December 2025

How can I be happy when I’m busting my budget for Christmas? “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” Psalm 118:26 “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” Perhaps you recognize these words from a famous song by Don Gardner. The main goal of the young child was to have his two front teeth so that he could wish you a Merry Christmas. It seems so simple, so stress-free, so undemanding. Do you remember a time like that? Do you remember a time when the world seemed so stress-free? Do you remember a time when life was so simple? Christmas is right around the corner. Signs of this have been noticeable for quite some time now. Christmas decorations have been in the stores for several months. Since Thanksgiving some radio stations have been playing Christmas music non-stop, reminding us of how many days we have left until Christmas. There’s so much for all of us to do! Decorations! Parties! Presents! And children don’t just ask for their two front teeth anymore. They want their iPhones and iPads to keep them happy. But can I be happy when I’m busting my budget for Christmas? For help this Christmas season, remember this Bible verse from Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” There was a time when God showed us something so simple, so stress-free, so undemanding. It happened about 2,000 years ago. Shepherds went to visit a newborn baby. No kings, no queens, no rulers—just lowly shepherds. And when they got there, this baby did not seem so special. No fancy hospitals, no doctors, no nurses. Just Mary and Joseph and their infant son Jesus wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. So simple, so stress-free, so undemanding. And yet, here is the place where you find your answer when you seem to be busting your budget for Christmas. Do what the shepherds did! Go to Bethlehem this Christmas season. Look in the manger and see your Savior. No, you won’t find some extra cash to restore a healthy balance in your checkbook. But you will find happiness for your soul. You will find a Savior who will never leave you. And you will find a Savior who will fill your spiritual checkbook with many blessings that can never be depleted. Because there you will find Jesus!