Summary
Crystal is a wife and aspiring mother, a writer, and owner of Braided Faith & Braided Work where their goal is to help women balance tradition in an untraditional world. Crystal is gifted in helping herself and others balance and have peace in the busy, and she has a heart to help women find their freedom in Christ.
Crystal believes in the importance of rallying around one another and help lift one another up and it’s what got her started on the journey to where she is today. In this episode we talk about infertility, marriage, business, balancing it all, and so much encouragement in life and more.
Want to connect with and learn more from Crystal, follow her on socials.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/crystal.addis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystaladdiswrites
Visit www.braided.faith to learn more about Crystals programs and communities.
Want to join us in the 14 Day Pray for your Husband Challenge, it’s not too late, jump in the community now! https://www.facebook.com/groups/IntentionalAbundance — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/intentional-abundance/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/intentional-abundance/support
Transcription
Sasha Star Robertson 0:07
Hello sisters, and thank you so much for joining us for another episode of the Intentional Abundant Life Podcast. I’m your host Sasha Starr Robertson and I am here with my friend Crystal Addis, and I am so excited to share a conversation with her here today because quite frankly, we have amazing conversations every time we chat. I just really resonate with her heart and her soul and her mission in life, and I’m excited to give you all a sneak peek and picture inside of her beautiful heart. Crystal is a wife and aspiring mother. She is a writer and owner of Braided Faith and Braided Work, where her goal is to help women balance tradition in an untraditional world. So, welcome Crystal, thank you for being here. Please share more with us about who you are.
Crystal Addis 0:59
Yeah, so thank you so much for that lovely introduction. I just absolutely adore you and you’re right, every time we talk it’s like oh my gosh, we’re so much alike. So yes, It’s an honor to be here. I’m so glad to be talking to your audience. And thank you for entrusting me with that because I know that that’s a big deal. And so I feel really honored that you would invite me into this community. So thank you. So yes, I am from West Texas. I am not a mama to littles yet, but I am a mama to four giant fur babies. They’re half St Bernard and half Great Pyrenees. So, we have a mama and a Papa and two COVID Pups, so to speak.
Sasha Star Robertson 1:49
Wow.
Crystal Addis 1:51
Yeah, we have Holly and Mistletoe, that’s mom and dad, and mistletoe was actually scheduled to be fixed the day shutdowns happened in our town and so, yeah.
Sasha Star Robertson 2:02
It was like a little… COVID accident pups.
Crystal Addis 2:08
Completely, COVID kids so yeah, it’s been fun. And yeah, that’s kind of just a part of who I am.
Sasha Star Robertson 2:20
I love that. So a little backstory, Crystal and I actually met through, I think it was like a challenge or something that I was doing and she was my assigned concierge and we just hit it off, talking about adoption and all these other things and just sharing our heart in that but also for our heart for the Lord. And our heart for business and our heart for lifting other women up and just hearing the voices and the mission of others. And so crystal you have, Braided Faith is your business, Braided Faith and Braided Work. Braided Faith is a community for supporting women and men, Braided Work is a virtual assistant agency, which is super exciting to me because I’m hoping to have a virtual assistant coming in 2022. So would you like to share any more about your heart and mission for those with us?
Crystal Addis 3:16
Sure. So Braided Faith actually started… It kind of, in a sense, started back when my husband and I first got married. So, almost seven years ago, actually about six years ago. I guess we were married about a year in, and it started out as Project Purpose and that was basically to help women going through infertility or miscarriage, and then it just kind of started to grow. Earlier when you and I were talking we were like I have my, you know, I speak to the mom but yet I still have you know, other single women and that’s kind of what happened with me and so Project Purpose just kind of grew into her sole purpose.
Crystal Addis 4:04
And then it just, when the climate started to happen in, you know what’s going on in the world over the past couple years. I started to really realize that a lot of women were struggling with having just this balanced traditional life because we, I mean, we live in an untraditional world. There’s so much going on. I mean, if you turn your TV on, you know you’re gonna find crazy shows that are on quote-unquote Family TV that aren’t necessarily for family, you know, and so it’s just, I don’t know, I just kind of my eyes really started to open up to just kind of the struggle that us women have that Christian women who want to, you know, be a full-time wife and be a full-time mom who, who want our husbands to be the head of us but the world is telling us no, that you know, we have to be independent. We have to be boss babe, we have to be all these different things and I don’t think it’s wrong to have a business, obviously, I have a business.
