"Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand."
James 5:8 (NABRE)
If you know me, you know that I'm one of those sticklers (Grinches?) that doesn't do Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving. I try to slow roll the red and green stuff at my house because Advent really is my favorite season of the church's year. I love that in the weeks leading up to Christmas we're reminded to adopt the mode of preparation for the Lord's coming in which we actually live. We remember and celebrate Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, but we're also called to be mindful of the Lord's desire to be born in our hearts and homes daily, and ultimately of his glorious return. Advent's four week focus on the virtues of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love help us to keep our hearts firmly rooted in reason for the season and they encourage us to bring these qualities into the world around us.
As I lean into the last days of Advent and work to keep my heart firmly focused on Christ, I can't help but notice how many things I have have to be grateful for. Here are a few B-PV Young Life highlights:
IMPACT…
One of the biggest blessings of 2025 has been our new YL office. It's been a great landing place for leader meetings, prayer, Club prep and staff collaboration. This past Monday we got to share it with students at YL QC Club for the first time, and filling it up with laughter and joy was a reminder of the WHY behind our mission.
PRAYER…
As we look ahead to 2026 I'm dreaming up a new way for friends of Young Life in Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley to pray in a unified way for kids and our community. If you want to be included in brief, shared but independent prayer opportunity please shoot me a message! Stay tuned for more info in January!
FINANCES…
Thank you to everyone who participated in our wreath sale! Once again, Teske's delivered on beautiful greenery and helped us fundraise for campers and leaders who are looking forward to their time at Castaway this summer! If you're still shopping for Christmas, Teske's has lots of great gifts and we're already looking forward to our annual Flower Sale this spring!
STAFF, COMMITTEE & LEADERS…
Young Life and WyldLife are growing across the Quad Cities and we have an opportunity to celebrate all that the Lord is doing in and through our mission coming up on Saturday, January 24th! If you love Jesus and teenagers, you're invited to join Staff, Committee, Leaders and Friends of YL from B-PV, Davenport and Moline as we renew our calling to serve through Young Life in all kinds of ways! Please see the image below for all the details and to RSVP. Can't wait to see you there!
Peace and prayers,
Emily
