"We need to be very careful that we're thinking about the will of God biblically...If you think God's will never includes sacrifice or difficult things or hardships, you should really wonder whether or not maybe it's your will that's winning out each time and not God's will for you."

— Jason Abbott

Today's Episode:  Listen, learn, and laugh along with Natalie and her husband, Jason Abbott. They're talking frankly, deeply, and lightheartedly about the beauty and the glory and the blessings of God's kingdom and his will. Jason makes these deep theological truths accessible with simple explanations and personal examples. You won't want to miss out on this one! 

This month's memory verse: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." —Matthew 6:10 

Today's guest: Dr. Jason Abbott is married to Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently. They have a big family of seven and spend a lot of time running around mid-Missouri together. Jason has been in pastoral ministry for 20+ years in the Evangelical Free Church of America. He’s currently the Senior Pastor at Central Church of Jefferson City, Missouri. 

Support Our Show: We love reading your comments! AND they help other people find our show. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review.

Links from today's show: 

• Find out more about Pastor Jason's ministry at Central Church. 
• Listen to Jason's sermon on Matthew 6:10 on the This Is Central Podcast. 
• Sign up for our newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's new Bible study, Dwell on These Things and book, Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"We're going to zoom out and get this big-picture view of this massive, God-sized prayer. And I hope that it would ignite a passion in you—that your vision would be wider, that you desires would be deeper, that your commitment would be more firm, and that you would pray with a renewed passion God's big kingdom prayers."

— Natalie Abbott

Today's episode:  What is God's kingdom like? Listen in today as Dwell co-founder Natalie Abbott walks us through the story of God's kingdom as it's laid out in his book—from creation, to the fall, to redemption, to it's final restoration. She also helps us see our part in that story and how we can live like kingdom people and be kingdom bringers in our everyday lives. 

This month's memory verse: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  — Matthew 6:10 

Memorize with us: The Dwell Differently monthly membership is the easy button for Scripture memory. Join us today!

Support Our Show: We love hearing what you think and it helps other people find our show.
 
Links from today's show: 

• Check out Penelope Judd by Shai Linne!
• Memorize Psalm 23 with your kids! Get the Dwell Differently Psalm 23 kit.
• Check out Natalie and Vera's new teen Bible study, Dwell on These Things. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's Bible study and book: Dwell on These Things and Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"This is the God who gave his life for me. This is the God who has bigger dreams for me and better things for me than I would plan for myself. Will I willingly rejoice in his hand over the comings and goings of my life and be at peace with that?"

— Kelly Needham

Today's Episode: We're all tempted to be the boss of our own lives, to be the one watching over ourselves and everybody else. On today's episode, Natalie chats with Bible teacher Kelly Needham about the fear, exhaustion, and folly of trying to control our own lives and the safety, freedom, and goodness that comes from entrusting our lives to God instead. 

This month's memory verse: "The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." — Psalm 121:8  

Today's guest: Kelly Needham hopes to convince as many people as possible that nothing compares to knowing Jesus. She is the author of Friendish and Purposefooled and cohost of the Cleary podcast, along with her husband, Jimmy. Kelly and Jimmy have five children and live in the Dallas, Texas area.

Support Our Show: We love reading your comments! AND they help other people find our show. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review.

Links from today's show: 

• Find out more about Kelly at KellyNeedham.com or get your hands on her book at 
• Sign up for our newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Read The Pour Over for unbiased news from a Christian perspective. It's FREE!
• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's new Bible study, Dwell on These Things and book, Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"It's the coming and the going, it's the right now and the forever, it's this all-encompassing idea of God's watchful, beautiful care of the entirety of our lives...And what if I really, really did believe that instead of hiding from those things or maybe relying on my own control over those things?"

— Natalie Abbott

Today's Episode: Today Natalie and Vera are tackling two simple questions that are really hard to live out: "Do you really live like God is watching over you?" and "Do you really live like God is watching over your people?" The hope is that you would hear where they are succeeding and where they aren't and consider your own life and how you can entrust yourself and your people more to the Lord.

This month's memory verse: “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” — Psalm 121:8

 
Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about the easy button for Scripture memory, Dwell Differently’s monthly membership!

Support our show: It's really just as simple as leaving us a review!

