In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson

A few years ago during the Covid-19 crisis and the mounting cultural tension surging after the 2020 election, Jen Thompson felt a serious need for more than a way to de-stress. She needed to return to Jesus.

Return to Jesus is more than a book. It’s an invitation to receive something millions of us are crying out for: a more real, consistent closeness with Jesus, saturating every wonderfu...

The idea of “mental load” may not have felt burdensome while dating or engaged, but over time, as the responsibilities of life increase, the emotional, mental, and physical toll of the on-going mental load starts to disproportionately affect women, which often then has a direct impact on the quality of their marriage. Women get resentful and men wonder what happ...

Everyone knows what the 12 Steps are. Whether you're in recovery, someone you love is, or if the idea seems like a life-time and a church-basement away from you, Ian Cron has some news for us. We're all addicted to something. We're all victim to trying white-knuckled, self-reformation rather than surrendered, God-worked transformation. And these steps are the way to fix all of that.

I've been a fan of Ian's work for a long time. An...

Today's guest is bringing some hard-won, much needed wisdom for all the parents out there -- especially moms of girls -- but also for the kid in all of us still carrying wounds left open.

Melanie Shankle is a three-time New York Times Best-Selling author, and for the first time, she's opening up not just about parenting her daughter, but about how becoming a parent was an unforeseen catalyst to facing a lifetime of trauma with her ...

As you come to the end of another year and the start of a fresh one, where are you on energy? Focus? Gratitude? JOY? If like so many of us, you're screeching to the finish line on fumes, today's guest is here FOR YOU!

Cleere Cherry Reaves is a true lover of God and people. And her powerfully evident desire with her newest devotional, Revive, is to help us learn to do exactly that. And not just revive our lives in the New Years reso...

There are not adequate words to describe how much I adore this woman and what she is offering the world.

SC Perot, Texas native turned Nashville resident, has become my new personal guru on joy. Her first book, releasing February 25, 2025 and entitled Styles of Joy, is everything I dream of for this podcast and then some! 

In the wake of her life-shattering divorce, SC embarked on a wildly unexpected quest for joy in places and wit...

Are you tired of the constant noise, hustle, and angst of culture? Does the pace you've been keeping feel like it's robbing all your joy and peace? Stephen Proctor is here to direct our eyes, ears, and minds back to one of the most powerful and accessible sources of revitalization -- NATURE!

Stephen Proctor is a visual artist who specializes in landscape cinematography and aerial
photography to curate calming, imaginative experienc...

Think you’ve never experienced a miracle? The New York Times bestselling author Mark Batterson reminds us of the millions of miracles God performs every day and inspires us to live with a clearer sense of identity, purpose, and childlike wonder.

To live fully and joyfully, he explains why we need to cultivate a holy curiosity. For what? For everything! Too many of us are so wrapped up in our own worlds and as a result are living wi...

GRAMMY Award-winning singer and songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard is one of the most iconic artists in gospel music history. But her success did not come without her own profound seasons of brokenness. Her message?

Show up anyway.
Worship anyway.
Believe and trust God boldly anyway.

And as the title of her newest book calls us to: Do It Anyway: Don't Give Up Before It Gets Good.

In this deeply personal account of Tasha's greatest tria...

In his decade-long work as a hospice chaplain, Bryan Crum has spent endless hours sitting with individuals as they reflect on their lives and confront their mortality. His biggest takeaway from those bedside hours? 

Too many of us don't really love the stories of our lives. 

Too many of us accept regret, doubt, and fear as the status quo.

And Bryan is on a mission to help us start to love our stories -- and ourselves -- NOW, rather...

What's on your "one day" list? One day, I'll finally try this. One day, I'll do that thing again. One day, maybe I'll have time to... (fill in the blank!).

We've all walked through seasons where we feel like we've lost our purpose or, in Jena's words, have left "our gifts sit on the shelf." And as an artist, illustrator, wife and mom, Jena Holliday is calling us all back into Sacred Creativity!

Her new book, Sacred Creativity: Ins...

Would you ever imagine Miss Universe feeling insecure? Anxious? Unsure of her purpose and her worth? In her debut book, A Crown That Lasts, the stunning and generous Demi Leigh Tebow reminds us that we're not alone in our contrant struggle with right identity.

The former Miss Universe and wife of football superstar, Tim Tebow, offers us an honest and vulnerable peek behind the curtain on her own battle with waiting, purpose, and se...

Have you ever been told you’re too emotional? That you need to better control your feelings?

Or have you been a life-long feeling controller? Emotion pusher-downer? Do people praise you for being strong but you know deep down you’re actually just staying numb?

Jennie Allen is a NYT Best-Selling author and bible teacher, and she is finally giving us not just the permission but the sales pitch and sisterly call to embrace and unt...

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...