Just as autumn brings the beauty of falling leaves, going outdoors frees us to shed busyness and draws us closer to God and each other.

When we take the time to leave the four walls of where we make a life, we give ourselves permission to stop and enjoy the life we’ve been given.

We let our souls breathe.

We say to ourselves: we want to live more than functional lives.  We want to enjoy God’s company and the people we love.

Rest. Isn’t that what we really crave down in our tired bodies and over-analytical minds? 

When God finished a busy workweek, God took an entire day off to stop and enjoy His work.

Isn’t that what we do when we encounter nature?  We stand still at a sunset.  We freeze our steps as a bird darts across a hiking trail and somehow our body knows beaches are for lingering.

Rest is the finale of a workweek.

Today, I’d like to share one of the ways my family and I stop to enjoy God and each other on the weekends.  I’m sharing an excerpt from an article I wrote for Crosswalk.com — published hot and fresh just last week —

“Top 10 Fall Outdoor Activities To Grow Closer To God And Each Other”

To keep our bodies and hearts familiar with rest, my family and I have prioritized living a restful life.

One ingredient to a restful lifestyle is spending time together outdoors.

Now, before you picture me in Birkenstocks and imagine only granola bars inside my backpack, I want you to know that simplicity is what underlines our family’s outdoor activities.

We are not super adventuresome.  With kids so young, there is a limit to how long we can spend outdoors without needing a bathroom nearby or a stroller for a tired toddler.

The key is this:  keep things simple.

Keep Things Simple

My husband and I try to keep things simple, so that we’ll want to go outdoors.  Make it too complicated and we wouldn’t dare attempt it.

We’ve given our outings a name, so our kids can get excited about them: “Family Adventures”.  Actually, they are mostly two hour outings that have us outside on the weekend.

If we end up more rattled about what we’re doing rather than enjoying each other’s company, we change it so it’s simpler.

This is how we can model God’s rest to our children — be restful!

As for growing closer to God, children experience love and intimacy through spending time with their parents.  There is a time and place for teaching Biblical principles, reading Scripture, and praying together.

For us, spending time outdoors is focused on relational closeness — the glue that makes the reality of God stick on their hearts and reach into their souls.

Being outdoors is a great way for children to experience quietness, without television, music, or anything electronic.  It sets the stage for quiet walks with God later as they grow older.  There will be opportunities later to try some mini-journaling outings.

What do you say?

10 Fall Outdoor Activities

To whet your appetite, I’d like to share my list of Fall Outdoor Activities To Grow Closer To God and Each Other.

This list can kick start some ideas for families with young children, but I’m counting on you to adapt it for your family’s personality, local climate, as well as for the single person.

1.  Biggest Pine Cone Walk (Save the pine cones for home fall decoration that last through to Christmas). Take a walk around your neighborhood and collect pine cones.  My bag fills up quickly, so I tell the kids to find the three biggest pine cones or the ones that aren’t as cracked/broken.  It is fun to put them in a bowl and the kids love pointing out whose is whose.

2.  Colorful Leaves Collection Walk (Tape the biggest ones to construction paper and pin them on our message board). Take another walk on a different day to have them collect different colored leaves.  Return home and pick a handful to put up. I am craft challenged, so this is just my simple version showcasing their leaves. I’m sure others of you more crafty have more artistic ideas.

3.  Fly a kite. It’s breezy enough. Warning: this requires more running than actual flying.

4. Pack a lunch and go play at a park. It’s often empty and quiet Saturday mornings.  Make sure you put in some treats you usually don’t have during the week.  It makes it extra fun.

5. Invite one other family to meet up with your family at the park. Keep it small to encourage “real life” conversations which children will overhear and soak in relational conversations.

6. Google the state parks around you and plan for a 30 minute “hike”. To keep kids entertained, we tell them to look out for banana slugs, squirrels, birds, or lizards.  We make a big deal when they find one.  It keeps them walking and busy. Distance is not the goal.  Just time together.

7. Have a leaf “boat race” at a nearby creek. Drive to a nearby creek and just walk down to the water and throw pebbles. Then, each pick a leaf and float them downstream for a fun race. Be sure to pack bring an extra pair of dry socks and shoes.

8. Grab some sweatshirts and picnic on the beach. The beach is breezy at this time, but so very quiet and beautiful.  The ocean becomes backdrop for food, pastries, coffee, and sand toys (books for the older kids.)

9. Train Ride. Take a train ride together and walk to a nearby sandwich shop or cafe.  Surprise your kids with some an inexpensive toy (Hotwheels are great and so are coloring books).

10.  Play tourist. Grab a tourist book from your library and take in the sights.  Take lots of pictures, buy candied apples and enjoy an ice cream cone.  What tourists do best is enjoy wasting time.  Some of our most memorable family adventures, like ferry rides, wondering along the waterfront, have come from pretending to be tourists during the fall, when there are fewer tourists.

No matter what you do, keep it simple. Focus on whatever is restful and spend time with each other.

After a tough work week, wouldn’t it be great to enjoy a God-inspired finale:  rest?

You will be creating memories of resting together as a family, enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful coolness and warmth of fall.

“The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break forth into shouts of joy.” Isaiah 14:7

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How does your family stop and enjoy God and each other through the outdoors?

What are your fall outdoor activities?

Pull up a chair. I love company and enjoy hearing your thoughts. Click to share a comment.

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** Don’t miss! ** If you are new to Faith Barista, I’d like to invite you to join me on my journey this month — 31 Days to Feed Your Soul. Click to subscribe by email and get each post in this series served up hot and fresh directly in your mailbox.

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To catch up and read the earlier posts in this series —

{ Day 1 } ::  Hunger

{ Day 2 } ::  Dare To Sleep

{ Day 3 } ::  True Escape

… Click Here!