In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson

Latest Episodes:

Kinda Counseling with Mattie & Shannon: How to process trauma and navigate conflict Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

The idea of processing our emotions, experiences, fears, etc. is at the foundation of not just professional counseling but simply healthy living as humans. So, this week I sit down with one of my best friends and In Joy Life's resident therapist to talk about:

-What does processing really mean? How do we do it?

-Why does it matter for our own mental health and for the flourishing of our relationships?

-What happens when we process differently (and in different time frames) than those we're in a relationship/conflict with?

-What is brain spotting, and how does it help us process trauma?

-The difference in resolving vs. repairing.

This is basically like a casual counseling session with my bestie (yikes!) and a conversation full of tools for you to better process tough feelings and situations, both independently and with those you love.

Church wounds, courageous forgiveness, and loving in the gaps with Anna Golden Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

Anna Golden is a walking, talking, insanely-talented-singing bundle of joy. After 10 decades of fulltime worship-leading and ministry, she's releasing her second, full-length solo album called Church. It is an invitation not just into her personal story of wounds and grief and restoration to the Church that hurt her, but a genuine call for all of us to choose forgiveness over bitterness, redemption over retreat, and hope in the radical restoration that God can work in any and every story.

Even as a younger (and way cooler, Gen Z!) sister in Christ, Anna has set a renewed example for me for what it means to trust God's call for us to love his Church. This woman is about to make some powerful waves with this generation, and I'm so grateful to share her work with you.

Follow Anna on Instagram

Get her album Church

Letting go and living openhanded with Colbie Caillat and Rahaf Amer Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

If you grew up anything like me, singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat was ALL OVER your first iPod. After blowing up with her debut single, "Bubbly," Colbie became a voice for the singers and dreamers of my generation and has since topped 15 billion streams, 2 Grammys, and is releasing her 7th solo album October of 2023.

What we love about her new album, besides that it's in the country genre this go 'round, is how rich, raw, and vulnerable the record is as she takes us through the journey of grieving and healing forward after the end of her decades-long engagement. The tension she's learned and teaches us to hold between missing and cherishing past loves as well as embracing new seasons "Wide Open" is an invitation for listeners to live wholly human – in the hurt, the hope, and everything else Along the Way, as the album is so aptly titled.

Join me, Colbie, and our dear friend Rahaf on this week's episode to get their insights on letting go, living openhanded, and loving yourself.

Pre-save Colbie's new album, Along the Way (https://www.colbiecaillat.com/)

@colbiecaillat (https://www.instagram.com/colbiecaillat/?hl=en)

@rahafamer_ (https://www.instagram.com/rahafamer_/?hl=en)

How to Claim Your True Identity with Hosanna Wong Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Hosanna Wong is an author, poet, and Christian spoken word artist (really, really cool -tt's like poetry in motion!). Hosanna's newest book, You Are More Than You've Been Told: Unlock a Fresh Way to Live Through the Rhythms of Jesus, is the very message you need if you ever struggle to live out of your true, unshakeable identity. She courageously shares her own story of breaking free from decades of lies about who she was and what she was capable of. It is equally as personal as it is practical with immediate, life-changing takeaways in every chapter. Her love for God and passion for living big and living freely in palpable. These rhythms truly do unlock a fresh way to live.

12. SEASON FINALE: To the One Completely Tired of Waiting Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

Have you, like me, found yourself saying a lot recently: "I can't wait!"?

Whether this statement comes from a place of wonderful excitement or a really tough moment of frustration, the reality of and pace of life often leaves us in seasons of waiting. It's inevitable!

In this episode, I'm chatting about how taking the ACTION of hoping, you can create a MINDSET of greater joy and peace.

If you find yourself currently waiting for something, tune in to learn why waiting well is less about the thing you're waiting for and more about what happens in you and in your relationship with God and with others in the process.

Tune in to this episode to ensure you don't miss the treasure right where you are. Don't miss the joy in the waiting.

www.mattiejackson.net

11. Re-Meeting the Child in You with Laura Williams, LPC Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

Do you feel like you're floundering in the wake of a hard loss? Or are you crushing it, thriving by cultural metrics, and yet don't feel happy?

Well, we have just the counselor for you! And I do mean licensed professional counselor, writer, and podcaster, Laura Williams.

Laura's practice specializes in developmental and relational trauma (yes, we will learn what that means here), and her ultimate goal with all her clients and listeners is: "to help you heal the wounds that keep you from yourself." Heck. Yes.

We talk about the things that most often keep us from freedom as adults, and she offers clinical, spiritual, and incredibly practical strategies to find and begin processing our trauma points.

Some key takeaways from Laura:

Everyone has trauma; it's simply "a place of wounding where a need wasn't met."
You have the power to "reparent" yourself through the childhood wounds that limit you as an adult.
How connecting back with the little kid in you (your "inner child") can be the most practical and doable way to chase small joys!
Humor is a critical element of enduring hardship and chasing joy in grief. (LOVE THIS)

The bottom line is: the you God individually and purposefully made you to be has likely gotten masked by a lifetime of experiences, traumatic or not. Laura's passion is to help you dig up and dust off the best (i.e. most free and most joyful!) parts of yourself that life has covered up.

Because don't you want to re-meet the little you God has always intended adult you to be?

