of shopping, gift giving, cocktail parties, family dinners and frankly, craziness. For all those reasons it is our favorite time of year.

But there is a more significant reason we love Christmas. It’s the time of year when we celebrate the INCARNATION, the time when God became flesh and entered into humanity. It is the time when we reflect upon the idea that Jesus found his way into our lives and brought the Father and the Spirit with him.

We sing “IMMANUEL” which means “God with us.” But this God is not only with us, They are for us. They are crazy-in-love with us. We are the central ingredient in their joy.

the Creator of all Creation, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Ancient of Days, the Great I AM, and Almighty God is transforming us from the inside-out. Jesus came to set us free—free to become our true selves, free to know love and live loved, free to see that we are cherished and accepted, free to see that we belong, and free to be empowered to do meaningful work with our lives.

That means we are free to stop self-promoting and self-protecting, free to stop posing and pretending, free to drop the armor and the facades, and free to live open, transparent and authentic lives.

that we find ourselves in the heart of hearts of a perfect Papa (Father), a perfect Momma (the word for Spirit, ruach, dominant in the Hebrew scriptures, is feminine) and an older Brother (Jesus) who have chosen us as we are. We find ourselves in the Presence of the Trinity who cherishes us, delights in us, likes us, and loves us beyond what we can imagine.

Christmas, God becoming fully human (Incarnation) and God with us (Immanuel) means that God has entered into us. Entered into all that is broken in us and all that is broken in our families. Entered into our “not-enough-ness” and pain. Entered into our delusion and the lies we’ve bought into. Entered into our panic and anxiety.

Christmas also means that God has entered into our hopes, dreams and deepest desires. Entered into our intents and motives. Entered into our joy and celebration.

And why did this happen?

God has entered into us to heal and transform us, bring life to us and do life with us…whether we know it and understand it or not.

means that you matter more than you can possibly imagine. Your identity, who you are, is defined by the God who dreamed of you and wanted you before the world was. In our brokenness and in our joy, the arms that hold us are nail-scarred, the face is disfigured and the body is pierced. But that’s what sacrificial, self-giving, other-centered love does.

May these extraordinary truths open up deep places within you that are too powerful for words to describe, and let the miracle and joy of Christmas spring forth.