Awe

Countdown.. ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two....ONE. And the lights came on -- a magical moment.

It was the lighting of the mayor's Christmas tree at Crown Center in Kansas City with my nephew Max. I was excited, he was startled. But after the initial shock, we both smiled and then laughed. Sometimes it's grand to experience the unexpected and then be in awe. 

I've been thinking about God and "awe" lately. Seems like we aren't so amazed about things these days. And during the Christmas season, when we should be astounded at the superb gift that God gave us -- Jesus -- seems like we have even a harder time to be in awe. 

My problem is that I don't take the time to actually practice His presence in my life. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to practice "awe." Here's what I'm going to do: 

• Reflect on the fact that God gave me a perfect gift -- no need to look any farther.
• Reflect on the fact that Jesus left his wonderful, glorious and rightful throne to be born in poverty.
• Reflect on how big of a sacrifice God made so that I can experience His presence each day.
• Reflect on the assurance that I have no reason to fear anything today or tomorrow because Jesus overcame the world.
• Reflect that Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace loves me personally and individually. 

My prayer for you is that you will look to God this Christmas. You might get a little excited. You might smile. You might laugh. But hopefully you will be in awe.