EP 10 What is iRefresh

after a decade of gathering women together for prayer, we are inspired to bring our words of encouragement to you. This is, I refresh, welcome to, I'll refresh ministries where we empower ordinary women to do extraordinary things for the power of prayer and encouragement.

I am, we here on the couch with some friends that have been on this journey with me for the last decade and I just want you to get to know Laura Watson, Christy waters and Erotica Scott who been very adventurous to take this journey on a way of what God put in my heart, uh, 11 years ago and so I would love for us. Now we're going to start with a little bit of fun Q and a just to lighten things up and you get to know a little, a little glimpse of how much fun it is to do life with these ladies.

Okay. Okay. So here we go. What Emoji best describes you and your day,

Do you prefer to text or facetime? Text. Text. They, nobody sees all of this on face time. But if you have to do the face, what would it be? Facetime or Marco. Marco. Polo. You can control that. Yeah. And I can delete it if I don't like this, unless you're texting some people that are behind the camera right now and then they're watching my all the time. Yeah. So yeah, there we go. Alright. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi. Pepsi. Pepsi. Okay. Uh, if you're, uh, preference, dress or pants? No. Pants.

Pants, sweat pants. All right, well that's just a fun, a little glimpse of our, maybe, maybe not deep things, but it's part of the fun that we've had over the, over the last decade. But what I wanted to find out is even, I think, Christie, what could you just tell me in your own words? Like, what is IRA freshman to you and sure. What is, what does it mean?

Well, as a mom and as a wife and as a teacher, I get lost in those titles so much and they're so important to me because I, I love being a wife, love being a mom and I love being a teacher and being able to help students. But there was a part missing in my life and even though I administer through our local church, which I think is so important also, um, I found that my call that God had put on my life to minister specifically to women wasn't being fulfilled.

And so as we began our journey praying together and you were like, I think we need to do this for other women, it just opened up the door so beautifully. And I tell, I will tell anybody, this is my ministry. This is what God called me to do. I am fulfilled when I am ministering to women. Um, this is what part of what God created me to be on this earth and fulfill.

So I'm so grateful for that opportunity if I refresh because it gives me a consistent opportunity administered one on one with women and to seek God, do wonderful things in their lives. It's life changing. I agree. Laura, what do you think, what does IRA fresh mean to you?

When you gain victory in those areas, and I think, you know, we constantly are trying to gain victory in those areas, but when you see someone, another woman that's maybe struggling with the same thing or has had, you know, kind of conflict in that area or they're wanting resolution in the area, it is, it just does something for me. It encourages me, it builds me up.

It strengthens me to continue to help them get that same breakthrough, help them get that same freedom, help them walk in that calling

Any woman that you put in front of me for prayer time, it's like there's just a, you know, just a peace that passes understanding that comes and as you walk out, it's like that storm quiets because there's something so much more important that the Lord is doing and you get your breakthrough by helping somebody else obtain. There's, that's great. That's true.

And it's for us, I think too, that we've had so many opportunities to be able to see such a diverse group of women, whether really deep issues or sometimes, or not anything major, but sometimes they just need that urge of feeling loved and encouraged. Yeah. And someone to, we at affirming what God was already speaking to their heart because how many times do we see when women come, it's, it's confirmation every time it's a confirming word. It was a confirming scripture.

It was a confirming a prayer, you know, everything they've been contending for, you know, we were able to help bring confirmation. Yeah. And I think that's a huge, yeah, that's a huge, you know, Veronica, you and you've been involved with peer ministry, even in your own family, but even with IRF fresh, what does, what do you see that God's been able to do through your life? Through I refresh.

No, that's a very interesting because like you said, I was raised in a family where there was a lot of ministry and they were teaching me my whole life to love Jesus and to have a relationship with Jesus. And I really, that was my draw. I really love to learn more and more about him. I refresh gave me an opportunity to be able to share him with others and to show other women how that relationship is different than a religion and to pursue him and that he is good in all the time, one time.

So it's just a great way to be able to share that. And I'm just pass on those things that I grew up with. I love it. That's good. You know, Christy or did you would, if someone was out there and they were like, what is I refresh about? Like how would you describe it to someone and see like this is what we have been doing and we would like to share it with you. So I refresh began with us coming together, praying for children. It was uh, our heart to pray. And so I refresh is prayer.

