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.

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, 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. Order Parenting Ahead here.

This week's episode is one of the greatest tools to freedom for women of this generation. PERIOD.

In her new book, Sincerely, Stoneheart, Emily Wilson Hussem 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.