In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson

The Final Episode - Updates & Thank You's from Mattie

Well y'all, it's finally time. It's finally the moment to hang up the mic on In Joy Life – and not as a failure or unwanted ending but as a beautiful exclamation point and real-time walking out of the message I've preached on here for three years now: DON'T MISS A MOMENT. GO SAVOR AND IN-JOY YOUR LIFE. If you've been here long, you've been through the deepest valleys and most miraculous, sun-soaked mountaintops, and I'm so grateful you have. And for now, this season of podcasting for me is finished. I'm proud of it. I'm thankful for it. I feel like mine has been the heart God has most moved and changed over the course of each intentional interview and episode. This season of creating and learning and sharing with you has been precious to me in every way. Thank you for offering me your ears and your time. And no matter where you are – what celebrations or what griefs mark your days – remember joy is a choice we can make together. I'm Mattie, and this is the In Joy Life podcast.

Parenting Ahead: Laying the Groundwork for Open Communication with Kristen Hatton

As a parent of a toddler, is it too early to be worrying about the teen years?? When is the right time to start laying the groundwork for (**hopefully**) open and honest communication as our kids grow up? Mother and counselor Kristen Hatton tells us no matter where you are, no matter how old your kids, the time to start parenting redemptively is now. Her latest book, Parenting Ahead: Preparing Now for the Teen Years [https://www.kristenhatton.com/books/], helps parents lay the groundwork to have honest conversations, set reasonable limits, and explore issues of the heart will prepare us and our children for the next stage. Hatton helps moms and dads make the connection between our current parenting and future outcomes. Proactive, long-haul parenting will help parents and children be better prepared for engaging in the realities of peer pressure, decision-making, and recognizing the connection between behavior and the heart. And don't worry - Kristen says no matter what your kids' ages, you're not too early and you're not too late! Follow Kristen & Redemptive Parenting [https://www.instagram.com/redemptiveparenting/]. Order Parenting Ahead here [https://newgrowthpress.com/new-book-releases/upcoming-book-releases/parenting-ahead-preparing-now-for-the-teen-years/].

Unmask the Enemy's Lies, Walk in Freedom with Emily Wilson Hussem

This week's episode is one of the greatest tools to freedom for women of this generation. PERIOD. In her new book, Sincerely, Stoneheart, [https://emilywilsonministries.com/sincerelystoneheart] Emily Wilson Hussem [https://emilywilsonministries.com/] draws from her 14 years in women's minsitry as well as her own experiences as a wife and mother of 3 to address 42 specific lies that make up Satan's playbook to attack and destroy women in the day to day of life. Inspired by C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, this book shows how tricky influences can twist women's beliefs about themselves and their faith. It talks about big themes like identity, being a mother, and how technology affects us. The story encourages readers to recognize these challenges and overcome them to find true freedom and happiness in their beliefs.

How to Break Through Fear and Finally Chase Your Dream with Mary Marantz

This week I get to have one of my favorite authors and friends BACK on In Joy Life. Mary Marantz [https://marymarantz.com/] is here to help all of us break through the fears that continually hold us back. She says it's time for a wake-up call! Because so often when faced with the choice between creating nothing and creating failure, we choose nothing. Another year goes by. The clock goes on ticking. And the world is worse for our absence. It's time to move from stuck to start. Mary's newest book, Underestimated, does the heavy lifting to dismantle all the lies fear uses, move you out of an endless spiral of your own excuses (not to mention other people's opinions), and bring you right up to a threshold of no return--this place where we become people who feel the fear and move forward anyway. With equal parts powerful prose and tactical action steps, Underestimated will become the essential go-to field guide for anyone who is ready to once and for all quit playing small. Order Underestimated, today! [https://marymarantz.com/underestimated]

Return to Jesus - Simple Rhythms That Can Save Your Life

A few years ago during the Covid-19 crisis and the mounting cultural tension surging after the 2020 election, Jen Thompson [https://jenthompsonauthor.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH_a9xleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfp3O1IAxnGvweGPDXrkzC63Hez184_PxZd6hSbjXQq4UkQiGR10YRXNDw_aem_BhfLOe__LsgI9t3DEyr78w] felt a serious need for more than a way to de-stress. She needed to return to Jesus. Return to Jesus [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/747877/return-to-jesus-by-jen-thompson/] 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 wonderful and difficult moment and circumstance of life. But how do we rest in His Presence when our world is yelling for us to hurry up and do? For Jen, it's all about intentional practices and daily rhythms of returning to Him. In Return to Jesus, Jen invites us to return to the One who gives us lungs to breathe and eyes to see all the beauty, heartache, and wonder that can be found in a single day. Using personal stories and scriptures, Jen offers guidance on how to disrupt the patterns and rhythms of life and embrace an eternal perspective that calls us out of the constant demands of our schedules, our time, our emotional capacity, and the expectations of the world pressing in.