3 Ways to Connect with God in Nature
How do you connect with God in nature? Today we will talk about three ideas on how you can do this and incorporate a little more peace into your life. This is the second in our series of connecting to God.
Episode Discussion Points
Story of my husband kayaking out on a lake in the early morning and feeling a peace and such a release of stress.
3 Ideas for Connecting with God Through Nature
1. Stand Barefoot
An article in the Washington Post a few years ago showed research on how standing barefoot in the grass can “improve sleep, reduce pain, decrease muscle tension and lower stress.”
How I have felt such peace when I have stood on the beach.
A college health professor has encouraged his students to go and stand barefoot when they are feeling stressed (and it actually works).
2. Slow Down & Commune
Examples in the scriptures: Jesus going out into the wilderness to pray and commune with His Father, Moses going up into a mountain to talk to God
“Consider the lilies of the field.” Luke 12:27—take time to slow down and look at the details of the world around you.
See and notice God in the world around you.
3. Use All Your Senses & Give Thanks
Disconnect from the busyness of the world and think about what you are seeing, feeling, hearing and experiencing in nature around you.
Give thanks to God for what you see, touch, smell, hear
Story of me enjoying a peaceful moment giving thanks to God as I sat under a tree at Bryce Canyon.
“There is beauty to be found in every part of God’s creations.”
Call to Action
Say a prayer in nature sometime this week, be thankful and feel of God’s love and peace.
Download the 7 Ways to Connect with God infographic below.
#tamarakanderson #storiesofhopeinhardtimes #podcast #hope #God #hardtimes #nature #connecttoGod #peace #prayer #barefoot #senses #gratitude
Transcription
Tamara Anderson 0:03
Have you ever been walking through the forest or down a trail or in the middle of nowhere on a path and felt close to God? I believe God created the earth to help us connect with Him. Need some ideas of how to do that? Stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 0:28
Welcome to Stories of Hope in Hard Times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times. All with God's help. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.
Tamara Anderson 0:54
Hello, and welcome to the Stories of Hope in Hard Times podcast. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. And on today's Tamara's Takeaway episode, we are talking about connecting to God through nature. And this is the second segment in our series on connection that I'm doing. And we're we have an infographic you can get online that talks about each of these things on the today's show notes, so you can check that out and print it off to remind you of the many different ways we can connect to God.
Tamara Anderson 1:29
But first, I want to tell you a quick story that happened to my husband a number of years ago at Scout camp, and bless my husband, he went to scout camp with both of my boys that went to scout camp and it's a busy time and you're trying to keep track of these boys make sure they don't cut their fingers off when they're sharpening their knives and stuff like that. And sometimes you don't sleep well when you're in tents and stuff like that. So I just appreciate his sacrifice in doing this.
Tamara Anderson 1:57
And one morning, he hadn't slept super well. And so he was up before everybody else. And so he decided to go out on the lake. And he had a kayak, he just grabbed one of the scout camp kayaks, and he paddled out onto the lake. He was the only person up and so he just paddled out there. And he was all by himself. And then morning stillness was absolutely amazing and so peaceful and quiet. And he just sat there in that kayak. And he said, as he sat there in the middle of nowhere, just enjoying the stillness of the morning, he felt this huge release of stress, like it just seemed to flow out of his body and into the water and float away. And he said, it was quite a singular experience for him to have such a pronounced sense of peace, just wash over him being alone in nature.
Tamara Anderson 3:00
And so today, we're going to talk about how you can be close to God and connect with God, through nature and some ideas that you can use and apply in your own life. This is one of my favorite, favorite ways to connect with God. I've had so many people say, Tamara, I feel closer to God when I'm out in nature, than I do almost any other place. And I think the reason for that is because this Earth was created for us by God. And isn't it an incredible place?
Tamara Anderson 3:32
God knew exactly what we needed. He knew how much oxygen we needed, he knew what would create oxygen, he created the plants. He created everything around us. And I think it's so amazing that as we go out in nature and kind of walk away from the distractions and the phones and everything, trying to pull out us, even for a few minutes that we can commune with God when we're communing with nature.
Tamara Anderson 3:58
So tip #1 is to Stand Barefoot. Now, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post a couple of years ago. And the research has shown that people who stand like barefoot on the on the earth that it can produce a variety of psychological improvements. It improves your sleep, it reduces pain, it decreases much muscle tension, it lowers stress. And when I read stuff like that, I'm like, okay, am I getting a little too woo-woo here?
Tamara Anderson 4:32
But honestly, I've always been an avid gardener. And every time I connect with the earth and I'm down there and I'm digging, I don't like to use gloves. I'm down there digging in the earth. I leave whether I've been pulling out weeds or something like that I leave covered in dirt. I am so happy I feel so much better.
Tamara Anderson 4:53
And so when I first read that I was just like, can that be true? But one of my friends is taking it an amazing Health class right now. And one of the things that professor told them to do, he says, go out if you're ever feeling stressed and stand barefoot on the earth. And He said, give yourself a couple of minutes to kind of breathe and just enjoy nature. And then you can, he says, You'll be amazed that you feel so much better afterwards. And so she's been trying that she's like, Tamara, it works.
