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Matt Stratton

@matthewjstratton

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Jesus saved my life ❤️🥹
My wonderful wife @gabbymstratton
Worship & Young Adults Pastor
@jesuscenter.church
@jc.youngadults
@wholeheartedworship_

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In May, Matt and I got the absolute best news of our lives—we were pregnant with the child we prayed for and dreamed of long before our baby was even conceived! We had a deep, unshakeable sense that our first child was a baby girl. We already had a couple girl names picked out, but just a few days after finding out I was pregnant, we landed on her name. However, just as quickly as we found there was life growing inside of me, we experienced the unimaginable pain of finding out that we were never going to meet our baby girl this side of eternity. Our girl was birthed into Heaven and the first person she saw was our Jesus.

Lily Joy - Her name represents her original design of purity, beauty, humility, and joy. The Lord so kindly confirmed her name in miraculous ways—one of those ways being my mom being led by the Holy Spirit to get me lily flowers the day we found out we lost our baby, although at the time she didn’t know why she was led to those particular flowers. We later also found out that the birth flower for May is Lily of the Valley. In the short time that I knew I was pregnant, the Lord was so clearly speaking “joy” over me and our baby, and that this journey would be marked by the “oil of gladness.” Little did we know how desperately we needed that word of the Lord for the days to come.

God is so intentional and sovereign, and He knew the exact time and season that Lily Joy was to be conceived and enter into His arms. Psalm 139:16 - “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

The month of May changed our lives forever. There are no words, no platitudes, no niceties that can lessen the grief and pain of losing a child. But we have personally experienced the provision of God in all of it.

Matthew 6:28-29 - “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

(continued in comments) by @matthewjstratton

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4 months ago

The Wedding of Matt & Gabby 🤍 05.03.24
@matthewjstratton
@hainestribe
@griffithhouse
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@chemmaskitchen
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@juanpablom12 taken in The Griffith House by @matthewjstratton

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2 years ago

TWO YEARS OF MARRIAGE HALLELUJAH 🙌
Happy wedding anniversary to my beautiful bride @gabbymstratton! This last year has been nothing short of miraculous and so special! Truly we’ve seen so much breakthrough in life and the goodness of God in the land of the living! He’s SO FAITHFUL to satisfy us with good things and he who find a wife finds a GOOD thing AMEN. So grateful for my best friend forever and life long lover 😘 by @matthewjstratton

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5 months ago

Thanking and praising Jesus for the amazing miracle that’s been growing for the past five months! Our little rainbow baby girl arriving early spring 2027 🩷🌈
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We are beyond overjoyed and feel so grateful that God chose us as this little girl’s parents and that He has entrusted us with what we feel to be such a tender yet powerful story of His redemption and nearness in suffering.

In the first half of this year, we were met with the unimaginable grief that comes with the loss of life. Yet in the aftermath of our miscarriage, by God’s grace our faith was strengthened and we felt the Lord’s nearness in the midst of our brokenness like never before. Not by our own might, but we can confidently say that the Lord carried us through the pain and we were ready to trust Him with our story and journey to parenthood, no matter what that looked like. He taught us that our faith isn’t based on the outcomes, but in who He is. Not putting our trust in the healing, but in the Healer. Not in our version of redemption, but in Him alone as Redeemer. His mercy and goodness has been following our family this whole time.

In the weeks that followed, we encountered His tangible faithfulness that allowed us to have such deep, intimate fellowship with Jesus in the wake of loss, death, and heartache. As hard as those moments were, we are so grateful for how the Lord comforted us, revealed His goodness, and purified our hearts (and still is).

Little did we know that we would be blessed with new life just shortly after! We don’t know why things happen the way they do and why everyone’s stories are different, but what we do know is that our hearts are so tender to the fragility of life and sensitive to how the journey to parenthood can come with so many complex emotions. We are still navigating waves of grief and fear while also embracing joy and new life. Sorrow and joy can coexist, and neither cancels out the other.

