Fullness of Joy with Jessica Mathisen

In this week’s episode, Shekea Moreno and I discuss prayer's spiritual discipline. We often think prayer is complicated and too difficult, but it is simply a conversation with God. Through various seasons, God has used prayer in Shekea’s life to show her how to rest and trust Him with everything. She shares some simple yet profound truths that will foster your desire to grow in prayer.  FULL S...

Welcome to 2024! In today's episode, I share a little bit with you about my heart behind this new series: Sacred Rhythms.  This week, I get to introduce you to my dear friend and mentor, Suzanne Chambers. Suzanne is a wealth of wisdom and has been a true blessing and spiritual mother in my life for nearly ten years. You will be so encouraged by her honest and practical thoughts that will help...

For this final installment of our Advent series, I have the joy of introducing you to Heather Cofer. Heather’s unique perspective as a former missionary kid is so encouraging as we consider how to celebrate Christmas and embrace the true reason for this season. Sometimes, in our world of abundance, we paradoxically feel lacking. But it's in those moments that we can remember: Jesus fills the v...

This week, Ashley Holston and I talked about the joy of Jesus. She shares how sometimes, she gets so wrapped up in seeking tools and resources for her faith that she loses sight of the core—Jesus Himself. Even when she couldn't see it during hard times, God was quietly nurturing her faith, growing a supernatural joy within her heart. Her joy wasn't rooted in temporal things, but in the ete...

Today I have the privilege of introducing you to my dear friend Brooke Lovingood. Even though Brooke is young (less than 30 years on this earth, y’all!) she has endured great suffering. At just 23 years old, she walked through thyroid cancer during her dating and engagement to her now husband. She honestly shares with us about her mental and emotional state during this time and how God, through Hi...

This week on the podcast, I shared a hope-filled conversation with my friend Simone Griffin. Christmas can feel lonely, exhausting, and overwhelming for those who are walking through grief. As someone who has walked through grief during the holiday season, Simone’s powerful testimony of hope encouraged my heart, and I know it will encourage yours.  Simone shares with us how she lost a loved one ju...

On this week’s episode, discover how an unexpected revelation reshaped Iris Bryant’s life. Uncovering her adoption papers ignited a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and healing. From confronting her past to meeting her biological mother, Iris's tale embodies resilience, courage, and unwavering faith. Ever carried a secret not meant for you? Iris's search for her mother wasn't eas...

Be sure to listen to part 1 of this interview from last week!  Born from her own past of unimaginable trauma and abuse at the hands of her adoptive father, Tricia’s story is a raw and deeply moving testimony of redemption and healing. Despite the shadow of abuse at the hands of her adoptive father, Tricia became a foster and adoptive parent herself. Her obedience is just one small part of an incre...

Welcome to season 3! This mini-series will highlight stories of adoption as we celebrate National Adoption Month through the month of November. Today, I get to welcome my dear friend Tricia to the podcast.  What could possibly lead an individual, who herself was a victim of abuse at the hands of her adoptive father, to become an adoptive parent? Today Tricia shares how her tumultuous journey of ad...

As someone who's often found herself entangled in the web of social media, my conversation with Ashlee Gadd deeply encouraged my heart. Ashlee is a writer who has spent the last few years gradually untangling herself from social media. We talk about her bold decision to delete Instagram for more extended periods of time, and her journey from a metrics-based approach to focusing on her mission....

This week, we continue our series on the fruit of the Spirit and consider the gentleness of Jesus Christ. We read in the Gospel of Mark about the story of Jairus' daughter, where we witness the depth of Jesus' kindness and love. His miracles are not just a showcase of His divine powers, but a testament to His love. His healing of the woman with the issue of blood and His revival of Jairus&...

Ever wonder how to trust that God is faithful when it feels like life is falling apart? Today I have the joy of introducing you to my dear friend Alexis Drury, who shares her journey of faith through some of her toughest times. Alexis shares how a myriad of trials within her first year of marriage–job loss, a cancer diagnosis, and a death in the family–all brought her to a breaking point. She shar...

