Confession.

I am a hypocrite. In order to appear disturbed by the ever-increasing commercialization of Christmas, I outwardly complain to others about the premature appearance of Christmas decorations and holiday music in stores. But what do I have playing in my car or at my home....Christmas music!!!

It always begins subtly for me around the end of October. I usually break out the Indelible Grace Christmas album first, which is just folksy enough that you could actually listen to it in July and not seem totally crazy. The same is true for Andrew Peterson's Christmas epic, Behold the Lamb of God. But then the unexpected happened right after Halloween. I was picking up a few things at the neighborhood Wal-mart Market and found myself secretly cheered, even invigorated, by the Christmas music they had blaring. (And I do mean blaring. You were going to listen to Ave Maria whether you liked it or not. It was almost as bad as walking past Abercrombie & Fitch in the mall, minus the stench of too much cologne.)

That set the stage for the day I had to make some cookies. It had finally turned cold in Louisville, and the setting was just right for breaking out the ultimate Christmas album. I normally save this album to accompany the ultimate Christmas activity (decorating the tree), but something happened to me that day, and I found myself baking cookies and listening to John Denver and the Muppets serenade me with childhood memories. Ever since then, I haven't looked back. It's been all Christmas, all the time when it comes to musical selections. Burl Ives and the Vince Guaraldi Trio on Sunday morning, Steven Curtis Chapman in the car, Julie Andrews and Harry Belefonte this morning as I write this blog. And don't even get me started on the glory of Pandora's Christmas options. All the holiday music you love without the fear of hearing Paul McCartney's "A Wonderful Christmas Time" even once!

So there you have it. My Christmas confession.