In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson

Latest Episodes:

6. The Messy Journey to More with Naomi Raine Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

What baggage, what wounds, what regrets continue to hold you back from the more you know you're made for? What parts of your life do you keep frantically sweeping under the rug for fear your followers or family or God, or worse, your own self will reject you if they only knew?

Naomi Raine – Grammy award winning singer, writer, producer, pastor, and worship leader – sets a life-changing example of authentic struggle and the resulting richness of life that comes from owning our messes.

Her latest solo album, Journey, is genuine and raw. Zero façade. Brutally honest and powerfully hopeful. She lays it all out for us – the good, the bad, and ugly that when acknowledged honestly, led her to more intimate relationship with God and those in her daily life.

Just a few of her nuggets of gold are:

Worship is more about how you offer your day to God than how well or often you sing to him.
Learning to be more honest with God helps us be better people to people.
How to get back on the same page with God when we've veered off course.
How to enjoy the "even if," the waiting seasons well.

Naomi gives us permission to engage our struggles and in doing so, move toward freedom from them.

Whatever polished picture you think your people or your church or your God needs to see you and embrace you is BS, my friends. Working through your mess draws your (safe!) people closer, strengthens the relationship, and ultimately brings greater intimacy than sweeping things under the rug ever will.

But as Naomi reminds us, it's a journey. And it's a journey very worth taking.

Follow Naomi here: https://www.instagram.com/naomiraine

5. Losses, Silver Linings, and Silverbelly Whiskey with Alan Jackson & Robbie Goldsmith Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

Not one of us is immune to losses, failures – you name it – the regular human struggles of life. So, the question is not how do we avoid them, but how do persevere and grow and even create beautiful things in their wake?

You know that I know how tough fighting despair with joy can be. So, you also know how outrageously worth it I know living with defiant and resilient hope is!

And so do both of this week's guests.

Today I'm joined by my sweet Dad, Alan Jackson, and my dear friend and entrepreneur Robbie Goldsmith.

As CEO Robbie has launched and grown Dad's own personal bourbon brand, Silverbelly, but the two share more than just the love of a good whiskey. Both men open up about the experience of losing their dads and how, with time passed and the intentional choices to seek the silver linings, came great perseverance, creativity, and life on the other side of those losses.

Some take-aways from the guys:

Find joy (even in the loss) wherever you can.
Failure is required for growth, in business and in life.
Orient yourself toward the people, places, and principles you most want to reflect.
Success starts with serving others; put the mission first, and the money will follow.

As Robbie reminds us, "life is 90% perspective." What happens to us can tear us up and slow us down, or it can open up our hearts, our businesses, and our songwriting (in Dad's case) to support and connect with others going through their own struggles. When we choose joy and service, even our most painful losses show a silver lining.

Get your exclusive Silver Belly Whiskey here: https://silverbellywhiskey.com/

4. Are Your Failures Your Biggest Assets? Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

What's that one dream you're shelving because you're afraid it's too big, too expensive, or too out there? What's the phone call that's eating away at you to make, but you're so scared that the voice on the other end may not want to reconcile? What's the really hard truth you need to say out loud to yourself to move forward but you can't because forward will for sure equal a failure? No one likes it, of course, but I hate failure – despise it. Always have. Because the flaw in my thinking since childhood has been that a failed project, a failed plan, a failed relationship means a failed me. A flawed me. A less than me. In the eyes of the world, failure chips away at the value of who I am. DON'T TELL YOURSELF THESE LIES FOR 30 YEARS LIKE I DID!!! A few things I've learned:

A failed project, plan, etc. means you still have something pivotal to learn; learn it. That's the fruit.

Failed communication or conflict in a *safe* relationship can create more trust and safety when it's handled with grace and humility. That's the fruit.

Failure to meet a goal or keep a resolution doesn't mean you can't do it; it means you have more muscles to build on your way toward it. Build them. That's the fruit.

A failure in obedience to God isn't a red mark on your spiritual record; it's a crack in your self-righteous armor that allows his soul-saving love to rush in all over again. That's the fruit.

Your failures do not define who you are, but they can refine and enrich who you are if you let them. For more on this topic, head to: https://www.mattiejackson.net/in-joy-life

3. How to Combat Fear and Thrive in the Unknowns with Laura Osnes Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Have you recently had a dream or season you loved stolen too soon? Or maybe you've been thrust into a new opportunity or phase that, though wonderful, feels totally disorienting and overwhelming?

Actress and singer Laura Osnes has found herself in some deep waters over the course of her 15-year career, some miraculously exciting and some terribly heartbreaking.

Whether it was being thrown into the craziness of Broadway from a Minnesota dinner theater at age 21, shifting from stage acting to film for the first time, or reluctantly leaving her life in NYC after being rejected by her peers, Laura has felt the fear and pressures of entering unknown seasons.

