Category Archives: Great Outdoors

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Finding Comfort in Nature: God’s Messages Unveiled

As I walked deeper into the woods, only God was with me. Watching the leaves fall, one particular leaf caught my eye. It descended gently from the tree summits. Swaying back and forth, with a slow tumble, a dance was taking place that happens over and over. I actually got a picture as it is dancing to the ground.

What are you telling me, God? This is a question I ask constantly. I believe our Christian journey has many mysteries, don’t you? So, to help me focus on God and His plans for me, I try to live in curiosity, watching for the mysteries that He can help me solve.

By myself, I have trouble solving even the smallest of mysteries. Mysteries like crossword puzzles, the right amount of creamer in my wife’s coffee, what time the 5:00 news comes on.

I struggle with all the mysteries of life. I best understand a spiritual mystery by listening and watching, waiting for my Lord and Savior’s explanations. I need His help.

Hearing from God? I bet you are expecting me to say, read the Bible. Hmmm, appropriate answer, but that’s a great way to VERIFY a message from God. Pray? You undoubtedly get closer to God and His Will through prayer.

Being in nature is when I personally feel I “hear and see” God. Fly-fishing, elk hunting, hiking the mountains, walking in the park — these are all excuses to get me into the woods, into nature, where I can hear from God.

What are you showing me this time? Does God speak to me every time I take a walk? Do I catch a fish on every trip? Even though the answer is no, I still want to pay close attention to everything, so I can grasp whatever is being shown to me.

This one leaf landed on the path I hike on. Three days ago, the trees you see in the picture were still holding their leaves. A carpet of thick leaves now covers the woods’ floor. This leaf reminds me of a dear friend who is being buried today. I now think of someone who is changing careers. Now I have thoughts of my children having their own children. My thoughts focus on my life plus current shifts. There are always changes, good and bad.

My mind is full of too much thinking. It’s best for me to continue walking. The steady rhythm of my stride gives a calming effect. The smell of these leaves I’m strolling through, feeling this crisp autumn air, hearing the creatures of the forest (I hear geese!) are all making my senses come alive.

Being in nature clears my mind. My brain is jumbled with numerous thoughts, but they’re intentionally thinning out to a single question. God, what are you telling me?

Is God talking to me on this trip? He is. He says, “Keep walking, son. Lots of leaves to fall on this path. Lots of changes will always take place. You just keep walking; I’ll be there with you. That will never change.”

Comfort is what I felt on this hike. Not comfort that comes from a relaxing recliner chair. Not comfort from a fireplace. But comfort felt in my soul. How? I talked with a superior being! His words were “heard” by me on this hike! All the changes and shifts in my life, yet He said I’ll be there with you.

Regardless of your current shifts, here’s a poem for you. What I felt in the woods is summed up here.

“You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left. Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember her only in that she is gone, or you can cherish her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back. Or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.” David Harkin

I walk and hike on this spiritual journey with Jesus. I love and live by the following verse: John 14:6 (VOICE) Jesus: I am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

If you’re stuck behind a desk, you need to “take a hike” for better physical wellness. If you’re stuck in a rut spiritually, “take a hike” on the path called Jesus. Spiritual wellness is just as important.

I seem to get pulled into nature to hear from God. Where do you go to hear from your Heavenly Father?

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher

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God in Every Fiber: Lessons from Nature and Buckskin

It’s been said that embellishing the truth is one of my superhero traits. My wife says about my storytelling that “He flat out lies”! A good friend of mine, who knows me well, knows that I must show a picture to prove the truth of anything I say in private or public.

So, in three weeks, you can follow along on a hunting adventure. No need to worry about my stretching the truth or whether I’m flat out lying. An experienced cameraman is tagging along with me to record what happens on this wilderness excursion. It will be a blast. Frankly, knowing I’ll have a video to confirm my experiences is a relief. Trying to explain the unbelievable events that tend to follow me can be as exhausting as the 5-mile climbs occurring on this hunt.

So, in three weeks, the vast, majestic mountains of Colorado are my destination for a muzzleloader elk hunt. The year 1825 meets 2025! I’m using my old traditional muzzleloader rifle. Yep, they used a Hawken 50 caliber, just like mine, 200 years ago!

I’ll be wearing my buckskin coat I tanned from deerskins tanned the way the Native Americans did, 200 years ago! It’s called brain tanning. The brains of the animal contain enough oil to tan the hide, turning it into clothing. Lots of time, labor, and stretching, pulling, and softening to turn a skin into clothing that will last for years. I’ll share more on a future blog.

My buckskin coat. That truly is what connects the two years 2025 and 1825. It’s actually a great functioning piece of clothing to wear into the mountains. It is warm and soft, like a flannel jacket. But what if it gets wet, or snowed on, or I have to crawl over sharp rocks or plow through thick jagged limbs? These are all elements that must be withstood to bring success to my adventure. The buckskin can handle it.

The buckskin coat goes through several steps to change from raw animal skin to a finished piece of clothing. One of the important steps to making buckskin able to withstand the elements of the outdoors is to “smoke” it.

Smoking the buckskin involves building a fire that produces lots and lots of smoke, but very little heat. The smoke infiltrates every fiber of the skin. Here’s how best to describe this process.