I refreshes ministering to people on an individual basis because we found that even though we were connected and had a strong group, that we had prayed for one another. Not every woman did.

And it always amazed me, the women that we come in and sit in the chair across from me and my group and say, my husband served my family this or whatever and I'm all alone and I think, Oh God, I'm so blessed that I have women that link arms with me or lift my arms up like Aaron and hur did permit is, and so really in my opinion, I refresh does that for women. We lift their arms when maybe no one else does.

So many women are on a journey all by themselves and God loves them enough to bring them across our path to encourage them to remind them that they are on the right path or maybe just to help them straighten things out a little bit. We don't counsel of course, but, but it's one of those things that we helped them see the goodness of God in their lives and just encourage them to keep going that God is for the moment then that's good. True. That's great.

You know, each one of us have also played a role and what I like about when we started praying together, there was something at one point then we felt like it was time to reach out beyond yes, our group. Yes, and that's really how it all started is we knew we were to come together and just pray and Minister De chiller and I learned so much in just praying has a group that became what we call our team is.

I didn't really necessarily know what my giftings were until I spent time with them praying together. It's one thing to say I'm praying for you or you can get a text. I'm like, Hey, please pray. But it was that time when we spent week after week praying that it really honed in and like I think I understand or we would, we would verify like, oh, when you were praying something. Yeah. It helped me because I would just get a picture, you know?

I was looking at all the different gifts, whether it's prophetic that you know, speaking up for your prayer language, it was learning the gift of our exhortation. That helps is when we prayed. I learned what mine were more and also identifying them an eat in each other and we found that we were, it wouldn't be a compliment to each other what our gifts really were. And that's one of the things I think what we we're been trying to do is to even help other people to learn to teach them.

Yes. What we have learned how to instill like, Hey, this seems to be like your gift. Are you aware of that? And sometimes they, they're kind of surprised when you, you really work with them. Even when we're doing prayer ministry is, I remember when the last one is, I pray for someone, I like, you really have a gift of prophecy. And they kind of look at me. I'm like, Oh, I think I did. I do. Maybe. But it when you can solidify in someone's mind really confirming, right.

He really makes a difference for them to really start practicing and praying because the word says that we are to exercise our gifts and you want to spark that, you know, sparked those embers in someone so that they get that desire to operate in, step out in the godly confidence and operate in those gifts and just, you know, we can think we have it, but until we're willing to step out and actually have faith and operate in it, it's a different, yeah, that's good. One to note something.

But if we don't exercise, if you don't exercise it, it lays dormant and it doesn't function in the way it's supposed to. And I know I was going to say, and others don't get the benefit for it. And as we ministered, then it's that ripple effect because if we can help a woman who's struggling in her marriage or as a mom or something like that, for her to be encouraged and go back into that house and help change the atmosphere there.

Yes, we've seen husbands come to the Lord, we've seen children come back to the Lord. We've seen so many miracles and testimonies of God's faithfulness and it's not us. It's us being obedient to minister to these women as they need. And then all of this is them going back into their world and taking that God with them, taking that God moment with them and, and it changes things.

God changes things and we give that lady young woman or older woman and opportunity to take a little bit of Jesus back into their home, back into their workplace, back into the environment, whatever it is and change that environment for the vendors as well. Sure. There's great power in chronicle. What's our theme of our scripture that we like to share? They were ordinary women doing extraordinary things in the scripture comes from acts. Yes, yes.

Which is a x Ray 1918 and that is what do we, it's the member refreshing because every time women would leave he go, oh it was like a spa day refresh and we'd go, okay. You know, but they would, they leave rested and refreshed and ready to go again. And so that's why I'm God put that specific term on your heart as is. I refresh because it was a time of our freshmen for the playgroups at the time of refreshing comes from being in the presence of the Lord.

And that's really what I reversed is about is inviting him and his presence to come into the group. It's just a great reminder. So we know it's all him. It is. Amen. That's it. And that's the thing too that we find that a lot of joy and even like what Laura was talking about too, is when you are going through a lot on your own, but you are, you know that what your face, we can trust God and sometimes that journey just takes a lot longer than we anticipated.

