Kristie Chandler

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
(Romans 12:2)

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Before all else, I am a child of God, a wife, and a mother. I am married to my true love and have been blessed with a beautiful, intelligent daughter, three step-sons who daily teach me about love and compassion, and a daughter-in-law I admire. Beyond this, I am a passionate believer that everyone deserves a chance to live their lives to their fullest, and that it is only when we are in a state of constant renewal and optimal health that we can most fully serve the kingdom.

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Through my studies to become an FNTP, yoga instructor, and flexibility coach, and in my journeys through my own health crises, I have embraced the need for a bioindividal approach to health and wellness, one that addresses all aspects of the person, not just one that treats the individual as simply a body, simply a mind, simply a soul.

 

I believe our spiritual health and relationship with God must come first in our lives, and that nobody can fully heal or impact the world without this as their cornerstone. I also believe God gave us science as General Revelation to learn about how He created the world, but that our understanding is still limited and so we must also lean on faith. 

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Professionally, I began my career as a middle school English teacher, where my first love was cultivating relationships with my students. Over my nine years in the classroom, I learned that teenagers carry immense burdens. My students shared stories of abuse, trauma, depression, self-harm, bullying, and feeling inadequate and unloved. They struggled mentally with ADHD, ADD, PTSD, and anxiety, and physically with birth defects, seizures, broken bones, endometriosis, and a far greater number of mental and physical conditions than I could list here. The classroom truly revealed to me our broken world and the need for God's light to shine.

At the end of my teaching career, I obtained my Masters degree in Integrated Curriculum and Instruction and became an educational consultant. In this role, I saw from a new perspective the current academic challenges placed upon students in order to graduate and be considered "successful," the strain put on athletes and academics to perform - or else.

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And in my conversations with young adults and educators, I continue to learn about the magnitude and impact of a mental health epidemic. We are losing our young adults, and it is up to us to engage and fight against what is happening.

 

While states are better recognizing the need to include social-emotional learning and address the needs of the whole child, many schools and families simply do not have adequate time, ambition, or resources to address these immense challenges. Through the culmination of my experiences growing up, teaching, consulting, and interacting with teenagers, God has sown within me a passion to nurture young adults and teach them how to find wholeness and wellness so they can be equipped to go into the world and become a force of change rather than find themselves changing as they succumb to the forces of the world.

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I believe in order to heal, we must address and nourish our root system. To me, this encompasses an understanding that we are, above all, deeply rooted in our ties with our Heavenly Father. We are also deeply rooted within our families and communities, and we must nurture these ties.

 

We must also renew our mental, physical, and nutritional habits. These beliefs and my desire to help bring healing and lifelong health to young adults are what prompted me to found Nourishing Roots: Mind, Body, Spirit Inc.

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It is my greatest prayer and dream that through this organization I can share a renewed faith in God's healing capabilities with thousands - even millions - of young adults and adults throughout the world.

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May God bless you on your journey. Shalom.