Crystal Addis 5:09
But I also wanted to build a community where we understand each other, that you know, God comes first and then our spouse and then our kids and you know just kind of keeping that traditional Christ over Husband, husband over wife, wife over children, and to not feel pressured for anything else, because I just think that it’s hard for women, especially women that do work outside of the home. There’s just this pressure to be independent. I don’t know and so that’s kind of where Braided Faith birthed from basically wanting to help women with infertility and pregnancy loss. But I just seem to attract general faith-based women who just love Jesus. And so that’s kind of what happened, is I was like, you know, my husband and I were sitting down talking about it, and I was like, you know, I have a heart for obviously the woman going through infertility. That’s been my journey because we’ve had multiple pregnancy losses. Even a failed adoption, and so I know that pain, and so that’s my biggest heart is to that because I can speak to that. I’ve been through it. But I also didn’t want to, I guess, neglect or ignore that the Lord was bringing other women into my life. You know, that just wanted to love Jesus.
Crystal Addis 6:37
And so I was like, How do I weave this together? How do I braid this together? My husband was like, well it’s braided, you know, and so I was just, I pondered on it for a little bit. I was like, oh, that’s perfect. It’s just kind of braiding my heart for the woman who has just continuously gone through loss and grief and then the woman who just wants to love Jesus and wants to fit in and have that community and people who understand her and then also the women who do have a business and you know, work hard and want to build an online business so they can be home with their kids. So I braided it together and here we are.
Sasha Star Robertson 7:16
I love that. I love the way that you were just like obedient to, to God’s push and like following his lead where it was one thing and it kind of became a different thing and became a different thing, but it’s still rooted in your heart of that like for those with infertility and miscarriage, pregnancy loss, who are very much in that space and that speaks to my soul because I know going through that like just how incredibly alone that you feel and how, you know, you just kind of wish that you had somebody who understood and I feel like a lot of times in the church it’s difficult to find that at least in my experience. That’s what it’s been you know, Children are a gift from the Lord and, and when you see all these big families, you know, they’re, I know for us for a long time we were the only couple in our church struggling with infertility, or at least that we knew of for a long time because people speak openly about it.
Sasha Star Robertson 8:14
And so I love that you provide that space for women in that community to bring women together. And I love how God just built it into something so much bigger. And I loved that you had pointed out this, you know with the husband’s God first life and our husbands being our head, and I know how much the world will like, push against that and even in a lot of I think church groups, you know that I’ll find on Facebook or something like that. It’s even pushed against there sometimes. And I just know for myself and my marriage and our relationship like everything is so much better that way and there’s so much goodness in living with how God asks us to and so I love that you’re supporting women in that space to come and to agree on things like that, even though we are women in business.
Sasha Star Robertson 9:11
My husband is such a huge part of my business and I’ve had people tell well we don’t need to go ask him if you can spend money on something for your business, and I’m like, but I do! Like, I want his input. I want his say, I want his blessing over it, not that I’m asking him for permission all the time, which it is a part of it, but I know that he carries a breadth of wisdom and discernment. And he seeks out the Lord for understanding it as much as I do. And so I love that you have that space.
Sasha Star Robertson 9:11
One of the things that you have shared with me before is this God-given gift and strength that you have. And it’s learning to balance and have peace in the busy and my heart just like, races when I read that because I’m like, yes girl, I love this! I so much relate to you on that topic. So, would you mind sharing a little bit more about that? Like, how did you how did this come to be gifting or strength of yours? How do you see it in your life now? And maybe what are some tips that you could share with the listeners on whatever information you have with that being your gift and strength for those who don’t have that?
Crystal Addis 10:30
Sure. So, it used to not always be that way with me. I used to be busy, busy, busy and just people, it finally hit me at one point when like, kind of like, back to back I had friends telling me, well, I didn’t want to bother you because I know how busy you are. Well, I thought about calling you but I knew are busy. You know and it just finally hit me like, I don’t want to be that person that’s busy and I don’t want to wear it as a badge of honor either because it’s certainly not. My health was declining. My relationship with God was just kind of, it was still there, but it wasn’t… I didn’t make room for him. There was no time, and so He was there, but I didn’t spend the proper amount of time with Him and I just didn’t feel good. I felt icky and it didn’t feel good to hear somebody tell me, but I know how busy you are.
