June is National Great Outdoors Month and National Camping Month. Our family loves outdoor adventures. We’ve hiked, camped and kayaked a good bit (but not nearly enough) over the years.
Here are a few things we’ve learned along the way…
- It always rains when we camp. Last week Stacy and I sat on our front porch watching it rain and commented that God must have thought we were camping.
- Pitching a tent and building a fire are great skills for kids to learn. As their skills developed, Stacy and I were able to simply watch them set up camp and get things going. Great fun!
- Our dog can’t swim. She’s a Bluetick Coonhound and she just swirls around in the water when she jumps in.
- Generally, something important is left at home. This creates great opportunity for improvisation or a lesson in contentment.
- Early morning coffee is even better by a campfire. I enjoy coffee almost every morning, but there’s something special about drinking it in the woods by a fire.
- Job 38-42 should be read on every outdoor adventure. (If you don’t know why, stop now and read this portion of scripture.)
- Sharing with other campers creates great conversations. We love making dessert when we camp (campfire pies, s’mores, camping doughnuts or popcorn) and sharing it with strangers around the fire is always fun.
- You must respect the water. River currents are strong. Beautiful things can become dangerous when not respected.
- Some folks simply don’t like sleeping outdoors. We’ve shared a first camping experience with some folks who’ve taken it up as a new family hobby. Others, not so much.
- The earth is full of God’s glory! It seems to me that it would be difficult to appreciate the fullness of God’s glory without experiencing some sort of outdoor adventure. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3
Dad, take time to enjoy God’s creation with your family this summer. We all appreciate God’s creative nature when we are closer to it.