Links from today's show: 

• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. Get your first month FREE with the code: PODCAST.
• Want to do a Scripture memory Bible study? Check it out here! Or get the teen version. 
• Want more encouragement? Sign up for our emails!

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"If we can look back on our lives and see how [God] has protected, provided, and cared for us in past, then we can trust that he's going to do that in future...forevermore!'" 

— Whitney Newby

Today's Episode:  Today we're diving into Psalm 121 with Author, Whitney Newby, who wrote a beautiful devotional book based just on that Psalm. Whitney shares stories of how God always keeps us, sustains us, and provides for us through all of life's ups and downs. She encourages us to rely on the promises of God found in Psalm 121 through every season of life, even (and especially) during the most difficult times. 

This month's memory verse: "The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." — Psalm 121:8

Today's guest:  Whitney Newby is a writer, artist, and the founder of Brighter Day Press, a ministry that creates literature-rich, gospel-centered resources for family discipleship. She has a Bible degree from Moody Bible Institute and is a registered nurse. Whitney makes her home in South Carolina, with her husband and four children.

Support Our Show: We love reading your comments! AND they help other people find our show. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review.

Links from today's show: 

• Find out more about Whitney at BrighterDayPress.com.
• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. Get your first month FREE with the code: PODCAST.
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's new Bible study, Dwell on These Things and book, Dwell Differently.

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"Our God is never caught off guard. He's never surprised. He's always watching over you."

— Natalie Abbott

Today's episode:  How might your life look different if you really believed that God himself watches over you? Today Natalie Abbott encourages us that he does, showing us in Psalm 121 how he helps us, protects us and keeps us close forever. 

This month's memory verse: "The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." — Psalm 121:8 

Memorize with us: The Dwell Differently monthly membership is the easy button for Scripture memory. Join us today!

Support Our Show: We love hearing what you think and it helps other people find our show.
 
Links from today's show: 

• Get your first month free of a Dwell Differently membership with the code: PODCAST.
• Check out Natalie and Vera's new teen Bible study, Dwell on These Things. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's Bible study and book: Dwell on These Things and Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"I'm excited about this because I used to feel guilty that my 'quiet time' didn't look like other people's...and also when I became a new mom, I also felt guilty that [it] didn't look like it used to look."

— Vera Schmitz

Today's Episode: What's a quiet time? And how exactly do I go about having one? Today, Vera and Natalie share their own habits and practices of spending time with God. They share 10 different ways, here's the list: 

1. Write out a passage that really speaks to you.
2. Spend time learning what it means.
3. Rewrite it in your own words.
4. Pray the passage back to God.  
5. Ask yourself questions about the passage. (I.e. Am I believing this? Am I living like this is true?)
6. Write a list of ways that you are or are not living out the truths in the passage. 
7. Memorize a verse from the passage. Speak it back to yourself throughout the day.
8. Recite the verse in a "breath exercise."
9. Spend time coloring the verse. 
10. Talk to others about what you're learning.

Here's the best part, they are giving away a Digital Bible Study that utilizes all 10 of these methods. GET YOURS FREE by signing up for our free weekly newsletter. Already subscribe, Go to this link for your free study!

LEAVE US A REVIEW: Want to support our ministry and help others find our podcast, it's as simple as leaving a review in your podcast player. THANKS!

Links from today's show: 

• GET A FREE BIBLE STUDY: Sign up for our popular newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Want to memorize and study a longer passage of Scripture? Check out our Dwell on These Things study here! Or get the teen version. 
• Want more encouragement? Sign up for our emails!

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"Something that I think a lot of us miss is this: In our lives, our love has become transactional. Our love has become very much 'if you do for me, then I'll do for you.' But that's not sacrificial love. That's not the love of Christ."

— Jon Nelson

Today's Episode: Natalie is talking with Pastor Jon Nelson about loving people outright—not because they've done something to earn it, or because they're easy to love, but because we have been undeservedly loved by Jesus. They discuss the challenges of laying down our prerogatives and our schedules and our stuff to love other people. You'll hear Jon share the profound words of a dying friend, talk about the concept of selflessness and deference, and you'll find out what it means to love someone even when they're "tore up from floor up." Be ready to learn, to be challenged, and to laugh.

