In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson

Have you seen this meme before? The one that always says something along the lines of: “adulthood is the cycle of constantly saying, I just have to get through this week, over and over again until you die”? Do you laugh or want to scream when you see it? Why have we allowed exhaustion and depletion to become the status quo? Should it be? And is there any realistic way to slow things down?

We don’t have all the answers. But this w...

Have you ever done a fast? It’s not incredibly common in our culture anymore (unless it’s giving up something for Lent or a juice fast to drop a few quick pounds, it seems!). Well, it’s an age-old practice that pastor and author, Darren Whitehead, can save us from our phones.

https://www.instagram.com/darrenwhitehead/

The 40-day digital detox started a year ago with his Franklin, TN church congregation either fully or partially f...

This week’s guest is speaking my language on every level!! He’s been studying joy as a pastor and researcher for 5 years and, in his words, “mining the book of Philippians for joy for 27.” As a But Randy Frazee’s mission is not just to teach us about joy. He’s here to teach us how to build our joy muscles; how to, as his new book The Joy Challenge’s subtitle assures: discover the ancient secret to experiencing worry-defeating, circ...

What if the dreaded, unexpected thing in your life is actually the beginning of becoming your truest, most flourishing self?

This is Jillian’s story. This is my story. This is all of our stories at some point in life if we learn to yield to the God who redeems EVERYTHING. After receiving a life-altering diagnosis for her unborn son, Jillian Benfield faced not just unmatched grief as a young mother, but also a dismantling and rebui...

I’d be willing to bet you’ve found and are listening to this week’s episode on your phone, right? So let me start by saying – phones are not evil! But we’re lying to ourselves if we don’t admit their power to addict, distract, and ultimately steal from many of life’s joys given the CONSTANT connection and attention most of us give them. Did you know…?

91% of adults have their phone within arm’s reach all day, every day.

63% are t...

Well friends, this is the one either you’ve been eagerly waiting for OR the one that scares you the most to open 🤪. This week, we’re talking all things marriage and intimacy. This was obviously such a gift for me as Connor and I approach our first anniversary next month, but Lindsey’s work as a marriage and intimacy coach, writer, and podcaster serves those in any and every stage of marriage.

Over her past decade of working with ...

I couldn’t ask for a more perfect guest for Easter week than Molly Stillman. Her debut book, If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry: How Death, Debt, and Comedy Led to a Life of Faith, Farming, and Forgetting What I Came into This Room For, releases TODAY and is a start-to-finish witness that God is always working to redeem our messes.

From the tragic loss of her mother at age 17, to incurring and digger her way out of a mountain of debt at 2...

Do any of these exasperating statements sound familiar to you?

That really was the last time.

I’m going to do it differently than they did.

I can’t keep letting this affect me.

I’ve got to move on.

Me too. And this week’s guest’s personal story and his life work is to help people like you and me get past our pasts. Jason VanRuler is a liscenced therapist, coach, and speaker working with clients from high-level business execs an...

If you’re a country music fan like me, you likely already know Granger Smith as a platinum-selling country singer/songwriter, but did you know he is now a NYT best-selling author?? 

Granger’s story, Like A River: Finding the faith and strength to move forward after loss & heartache, is devasting and tender and ultimately, charged with hope. Following the tragic, sudden loss of his 3-year-old son, Granger walks us through not only...

I think it’s safe to say all of us have felt that churning inside, that unwelcomed angst, when a friend or family member seems to overstep or under appreciate or fail to communicate yet again. No one wants to be trapped in cycles of less safety and more stress with the people you love, but many of us do and simply learn to “live with it.” Courtney Burg knows and shows us a better way.

Through decades of both personal struggle and...

Season 3 is here, and I can think of no better place to start than with my new friend, Justin Whitmel Earley. As both a corporate lawyer, man of God, and dad of 4 boys under 10, Justin has cracked the code on HABITS. Seems simple right? Don’t we all want to foster good habits in our lives and in our families? Sure, but Justin’s 3 books focus on just that – the powerful creation and rhythms of habits in work, in the household, and m...

Do you fall victim to resolution regret every year? Maybe you go into the new year strong, with genuine, I-can-do-it-this time convictions and then come March, you’re right back where you started. Ever think maybe we’re teeing all this up wrong?

What if in place of rules or resolutions, this year we focused on rhythms? What if instead of shooting for that 180 degree turn in our health or relationship or professional life, we chos...

As we grow nearer and nearer to Christmas, I hope this week’s jolly episode brings you a burst of joy as you shop, wrap, bake, or hustle to get whatever checked off your Christmas list this week! In part 1, you’ll hear from some of my favorite elves (BFFs) on some fabulously easy and delicious Christmas app & cocktail recipes as well as some insider tricks for parents reeling in the face of two more weeks of elf on the shelf. 

In...

Shannon and Chase Willardson may as well be brand ambassadors for this podcast. Their family’s story, their enduringly hopeful hearts, and their unending commitment to choosing joy during lifelong difficulty is inspiring. Within the first year after the birth of their second child, Shannon and Chased learned that their daughter, Charlie, suffered from an extremely rare disease called CDG, a lifelong prognosis with no treatment or c...

Sissy Goff has not only spent 3 decades counseling children and their families but is a prolific author and speaker and just pretty much spews joy and wisdom everywhere she goes. Her most recent book is a MUST READ for all parents and really all humans. The Worry Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too offers empathy, intellect, and endless tangible resources for all of us to better identify and manage anxiety.

A f...

Are you in a relationship that continues to feel depleting, unhealthy, even toxic? How do we know when it’s time to create some space, have a conversation, or – as we talk ALL about in today’s episode – set a much-needed boundary with a partner, family member, colleague, or friend? Boundaries are at the foundation of healthy relationship in the counseling world, but what do they mean practically for us? Shannon and I discuss: ·    ...

If you’ve ever seen the reality show Married at First Sight, you know what a challenge those first months and years of being married to a full-on stranger proves to be for couples. Doug and Jamie Hehner, from the show’s first season, are the quintessential arranged marriage success story. Ten years and two beautiful kids later, the Hehners commit their podcast and public platforms to share the real ups and downs of their lives and ...

Madi Prewett Troutt has run the gamut of dating experiences and disappointments. From high school heartbreaks many experience, to publicly defending her faith on the Bachelor, to seasons of longing and wrestling with God when she was “always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” Madi teaches us as much about waiting and contentment than she does love itself. 

Madi’s latest book, The Love Everybody Wants: What You’re Looking for is Alread...