I put a nativity set out on the piano, hung a few lights, grew a beard. And it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Sure, it’s July outside – kids in flip-flops and tank tops munch on popsicles just beyond my window. And sure, it’s as hot as July inside – the air conditioner is dead. But it’s Christmas in my office where I’ve been reading Christmas, listening Christmas, and writing Christmas for a couple months now.

In August I’ll be recording a Christmas EP (EP just means that it’s five or six songs and not a full album). Then I’m heading out on the Francesca Battistelli Christmas tour in December. So, for me, Christmas is a six month meditation this year – day after day remembering the night God put on skin and moved into our neighborhood.

Already a few dozen people have joined me on this little project. At shaungroves.com/kickstartChristmas you can get involved too.

For a few dollars you can get an advance download of this Christmas record. For a few more I’ll hand-print a physical copy for you. You can grab a Christmas ornament I’ll make myself out in the garage, tickets to a Christmas concert in December, or my guitar.

There’s no such thing as an independent artist. All artists depend on someone to help make their music: a record label, a sugar daddy, or a few hundred friends on the internet (that’s you).

Head on over to shaungroves.com/kickstartChristmas to read more about this project, hear some of the music, and check out pictures of the gifts that can be yours for giving.

And thanks for giving. That feels a lot like Christmas too.