{"id":5010,"date":"2019-06-02T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-02T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5010"},"modified":"2019-02-27T20:47:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T02:47:07","slug":"choose-to-live-in-awe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5010","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Live in Awe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Choices change our lives\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

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Awe is defined as \u201cveneration or wonder inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.\u201d Perhaps living in a computer-generated world and being used to 3-D effects can make us desensitized to the beauty around us. As children we were amazed by yellow daffodils and mesmerized by watching ants carry ten times their weight across the yard. Too soon we become jaded and take our sunsets for granted. We no longer see a colorful sky radiant with colorful reddish, pinkish, and orange hues; we just wish the sun would go down so the light will stop shining in our eyes while we\u2019re trying to drive. Somewhere along the way we lose our awe.<\/p>\n

G.K. Chesterton said, \u201cThis world will never starve through lack of wonders, only through lack of wonder!\u201d\u00a0 Do we see God\u2019s hand everywhere we go? When we visit a castle high up in the mountains, do we think of God being our fortress? When we see a majestic mountain, do we think of God being our Rock? When we see a massive, leafy oak tree, do we think of being rooted in Christ? When we hear the sound of a child laughing, do we smile and think about God wanting us to become as little children? Seeing God\u2019s hand in everything we see and do can increase our awe. It infuses our ordinary, mundane routine with the spirit of the living God. It changes our perspective. It makes life worth living.<\/p>\n

Even from a physical perspective, awe can nourish our souls and help us live better lives. Dacher Keltner,<\/a> one of the foremost theorists and scholars of awe says, \u201cWhat the science of awe is suggesting is that opportunities for awe surround us, and their benefits are profound.\u201d \u00a0Studies exploring this complex emotion show connections between awe and critical thinking, creativity, better health, and positive social behavior. Feelings of awe actually boost life satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Spiritually speaking, we as Christians can sometimes be guilty of losing our awe of God, His creation, and the blessings He bestows. Hebrews 12:28 tell us, \u201cTherefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.\u201d There is a fine line in our relationship with God between awe and familiarity.<\/p>\n

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Yes, we think of God as our friend and father. He wants us to feel close enough to Him to be honest and discuss anything. However, He doesn\u2019t want to be taken for granted. No one does. After all, God is our Creator.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 Job tells us that dominion and awe belong to God. (Job 25:2) God is also our fortress, high tower, sustainer, giver of every good gift \u2013 the list goes on and on. When we lose sight of this awe, we fail to see God as He really is!<\/p>\n

One final thought\u2026 \u201c<\/strong>He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.\u201d ~Albert Einstein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choices change our lives\u2026 By Barbara Dahlgren Awe is defined as \u201cveneration or wonder inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.\u201d Perhaps living in a computer-generated world and being used to 3-D effects can make us desensitized to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}