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
Cindy Webster, San Diego, CA
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:6 NASB
Emily, Lugoff, SC
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Noreen
Calgary, AB
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Jeremiah 17:7 NLT
Sarah, Bracknell,UK
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.”
Colossians 3:12 NRSV
Do not neglect to do good and share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16
Norfolk, VA
Psalm 63:3-4
Because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my arms.
NIV
Kelly W., Fowler CA
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)
Catherine Lesley – Waterdown, Ontario
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits,unwavering, without hypocrisy.” James 3:17 (NASB)
Franklin, TN
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:28 NLT
Payson, AZ
Psalm 34:8 (ESV).
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2 (NIV)
Deanna Ellis, Lezington, SC “Through Jeaus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise -the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15 NIV
Terry in Louisa, VA
Colossians 3:11 NIV
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
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 straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
martha loyd
houston, tx
Sarah, Bracknell, UK
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.
Colossians 3:12 NRSV
Bobbie Jo
San Angelo, TX
“He must become greater, and I must become less important.” ~John 3:30 (NCV)
Debbie, Severna Park, MD
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. (Isaiah 40:29 ESV)
Mary Tomaselli
Humble, Tx
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27: 1 ESV
Jen Quincy, MA. Psalm 139: 1-2 NLT “O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
Joan (Coppell, TX): In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. Proverbs 14:26 ESV
Amalia Smith Lumberton Tx
Luke 1:37 NIV
For no word from God will ever fail.
Colette, Mesa, AZ
“He will call out to me, “You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.” ”
Psalm 89:26 NIV
Sharon Hyde, Independence, MO. “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” Psalm 73:26 (NLT)
joshua 3:17- the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Isreal passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. NIV. Shira MacLennan , Americus, Ga
Camille Benson, Knoxville, TN
“…from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.”
Ephesians 3:15 NIV
Amy McAteer-Jones, Weddington , NC ” The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you by his love, he will exult over you with loud singing” Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
Natalie Bullock — Pearl, MS
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18 NASB
Erin- Conway, AR
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.
But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:15-16 {NIV}
Ann Gardner, N. Canton, OH. Psalm 73:28. “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works”
Darcy, Spokane, WA
“And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:27-28 (NIV)
Sallee Bonham, Belle, Missouri
“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.
John 5:36 NIV
Rhonda Beck Winston Salem N. C.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. – Jeremiah 17:7-8
WendyC – Cheyenne, WY.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Sarah Stephenson, Auburn, AL
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Ephesians 6:18-24 NIV
Whoops! Only going through v. 20 which ends “As I should.”
Catherine Lisle, Albuquerque, NM. “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8 NLT
Psalm 127:5 NIV
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Ruth, Belleville, IL “Ciertamente el bien y la misericordia me seguirán todos los días de mi vida, Y en la casa de Jehová moraré por largos días.” Salmo 23:6 Version Reina-Valera 1960
Jennifer, Chattanooga, TN
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Ephesians 6:14 NIV
Laura from Gilbert, AZ
NIV
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
1 John 1:5
Betty Clark, Ann Arbor, MI “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” James 3:9-10 NIV
Susan Stefens, Emmaus, PA
Isa. 65:1 NIV I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.
Deena, Colleyville, TX
Colossians 3:12 NIV
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
1thessalonians 5:16-17 New King James Version
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Lynda S from Brockville, Ontario, Canada
“How wonderful are the things the Lord does! All who are delighted with them want to understand them.”
(Psalms 111:2 GNB)
Paula from Maine
“Then The Lord said, I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people, I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, The Lord, will do for you.
Exodus 34:10 NIV
Uniontown, Kansas
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Katie Hoercher Boston, MA “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodu 14:14 NIV
Lori, Pueblo West CO. “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, He’ll help you catch your breath.” ~ Psalm 34:18 MSG