Hiking with Kids!

We LOVE exploring the outdoors and especially enjoy a mountain vista.

We recently took our family to Hanging Rock State Park at the conclusion of our church's Vacation Bible School (VBS) week where we the theme was "Magnified-Celebrating the bigness of God in the smallest of things" and as we summitted my husband looked at our kids and said "Man, now we can take a moment to see the bigness of God in the BIGGEST of things too!"

There are ten sub-topics covered in the Steady Souls Short Course that are backed by science and scripture to support a healthy mind and body.

It’s a good day when you get to knock out many of them simultaneously 🙌🏼 Sleep in Saturdays, Sweat (walked almost 4 miles), Sunshine (spent time in nature), speech (encouraging words) and Scripture (Isaiah 54:10).

Here are my five tips for happy hikers:

1-Clear expectations: We do this by pulling it up in the all trails app and using our garmins to map how far we’ve gone and how far we have left.

2-Good equipment: Hiking shoes and a walking stick made a big difference.

3-Hydration! We make each of the kids carry their own water bottle and throw in an electrolyte pack to help make sure they’re not getting dehydrated.

4-Positive reinforcement: We planned on going to a show the evening after their hike and leveraged their souvenir budget for good attitudes. Thankfully they all earned their reward 🎉

5-God’s word when they’re weary:

-Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that the Lord can renew our strength and we can run and not grow weary

-Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages to run with perseverance

-1 Thessalonians 5:16 urges us to be joyful always

In our decade of family hiking, the view has always been worth the climb