Follow Laura here:

https://www.instagram.com/laurawilliamslpc/

For full notes visit:

https://www.mattiejackson.net/in-joy-life

10. Embracing the Art of the Pivot with Mary Hollis Huddleston Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

At some (well, unfortunately, many points) in life, we all hit a roadblock, a dead end, or maybe have the rug of a really good thing pulled out from under us. Seasons end, relationships break, or for whatever reason, plans must change. This week's guest has struggled through, faced head on, and finally embraced what she calls, "the art of the pivot." Mary Hollis Huddleston has been forced to pivot both professionally (as an entrepreneur, influencer, and author) and personally (as a full-time working mom of 2) at many points in her life. And according to her, when we have the courage and tools and faith to be flexible with our future, God often steps in with even better plans than we had planned for ourselves. What Mary teaches us:

Why the art of the pivot can yield fruit from failure.
Balance is not actually attainable; prioritizing well is.
Adult friendships are a necessity for joy and flourishing (especially for women).
Bonus! Great inside tips on stress-free hosting/entertaining.

The bottom line is, Mary actually does do it all. With a hugely successful event rental business, entertaining Instagram platform, her second novel on the way, and a hubby and two kids at home, even she reminds us: "You can have it all. You just can't have it all at the same time." Her energy is inspiring, her fervor for life contagious, and her why-not-try attitude has brought her huge success across the event industry and beyond. But how did all this purpose and these projects come to be? By embracing the art of the pivot. Keep up with Mary: @mrssouthernsocial (link https://www.instagram.com/mrssouthernsocial/) Please Be Seated (link https://pleasebeseated.com/) Books (link https://mrssouthernsocial.com/without-a-hitch-coming-dec-2021/)

9. Is Hurry Stealing Your Joy? Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

A question I've been asking a lot lately is not just how can I seek after joy, but also what are some everyday enemies of it?

And one of these enemies I've been thinking, reading, and talking a lot about recently is: hurry.

If you're honest, when is the last time you went through an entire week or day without feeling hurried or rushed?

And is this crazed pace of life you're living, the chronic hurriedness of your heart, stealing your joy?

Tune in to this episode as I dive into:

How to lessen hurry and to experience more joy,
The unusual word of the year I chose - and why it's harder than I thought it'd be, and
Intentional steps I'm taking to become more present everyday

What if joy is somewhere right in front of you? Don't you want to savor it too?

For full notes, head to: www.mattiejackson.net

8. Living with Joyful Defiance in the Face of Darkness with Scott Sauls Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Sometimes as we see news, social media, shoot, just life being life -- joy feels impossible, at best, and maybe even inconsiderate, at worst.

How can I continue on hoping and happy when so much evil and loss and heartbreak is happening around me or to me?

Scott Sauls, senior pastor of my church here in Nashville, has faced his share of personal hurts and regrets (the opening words to his latest book are him saying, "You suck," to himself).

He's walked through his own suffering with anxiety and depression as well as pastored his congregation, family, and friends for nearly 3 decades.The good news Scott has to offer? Beautiful People Don't Just Happen – the title of his latest book. His whole message to readers and listeners is, as its subtitle reads, how God redeems regret, hurt, and fear in the making of better humans.

The bad stuff that happens is always raw material for God to bring forth the best stuff in us, if we let him.Some key points from Scott:

Why gentleness in conflict speaks pretty loudly these days.
How shame and regret can bring us into richer relationship with God.
The power of beholding and abiding.
How to live fully in a tragic place.

Part of why I love Scott is he's not afraid to tell the truth about all that sucks in this life. But that honest lament is always followed by joyful defiance, inexhaustible hope, and the reminder that our best days are never behind us; they're always ahead of us.

Follow Scott here: https://www.instagram.com/scottsauls/

7. How to Age Gracefully and Gratefully with Melissa Joan Hart and Amanda Lee Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

I bet it doesn't take long for your critical mind's eye to conjure up a time when you felt insecure in your body.

Whatever the memory, whatever the scale or the season, all of us are haunted at points by the "not ______ enough's" or the "too _________'s" about our bodies.

This week's guests know what it's like to have all eyes – and cameras – on you.

As a child star – beginning acting at 4 years old – whose TV/film career skyrocketed in her teens and early twenties (e.g. Clarissa Explains It All & Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Melissa Joan Hart has decades of experience resisting the snares of comparison and insecurity.

But even as a young actress, Melissa says she didn't feel as much pressure to live up to unrealistic physical standards then as she has this past decade of aging after having her three children. And her bestie and co-host, Amanda Lee (former beauty pageant queen, also mom of 3), doubles down on the crucial intentionality it takes to stay grateful for the body we have, rather than obsessing about the one we don't.

These two get real and spur us on in the struggle:

It takes faith and adoring community pouring into your self-worth to build up confidence (it's hard to maintain on your own).
"Health/fitness" should look more like what our bodies are able to do than just how our bodies look.
There's no better antidote for toxic comparison than gratitude (and Botox ;)).

As Melissa so simply and profoundly reminds us, "the goal is to get older." The goal is to live another day, another year, another decade in a body and mind that serves you best for the time you're in.

Sure, it doesn't always look or feel sexy, but they're calling us not the miss the beauty in the process just because we don't always like the picture. None of us stay 21 forever – why not learn to age gracefully and gratefully (and with no shortage of humor!)?

For full episodes notes and behind the scenes, head to: www.mattiejackson.net

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