Greetings, sweet Siestas. It is with the largest lump in my throat imaginable that I introduce myself and share my heart with you, a most tender and humble heart as I type these words. I’m Melanie Toups, and my husband, Jerry, and I live in Bridge City, Texas. Our son and daughter-in-law, Jerrad and Cody Toups, live in Houston and are the parents of our darling grandbaby, Cally. Our daughter and her husband, Jacqueline and Josh Elliff, live in Arlington. Besides my salvation, my sweet Father has loved me most well in the lives of my children. Most well. Jerry and I worship at First Baptist Orange; I serve as principal of Kountze Elementary School and also teach at Lamar University’s junior college, LIT, in the evenings. Facilitating ladies’ Bible studies, primarily Beth’s studies, for the past 10 years is one of my greatest joys.
In 2009, I began memorizing Scripture through this very blog and have continued for six years. I’ll never be able to fully express the profound, life-changing impact this has over me every single day. I love His Word like no other love in my life. Last fall I began asking Him with much anticipation, “Father, what do You have for us in year seven?!”
Our Connection Group recently began “Time of Your Life” by Andy Stanley, and during the first session, I whispered to a friend that Psalm 90:12 would be my first memory verse in 2015:
So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12 (NASB)
This verse challenges me greatly in how I redeem the time He gives me. Andy discusses the cumulative value of investing small amounts of time in things of worth over a long period of time. (My first thought was the immeasurable worth of Scripture memorization.) I’d been asking for His guidance in laying aside a current commitment to better serve Him, and this verse took my breath away. When I dug deeper into ‘wisdom’ (Hebrew ‘chokmah’) in my Bible’s lexical aids, I found it specifically refers to ‘prudence’ in this passage. Prudence – wise in handling matters; skill and good judgment in the use of resources. Yes. Psalm 90:12 is for me.
This verse also speaks to me in seasons of wait. While we believe Him to be faithful as we await answered prayers for loved ones, relationships, jobs, etc., let’s serve Him and intentionally seek daily glimpses of His glory in the wait. A favorite set of commentaries by Charles Spurgeon, “Treasury of David”, contains this statement regarding my verse, ‘When the heart seeketh, it findeth, as though it were brought unto her, like Abraham’s ram.’ Ahh. Breathtaking. This is for me.
I’m in such need of His loving-kindness. Each morning, my knees hit the bedroom carpet for my Manna time (‘quiet time’ – necessary, daily nourishment from Him) and then again knees on the floor behind my office desk, desperate to live under His authority to have His anointing over whatever the day holds. (Warning: you may look like a bobble-head doll popping up if someone opens your office door without knocking. Smile!) But what carries me throughout each day is His Word, verses memorized to fill my thoughts and speak aloud while walking the halls of my campus or the hallway of my home. And on stressful days when my thoughts seem to continually cycle ‘grumble/confess/repeat’, I beg Him to please ‘work in me to will and to ACT according to His good purpose’ (from Philippians 2:13, emphasis mine).
So, let’s do this! Your heart will soar at His faithfulness! He will use you to encourage coworkers and family with verses penned to notepads and text messages. Learn verses with friends (in 2014 I invited Facebook friends to join a group and was overwhelmed at the response); recite them during your morning commute. My work commute is 90 miles roundtrip, and my spiral is my copilot. Recently I spoke at a local ladies’ retreat and discussed Scripture memorization. Today I saw the pastor of one of the participating churches, and he was excited to share the difference Scripture memory is already making in his congregation. Applause for Him alone! He. is. most. worthy.
Thank you, precious Beth, for your incredible generosity in allowing me to honor Him through your ministry. I love Him more because of your obedience to His calling. I love you.
So excited to read YOUR verses, my friends!
P.S. In case you missed it, we have a new SSMT app!! Check it out here: SSMT App Launch
Angie Call; Belleville, IL
Matt. 7:7 MSG
“Don’t bargin with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need.”
