Spending time in God's great outdoors means different things to different people.  All of us are at various milestones on our path to salvation.  During my journey, I have learned to take time and pause to appreciate His little gifts and signs along the way.  Maybe it's from that little bit of wisdom that comes with age, but I tend to think it is my desire to become closer to Him than I can ever imagine. 

Hebrews 2: 4  "God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

Every day, all around us He speaks to us and shows us the direction to take.  From the time of Adam and Eve, God has given us all free will and the ability to choose our own path.  Every one of us has taken a wrong turn sometime in our life.  We have all stumbled and fallen.  Let's face it, when we fall, we sometimes fall hard, but He is always there for us, to help us up and to lean on even when we feel like we do not want to get up. 

Isaiah 40: 28-31  "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Each time the Lord has spoken to me through the outdoors, it was a time of great need in my life.  These were times where the sole purpose of being in the outdoors was to simply be close to Him and experience His peace and grace.  I have never asked Him to speak to me or to show me a sign, but each time I have needed Him he has been there.  It is a feeling that I have difficulty explaining and you may not understand it unless you have experienced it yourself?  If you share these experiences with someone, they often wrtie them off as coincidence, or just something special you experienced in the outdoors.  Our God is such an amazing God and we all know that He does things in His own time.  The messages I have experienced and sign's I have witnessed, often come late in the process, long after I have learned a valuable lesson or gained the wisdom that is beyond my years.  It is a part of the process of life, and if you look, He will always be there for us.  Take time to pause and experience your surroundings in the outdoors, and my friends you will experience His message, grace and peace.

John 14: 27  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

His signs to us come when you least expect it, but as long as you never part from faith and hope, they will appear before you; sometimes on a magical canvas in the beautiful blue sky before your eyes.