christmas just won't come without:

It's a tradition from Husband's family to watch:

The Muppets's Christmas Carol brings Joy with the lessons of the season, and it inspires generosity, love, and a deep appreciation for family-- all in that very witty, Muppet way. It also reminds us that the then, the right now, and the not yet do not control us but certainly form us. Yet, we still have the choice to decide just how these eras will help us become more fully who we are meant to be. And we are called to seek the messages of the then and the mysteries and hope of the not yet while remaining fully in the now of the Kingdom of God.

It's a tradition from my family to read:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever brings Laughter along with a cold, hard realization of how our human nature often compels us to behave with prejudice and, well, OCD; and how God brings Light, even through that darkness of our nature; and how He's always surprising us with beauty and grace in the most unexpected forms...

And to tie it all together with:

The Nativity is a movie of so much beauty I'm not sure I can assess it. The filmography, the story, I can't say enough. It brings me into the Story of the season; it makes me aware of the power of the Holy Spirit. And reminds me of the total subversion that the Gospel brings to our lives, or

The Great Reversal, as a good friend calls it. Everything you think you know; everything that has a supposed function, order, and nature, is completely subverted by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and by the pervasiveness of the Holy Spirit. In my experience, that's the way of the Lord. Always challenging our most concrete knowledge and expectations, forcing us to abide in His mystery, His grace, His scheme and ultimately, to Dwell in Possibility.