The smoke molecules attach to the fibers of the buckskin. It exists within every single fiber. Each fiber now becomes waterproof from the protection of the smoke. When wearing the buckskin, if it rains or snows, the clothing will get wet.

Here’s the amazing part. As it dries, it goes back to its soft, pliable, clothlike texture. If someone hadn’t smoked it and completely covered all the fibers, the buckskin would become hard and brittle. Just like your dog’s rawhide chew toy.

Apply this important step to your Christian journey today. You have to “smoke” the buckskin to make it waterproof. Position the skin above the fire, avoiding fire yet within smoke. The longer you leave it in the smoke, the darker it becomes. Why smoke? The smoke particles cling to every fiber of the buckskin, both inside and out. This “clinging to every fiber” allows the buckskin to remain soft, even when it gets wet. If the smoke is not in every fiber, then when the coat gets wet, it will become hard as rawhide (you know, like your dog’s chewbones).

Is God in every fiber of your being? Otherwise, contact with this world we live in will produce a hardened self. Things of this world rob you of God’s Love. Your hardened heart robs you of the chance to share God’s Love with others. Let God permeate your entire being, much like smoked buckskin. He wants to be in every part of your life.

I don’t want to have a hardened heart. How can we prevent this?

Mark 12:30    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Jesus must be in every “fiber of our being” for us to keep from turning hard-hearted.

Let your desire for Him to be in every part of your life become the most important step in this journey. His assistance is required. Ask Him, see what happens!!

What does the world “throw” at you to make you hard-hearted? What makes it difficult to let God in every fiber of your being? Leave a comment.

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth

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Finding God in the Flames: Spiritual Reflections on Fire

What is it about a fire? We stare at the dancing flames. Whether an inviting warmth yielding campfire, a crackling fireplace, or even just a cozy, comforting candle, the dancing of the flame draws and invites our eyes to share in its existence. We staringly gaze without thinking why.

You ladies find comfort in the small flame. The candlelight dinner, with 3 or 4 candles, sets an ambience nowhere to be seen in a fast-food joint. A hot bath with scented candles takes your mind (and your thoughts), on a journey somewhere peaceful and calm. An ordinary match transforms the candle into a light giving, mood changing instrument used to induce feelings and comfort that are anything but ordinary. Though it’s just for a fleeting moment’s escape from your busy world, the flame invites you to join in. I’m picking up a smell of the vanilla cinnamon aroma.

Men, we like enormous fires. Bar-B-Que fires. Fires that will cook, burn, smoke, and grill. These are a start. Give us a chance. We’ll set the woods on fire, burn trash piles, or even set abandoned buildings ablaze.

That grill will operate fine at a temperature of 400 degrees. Men need grills offering more than basic operation. We want the grill to elevate! C’mon BBQ grill! Produce enough smoke so the entire universe can see and be jealous. Heat that joker up to 650 degrees! Then we can pour water on it just to see the steam dash away. A bonfire elevates the concept of a men’s gathering. Put a match or lighter in our hands, it’s gonna be lit!

If you want to watch our human nature at work, watch when a man creates/builds his fire. Whether it’s in the fireplace, or a campfire, or BBQ, he takes pride in how it’s started. He wants to impress everyone (especially himself). It has to be just right.

Ladies, if you want to stir up something (and I don’t mean the ashes), just go poking and meddling in HIS fire. Tell him he’s not doing it right. Uh Oh! Sparks will soon fly from more than just the actual fire!

With the fire burning, the arguments over its construction forgotten, we gaze. The dancing of the flames catches our eye. Heat from the glowing coals warms us. The smell of an actual fire and hearing the crackling and popping sounds gives our senses a way to connect with this flame. We connect in some primitive way with this fire. Our senses of sight, hearing, touch, and smell are in high gear. Shucks, sometimes we even taste the smoke from the fire. Perhaps the coffee’s aroma and flavor, or perhaps the gooey s’mores roasting over the fire, captivate us. We watch and, without even noticing, our eyes go into a trance. We stare.

One thing I’ve noticed also is how a fire brings out honest and REAL communication between people. Wish open conversation with friends? Build a fire. Such a simple task, yet it creates a desire from deep within to be real. Maybe Congress ought to have campfire meetings, instead of committee meetings.

On your spiritual journey, maybe you can stop for a moment. Take a break from everyday life. Be still, and maybe even stare.

Our scripture verse for today. Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

We can use the fireplace example of fire to help us see God as the consuming fire. God is a God of unending Love, mercy, and forgiveness. He also is a jealous God (He doesn’t want you to be anywhere else, only with Him). He is a just and righteous. His Holiness is pure. His Fire will consume the wicked and sin itself. He does the “dirty work”. We just follow/stare. We focus on God’s flames of love and mercy.

God loves us. We need to show our love to Him by avoiding sin. That same fire that comforts us can also burn us if we don’t give it respect. I’d rather receive God’s comfort and warmth than his wrath.

So ask God to help you with the sin that comes between you and Him. Throw another log on the fire. Let that log represent the sins that come between you and God. That log represents the things in life that steal our joy. Giving God our ‘sins’, our problems work better than being burdened with carrying them around with us all day long. Let the sin burn; don’t join it.

Now stoke up the fire a bit. Throw another hickory log on the fire. Share this warmth and comfort with others.

How is a fire comforting to you? Tell me your thoughts. Share this with others.

See Ya!