Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

It has begun.  And, no, I am not talking about Advent.  I am talking about the non-stop screenings of those syrupy, sentimental Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel.  I am talking about the Disney portrayals of Happy Holidays where there is joy and happiness forever after.  I am talking about Madison Avenue advertisers telling us what Christmas should look like and what we need to have and do to make this an absolutely perfect Christmas.  I am talking about the TV specials and bill boards and radio ads that give us a distorted understanding of Christmas and a bogus version of what Christmas is all about.  I am talking about all the ways media and culture place before us an idealized version of Christmas.  We see depicted in all of these settings ideal relationships, ideal children, ideal homes and holiday gatherings, idyllic Christmas dinners where all is bliss and where everyone is all smiles and all is perfection.  And, as we look at all of this, I am talking about our tendency to seek out and try to pu