Meet Susan Seay: Texas Strong Woman of the Month

This month’s Texas Strong Woman of the Month is my beautiful friend, Susan Seay. She is a mom, speaker, and blogger extraordinaire.

Meet Susan Seay

Susan Seay lives in Austin with her husband and their seven amazing children–one son and six daughters. Over the last 5 years, she has built a business around being intentional with her time and her kids and teaching other moms to do the same.

Susan and I met several years ago through a Fashion Meets Faith event, and she recently wrote the endorsement for the back cover of my new children’s book, Where Did My Sweet Grandma Go?: A Preschooler’s Guide to Losing a Loved One.

Texas Strong Woman of the Month

Favorite title(s) for yourself

My favorite titles are “Babe,” from my hubby, “Mom,” from my kids, and “Friend,” from those I love and cherish.

Your toughest lesson or challenge

I had to learn that motherhood is a marathon and not a sprint.

As the mom to seven kids, I found myself going “all out” for my oldest kids. They got to be in all the great activities, I was s-u-p-e-r creative with tons of crafty ideas (I am not a crafty mom), and I had this great fear of them missing out.

What I failed to appreciate is that I was treating my time as a mom as a sprint, and I was burning out fast.

Eventually I hit a wall. I had to take a major step back. I cleared the family calendar and took some much needed rest. This was a major turnaround not only for my personal health, but the overall health of my family.

Your proudest accomplishment

I am proudest of my decision to invest in personal growth.

Every week, I am actively involved in 5 to 7 hours of training and learning. I also routinely participate in live workshops, conferences and seminars. This has been one of the best gifts I have given to myself, which, in turn, has blessed my family and now allows me to use that information to serve families all across the country.

Your role models or mentors

My goal is to appreciate the lessons in my life that come from all kinds of people that cross my path–not just the rich or the famous, but also the seemingly unimportant and often overlooked.

I believe that each person who crosses our path is a divine appointment, and they have something to contribute to our lives, if we are open to receive.

Think about it. There are billions of people on the planet. The fact that you and any one or two people cross paths is pretty incredible. Appreciate each moment.

Your best advice for newbies

My best advice for new moms is to view motherhood as a constant state of “becoming.”

Becoming a first-time mom. Becoming a mom to a toddler. Insert the stage your children are in or the season of your life. For example, becoming a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, or a [fill in the blank].

This helps moms give themselves a whole lot of grace. This idea tames the guilt monster and helps moms to embrace motherhood with a lot less pressure on themselves. That way they don’t beat themselves up for not knowing what to do or feeling overwhelmed.

Instead they can say, “It’s okay, I’m learning to become a mom, and that’s why I feel this way.”

How you’re building community

I am having so much fun connecting with moms, especially moms who desire to be intentional and on purpose with their kids. Some of us meet together once a month for a free Mom’s Night Out Online that I lead. It’s a fun and encouraging phone conversation with moms all over the country.

If you’d like to join us next month, go to SusanSeay.com, and leave your name and email on my homepage.

I also love speaking to mom groups and organizations.

Quote or verse you live by

“Time with your children is short; be intentional with every moment.”

Favorite nonprofits you support

Our family supports several organizations monthly, including our local church, Celebrate Kids and WorldVision.