If your uncle from the 1950s was magically transported to 2020, what gifts would you give him in order to thrive today?

Complicated living is killing us. It’s keeping us from experiencing life the way our Creator meant for us to enjoy it. Too much of the time we’re anxious and worried. We’re exhausted and stressed out. We don’t know which way to turn.

Over half of us will receive unwanted gifts this year – a staggering $16 billion wasted on unwanted gifts. Eighteen percent of gifts are never used by the person who receives them and 4 percent are immediately thrown into the trash! The Good News is, we have all been given a gift from God, that we celebrate this Christmas season! It is through that gift, we can find hope and assurance for our lives. Regardless of why our life is the way it is today, where it goes from here is primarily up to us.

While many may be relieved to be in the Christmas season, the truth is, it has been a long year! So, as we begin a brand new Christmas season, let's go back and see just how much things have changed, and what hasn't changed in thousands of years.

This year more than ever, most conversations have been affected by one question, "How can I avoid death?" The question all of us should be asking, is far more important.

I recently had the opportunity to get away and spend some time with my son. During that time, I learned several important lessons that are proving to be critical for our lives today.

So many of us spend our lives running around looking for something that will finally satisfy our desires, and set our minds at ease. However, this pursuit usually leaves us lacking, because we run to the wrong things.

Do you ever feel like you are just a pawn on a board game? Sometimes it feels like someone is just playing a giant game with all of us being simple pieces on the board. Games like Life, Monopoly and Battleship are iconic, but did you realize there is a board-game called Pandemic?!?

It’s easy to get discouraged. Throughout the pages of scripture we learn that we are not the only the people who lived in insane times. God’s people find themselves in crazy circumstances but God shows up and guides His people and His Word shows us that God is in control!

Knock Down the small things in life, big things can & will fall. Our decisions, actions and even our words, can have consequences we never considered. This week we take a look at the vivid imagery the Bible uses when talking about the importance of our words.