Sam from Cultivating Catholics
"Cultivating Catholics provides Catholic Sensory Kits and parenting ideas to help raise little saints! We break down big concepts into simple ideas to help you raise little saints in the modern world. We help Catholic parents teach their children about the faith and make liturgical living in your home attainable!"
Interview with Sam <3
1. Hey Sam! We absolutely love what you guys are doing with the Catholic Sensory kits and how you’re taking your passion for the Catholic faith and turning it into a fun creative way for parents to teach their kids. Can you tell us a little about what motivated you to start this journey?
Thanks Amy! I started Cultivating Catholics because, as a new convert, I was feeling SO overwhelmed trying to teach my kids about the faith. I needed something simple and straight to the point and was having such a hard time finding the resources that would best suit me. I knew I couldn't be the only one struggling with this, so Cultivating Catholics was born! It started as a blog, and has flourished into a store and YouTube channel! My goal is to break down really big Catholic concepts into kid-friendly language. But it's funny, so many of my followers on Instagram don't even have kids! I think a lot of Catholics benefit from the simplicity of it.
2. I love how in your videos you share that you weren’t a Christian until you met your husband and started going to church with him. Can you share a little bit about your conversion story and how you fell in love with the Catholic faith?
I became Catholic after growing up totally anti-religion. My parents weren't religious, so I grew up thinking religion was ridiculous. I was way too good to believe in some fake Being in the sky. Then I met my husband in the military and all of that changed! I met him when I was 20, and he was very Catholic. He would always invite me to go to Mass with him but I politely declined (not wanting
to waste my precious Sunday!) But there was something so compelling about a handsome young man who made it a point to go to church every single Sunday because it was that important to him. So I eventually started going with him (mostly because I just wanted to hang out with him ;) ) but being in Christ's presence just sucked me in! I fell in love with the beauty of the church and really started listening to the readings and gospels and the priest's homilies. It gave me a sense of peace and comfort that I had never experienced before. I very quickly decided to go through RCIA and become a full-blown Catholic. And now here we are! My 7-year anniversary of being a Catholic was April 4!
3. Do you have any favorite bible verses that you would like to share or words of encouragement for others? So honestly I'm not huge into bible verses! I know that's really weird because so many people are, but they just really don't resonate with me. But I will say my favorite bible story is how everyone was
gathered around Jesus waiting to hear him speak and they all kept shooing the children away and Jesus (in a nice way) told them to knock it off and let the children come to him. I love that so much. And I think about that quite often when I think our children are being disruptive at Mass or interrupting my daily Rosary. Jesus love love love lovessss children. Let them come to him!
4. You have five children under the age of six and somehow still manage a business and make super creative content for social media! Do you have any tips for others that may be wanting to make a difference in the world but not knowing where to start or when to find time?
Time block your time and stop thinking you have to do everything all at once. I live by "chunking" things out. I set myself a timer to complete as much of a task that I can each day. For instance, I'll set
a timer for 30 minutes and respond to as many Instagram direct messages as I can. After that timer goes off I'm done (even if not all of the messages are responded to!), and I'll go play outside with my
kids. They know mama has work to do during the day, but I intermingle it with quality time spent with them, so they know I have to work for a bit, but I'll be all theirs very soon. Just do what you can. Chunk it out.
I also am a big fan of creating 3 daily goals. My to-do list is a mile long, but putting a little star next to the 3 things that absolutely MUST get done that day, and knowing if the other things get done it would be nice, but it's not necessary, has totally lowered my stress level.
5. Lastly, I have to ask you about one last thing! I noticed you wearing a medal and since I’m newer to the Catholic faith I have to ask is it a miraculous medal?
It is a miraculous medal! (Which sadly, is currently lost!) I feel so empty without it. My confirmation name was Mary, and I really try to mimic her and the type of mother she was. I feel so close to her when I wear it. Like my own mother is standing next to me and giving me advice or helping me through situations.
Thank you, Sam!! I've been following her on IG and I've learned so much about the saints from her posts. And also (because I'm slightly obsessed with reels right now LOL) her reels are hilarious!! Sam is truly an inspiration and making a huge impact not only by helping parents teach their kiddos about Faith but she also uses her platform to give back. She recently hosted a "Mary's Baby Shower" virtual event that raised almost $6k in donations for a local pregnancy center. So awesome!!!
I highly recommend ordering a Sensory Kit for your kiddos! We ordered an Easter Kit and check out how much fun we had:
It was super exciting for Jackson to open the package and there were so many different goodies and activities. Jackson's favorite was the scented play-dough for sure (homemade dough made with all-natural, non-toxic ingredients). We didn't even get to all of the activities yet because there were so many! We will have enough activities to keep us busy leading up to Easter- and I'm so grateful for these fun, creative ways to teach kiddos about Easter.
Here are the links again where you can order or learn more!
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