But in the midst of us, while we're going through how faithful God is until show us things about other people that we can pray and encourage them. And it does, it does help to shift our attitude or perspective sometimes does. It really does. And so what some highlights and some things that you remember that over the years we've done this of like what has done for you personally? Like you, you'd want to encourage someone else, like, Hey, this is what it's done for me.

Yeah. And seeing him move in that lady's life and seeing the breakthroughs come and seeing the victories and when they come back, you know, and they sit back down in your prayer group and they were like, last time you guys prayed for this and I saw my marriage restored or I saw my child come back home as you were saying before, or you know, you guys were contending with me for, um, a baby and you know, they ended up having four.

So I mean, it's stress [inaudible] but it, you know, I mean, those kinds, there are so many, right. And it just, it's so keeps that fire ignited inside of you, um, to desire to pray for women and to see them gain their victory and to see them get their breakthrough. And two, as you see them trust in the Lord and kind of walk it out.

And you know, I mean, you had mentioned Moses and Aaron and Hur and I've been getting, a lot of times we are the Aaron in the herd that are holding Moses's hand, but that job, if they hadn't been holding his hand, the victory wouldn't have concert. So sometimes we're not the one like you upfront. Yeah. You know, kind of pushing through, but it's just as important to be in agreement and to be contending for these ladies, for the breakthrough, for what they're praying for.

So that it just ignites something in me and really kind of spurs, spurs it on. And it's fun and it's very fun. Yes. And it is,

And so we got to meet her that she dedicated her life to the Lord and was going to what? What was the degree? I think she was a, was it an English Bible degree? Yeah, but it was so fun. So unexpected to meet, meet her the fruit, right. See fruit, fruit, see the fruit. And that's, that's the thing. It's, we don't do it for the reward, but sometimes God's were so gracious to allow us to see that your prayers, um, they do avail much. And that is our heart. That you would know the power of prayer.

And the power of God's word, that we know that God's word is alive and is active. And the one thing that I liked that we've done too, that we learned even through the Betsy of learning how to take scripture and personalize it to make sure we're praying God's word. Amen. Yes. To make it applicable to every situation, every circumstance that someone has when they come in for prayer.

So some of the resources we even have online I think also helps for people to, if you don't know how to, we have different subjects and that in those subjects of whether they're needed healing or praying for, uh, even pregnancy, uh, because we know the power of prayer and using God's word to pray his will over your life is so important.

And so we've got that on I refresh.net where you can have a whole, whole grouping of different categories to learn that process of going to the word and leaning on God and what he has for you and your family. That's good. That's good. Awesome. You know, sometimes we've been doing this together for a long time and in 10 years my life has been close to perfect. Oh perfect. I've had challenges. How about you?

Um, and sometimes, yeah, as a woman who's walking with God and I can pray for others and I can hear God, but sometimes when I'm praying for myself, my family, it's true. I don't, and it's kind of frustrating. So I'm thinking of one particular season I was walking through with one of my children and it was a very challenging season. And um, I can remember coming to an IRA refresh meeting and telling Cheryl I need to step back. And she said, no, I believe you have something for someone to nice.

I'm like, I'm not hearing God. You don't understand. You know? And I can remember that night having a word for somebody that was so bizarre, so strange that I was apologizing as I was ministering to this girl. And she's like, you don't understand my daddy singing that song to me when I was a child. And it was so specific and I was like, God was telling me that as I was giving out of my pain and my hurt, that you are on track and you are doing what you're supposed to be doing.

And so sometimes as women it's easy to turn in, right? And just to see our issues and our faults and our mistakes and our heartache. And so when we turn out and give to others, we reap a harvest. Because after I left that night, I thought, I don't know how my life is going to work out in the situation, but I trust God is with me and for me. So just to encourage others that if you're not ministering, plug in yes.

Get involved because you make a difference in if we're doing our part than somebody will do their part for my child. And as long as I'm being obedient, it puts others in place to be obedient for my needs. And this truth. That sounds selfish and it might sound wrong, but I have to do as a bay. God, that's right. And to, to Minister to women, that's part of my obedience. And he's always faithful to show up. Always.

