Dwell Differently

You won't want to miss hearing the story of Jonathan Almonte’s life—born in poverty in the Dominican Republic, unable to attend school, burdened with medical challenges, and contemplated becoming part of a gang—all interrupted in the best way by God caring for him through a local church, Compassion International, and his sponsor. Not only was Jonathan’s life changed, but his family came to know Christ as well. And all this came about because of the way God used a woman from Michigan named Jamie, who chose to sponsor a child in her 20s instead of getting a new car. How can you share what God has given you to bless others and point them to Jesus? We’d love to challenge you to consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International as a way to practically love others. Sign up here and receive a bonus Dwell Differently kit!This month’s memory verse: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10Today's Dwell guest: Jonathan Almonte, manager of Supporter Engagement of Compassion Dominican Republic, is passionate about empowering the next generation, bringing hope to the hopeless, and mobilizing the Church into action. He is also the founder of Doulos Liderazgo, Servicio, y Amor, a ministry which provides leadership training to local churches and cares for people’s spiritual and emotional needs through mentorship programs and camps. Jonathan lives in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with his wife, Kary, and son, JD.Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Would you be willing to sponsor a child through Compassion International? Use this link  to sign up, and receive a bonus Dwell Differently kit!Why Sponsor a Child?Free Dwell Differently Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

Today on the podcast, Dwell Differently co-founder Vera Schmitz is asking one question: Are your control issues keeping others from using their gifts to serve God and serve others? It can be hard at times to take a step back and invite others to use the gifts and abilities God has given them, and Vera walks us through what this has looked like in her own life. We pray this episode will spark a renewed excitement for the ways God has uniquely gifted all believers and calls us to work together for his glory and our good!This month’s memory verse: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Scripture Memory Journal // Use code PODCAST15 to take 15% off your journal today!Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

Have you ever felt afraid to use the gifts God has given you? Have you ever thought you were inadequate, or maybe even that the ways God has given you to serve others feel mundane and insignificant? We can relate! Join Vera Schmitz and Natalie Abbott, co-founders of Dwell Differently, as they remind us that in God’s economy, there’s no small thing. As stewards (not owners) of these gifts, we can trust him as the gift giver to equip us with all we need to serve where he’s called us. It’s all from him and for him!This month’s memory verse: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

Have you ever felt unsure of how God has gifted you? As Heather MacFadyen says, we’ve all been called to make disciples, but the where and how will look different in everyone’s lives—and that is freeing! Join author and podcaster Heather MacFadyen as she talks with Natalie Abbott about how to identify what God has uniquely equipped you to do, why God gives gifts to his people, and how to not miss out on the goodness that God has for you. This month’s memory verse: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10Today's Dwell guest: Heather MacFadyen is the host of the popular parenting podcast Don't Mom Alone, with more than 20 million downloads from around the globe, as well as the author of the books Right Where You Belong and Don't Mom Alone. She finds great joy in connecting other women to mentors and experts through her podcast and in speaking at live events with women across the country. She and her husband and their four sons live in Dallas, Texas. Learn more at www.heathermacfadyen.com.Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Heather MacFadyen's websiteRight Where You Belong by Heather MacFadyenDon't Mom Alone by Heather MacFadyenCRU Spiritual Gifts AssessmentCliftonStrengths AssessmentMade for This by Jennie AllenDwell Differently Official Facebook GroupSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

This month on the podcast, we’re talking all about gifts. God tells us in his Word that he has given all of us gifts, but in a world where we are bombarded with messages to live our best lives, focus on our own happiness, and put ourselves first, we can easily miss the why behind the gifts God has given. Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently, walks us through the context of 1 Peter 4:10, helping us understand what this verse is saying and what it means for how we live our lives. If you’re stuck living with a scarcity mindset or just need a bit of encouragement to rediscover the joy of using your gifts to serve others, you’re in the right place!This month’s memory verse: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

We know that Jesus raised from the dead, defeating sin and Satan and death. And we know that if we are in Christ, Jesus’s victory is true of us too. But all too often, we don’t live like Jesus has already won—we slip into being stressed and fearful and discouraged as our situations loom large in our minds. Join Vera Schmitz, co-founder of Dwell Differently, as she shares a story from her own life about this and points us again to the reality of the gospel and the real difference Jesus’s victory makes in our day-to-day struggles and stressors. We are a forgetful bunch of humans, but there is hope!This month’s memory verse: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” — Matthew 28:6aMemorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

As Christians, the resurrection can sometimes seem like something we only focus on at Easter, but the resurrection of Jesus has implications that reach far beyond an Easter Sunday church service. Join Vera Schmitz and Natalie Abbott, co-founders of Dwell Differently, as they talk about why the resurrection matters and makes a difference in our everyday lives. Don’t miss Vera’s book recommendations and the question about the resurrection she has for Natalie—maybe you’ve wondered about it before too! This month’s memory verse: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” — Matthew 28:6aMemorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen L. TaylorThe Reason for God by Tim KellerDwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

This month, we are memorizing beautiful words about a promise fulfilled—words on the lips of an angel. Words spoken to women who were desperate and mourning the loss not only of their friend, but of the man whom they had believed was the Messiah. The truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith, but it can sometimes be hard to wrap our minds around its implications—not just for the past, but also for our present and future. Join Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently, as she unpacks this incredible truth and explores 4 things that we can learn from the resurrection.This month’s memory verse: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” — Matthew 28:6aMemorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

How can we talk with unbelievers about the truth of the resurrection in a way that makes sense? We all know it can be difficult—and sometimes intimidating—to talk about, but Jesus’s resurrection from the dead is central to the Christian faith. Join Natalie Abbott and Rebecca McLaughlin as they talk about how they connect with unbelievers when initiating conversations about the resurrection of Jesus, how the resurrection offers us great hope, what Jesus accomplished for us in his death and resurrection, and an important question Jesus asks in the Gospel of John that we should all be asking. The truth of our verse this month makes all the difference, and we know this episode will be an encouragement to you as you prepare to celebrate the reality of Easter and have conversations with others about the true hope offered in Christ!This month’s memory verse: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” — Matthew 28:6aToday's Dwell guest: Rebecca McLaughlin holds a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill College in London. She is the author of Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion (2019), which was named book of the year by Christianity Today, and of 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity (2021), The Secular Creed: Engaging 5 Contemporary Claims (2021), and Is Christmas Unbelievable? Four Questions Everyone Should Ask About the World's Most Famous Story (2021). She lives in Cambridge Massachusetts with her husband, Bryan, and their three children.Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlinConfronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlinDwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.

Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently, wants to read God’s Word over you today. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, hear the truth about why the resurrection matters; slow down to remember that this good news is for us today; and meditate on the promise, power, and hope we have because Jesus is alive! If you want to follow along, open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, 12–28, 50–58; Romans 6:1–14; and Ephesians 1:18–23.This month’s memory verse: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” — James 1:22Memorize Scripture with us: Find out more about Dwell’s monthly kit with temporary tattoos, a display card, a key tag, and more to help you know and dwell on God’s Word.Get our weekly devotional email: Dive deeper into this month’s verse.Did you love today’s episode?: We’d love to hear about it! Would you leave a rating or review in your podcast player to help others find the show?Links from today's show:Dwell Differently Monthly MembershipFree Devotional ResourcesSupport the showFollow Natalie & Vera at DwellDifferently.com and @dwelldifferenly.