Amy Adams
Middletown, Delaware
I John 5:14-15 (NIV):
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.
Pam Willis
Centerville, Texas
Romans 10:9 (NIV)
If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Mary Burge
Fredericksburg, VA
Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple. NIV
Karen from Fort Dodge IA – “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” Colossians 3:12 NIV.
Nancy, Hamilton, OH
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
Psalms 94:19 NIV
Jean Schlosser, Rubicon, WI
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
I
Mary Kay Williams, Redding, CA
I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I call you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father, I have made known to you. John 15:15 NKJV
Jaime
Tyler, Texas
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV
Janet, Springfield MO, Psalm 25:4 NLT
“Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.
Katrina B – Chandler, Ok
James 1:9-10
“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
and the rich in his humiliation,
because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.”
Renea Harrison
Howe, TX
Seek the Lord and his strength yearn for and seek his face and to be in his presence continually 1 Chronicles 16:11
Amplified version
And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 Peter 2:24-25 (NASB)
Kim, Prague
“That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:7-8 NIV
Debbie Liggett, Colleyville, TX
“who satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”
Psalm 103:5-6 NIV (personalized)
Wendy Puckett, Mayfield, KY:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17 (ESV)
Faye Waraksa, Franlkin, TN:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 HCSB
Jill Sanders, Leachville, AR
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father. Ephesians 3:14
Karen Wright, Shelton WA
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
Ephesians 6:14 NKJV
Ellen K., Chester, VA
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. (Isaiah 32:18 ESV)
Cindy San Angelo, TX
1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Melonie B. Sparks, OK
Jas 1:9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
Jas 1:10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Pamela Shaw, Bangor, Northern Ireland
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls. Hab 3:17 (NIV)
Susan, U.K.
“Yet He has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” Colossians 1:22 (NASB)
Pam – NC
2 Samuel 24:24 KJV (partial)
Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.
Kyleigh Porter Raleigh, NC
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Stacie K Springfield, VA
Hebrews 10:22 a (NIRV)
So let us come near to God with an honest and true heart.
Johanna, Carlsbad CA
John 10:10 NIV
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Lauren K, Nashville, TN
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 NLT
Isaiah 61:1 ~ ” The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.” [NASB]
Bekah
Minneapolis, MN
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:16 NIV)
Dawn – Pampa, TX
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,but
gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
Cindy, Fort Worth, TX
Quiet down before God, be prayerful before Him. Psalm 37:7a MSG
Megan Allen – Hillsboro, OH
I delight greatly in the LORD; my souls rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garmets of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. – Isaiah 61:10
Alyssa Neal
Houston, TX
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
Rachelle Honohan, Cedar Park, TX – 1 Thessalonians 5 : 6, So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 1 Thessalonians 5 : 6 (NIV).
Lily Green, Madison, AL
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Rachel Patterson – Clover, SC:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
~ Proverbs 3:5-6
Kathy Springer, Chula Vista, CA: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,” Ephesians 3:16
Laura ~ Plainfield,IN
I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 104:33 NIV
Emma L., Pittsburgh, PA:
“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” Phillipians 2:13, ESV
Amy Cobb, Murfreesboro, TN. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 NLT
Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” Luke 15:18 ESV
Sheila Johnson, Beckley, WV “For I Know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Nancy A -Versailles, Ky
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
-Ecc 3:7-8 NIV
Monica, Abbotsford, BC Canada
Col 1:29 ESV
For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.
Peggyann Calderwood
Crestview. Florida
Dear Friends, let us LOVE one another, for LOVE comes from God. Everyone who LOVES has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7 NIV (1984) JESUS LOVES YOU
Kim Bulles, Yorktown VA
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously gives us all things? Romans 8:32 ESV
Jan Novak, Newport, Oregon John 14:13-14 (NIV) And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jennifer Jones from Coweta, OK
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.