Crystal Addis 10:29
And so I really prayed about it and pondered on it and just started to realize like this has got to change like I’m overbooking myself, I’m overwhelmed. Also, I was having this struggle because my heart was to give to my home first and foremost. To have dinner ready for my husband. Because he worked so hard, you know, to make sure the house was comfortable and just a place of welcoming for him, yes, when he got home from work. But also if we had a visitor come over or one of our parents just like happened to stop by. And so, I just was, I was unhappy. I was miserable. And I knew it was because there was no proper balance in my life. And when I say proper, I think it’s unrealistic and unwise for us to think it’s equally balanced. You know that we’re going to give 20% Home, 20% Family and Friends, 20% husband like, that’s just not correct. And that’s not wise.
Crystal Addis 11:27
The majority of my time is my home, and so I basically just sat down and I prayed about it and I shifted my day and I had boundaries. I put boundaries up and that’s going to be my first tip to anybody is put boundaries up and you have to really have that conviction of knowing that we are to take care of our home first and foremost. We’re to, I mean it’s biblical to take care of our home. I mean, we… The Proverbs 31 Woman is amazing, right? But my guess is that we all have that in us like it’s not something outlandish. It’s not a goal that we can’t shoot for it. It just takes prioritizing correctly. Putting up those boundaries and knowing what our convictions are. And so now, I don’t struggle with home stuff like, my house is, I’m not gonna say tip-top shape, especially right now. I’ve got different holidays we’re trying to intermingle different holidays and put up the right holiday. Anyway with all of that said.
Crystal Addis 13:53
But my house comes first. My home comes first, my taking care of my wifely duties comes first, and I feel like as a mom, for moms that are listening to this and I know that your listenership is, though your children. I mean, man, that’s a responsibility like you can’t neglect that responsibility. And I mean, I know most moms know this, obviously. But not to feel bad. That’s going to be my second tip is don’t feel bad about saying no, the Bible tells us to say yes, let our yes be yes and our no be no. So, just say no, you don’t even have to give an explanation. You know, stop saying yes to everything and everybody. Don’t worry about feelings. God is not concerned with other people’s feelings. He’s concerned with if your home is put together if your home is welcoming for your husband and your children. If you’re, you know and I don’t, I’m not gonna say every woman should cook and have dinner made. I mean, some people eat out all the time, that’s fine too, but just make sure there’s routine in your house. That’s going to be the third tip is make sure that there’s some routine, that I mean your husband and your kids know like your routine and what time dinner is. Just kind of keeping that consistency and eating at the table and no, just I don’t know there’s to me, it was finally prioritizing and saying my boundaries are up, I’m no longer going to give from my home to something that’s not fruitful in my life at this time.
Crystal Addis 15:21
Not everything that we say no to doesn’t mean it’s bad. It just means it’s not for me right now. It might be a great Yes. It’s just not it’s not for me right now. And I think that’s one of the most important things is to just breathe and really get that and just I don’t know, I think the biggest tip I can give is prioritize, sit down and know like what, what are your non negotiables. What is going to come first in, and honestly, it’s hard like I had to start, I was doing speaking engagements here locally and I had to finally set all of that down and say this is not the time in my life because I’m trying to figure out how to be a housewife, a good one and not taking advantage of that opportunity, you know, because it’s like I was a housewife and still busy, like, how does that work? You know, I wasn’t even working full time.
Crystal Addis 16:52
And so trying to get my life in proper order before I even started to add in other themes, and so I think that was, that was where I really started was what it was. What do I really want to focus on most, and then I slowly started to add in. I mean, I even quit coffee dates girl, like I was like, I can’t do these coffee dates anymore. It’s taking away from my home time and like my husband coming home to a messy house because I was at coffee all day. How is that right? It’s not, and so I just set everything aside and then I slowly started adding things in and I feel like I’m slowly still adding things back in and trying to get back to life and did I lose friends? Absolutely. Some people didn’t understand that I needed to figure out this housewife life first, you know that I really needed to put my priorities in order. I lost friends, I lost clients because I you know, was like, Well, I can do this but I can’t do that because I knew that was gonna take way too much time you know?
Crystal Addis 17:56
And so you might lose some relationships and opportunities once you start to really try to focus on this, what we call balance. But the Lord is going to reward and to pay you back. And I think that’s the most important thing to remember when we’re losing relationships and opportunities is that God sees what we’re doing. He sees what we’re sacrificing and He will reward us. And it might not be in what we think it will be. It might just be more Fruit of the Spirit. You know, it might just be more patience, more joy, you know, just all the different things that sometimes I think we forget to look at as a blessing, but it is. It’s a blessing to have more joy and peace and you know, all of those things. So yeah, so that’s kind of where I started and some of my tips for you ladies.
