In this refreshing conversation, I sit down with Natalie Abbott, co-founder of Dwell Differently. She shares her powerful journey of seeking God through various religious texts and how, in time, He opened her heart in a profound way. Soon after, the Bible came alive to her, and she discovered that God’s truth is not only accessible but deeply transformative.

We explore the “why” behind Scripture memorization, along with the science of how our brains work—unpacking how God designed our neural pathways to be shaped, strengthened, and renewed throughout our lives.

Natalie opens up about the joy of working alongside her sister, the weight that can come with doing work the enemy seeks to undermine, and the deep encouragement she’s found in hearing testimonies of God’s Word taking root and bearing fruit in people’s lives.

Memorable Quotes:

On verse memorization: “If I’m meditating on it, if I’m memorizing it, if I’m allowing it to sort of saturate deep into my bones, then it’s going to affect me, it’s going to deeply and profoundly transform me because that’s what God’s Word does, and it’s going to come out in my life.”

“I’m going to pray, ‘God if you’re there, show me who you are,” and that is what I did every single night.”

“I thought, ‘that book has made me feel so guilty and so terrible for so long, I’m going to burn it.’ And at that moment, the Lord just intervened and was like, ‘Natalie, all those things that you couldn’t live up to, I did, in Jesus, I did that for you. Will you believe that?’ And I gave my life to Christ and it changed everything.” 

“If God is speaking in that book, like really actually speaking, and we say that we believe it, how come it’s building up dust on the side of our bedside tables?”

“It’s just a few small words, that you put into your heart and into your mind, and you allow it to be the guiding force in your day, you allow God himself to speak into your heart and into your mind. Man it is so powerful. It is so good.”

“Anything I say that is good or wise or helpful, it’s a regurgitation of what God’s already said.”

“In some ways what we do at Dwell Differently is like the feeding of the 5,000. How can I even possibly know what God does with all of that nourishment that He is giving to His people? I have no idea. I’m the guy with the two fish and the five loaves and I’m saying, ‘God would you multiply this.’”

“Wherever God is calling you, the enemy is always going to have those super highways, negative super highways - he’s going to use those, they are powerful tools, he has used them before, they work, he is going to speak those lies to you, and you have to turn right back around and say, ‘That is not true. That is not true.’”

Show Notes & Scripture References:

Psalm 23:1

1 John 3:1

Psalm 139

John 15:7

John 10:27

Psalm 16:3

Since recording, Dwell Differently has recently moved away from their monthly membership model, but their mission and ministry will continue through their podcast, website, and social media channels. 

Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking with the Simple Practice of Memorizing God’s Truth

Social media: @dwelldifferently, @nataliejoyabbott

Website: dwelldifferently.com