The Hook
Here’s a question worth sitting with: what’s the first thing you reach for when you wake up?
If the honest answer is your phone — before your feet touch the floor, before you’ve had a breath or a thought that’s actually yours — you’re not alone. Most of us hand the first minutes of our day to everyone else’s agenda before we’ve even said good morning to the people we love.
Pastor and mentor Autumn Dawson has a different way. And it starts with one word: surrender.
Meet This Episode’s Guest
Autumn Dawson is a pastor, speaker, mentor, and teacher with a deep heart for helping people grow in their faith and walk fully aligned with their calling. Alongside her husband Joe Joe, she leads NEXT LEVEL MENTORING, hosts the JoJo in the Morning YouTube show, and pastors Roar Church in Texarkana — pouring daily encouragement into thousands of families.
She’s also S. S. Coulter’s personal mentor — the person whose voice and prayers helped anchor this podcast from the very beginning.
Find Autumn at nextlevelwithjojoandautumn.com, watch JoJo in the Morning on YouTube, explore her mentorship program, or join her church community at Roar Church Texarkana on YouTube.
Episode Snapshot
This episode opens with something S. S. Coulter has never shared publicly before: a season in her life when she was genuinely questioning everything — including whether to keep going. It was a phone call with Joe Joe Dawson, Autumn’s husband, that turned it around. Five words: “Did God tell you to stop?” The answer was no. And from that moment, everything shifted.
What follows is a warm, faith-grounded conversation about three habits that help you lead your day — and your family — from a place of clarity instead of chaos. Autumn’s approach is practical and deeply rooted: surrender the morning, set real boundaries with devices, and be intentional about the people right in front of you.
Top 3 Takeaways
- Win the morning before your phone does. Autumn starts every day with a gratitude journal and time in the Word before she checks a single message. “When I win the morning, I win the whole day.” It doesn’t have to be elaborate — a notebook, a cup of coffee, and a few quiet minutes before anyone else gets your day.
- Try the “there are real people in the room” reset. When everyone’s face disappears into a screen, Autumn says those words out loud — and everyone puts their phones down. No lecture, no conflict. Just a simple phrase that brings the room back to life. The principle behind it: the people God placed right next to you are who He assigned you to.
- Be intentional with the people you love — on purpose. Distraction is the quiet enemy of deep relationships. Autumn knows her husband needs quality time, so she protects it. She runs a weekly family night — no devices, games, scripture, real conversation — because “if I’m not interested in my kids’ lives, someone else will be.”
Autumn Dawson’s Take on Technology
Autumn isn’t anti-technology. She uses it every day — mentoring, hosting a YouTube show, reaching thousands of families online. But she’s clear-eyed about its pull.
“If you let this little thing in, it’ll draw you in for sure. It’ll tell you what you need to be thinking and what you need to be doing.”
Her approach is boundaries, not bans. No TVs in bedrooms — those spaces are for sleep and rest. A weekly family night where devices disappear entirely. And the “real people in the room” phrase that short-circuits the zombie scroll without starting a fight. She sees technology as a tool that needs a fence — because unchecked, it quietly replaces the real-life connection it was supposed to support.
“The people right next to you are who God has assigned you to.” That one line reframes everything. The world in your phone is vast and endlessly interesting. But the people in your room? They’re the whole point.
Around the Dinner Table
For kids: “What’s something you did today that you’re really proud of — even something small?” Model your own answer first.
For the whole family: “What makes you feel most connected to the people in our family? Is it time together, kind words, something else?” Then actually listen — and follow through.
S. S. Coulter Integration
Autumn’s tips for intentional connection and screen-free family time pair beautifully with the Fassa Tails series — stories built on real presence and paying attention to what matters. Pick a night this week, put the phones in a drawer, and curl up with a book that sparks real conversation. Or head to Planet Fassa for free printable activities that turn family night into an adventure. Being intentional doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it just looks like sitting down and being there.
Listen to the Full Episode
If Autumn’s words gave you something to carry into your week, the full conversation is worth a listen. She goes deeper on her morning routine, how to start reading the Bible if it feels hard, and she closes with a prayer over every listener that might just be the thing you needed to hear today.
Watch on YouTube → Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this one with a friend who could use permission to slow down.
Every episode of Let There Be Joy includes a free Joy PDF – a printable one-page guide featuring the guest’s top takeaways, practical tools, and simple ways to put the ideas into action.
No fluff. No complicated plans. Just practical wisdom you can actually use this week.