This month's memory verse: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” — 1 John 3:16 

Today's guest: Pastor Jon C. Nelson is a native of Kansas City. He is the founder and Lead pastor of Soma Community Church, a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church in Jefferson City, MO. He is a graduate from Midwestern Baptist Theological College, where he holds a degree in Biblical Studies and Pastoral Leadership. He is a bold leader and passionate communicator deeply dedicated to the Great Commission of Christ, the equipping of disciples, and the spread of the Gospel across the nation and around the world. Jon has been married to his wife, Heather, since 2004.  His greatest joy outside of Jesus is being married to his wife and being a father to their four children.

Support Our Show: We love reading your comments! AND they help other people find our show. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review.

Links from today's show: 

• Find out more about Jon or listen to his sermons at SomaJC.org.
• Sign up for our newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Read The Pour Over for unbiased news from a Christian perspective. It's FREE!
• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's new Bible study, Dwell on These Things and book, Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"Sometimes it just comes down to 'being inconvenienced' and just being there for people."

— Vera Schmitz

Today's Episode: Natalie and Vera are talking about the barriers that keep us from loving people well. Maybe it's time or money or busyness or distance... Whatever it is for you right now, this episode will challenge you to take the next small step to remove the barrier the keeps you from being there for someone. Maybe it's a simple as buying stamps so you you can send them a note.

This month's memory verse:  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” — 1 John 3:16

 
Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about the easy button for Scripture memory, Dwell Differently’s monthly kit!

Support our show: It's really just as simple as leaving us a review!

Links from today's show: 

• Sign up for our newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Want to do a Scripture memory Bible study? Check it out here! Or get the teen version. 
• Want more encouragement? Sign up for our emails!

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"God gets into the specifics of what's going on in our hearts and says, 'this is what's keeping you from fully walking in my love.'" — Jada Edwards

Today's Episode:  What's hindering your relationship with God? In today's episode, Jada Edwards encourages us to ask God to tell us. She challenges us to ask God to reveal those barriers and to heal whatever shame, pain, sin, or trauma we're holding onto. The hope is that we would grow closer to God, experience more of his love, and in turn love others more deeply and freely. Jada helps us see from her own life and example how this is possible when we ask God to show us our hearts. 
 
This month's memory verse: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” — 1 John 3:16 

Today's guest:  Jada Edwards is an author, speaker, Bible teacher, and mentor. Studying and teaching the Bible to women is one of her greatest passions, along with discipleship and living on mission. While she is a lively and sought-after speaker, the local church is her home. She and her husband, Conway, planted One Community Church in Plano, TX, where she leads a regular women’s Bible study and serves on the teaching team and as the Creative Services Director. Jada enjoys spending time with Conway and their two children, Joah and Chloe, particularly around the dinner table. Her new book, A New Way to Love Your Neighbor, will be available nationwide on April 22, 2025. 

Support Our Show: We love reading your comments! AND they help other people find our show. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review.

Links from today's show: 

• Find out more about Jada at JadaEdwards.org.
• Sign up for our newsletter and get our FREE Digital Bible Study! Already get our newsletter? Go to this link for your free study!
• Memorize and meditate on God's Word with a Dwell Differently membership. 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's new Bible study, Dwell on These Things and book, Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

"You don’t have to wait anymore. Your home is here, and he’s welcoming you in. Always. If you’ve never been, or if you've been wandering a while, the door is open. The door is always open. His arms are always open. Always." — Natalie Abbott

Today's episode:  Are you walking in the love of Jesus? Like really, really? Are you grounded in the full and beautiful, biblical definition of that love? And are you loving others in the same way? These are the questions Natalie Abbott is discussing on today's episode about the love of God for us in Jesus. You won't want to miss it. And you may just want to share it with a friend who needs to hear it too!

This month's memory verse:  "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” — 1 John 3:16 

Memorize with us: The Dwell Differently monthly membership is the easy button for Scripture memory. Join us today!

Support Our Show: We love hearing what you think and it helps other people find our show.
 
Links from today's show: 

• Check out our EASTER SALE! 
• Get your free digital Bible study to go along with this month's verse! 
• Dig even deeper into God's Word (and memorize it!) in Natalie and Vera's Bible study and book: Dwell on These Things and Dwell Differently. 

Support the show

Follow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.