Sasha Star Robertson 18:51
Ah, I just love it crystal so much like I have a whole page of notes here from like what you just said because so much, so much of it resonates with me so deeply. I know we’ve talked about this before. This wearing busyness as a badge of honor and just how we both really related on that like this hustle culture and boss babe stuff just didn’t align with us in our hearts and I think I don’t know that I believe that aligns with God’s either, and so I love that you kind of had this realization that, that busyness that you were caught up in was it was affecting your health, your relationship with God, you were overbooked. You were overwhelmed and I feel like that is such a common thing that we see with women today. Whether you’re a mom, whether you’re a wife, whether you’re single and so know first and foremost that you are not alone listen to crystals tips.
Sasha Star Robertson 19:46
About one she said boundaries too. Two she said saying no and letting just a no be No. I actually had my feelings hurt over Thanksgiving week by my brother and it was just, it was something so silly. But as I sat with the Lord in it and just processed that I was like, You know what, I’m gonna turn this and actually use this as a lesson because he had just said no, he didn’t provide an explanation. I think it was the tone that really affected me, mostly in the way that he had said no, but it made me feel less than and whatever else and so I had to sit down and think about it and process those thoughts and feelings and bring them to the feet of Jesus and realize that’s a good thing. That he is able to just say no and not require an explanation. There’s no justification necessary. And so take a word of advice from that ladies in that you can say no, especially when it’s too good things that aren’t necessarily God things and I love how you had really touched on that crystal with saying no to clients.
Sasha Star Robertson 20:50
Or even coffee dates like, I had another situation like that recently, where it was like a client/friend. And we were talking about meeting up to chat and I thought it was just like to chat, catch up whatever else made a really busy schedule, and I was like, no, let’s, let’s push it off. And then she had made a comment about like, you know, the working relationship a little bit, not in a negative way. And I was like, Oh, wait, I didn’t realize that’s what you wanted to talk about. Like, I can make space on my calendar for that at any time like you’re a client like you, This is included, whatever. And she’s like No, no, we can wait. I’m like, it’s just different buckets, right? Like I have the mental capacity to serve a client and me. I don’t have the mental capacity this week to necessarily do another coffee date and catch up kind of a thing. And so I love that, that you had pointed that out too, that sometimes you’re going to have to say no to things that that are good things that do matter, but focusing on really, is this fruitful?
Sasha Star Robertson 21:54
And the other thing you had mentioned was about having routines and keeping consistency in your life. And you mentioned you know, dinner at the table with your family and things like that. And man, I just feel like I could go on and we could have a two-hour conversation about all the things that you just shared. One of the things I love though is how much you have pride in being a stay-at-home wife. Like how you take pride in caring for your home, and caring for your husband making sure your home’s a welcoming environment, making sure he has dinner on the table Those things matter so much to me. And I think having those things be priorities in my life and a focus of my life. It just makes my whole life so much sweeter in my relationship. My home is more welcoming. My relationship with my husband is better which affects my relationship with my son and my friendships and how I’m able to show up as a businesswoman.
Sasha Star Robertson 19:46
And so I think it really it really does come down to the foundation of things and I love how much Braided Faith focuses on that. And you had mentioned the word balance. And my coach had actually said to me, the word harmony, which was funny because then a few months later we went… She hosted a retreat and I went to a place called New Harmony, Indiana and it was like I feel like I officially found harmony in New Harmony. But harmony to me, it’s just like a symphony right the music just dances and I love that so much more than balanced because balance I think of scales you know, and like, the weight of justice and whatever else the scales of justice, but for harmony, it’s like no, they’re just like our women’s cycle. You know, sometimes go up and down and other things are gonna go up and down and it’s just this ebb and flow where we can’t expect every day in every season to be this perfect balance. But, but being obedient, being aware and present and letting God guide us into Hey, you know, maybe speaking engagements aren’t the best thing for us right now. But, but maybe focusing on those foundational things right now will help those speaking engagements be even better in the future. And so peacefully productive days is something that I really stand on and I love helping women and mothers find and live by these peacefully productive days. And everything that you had said I just felt like wrapped up so beautifully in that in that phrase.
Crystal Addis 23:02
Yes, I love that phrase.
