I don’t use Pinterest but the person I love the most in this world frequents the site. Not too long ago I had to have someone explain to me what the word meant. (Thank you Erica Rogers). In case you don’t know, it’s an on line bulletin board where you can “pin your interests.” I thought it was just for crafts and art projects but it turns out there are even tips on skinning deer and preparing squirrels for the frying pan! Wowser! One site teaches you how to fold napkins for a fancy party AND gives 101 tips for Squirrel Hunting. What a world! Of course there are lots of pictures revealing beautiful table settings and perfect Christmas trees. Idealism reigns on such sites. I’m not against pinning one’s interests, especially when helpful information about squirrels and deer are available. What is problematic to me is the comparison problem. Few of us have Pinterest lives. For those of you that are non-Pinterest let me say it this way, few of us have Norman Rockwell lives. Something is usually going wrong with our best laid plans. We run out of time, we run out of food, the lights for the tree don’t work, we drop the toast and it lands butter side down, we spill coffee, babies puke, we get sick and miss the Christmas party, our kids don’t make the honor roll, our bread falls instead of rises and we really hope no one was looking when we tripped and fell stepping over a speed bump while walking and texting. That kind of stuff doesn’t usually make Pinterest because no one is interested in life going wrong. Christmas is still a few days off and maybe, so far, you are having a Pinterest Advent. Things are going awesome! For the rest of you, our Advent study on Sunday will address “the logic of joy.” If we think that joy is based on reaching ideals we’ll often be disappointed. There is a logic for joy that transcends circumstances and we’ll learn about it from the epic visit that Mary made to Elizabeth. Your Christmas may not be Pinterest worthy but it can be characterized by joy.