Just Step Outside!

I made a secret commitment to myself about a week and a half ago. It wasn't anything major, but it is something that has been impacting the kids and me in positive ways. It was simply to get outside every day regardless of weather, schedules, moods or health. 

You see, I love the outdoors.  I always have.  I find that being outside has a soul-nurturing effect.  Rarely do I spend time in nature without pausing to marvel at God's creation and to offer praise for being part of it.

Yet, sometimes I find that I get so swept up in indoor tasks and distractions that I fail to get myself and my children outdoors for any length of time each day.  

 

In prayer one morning, I decided that was going to change.  In my own head, I made a commitment to myself and my children:  Regardless of weather, moods and to-do’s, I would spend some time outside with the kids every single day. 

Family Work Time seemed like play time to my happy helper as we cleaned the edge of the wetlands behind our house on Day One of my personal commitment.

That promise sounded easy that morning when the weather was beautifully sunny and warm and I was feeling healthy,   In fact, on the first day of my secret outdoor commitment, we worked, studied and played together outside for long stretches of the day.

Th children enjoyed discovering tiny creatures under rocks in their "one small square".

However, a day later, I awoke with an earache, itchy eyes and congestion.  Then, in the days that followed, three of us faced fevers, one vomited and all of endured us some combination of lethargy, muscle aches, congestion, weird rashes and the like.  Such woes tempted me to forgo the personal promise I had made.

You know the boy is sick when he joins Daddy in a riot of pillows and blankets for an afternoon sleep for this boy has not taken naps since he was 18 months old!

But I did not fall to the temptation.  Instead, I obeyed the small voice in my heart that whispered, "Get outside anyway," and, each day, one or more of my children and I stepped outside our front door.  We gloried in the world God has created as we worked, played, studied and, best of all, just spent time outside.  As we did, we:

practiced stewardship by cleaning up the edge of our wetlands....

...delighted in discovering roly poly bugs in our "one small square"...

...enjoyed a bright, windy morning at the beach...

  

...helped one another sculpt on the stoop...

 

...noticed how each leaf on our trees blooms at its own pace...

 

...tried to catch raindrops on our tongues while sheltering from the wetness as we inspected our "one small square"...

 

...exercised our muscles climbing rock walls and such at playgrounds...

 

...conquered climbing trees in the front yard...

 

...monitored our efforts to feed birds, squirrels and other creatures through spreading our "one small square" with birdseed...

 

...tried pull ups in a natural gym....

...tested waters before gleefully sploshing through them...

...delighted in each round of spring blooms...

And, of course, while doing so we also paused on occasion to verbally recognize and praise the Creator, to inwardly let the Spirit speak to us, and to joyously offer gratitude that this is the world the world the the Lord has made.  

Truly, by obeying the prompt I felt to get outside with gratitude on a daily basis again, I have been edified and blessed this past week and a half. 

As I prayed the daily readings yesterday, this became even more apparent to me.  I read Psalm 19:1, which reverberated in my mind.  

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

These words are so true and so timeless.  In every era, all we need to do to be reassured of God's presence, glory, genius and generosity is to step outside.  His natural creation awaits us daily.  I encourage others to commit to being present in it with their children as often as possible.  Doing so certainly has been blessing me of late.

What are some of your children and your ways of spending time outside appreciating God's glory?
 Feel free to share about them here in a comment or on our Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.  If you leave a link to an idea, I will pin it on the Training Happy Hearts: A Call to Faith Formation in Young Children Pinterest board.