This weekend was the weekend we had planned for our Master Club hike with our church junior group (4th-6th grade)…so naturally it rained. {smile} We didn’t let a little foggy, cold, misty, rain stop us!

Nope, we loaded them up on the bus and headed out!

We took them to the tree farm and walked around for a couple hours talking about growing trees, forest life cycles, wildlife habitat, environmental concerns in the Chesapeake Bay, and what is means to respect the land they visit for hiking or camping.

We talked about hiking quietly if you want to see wildlife (we talked about, we didn’t do it.) {smile} We saw snake skins and deer trails and a hawk swooping over the soybean fields hunting mice.

We learned the difference between long-leaf and loblolly pines, and how fire can help a forest grow. We walked about why the leaves change color, and how seeds get transported by wildlife to new locations, and how injured animals head to water. We learned about the difference between forest habitats, grass habitats, and edge habitats.

Ok, Mr. Fix-It and I already knew all this, but we hope they learned some of it! {smile}

We learned that no matter how long or short your trip is, if the kids packed themselves a snack, all they can think about is when it’s snack time! {smile}

We talked about stewardship and conservation and using land without destroying it.

And we spent some time talking to them about how amazingly complex natural systems are. How only a great and awesome God could have come up with something so vast and orderly and beautiful–that it was so far beyond anything a human could even begin to imagine or fathom. How we’ve studied it for hundreds of years and barely comprehend the tip of the iceberg of the greatness of creation.

And we mentioned how we should always be interested in science, but we should never be so full of pride as to think we’ve figured it out. The sciences as a professional group love to jump out with the final word, and then end up having to reverse themselves years later. We have to be patience and trust the Lord to show us the truth through humility, and consistent observation and study. We talked about how we have to be open-minded enough to learn, but steady enough to know that the Bible is the foundation and the truth of God’s creation would never contradict His Word.

We talked about how when you’re discouraged or feeling far from the Lord you can spend some quiet time out in His creation and meditate on the beauty and synergy there and it can help your heart be still and find the right path again.

And we ate snacks. Lots of snacks. (Although they were all still starving the whole time!) {smile}

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” (Psalms 19:1)