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Lessons I Learned This Advent and How I Can Apply Them to My Ordinary Life | sarahdamm.com
Advent Lessons I Learned and How I Can Apply Them to My Ordinary Life

Advent Lessons I Learned and How I Can Apply Them to My Ordinary Life

Two and a half weeks ago, my family and I gathered around our Christmas tree. Excitement and joy mingled with the festive scents of hot coffee, cinnamon rolls, and pine needles. The kids piled their gifts next to them and eagerly wondered what was inside each wrapped box. As I sipped my coffee and breathed in Christmas goodness, I felt grateful. For the first time in forever, I felt like Christmas had arrived and I had arrived with it. I…

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Let Us Adore Him: Embracing the Babe, Embracing the Cross | sarahdamm.com
Let Us Adore Him: Embracing the Babe, Embracing the Cross

Let Us Adore Him: Embracing the Babe, Embracing the Cross

As I sit in the Eucharistic Adoration chapel, I am graced with this very visual meditation of the life of Christ. As if the very heartbeat of Christ in the monstrance isn’t enough, today I also get to praise and adore the infant Jesus, who the shepherds worshiped and who the magi traveled far to find, honor, and present gifts fit for a King. There He is before me. In my prayer, I recall how I waited and watched for Him…

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Rejoice! God is Giving Us Christmas! | sarahdamm.com
Rejoice! God is Giving Us Christmas!

Rejoice! God is Giving Us Christmas!

This reflection is the fourth in a four-part series that supplements the free Advent prayer journal I am offering to email subscribers. You may read part one HERE, part two HERE, and part three HERE. *** One more day, and we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus. Ready or not, Christmas is almost here! This Advent, we may have started out a bit weary, a bit sorrowful, a bit worn out. We heard Jesus’ invitation to come to Him for rest, and we rested in…

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Advent's Offers a Thrill of Hope While We Wait | sarahdamm.com
Advent Offers a Thrill of Hope While We Wait

Advent Offers a Thrill of Hope While We Wait

This reflection is the third in a four-part series that supplements the free Advent prayer journal I am offering to email subscribers. You may read part one HERE and part two HERE. *** Have you ever felt a little lost? Have you ever wondered what your God-given purpose really is? A year ago, that’s how I was feeling—lost and unsettled about my purpose. Then, an amazing opportunity came my way. It was a dream come true, and I was excited! I was going to…

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Five Simple Ways to Savor the Last 10 Days of Advent | sarahdamm.com
Five Simple Ways to Savor the Last 10 Days of Advent

Five Simple Ways to Savor the Last 10 Days of Advent

Ten more days! Are you feeling overwhelmed about getting it all done? Do you feel like there is still too much to do? Is there an internal struggle between getting things done and remaining prayerful and focused on Jesus? This reminder that there are only 10 days until Christmas Day is not meant to make you more stressed out or anxious than you already feel. No, this reminder is to encourage you (and me) to take a breath, to pause,…

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Celebrating the Feast of St. Lucia | sarahdamm.com
Star Boys and All: Celebrating the Feast of St. Lucia

Star Boys and All: Celebrating the Feast of St. Lucia

Today’s post is part of the #WorthRevisit series and was originally published on the Feast of St. Lucy in 2016. I am also over at CatholicMom.com today, sharing a reflection on one of my favorite Scripture verses, on one of my favorite feast days. For as long as I can remember, December 13 has been an extra-special day in our family. It is the Feast of Saint Lucia, which is my daughter’s name-day. She has loved this day and the…

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Advent's Gift of Silence and Stillness | sarahdamm.com
Advent’s Gift of Silence and Stillness … Open It and Receive

Advent’s Gift of Silence and Stillness … Open It and Receive

Today’s post is the second in a four-part Advent series. To read the first post in the series, click HERE. *** I open my planner and see all of the “to-dos” on my list, many more than usual. Each task, in and of itself, is a delightful privilege to do for my family. As a mom, I know I am instrumental in making the magic of Christmas come alive in our home. What an honor! The joy on my kids’ faces,…

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Waiting and Watching With Mary This Advent | sarahdamm.com
Waiting and Watching With Mary This Advent

Waiting and Watching With Mary This Advent

This article was originally published on the WINE: Women In the New Evangelization blog, as a reflection on the readings for the first Sunday of Advent. Since that was just a few days ago, I thought I would share it here, too, as part of the #WorthRevisit series. Seven years ago, I had the beautiful privilege of being pregnant during the Advent season. I was anticipating a Christmas baby, so I couldn’t help but think a lot about the Blessed…

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Jesus Invites the Weary to Find Rest in Him This Advent | sarahdamm.com
Jesus Invites the Weary to Find Rest in Him This Advent

Jesus Invites the Weary to Find Rest in Him This Advent

This summer, I attended a three-day silent retreat. I entered into the retreat with an agenda! I anticipated receiving very clear direction for the next phase of my life as a wife and mom. You see, my family was about to begin a new school year, and it was going to be the first time in 14 years that all six of my children would be in school. I was going to be a stay-at-home mom with no kids at home, and I…

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Be Still: A FREE Advent Prayer Journal for the Weary Woman | sarahdamm.com
Be Still: A Free Advent Prayer Journal for the Weary Woman

Be Still: A Free Advent Prayer Journal for the Weary Woman

It is midway through this week of limbo. This week that feels like I am on hold. Thanksgiving is over, but Advent hasn’t begun. I wanted this week to be a time to prayerfully consider how I wanted to enter into the four weeks of Advent. But like so often it does, life hijacked that prayerful plan. Some of it was out of my control, like my husband coming down with the flu. But other things were definitely in my control,…

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