you if I really believed in Him fully or not, because I honestly don’t think I even stopped long enough to think about Him to figure that out.

Having grown up Catholic, I just knew I was told that there was a God and a Jesus. And I think I may have heard something about the Holy Spirit along the way. But, I didn’t really feel like any of it had any impact on my daily life. And really, if it weren’t for my mother dragging me to church (as a child and then again in my early 20’s), I wouldn’t have gone at all.

Most of the time during the service, I would zone out and think about other things, just biding my time until they said “amen,” so we could head off to lunch. I didn’t pray, I didn’t own a Bible and I certainly didn’t feel like I had a relationship with God (I don’t think I knew that was even an option).

But, little did I know, God was after my heart. In 2004, when I was 27 years old, the Lord orchestrated a sequence of events that would change my life forever.

First, I found myself being more “open” to talking about God, particularly with two of my co-workers. Then, one of those coworkers (an assistant I had hired) began talking about this book that she was reading called “The Purpose Driven Life,” which seemed to lodge itself in my head because I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a few weeks until I finally gave in and read it myself.

As I read the book, it was like I was “remembering” things that I already knew, but somehow forgotten. I couldn’t get enough of it. To the point, that I even took the book and the accompanying journal along with me on a Caribbean cruise that I went on with a friend. And one night, in the cabin of the ship, as my friend slept soundly in her bed across the room, I prayed to receive Jesus.

There was no big lightning bolt from heaven, no pomp and circumstance. But, something inside of me changed that night and the Lord slowly began to transform me from the inside out. Although there were definite setbacks along the way (particularly when I let a dysfunctional relationship take over my life), Jesus always pulled me back to Him, no matter what. Until 2017, when things got kicked up a notch.

For several months that spring, I had been throwing myself fully into communing with the Lord. I would spend hours holed up in my room, reading devotions and the Bible, journaling, talking to God, singing praise music and praying on my knees. And you know what? That whole “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13) thing is true. Because, I started to experience God in a whole NEW way.

I started to hear His voice so much more clearly. I experienced Him all around me. He exposed things in my life that were deceptive. And He started orchestrating miraculous happenings in my life, from provision at just the right moment to Divinely-arranged relationships.

But, it wasn’t until He set me out on a journey of trust in June of 2017 that I really began to understand what it meant to really let God lead. I had unexpectedly found myself without a place to live, but before I could even attempt to “figure it out,” the Lord swooped in and told me to trust Him. That this was all part of the plan and I just had to follow Him.

What ended up following was nearly two years of Divine provision and direction. Of releasing total control into His hands, even if it meant I didn’t know where I was staying that night or how I was paying for my next meal. There are too many details to get into in this one post (although I will be sharing all the details soon!), but even though it was one of the most challenging periods of my life, it was almost one of the most miraculous.

Because it introduced me to the real, intimate type of relationship with God that is available to each one of us.

If someone had told me way back when that you can have an actual back-and-forth conversation with the Lord of the entire universe, I would’ve laughed or called the guys from the funny farm to come get you. Yet, here I was having these types of conversations with Him almost everyday. Here I was, seeing my Heavenly Father provide in such small details as knowing (and providing) exactly the right type of face cleanser when I needed it or putting a purple box fan back into my hands after I had followed His direction to donate it to a needy family.

Stories I couldn’t make up in a million years. Closeness, intimacy, faithfulness and love like I’d never known before. And it had been available to me this whole time.

It lit a fire inside of me. I knew God was telling me to “share my stories.” To let others know that He’s there. He’s been there the whole time. That you don’t have to do this life alone. And that even if you know of Him, there’s more there for you. He wants to really know you, and for you to really know Him.

And that’s what Iris Ministries is all about. Helping you to discover a relationship with the Lord that’s inspired, real, intimate and sanctified.

To get real personal with you (I feel like I can do that with you… we’re friends now, right?), Iris is also my name in Christ. I asked God in prayer one day what His name for me was and He said, Iris. So, I looked it up and found that it means “bringer of joy.”

And that’s my other hope for you as we journey along together - that you will know… truly know… the joy there is in having a close, powerful relationship with the Lord. It is a joy unlike any other in life. And it is my privilege and honor to help you discover and grow in it, as I do the same right alongside you.

So, what do you say, friend? Let’s walk this road together.

I’m so thankful that you’re here.

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