Has Christmas become nothing more than a family film to make us feel happy? Is there any room left for its real message?

Check out the cast list: a baby, a teenage mum, a confused dad, some angels, a few smelly shepherds, some men from the east, a manger, a census, a certain king called Herod . . . Surely this is a story worth taking notice of?

Christmas is about God getting his hands dirty, getting involved. What we need to do is walk with God as Christmas approaches and talk everything through with him, no matter what it is.

In this collection of thoughts and prayers David Gatward, author of Can We Talk, Lord? , looks at the little things that happen during Advent. From putting up the Christmas tree to coming home from work and then having to go out to do some Christmas shop­ping, God is interested in the little bits of our lives and what better time to talk about them than during Advent?