We live in a beautiful world. Our Earth is full of the bluest oceans, greenest forests, reddest rocks and whitest mountains. The wonders of our world are so vast, they have been put on lists, and then on new lists as more wonders were discovered.

So there is nothing that bothers me more than when someone is presented with a beautiful view of God's creation and completely disregards it.

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Arizona. For most of the drive, the scenery was flat and boring; there was nothing to look at for miles. All of a sudden, when we got to the west side of New Mexico, mountains rose out of the desert. Trees lined much of the road, with curves winding around and through the red rock mountains. It was beautiful.

But at one point, I found myself looking at my phone instead of the world around me. And when I caught myself doing this, I was immediately ashamed. I live in Iowa, where the scenery is not much to see, so I have always had a special admiration of mountains. Sure, we have beautiful sunsets over our lush green fields, but we do not have stone giants rising out of the ground to marvel at. How could I stare at my phone screen while some of the most breathtaking landscapes were flying by my window?

Unfortunately, I feel as though this happens a lot. I have a feeling that as much as people love and appreciate the beauty we live in, just as many others disregard it. Why would you take the time for a road trip and not appreciate the different landscapes you see? How could you go to a national park or monument and not be amazed by the beauty it holds?

On the same road trip to Arizona, I had the awesome opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon. It was a three and a half hour drive from where we were staying, but we felt it was worth it. And wow, we were right. It made me so happy I had not passed up the opportunity to go. You never know how spectacular views like that are until you get to experience them in person. Most of the time, we just sat and took in the vast canyon at sunset, with its multicolored rocks, jagged edges and landscape that stretched for miles. And as I looked at the people around us on their phones, not even taking pictures, I just shook my head, because they knew what they were missing, and still did not appreciate it.

So next time you have the opportunity to take in one of God's beautiful masterpieces, think twice before saying, "They're only rocks," or, "It's just a forest full of trees." Take some pictures to remind you of the scenery you got to admire, and then just take it all in. Let yourself be overwhelmed by the beauty our earth has to offer. And maybe give the social media a break until after you leave.