Tamara Anderson 5:23
And I know I've felt that way, especially as I'm standing on the beach, and the waves are washing over my feet, that, that it's crazy how when we connect to the earth, which is one of God's creations, that we are connecting to Him. And he can strengthen us and kind of help us. I don't know, maybe the right word is ground ourselves, I think they call it grounding, where, where we just feel like we can do it.
Tamara Anderson 5:52
And I think that God has given us the earth as a fantastic resource to connect to him. And to be able to draw on his power. This is one of the gifts that He has given us. And so if you're feeling stressed, and you feel like you need to connect with God, sometimes it helps to do it out in nature.
Tamara Anderson 6:16
This brings us to tip #2 which is Slow Down & Commune in nature. And for this we go to the example of our Savior, where he went out into the wilderness to pray, I think he needed to get away from it all too. And that is where he felt close to His Father. Moses went up into mountain to talk to God. And then the Savior Himself invited us to consider the lilies of the field. How many times do we pause and look at the flowers around us? And really feel a connection to God?
Tamara Anderson 6:37
Too many times, I feel like we're running around way too fast. And we just don't slow down enough to enjoy the beauties of nature and to let that spirit of the beautiful world God has created for us permeate into our souls. So, slow down and commune with Nature. And commune means to feel in close spiritual contact with. And that is what nature can do with us as far as helping us commune or connect—especially on a spiritual level—with God.
Tamara Anderson 7:21
We're going to take a quick break. But when we get back, we'll have more lessons, tips and things you can apply to your life. Stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 7:29
Hey, friends, I need your help. After podcasting, my Stories of Hope in Hard time podcasts for three and a half years and over 150 episodes all by myself, I've decided that with the growth and everything I'm doing, I can't do it by myself anymore. And so I am looking for three brave individuals to join me in my labor of love, and helping spread God's light to the world that people can get through hard times with his help. So if you resonate with that message, and would love to help me spread my message of hope to the world, I'm looking for three key people. And they are first a producer to help me produce the podcast, get things scheduled, and stuff like that. Second, a writer to help me make things look all pretty in the writing part of it. Third, a social media person who can help me make social media things look awesome and pretty. And you don't have to have any podcasting experience to help me with these things. Just a love of God and trying to help your fellow man. So if you're interested in helping me out, reach out to me at Tamara T A, M, A R A, the letter K. Anderson with an O N author@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you. And even if you have a little bit of time, it would be awesome to have some helpers. Thanks, guys.
Tamara Anderson 8:52
Alright guys, we have already talked about how you can stand barefoot, slow down and commune. And now we’re on to our third tip which is, use your senses and give thanks. Another idea when you're out in nature is to use all your senses. How are you feeling? What do you see? What do you hear, and kind of connect and disconnect from everything else you're worrying about in your brain and look at other things and give thanks to God as you're looking at things. I'm so thankful for the sun today, or the rain. I'm thankful that this grass is green. Or maybe you have a little plant in your house and you're like God, I'm thankful for this beautiful little plant.
Tamara Anderson 9:33
A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to go with my daughter down to Southern Utah with a couple of her friends on a senior a little trip after she graduated and it was really fun. And one time while the girls were kind of we'd reached the destination of this beautiful waterfall and Bryce Canyon, and the girls were kind of hopping around on the rocks and all that stuff. And I just went and sat under a tree and on one of the big roots and I was had my hand on the tree and it was so peaceful. I just felt peace there watching the waterfalls sitting under the tree. And I just remember thinking this is what connection to God can look like. It can be sitting under a tree looking at a beautiful place and just connecting with God in that moment. And I did I thanked him for that beautiful scene that I was able to see it and feel it and touch it and just call myself enough to enjoy the moment. And it made waiting for these girls so much more pleasant because I entered it with a spirit of gratitude. And so as you take time to appreciate nature and connect with God through nature, that is, the third part that I'd like to invite you to consider is to be thankful to him. As you look at as you experience as you touch as you feel, as you look at Grand mountains or deserts, there's beauty to be found in every part of God's creation if we look for it, and are grateful for it.
Tamara Anderson 11:04
Alright guys, those are the three tips I wanted to share with you today about communing with God in nature. Just as a reminder they are: stand barefoot for #1. Two, slow down and commune, means connect with God when your sitting in nature. And third, use your senses and give thanks.
And on my next Tamara’s Takeaway we are going to talk about the very next way to increase your connection with God. And it its, I’m going to give you a quick hint: it is about creating. So, stay tuned for that.
Tamara Anderson 11:45
And if you're wondering, okay, Tamara, what is my takeaway from today? How can I connect to God? I would invite you to find a moment where you can go out in nature and say a prayer and just be grateful. Feel of His love and feel of his peace by enjoying the beautiful creations all around you.
Tamara Anderson 12:02
So thank you for joining me today. If you want to go online again and download this beautiful infographic with the seven ways to connect with God. It will give you some ideas, super simple ideas of ways that you can connect him anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Hope on my friends!
Tamara Anderson 12:21
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time, and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website stories of hope podcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know, if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this episode with them. Maybe there was a story shared or quote or a scripture verse that they really, really neat to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you are struggling with hope to carry on and have the strength to keep going. When things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all else Remember God loves you!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai