Preparing for Advent

I am “one of those people”. I start planning for Christmas the day after Christmas. Me and millions of others head to the nearest Target on December 26th to get discounted ornaments, Christmas lights, wrapping paper and anything else to add to my decorative stash for next year. At that point, I am feeling so good about myself and my ability to “get ahead”. My Christmas prep is going SOOO well.

Soon January comes along. By January 2nd, my house has returned to its old blah state and the new ornaments have been packed away in the basement with the old ones. I’ve lost all momentum. I literally don’t starting thinking about Christmas again until the day after Thanksgiving, and by then, I’m only thinking about Christmas because I am forced to watch Christmas commercials, listen to Christmas music and walk past the Christmas aisles at Costco that I have been ignoring since my kids started school in September.

As I begin my frantic preparation to “get ahead” for Christmas this year I pause and refocus my attention on what really matters. In this holy season of Advent, my heart is touched by the light of Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, we wait for the “coming” of our Savior. Hope, peace, joy and love came to earth in the form of a baby. Jesus is all things that we so desperately need. Advent holds deep significance for us because we acknowledge that Jesus experienced humanity yet was still God. Jesus, our newborn King, taught us to love and share joy, hope and peace.

Let us share the light of Jesus with everyone around us this Advent season. Let us be prepared to rejoice that the King has come.

— Erica Schimelpfenig, Executive Director, YouthWorks

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Erica Schimelpfenig

Erica Schimelpfenig began at YouthWorks in 2000 as a summer site staff. Erica has since worked in a variety of roles such as a Recruiting Associate, Regional Director, Director of Recruiting and Director of Missions until she stepped into the Executive Director role in 2016. Erica and her husband Cody stay busy with their three kids, Jonah, Cana and Mercy. They live in North Minneapolis where they enjoy exploring Theodore Wirth Park, hanging out with friends and creating new adventures.