In this episode, learn from the biblical story of Ruth, a favorite of mine. Her resilience through her decision to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi and humble requests to her kinsman redeemer, Boaz help us to see that we are never alone, even when life has completely fallen apart. This episode will help you see the goodness of God through a favorite Bible story of redemption that resonates with u...

I am so excited to welcome my dear friend, Maryanne Helms to the show today as we discuss God’s kindness in parenting and relationships. You’ll be encouraged as she shares how God's kindness manifested in her family's journey and the formation of her own Christian family. We also discuss how God's kindness is evident in our children's relationships with Him and how it works through...

"Waiting is the hardest thing to do, but it seems to be God's favorite thing to ask us to do." These are wise words from my late mother-in-law. Today we take a look at what it means to wait well. We often are in a rush to make things happen on our timeline, but learning to trust God's timing will help us know Him more and will grow our relationship with Him. This episode features...

Perfect peace starts with God, but oftentimes we want to believe that we can achieve peace through our striving instead of learning to surrender. In today's interview, author and personal trainer Kasey Shuler shares with us how she has learned to walk in the peace of God. FULL SHOW NOTES Connect with Kasey ⁠http://kaseybshuler.com/⁠ ⁠@joyfulhealthco⁠ Follow along: Jessica’s Instagram Podcast I...

Sometimes, joy feels unattainable because life is so overwhelming. But the fruit of the Spirit is not something that is special for “super Christians.” The Word is very clear that when we are in Christ, His Holy Spirit gives us these fruits that allow us to shine the light of Christ to others. We can have joy no matter what the circumstances because of Christ. This week, we are taking a look at th...

I am so excited to share the remaining part of my interview with Dr. Jennie Armstrong with you. If you didn’t tune in last week, be sure to stop this episode and listen to that episode first. Jennie is a long time friend of mine and a licensed professional counselor. In this episode, we discuss what it means to be loved by God, love others, and love ourselves in light of the truth of God’s word. S...

Today I get to welcome a long time friend of mine, Jennie Armstrong, to the podcast. I can’t wait for you to get to know her! Our conversation was so rich and full that I had to split it into two episodes. This week is part 1, and next week I will share with you part 2.  In this episode, we discuss what it means to be loved by God, love others, and love ourselves in light of the truth of God’s wor...

This first season, we took a look at some of the lies we are prone to believe about God. As we walked through these lies and considered what they mean in light of the truth of God’s word, I hope you were encouraged to consider what you may have wrongly believed about who God is. In this season of life, I have three kids and very full days. I also write, speak, and coach. I am not able to produce a...

Today I have the joy of welcoming my dear friend Halley Mastrolonardo to the show. She is a wife, mom to 3, and a maker who lives in Boise, Idaho. Her story is one of grief and pain during her twenties that has marked and changed her forever. Enduring loss during such pivotal years greatly shifted her relationship with the Lord, as she so beautifully shares with us in this interview. If you are wa...

This week’s episode is a little different than our previous shows. As I prayed and thought about what to share with you this Holy Week with Easter so near, I couldn’t stop thinking about our Savior as “Man of sorrows.” We have known so much sorrow over this last week as we consider the tragedy in Nashville along with personal grief and pain in our lives and the lives of those we love. We talk thro...

This week’s conversation on the podcast with my friend Hannah was so encouraging. Hannah experienced a health scare with a BRCA2 gene mutation diagnosis that indicated she was at a very high risk for developing breast cancer later in life and ended up having a preventive double mastectomy. In this conversation, we talked about how to trust God in the midst of a health scare you never imagined woul...

Growing up in the church, there was a saying that we all knew how to answer. It goes like this—when you say, “God is good,” we answer, “All the time.” And then you will likely say, “All the time?” to which the answer is, “God is good.” I want us to think about this for a little bit. As we consider the statement, “God is good,” there may be some feelings that come up for us. In our heads, we may kn...

A lot of people may not have said this statement before: “God isn’t big enough to handle my problems,” but they have lived as though that were the reality. If they didn’t have the guts to admit that this is what they were thinking, they may have said something akin to this “If God were real, He wouldn’t have allowed ______ this to happen.” or “If God is real, then why does He allow sin and sufferi...