Sasha Star Robertson 23:12
Thank you so much for those tips. I love love, love it and you had mentioned about wanting to get your hands on the life and goals planner and I’m just thinking everything that you just said is like in there. It will relate with you so well and so we’ll need to talk about that more for sure.
Crystal Addis 25:16
Yeah, I need to grab that for sure.
Sasha Star Robertson 25:19
I know you’re gonna love it based off of all the conversations that we’ve had. So Crystal, I know that you have gone through kind of this season of rest with the holidays and kind of sitting back and revamping Braided Faith a little bit and are like in a season of kind of relaunching and so I’m definitely gonna drop your links for your website and your social medias in the show notes so people are able to contact you and connect with you. But do you want to share any more about that or your Braided Faith show or anything that that you have in the works?
Crystal Addis 25:56
Yeah, I mean, anybody can just, because I’m taking some time right now currently to just kind of regroup. I’m not quite sure what’s going to be happening once this podcast airs, but visit our website braided.faith and there are links to basically everything even the Braided Work virtual assisting for entrepreneurs who are looking for VA or VAs who are looking for work and it’s, it’s not quite an agency. It’s basically a team of VAs that work together as a team. So it’s a little different than an agency but that’s just the best way to explain it. But yeah, so just braided.faith and that’ll, that’ll have even a link to my podcast, which is kind of on hold too right now. So yeah, if they can just go to that website, find what they’re looking for.
Sasha Star Robertson 26:53
The most up-to-date information will be there. Definitely follow Crystal on Instagram and on Facebook as well. I always love the things that she has to share. And I know whatever comes out of this season that she is in it’s going to be beautiful because everything she puts out really truly is. So, thank you so much crystal for being on here. Thank you for being on the podcast and sharing your heart with us. So much goodness came out of this episode. I have two questions before we part. One of them I probably should have given you a warning on, but sometimes it’s really fun not to. But you are also my Tuesday Talks that I’ve had previously. So maybe you’ll remember I always love to ask what does intentional abundance mean to you?
Crystal Addis 27:17
Intentional abundance? Let’s see. I would say when I think of that word, I just kind of think of intentionally giving to the Lord of our time, of our resources when needed, you know, somebody is in need and just expecting an abundance in return. And like I was saying earlier, not necessarily material, you know, things or financial things but just the abundance of the Fruits of the Spirit you know, peace and love and, you know, patience, and joy. I mean, it’s just being intentional with life and expecting abundance all the time. You know, and I don’t know for me that’s been really important this year is just kind of living in that abundance and expectancy and knowing that, that He’s there and He’s, He’s going to provide whatever it is we need for that day. You know, if we’re needing an extra dose of peace, I mean, His mercies are new every morning. And so sometimes we might need a little bit of extra peace or patience. You know, whatever it is, so, I like that question a little bit.
Sasha Star Robertson 28:35
I love it. Everybody’s definition of description is so different, but as, as they all come together, it just makes this abundant picture of what intentional abundance really is, you know, a full… It’s very whole and encompassing of the idea and mission and I love the way people describe it differently than I ever could. So thank you for that. And then the last question is just any last thoughts on what God is putting on your heart to share with the listeners today? I feel like Holy Spirit always gives us amazing guidance and wisdom. Especially in the moment when we just ask. So I want to know what is God putting in your heart tissue?
Crystal Addis 29:24
If you’re listening to this, you are the daughter of the One True King. I really hope that you will embrace that and really just sit in silence and just really, really, grasp that. I mean, honestly, I feel like I didn’t really grasp that until this year. Just that wow. I am really His daughter and that’s, that’s amazing. And you really sit down and decide. Try to even slightly wrap your mind around that. It’s just an overwhelming love. It’s giving me personally so much peace in just knowing where I am is exactly where He wants me. And just knowing that He is my father. He is going to always take care of me. I don’t have to live in fear. I don’t have to live in feelings of unworthiness or, or anger or frustration because oh my gosh, he’s my Dad like, Jehovah is my Father, you know. And so that would be what’s really stirring my heart for women these days is I just hope that if you’re listening to this, you will really sit in silence and grasp that because it’s amazing when you truly receive that and walk in that.
Sasha Star Robertson 31:07
Amen. Well, thank you again, Crystal. Thank you. So much for sharing your heart with us and God’s truth and your gifts and giving us tips. I pray that all of the listeners of this episode will have notes as extensive as my own and allow it to come in and transform their lives and make it better so thank you, Crystal, and have a blessed day everyone.
Intentional Momlife with Jesus 