Mama Monday...{Chelsea}!!!

 

Tell us about yourself:

Hello, my name is Chelsea.  I am a mommy, a wife, a sister, aunt, and daughter but most importantly, I am a Christ follower.  My husband Eric and I were youth pastors for 15 years.  He is now the executive pastor at Southpoint Community Church.  For the past 3 years or so, I was the creative arts director at Southpoint as well.  However, recently I began my own school.  Chelsea James School of Performing Arts.  We offer God centered dance, music and acting to all ages.  Our first class begins next week and are so excited! 

Eric and I will be married 15 years this August.  Wow!  Time flies.  We have a 13 year old, Madison that is the greatest joy of our lives.  When I was pregnant with Madison I developed a severe sleeping disorder that only allowed me to sleep minutes a night.  I thought this was just a pregnancy issue and that it would resolve on it’s own.  Sadly, it never did.  I still struggle to this day with severe heath issues that have stemmed from lack of sleep over all these years. 

However, in all of the trials with my health, I can honestly say, that God has showed His love to me in greater ways than I had ever seen before.  Like Job, I feel I can now say, “Once my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen.”  The struggle of being a mom and wife and building a career along with debilitating health has been the hardest thing I’ve ever faced in my life, however, God has taught me, I don’t have to get by and just survive and go through the motions…I can win. 

 I share these everyday victories over at a woman that wins.

 

Husband Love:

 

I met my husband, Eric, doing what we do best.  Building the kingdom of God.  We both had a rough past, but at the time we met, God was doing some pretty big things in our lives and we just jumped on board with Him and that’s how our paths crossed.  We have not known each other in any other way than pouring out our lives and building God’s kingdom.   Surprisingly, through all of the years of sickness, our marriage has only grown stronger.  That alone is a testament that if you build your marriage upon the rock, Jesus Christ, the gates of hell really will never prevail against you.  Other than Eric’s heart for God is that he knows how to make me laugh.  That is priceless.

Mama Love:

 

There is not enough room on a blog to say all the ways you love your child, so I’ll try to sum it up.  I have always told my  daughter Madison, that mommy didn’t get sick because I was pregnant with her.  Rather, God knew that mommy was going to have to walk through some difficulties and so He gave me a sweet angel to save me.  Someone to love, to hold, to be loved by.    She is my saving grace.  We still hold hands and walk around the mall together laughing and having a good time.  She is the greatest source of significance in my life.  Madison is an amazing daughter.  She is homeschooled and a very proficient dancer.  She loves God and going to church.  I love seeing her develop and grow in every season of her life.  

Mama Advice:

After being in the youth ministry for so long as well as being a parent myself, I have to say, the one bit of advice I give to all parents is this… be careful with the media and friendships in your child’s life.  Just as Moses was hidden away until the time God determined to use him, we must take extra precautions to protect our children from the dangers of this world.  I have written a few blog posts concerning these subjects, “Weeds in My Child’s Life” and “Creating a Pasture of Obscurity For Your Child.”

Simple Pleasures:

I love nature.  Nature screams God’s awesomeness in my opinion.  I love walks outside.  I also love a good old wholesome black and white movie.  I love my record player that plays old Doris Day albums and Miles Davis.  And of course, any time I get to just be with Maddy and Eric is my favorite of all.  Oh and last but not least, I can’t live without dark chocolate…just sayin’.

Money saving tip:

I have learned the hard way, whether in Saks Fifth Avenue or Goodwill, “if you don’t love it, don’t buy it.”  You’d be surprised how much stuff you buy that you don’t absolutely love.

Health and Fitness:

Because of my health, I had to make a conscious decision to honor God with my body.  I won’t lie, I’m not perfect, but most of the time I eat pretty darn healthy.  Actually, when you start eating real homemade food, junk food just doesn’t do it for you anymore.   With exercise I always recommend doing what you can do consistently.  Consistency daily is more beneficial to your body than one big event  a year.  I personally follow the Fit Yummy Mummy workouts.  They are only 20 min. a day, in my garage.  Anyone can do it.    Here’s the website:  www.clubfym.com

Good read:

After the Bible of course, the book that I would say changed my life forever was “Lies Women Believe” by Nancy Lee Demoss.

Beauty Secret:
Glowing skin is obtained through diet and exercise.  You really don’t need a lot of expensive treatments when you do this.  I also take Evening Primrose oil, fish oil, vitamin E and C.  I also highly recommend juicing and green smoothies (recipe below).

Recipe:

Delicious Green Smoothie that even your kids will like:
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen berries (or fruit of choice)
1-2 handfuls of spinach
water to blend

Closing Words:

If God has called us to be a mom then God will give us the grace to do it.  We will have ups and downs, highs and lows, but does that mean we aren’t winning?  No.  Our struggles do not define us.  Who we are in the midst of them does.  God is calling us as women to not just survive the day today, but win!  We cannot do this without His help.  Remember, a perfect day as a mom isn’t when all things go right.  No, it’s when all things go wrong, yet inside your soul and with your relationship with God all is well.  Your child will see that in you more than anything else.