‘Stick to the Word’ of God

According to the 3M website, Dr. Spencer Silver, a 3M scientist, discovered the formula for Post-it Notes in 1968. He got the idea for them while singing in the church choir, and his bookmark kept falling out of his hymnal.

3M first introduced the product in 1977 after nine years of product development.

Now, with the efforts of three local women, Post-its are coming fill circle, at least when it comes to their religious roots.

Susan Merritt of La Cañada, Juli Biondi of Shadow Hills and Janna Delgado of Monrovia are the founders of Stick to the Word and its website — www.sticktotheword.net — a company that offers, through the website, stickable Post-its with Bible verses from the Old and New Testaments printed on the front. Each Post-it comes with a pre-written Bible verse that allows the user to give it to the recipient by sticking it to a conspicuous surface. Each verse is matched to a particular theme, such as stress, provision, peace and finance. The Post-its come with four sets of three Post-its each. And each set features a different Bible verse.

“What we’ve done is taken the verses and we’ve categorized them into topics,” said Merritt, chief financial officer of Stick to the Word. “So you don’t have to go look for the specific verse.”

More categories will be available in the future as the business grows. Another project in the works is a Bible that expands on Stick to the Word. This Bible will also be divided into categories based on a particular theme or life event.

Merritt and Janna Delgado, chief operating officer of Stick to the Word, have combed the Bible back to front looking for verses to fit their categories.

Take, for example, a verse from Isaiah Chapter 43, Verse 2, that reads, “When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” This passage would be read in a time of stress to encourage the person, such as when they are having a particularly difficult day.

“I used to work in television, and I would go sit on my computer everyday — I’d get in there; I’m all stressed out, working really hard,” said Biondi. “This is the kind of thing; you just glance down at it throughout the day, and you know what? It gives you a little perspective. It gives you a moment of clarity.”

Another passage, this one taken from the Book of Psalms, Chapter 107, Verses 8 to 9, reads, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” This passage inspires a moment of thankfulness.

“It’s for anybody who needs some type of inspiration or help in a given time frame, in any given reason,” said Biondi.

Both the Psalms and Isaiah verses are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, and other passages come from the New International Version and New American Standard Bibles.

Some passages can used be used to inspire peace, while other passages can be read at times of financial uncertainty or even during seasons such as Christmas.

“You can use the Post-its to put on your bathroom mirror, your dashboard in your car [or] your computer at home,” said Biondi, president of Stick to the Word, who says that some customers have even stuck the Post-its to their kids’ lunch boxes.

“Some people use them for memorization of specific verses,” Biondi said.

The inspiration for Stick to the Word was born out of a difficult period Merritt was experiencing several years ago: “So I started writing scriptures, to encourage me, on Post-it notes,” Merritt said. “And then I would put them on my bathroom mirror and then next to my bedside, and it just really helped me get through a difficult time.”

Merritt would write multiple copies of just one verse, at which point she wished the verses were printed. She then shared her idea of printing the verses on Post-its with Biondi and Delgado.

Both women immediately jumped at the idea. They have been working with Merritt on launching Stick to the Word for the past two years. They launched www.sticktotheword.net several weeks ago.

Delgado recently gave some Post-its to a neighbor’s niece who is gravely ill in the hospital. Each week, the neighbor sends the niece a card. Tucked inside is a Stick to the Word note.

“I have two on my bedside right now: a hope and a peace one,” said Delgado. “I have one on the dashboard of my car. Because for me, I am concerned about finances right now in my life, and so I look at the one for hope, which a real encouragement for me.”

For Merritt, it all comes down to convenience, she says, because you can’t always have a Bible in your hands, and looking up a verse to fit a particular situation can be time consuming.

“This is just a convenient way of having it close to you — any place, anywhere, any time,” said Merritt, adding that everyone has a different idea of how they want to use it.

In the beginning, Delgado said, Stick to the Word seemed like it was a product for other people to use, and not for the founding partners themselves. Overtime, however, Post-its grew on her, and she started to use them for her own personal encouragement.

“And I have given them to other people,” Delgado said. “I have two nephews right now who are both in the military. One of them has found out he’s going to Afghanistan in October, and I sent him the hope [scriptures]: ‘For I know the plans that I have for you, for hope in the future, to prosper you.’ And that’s an encouragement to him. It’s a word from the Lord telling him, there’s hope.”

Delgado believes people who see the product may not, at first, consider it for themselves as much as the people they plan to give it to.

However, as was true in her case, that may change, she said.

Merritt sees Stick to the Word as an opportunity for people to keep the word of God in their daily lives.

Stick to the Word Post-its can also be given to people who are not particularly religious, said Biondi.

“For example, the thankfulness [scriptures], this is something if you want to send a thank you to someone that you can include,” said Biondi. “The words don’t have to be religious, it can be smart and thought-provoking at the same time.”