In it all, we are confident that God is faithful and the hope of Jesus through His very own death and resurrection gives us the ability to face anything, knowing that He has redeemed, is redeeming, and will redeem all things 🕊️ taken in Kauai, Hawaii by @matthewjstratton

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22 days ago

i recently had the incredibly bittersweet opportunity to document the experience of hosting a songwriting & worship retreat in the midst of hurricane lowell

my heart is both heavy for kauai in this disaster, and grateful for the ways the Lord protects and provides 🫶🏽 there’s a link in my bio where you can donate to relief for @hawaiileadershipresidency , whom we as @wholeheartedworship_ got to partner with

#photographer #videographer #worship #documentary #songwriting taken in Kauai by @matthewjstratton

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25 days ago

There’s nothing like the love of God.

Currently in between flights on my way home getting wacked by the freedom and reality of God’s grace and love as I’m reflecting on the truth and gospel @axstinrockwell preached this week at @323retreat. We don’t have to strive anymore. Our lives aren’t our own. We live led by something greater than our imagination. A grace so true and enticing it transforms my desires. Catch the wind. Receive His kindness. Get a glimpse of the immeasurable riches there are in Christ Jesus. God doesn’t want to just change our outward behaviors, he wants to change our desires. I am melting thinking about that reality, that God truly is soooo good that when we come in contact with Him we are changed. It is simple. We transform as we are in relationship and come into revelation of His goodness. It’s not about trying to perform or keep up with the divine standards God has but it’s to delight ourselves in God. To taste and see that He is good. Our job is to repent (change the way we think) believe the truth about who he is, and receive His love. How bountifully has he given His love. My prayer is that you would know the height, the depth and the width of God’s love. No longer given over to a spirit of fear leading you back into slavery but instead a spirit of Adoption that cries out abba. God. Im crying writing this because the Holy Spirit showing the ways God loves me and I wish you knew truly how good his love is. No performance, just being washed in the spirit of Adoption. Full acceptance and mercy beyond measure. Love that forgives its enemies and advocates for its accusers. God is good. Oh that you would know him. I pray God you apprehend every soul reading this right now and fill them in the spirit of revelation and the knowledge of your love. Help us to keep ourselves in your love and to abide in your love. To remain in your love. To never leave this place of safety and assurance and true blessing. Keep our hearts tender. There’s nothing like the love of God :) by @matthewjstratton

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2 months ago

Someone queue The Climb by Miley Cyrus pls taken in Durango, Colorado by @matthewjstratton

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2 months ago

Tried my best 🫡

#taconation #ilovemexicans #tasteandseetheLordisGOOD taken in Torrance, California by @matthewjstratton

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5 months ago

HEY EVERYONE! HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT 🗣️

I’m having my first ever concert in Costa Mesa on *THURSDAY NIGHT June 25th at 6:30pm :)

I’ll be sharing a lot of original/unreleased songs from my jazz vibes, to intimate acoustic, to more anthemic and full band arrangements about Jesus, life, and my wife! It’s completely free 0.99 but just need to RSVP with the Partiful link in my bio. It’s called Matt Stratton With Friends and I will be announcing the artist friends and musicians joining me soon! ⚡️🤩🎶

#live #laugh #love #costamesa #indiechristianmusic taken in Costa Mesa, California by @matthewjstratton

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6 months ago

INTRODUCING MATT STRATTON!!

worship leader at @jesuscenter.church and founder of Wholehearted Worship, Matt is a devoted follower of Christ with a gifting and calling to lead the church in musical worship. we are SO EXCITED to invite Matt and his wife, @gabbymstratton to join us in Colorado this year for a week of creativity, rest, and worship!

#worship #worshipleader #retreat #announcement #colorado taken in Durango, Colorado by @matthewjstratton

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6 months ago

Grand Opening Teaser! #jesus video credit @jeremiahhmott by @matthewjstratton

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a year ago

IN THE WATER IS OUT NOW! Streaming on all platforms 🪕

Wrote this song at a @riversworshipcollective retreat with a bunch of friends @den15doddjr @w0lf215 @briana_jean 🔥🙏

Huge shoutout to my guy Cole Marcus on drums, @xavichav on organ, the legend @davidkcarpenter for doing music production (also for feeding me steaks and letting me play a little banjo with him on this), @matmainhard for mixing, and @voyagermastering for mastering!

Also thank you so much @savvygoodell for making the vibey graphic design.

Couldn’t have made it happen without all these amazing people :)

#Positiveencouragingklove #livelaughlove taken in Huntington Beach, California by @matthewjstratton

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a year ago