Today’s Purpose:

In the last year, I’ve been open in sharing about my faith journey and it’s impact on my life. Through grief, my faith has been stretched and grown, and through scripture, my faith has been transformed. However, memorizing scripture can be a challenge. Meet Vera Schmitz, the founder of Dwell. Dwell is a membership service that helps people to connect with God through scripture verse memory. On today’s podcast, we’ll examine how Dwell profoundly changed the way I view scripture and scripture memorization.

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A Life Changing Scripture Verse Memory Tool | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 142: Vera Schmitz, Dwell

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Things You Don’t Want To Miss:

4:17 – The Vera 101

Vera spent most of her life training as an athlete. In middle school, she fell in love with track and field. She trained in pole vault, and she attributes her faith in God to keeping her rooted along the journey.
Scripture kept Vera focused and in tune with God as she competed. She found scripture memorization to be a helpful tool, and as her competition got bigger, she turned to those verses to deepen her faith.
Vera trained to become a part of the U.S. Olympic team and compete in pole vault. When she didn’t make the team, she prayed God would show her the next steps, and the idea for Dwell was born.
She wanted to share her unique technique for scripture memorization to connect people with God.
Vera explains her passion for pole vaulting and reminisces about watching Stacy Dragila at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Her hero won gold, and Vera was hooked.

12:56 – Rooted In Faith

Vera grew up in a Christian home. The youngest of five, her oldest sister shared the Gospel with Vera after becoming a Christian in college. She challenged Vera to accept Christ.
She remembers the parable in Matthew about the power of having faith even as small as a mustard seed. God took her mustard seed of faith and grew in her a need for Him.

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed ,you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20

26:28 – God’s Love Letter To Us

God’s word is His love letter to us. Memorizing scripture puts God’s word on our hearts and protects us when we encounter suffering.
When troubles arise, cling to scripture.
Memorizing scripture gives us life and enables us to stockpile the truth in our lives.

29:30 – A Test Of Faith

Vera shares some of the experiences that tested her faith. Sports are filled with highs and lows, and as the competition becomes a grind, it’s easy to give into the doubts in your head. Scripture helped Vera to combat those doubts.
An injury brought Vera’s career to an end 13 days before the Olympic trials. God’s word strengthened her. She was reminded that He is our ultimate prize.

35:33 – A Different Plan

We’re quick to make our plans, but God often has something different for us. We need to surrender our story to His.
Vera explains her hope for people to know God through her business.
Dwell launched in December of 2017. Amidst the launch, Vera and her husband adopted a son.

40:44 – More About Dwell

Dwell has a plan for individuals as well as a family package. You can use Dwell to learn scripture together with your friends and family.
Use your Dwell tattoos as a talking point. Vera explains how Dwell verses open up opportunities for conversations about faith with friends and coworkers.
Dwell is a family operation. Vera’s sister is a pastor’s wife, and she writes Dwell’s content. Vera is in charge of the design, and her aunt serves as a consultant.

Getting To Know Our Guest:

43:43 – Vera shares her love for tacos and sushi, her verbatim memory of the 8 Mile soundtrack, her vast appreciation for Harry Potter, and much more.

A Memorable Moment:

God is the one who sustains me. He is the prize at the end. - Vera Schmitz

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Meet Your Guest:

Vera Schmitz is the founder of Dwell, a membership service that helps people connect with God through scripture verse memory. Vera and her husband Matt live in St. Louis and are the proud parents to their joyful son Isaiah.

In 2012 and 2016, Vera had the privilege of trying out for Team USA in pole vault, and it was God who was her strength through every up and down on her journey. She would write verses on her arm and memorize them while training and competing. When she retired from the sport in 2016, she decided to share this passion with the world. She has a saying that goes, “If having a strong mind is essential for sports performance, shouldn’t it be just as important in all areas of our lives?”

Dwell is a creative, clever system for memorizing God’s word. By changing the way we engage with scripture, Dwell seeks to refocus our minds on the promises of life laid out to us in the Bible.

Website: dwelldifferently.com

Instagram: @dwelldifferently

Linkedin: Vera Schmitz