The beauty is, you know, this has been my original team and then we've, we branched out and hit other people involved. But you know, there's one thing I know that it's like, they know the heartbeat, like we know each other, that heartbeat to know how to stir each other up when we're either together in prayer or when. Then when we're separated that we have that ability to be able to press roof with each other, um, to go through things.

You know, I'm Veronica, one thing I know early on is like you'd like to be behind the scenes and you're all about prayer. But you know, one of the things I have learned with you though too, is when you begin to talk about the Lord, there's something that changes and shifts in you and the joy that comes over you. When you get to testify and share about God's goodness, what does I refresh help you? Even just allowing that to come out even more. I think it's given me an opera, excuse me.

Do you even be an opportunity to share?

Just to get outside of my comfort zone and to share with other people and then to get the feedback from them, encourages me and gives me, built my face when I have that opportunity just to get, see how God is moving on behalf of everybody and um, it's just a great opportunity to really get to experience it and stead of just learning about it or praying, um, to actually see it work and it's fun cause you know Ronica remembers stories so well and the testimonials and I'm like all of a sudden I'll

buy be be fuzzy. I'm like, she can get the detail. I'm like, okay and you know, we do need to have those testimonies. We need to be able to encourage ourselves for the next person to, to believe and know that God's going to take care of their needs. Because sometimes they're just, when they come in you can send so much heaviness over them. But even, especially like as Laura's role a lot of times when she comes in is to help, to facilitate and to know because we have multiple teams.

When we do our gatherings is trying to pinpoint like which team to even place those people in a group that where their giftings are going to be a natural for them to flow and have a word of encouragement to them. And so what, what goes on in your heart, your mind when you're, when they walk into the door and you, when you're, cause you're probably thinking already, I'm like, Hey, where is God having them?

Um, you know, personalities that are gonna fit well, which I have to say I refresh is exceptionally good about just all the ladies, the personalities meshing together, working together because were submitted to the holy spirit and we're wanting the holy spirit to do what he wants to do. But just asking the Lord, okay, you know what teams need to go together.

And then as the ladies come in, it's like, okay, Lord, you know, pinpoint what team this person needs to go to or who needs to minister to them or what gift. Um, like, you know, I know Christy's very prophetic, so it's like, or discerning, she's very discerning in a word of wisdom, word of knowledge, you know, who's in need of that this evening. And you know, I'll even start initially and kind of assign different women to different groups and it never fails.

The Holy Spirit's like, nope, I'll just get a check. And so I'll cross their name off and I'm like, okay. I just kind of look around and I'm like, okay Lord, help me pinpoint who needs to go next in this group. And you know, and I'm not doing anything that anyone else can't do, is just being submitted to the Holy Spirit and recognizing that you want the God's best for each lady that comes in the door. You want them to leave changed. You don't want them to leave the same.

You want them to leave encouraged, refreshed as we were talking about edified and just getting that confirmation that they're seeking from the ward. That's good.

So that because we, we want more people to know the power of prayer and the community of literally coming together in prayer. And that's one of those resources that we are making available that we want you to be able to not only have been prayed for personally, but also that you too can do the same. It's just having a conversation with God and listening to what he has and being obedient to that. And that calling is, we're all called to pray.

It's, it's, uh, not just a, for an intercessor, but it's, we're all called to pray and we want to be able to encourage you, but in, in that place that you will also realize that the stories that we will begin to share through our podcast and through the videos we share is about people that we personally directly had an opportunity to pray for it. We've even prayed for people we've never seen or heard. I had a family member. A lot of times we'll get texts from people and I had a family member.

Well, if somebody from Columbia, Bogota, uh, the, the woman was on her deathbed, the doctor wrote her off. And so we began to pray for her. And today she is thriving and living and in a place of authority, a in her country. And yet my friends, I've never met them her, but we know that God's prayer is not contingent on being face to face.

And so we want you also see in the days ahead of the podcast, is that too are there could be incredible stories about these amazing women and how they are walking out their destiny, that they're using prayer, they're using the gifts that God called him into to make an impact in their world.