when a hike awakens

Choosing to hike weekly with my children this summer was one of the best decisions I've made. It forces me out of the house and away from the chores. It feels my spirit. It sets us on the course of adventure together.
And yet I forget this in the midst of daily to do's. My encouragement for you...schedule time outside the house with loved ones, friends or family. Sometimes having it on the calendar forces us to see the intention into reality.

Brianna, Reese, Luke and Ben,

Yesterday we hiked one of our favorite spots. You climbed high, explored low and ran ahead free. We ate trail cookies and dried fruit and drank refreshment on a fallen pine. We captured beauty in a lens, spoke encouragement to Jack and rejoiced in Moses sleepy in his sling.

I pray life might always be so for you. May you clamber to the highest heights in seeking God, stoop to notice the gifts He lays at your feet and run the marked race with the freedom found in Christ. May you be refreshed body and spirit and recognize when you are where you are because of the dying to self of another.

May you capture remember to capture beauty, speak encouragement and rejoice always.

It is my prayer for you.