In the face of life's exciting open doors and its devastating endings, Laura inspires us to live with a generous balance of confidence and humility, a rightful sense of betrayal and the freedom of forgiveness.

A few big takeaways for me were:

Joy comes when you stop measuring your present against the next "I made it moment."
Not every open door is a door you should walk through.
The power of keeping thick skin and a soft heart.
The permission you have to feel your hurt and own your bitterness without falling victim to it.

No matter what's on the horizon for you right now or what water you feel like you're treading, Laura's story is a testament to how we all can choose joy where we are. Things always change. Doors open and close. Perseverance and faith are readily available to everyone.

Follow Laura here! https://www.instagram.com/lauraosnes/

2. Why the Now is Better than the Next with Shawn Johnson & Andrew East Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Do you find yourself constantly wishing time away or looking to next best thing? Are you genuinely trying to be present but, like me, continue failing to just "be where you are?" I'm a doer. A dreamer. I crave forward motion. But have I been missing the joys of today because my eyes are always set on being better for tomorrow? Like many of us, I have certainly been a victim of our self-help and self-development crazed culture (both of which are good things!). But what Shawn and Andrew helped me see is that sometimes the best progress, and the most joy, come from simply talking one day at a time. From learning and growing right where you are, today. From, yes, staying present. Take it from this powerhouse couple who have always been athletes and achievers on the move:

Take it from this powerhouse couple who have always been athletes and achievers on the move:

Conflict isn't something to race through; it can be a tool to facilitate more honesty, tenderness, generosity, and intimacy in relationships.
Joy with toddlers (or in any exhausting season) is possible when you embrace the chaos and remember it for what it is – temporary.
Don't be afraid to learn as you go. Don't rush the process of marriage (and life). Steps 1-4 should come before step 5.

With two toddlers, multiple businesses, and millions tuning into their East Family YouTube platform daily, Shawn and Andrew have learned the powerful practice of loving, communicating, and celebrating in the now rather than constantly prioritizing the next thing. If they can do it, why can't we?

Follow Shawn + Andrew here: https://www.instagram.com/shawnjohnson/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewdeast/

1. Why Fun is Spiritual & The Power of Learning to Want Well with Annie F. Downs Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Are you tired of waiting on that dream to be answered or that desire to be fulfilled? Would you give anything to feel a little joy in the waiting yet just keep fielding disappointment after disappointment? This week's amazing guest gets you on every level! Annie F. Downs knows the feelings of longing and discontentment as much as she does rejoicing and success. Even as the super successful author, podcaster, and speaker she is now with her expansive platform and network, That Sounds Fun, Annie shares the years of no's and let downs she battled on the road to her very not overnight success. She knows well what contentment does and does not look like when you're waiting on dreams and prayers to be answered. We talk all about:

Loving your life right where you are (even if you don't like where you are).
The joy of dreaming with God and leaning to want well.
The spiritual growth and healing power of having fun as adults.

Annie has seen many miraculous yeses and many heartbreaking no's in her years as a professional and as a person. She is as honest about and hopeful for her not yet's as she is crazy thankful for her numerous dreams come true. She's as funny and encouraging as she is wise. If you need a powerful pump-up in your own waiting season, don't miss this well of wisdom from Annie F. Downs. Follow Annie here! https://www.instagram.com/anniefdowns/

Introducing: In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Isn't one of the hardest parts of this human life that we actually have so much less control over it than we think we do? The world is broken, people fail us, accidents and illnesses and hard things happen every day, and they're pretty much out of our hands.

I know this on a deeply personal level. When the person I loved most was suddenly, tragically taken from me, I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do to bring him back, to heal myself. My heart was broken, and my hands totally tied. As a 28-year old widow, my situation would never be "fixed."

But then I realized, there was one thing still left in hands. There was one choice that I had the agency to make, even as my world was falling to pieces around me. And I started choosing joy - in tiny, small, mundane, daily ways at first. Soft breezes, yummy foods, trying activities that Ben loved and learning to do them myself. And then, the beautiful things I chose that started out small began to have a huge impact on my mind, my heart, my whole life.

Here's a few things I hope you learn from me because I know they're true:

Joy and pain are not mutually exclusive.
Joy is about adjusting your perspective, not changing your circumstances.
Joy is not a denial of reality; it is the freedom to be grateful and present in the middle of whatever your reality is.
Choosing joy takes courage; choosing joy is how we fight despair.

Why you learning to choose joy is important to me is because it truly saved me. It gave me permission to keep living and an invitation to celebrate daily beauty and the small wins, even in the midst of my worst grief. Choosing joy is the way we fight against despair and darkness in this world because it's an intentional way of living that ushers in light! Seeking the good, choosing the beauty when so much ugly is happening is hard. It's countercultural and courageous and life changing. And it starts small. We all have the agency to choose joy! Why not start today?

www.mattiejackson.net

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