Outdoor Object Lesson 88: Self-Control, Man's Best Friend

Key Verse

“Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (WEB)

Lesson

Dogs are man’s best friend. It has been this way for thousands of years. There is something mysterious yet undeniable about it. Dogs are able to bond with their masters unlike most other animals. There is no other animal as popular for a pet as a dog. One of the key reasons for this is their faithfulness. Dogs can be faithful to their masters even to the point of laying down their life for their owner. Another reason is their usefulness. Dogs are capable of being trained to do numerous tasks. Dogs are incredibly smart and able to learn a wide variety of complex commands. Also, there are numerous dog breads with a wide variety of looks and temperaments. According to the American Kennel Club there are over 340 dog breads around the world. This variety means owners have many options to choose which size, color, temperament or other features suit their needs or desires.

Humans and dogs have a lot in common. Like humans, dogs can read facial expressions, display empathy, jealousy, anger and joy. They can show favoritism to one person over another. They can cooperate with us and with other dogs to accomplish a common task. Dogs are incredibly good at living with humans because they are social animals. In the wild, dogs are pack animals, and this makes forming a social bond with humans natural. Perhaps the biggest reason the two species get along so well is because we have more in common than different. Like humans, dogs have personal preferences and unique personalities. Dogs have been compared to human children in their intelligence and emotional expression. We understand each other well. It also helps that dogs are so loyal. They love us no matter what.

A recent study looking at humans and dogs found another interesting comparison. Both dogs and humans can exercise high levels of self-control. We are both able to control and resist impulses to do things that are not beneficial. This is an important skill for survival. It is key for forming and maintaining social bonds. The most surprising finding that resulted from the study was that after exerting self-control for a period of time, both humans and dogs had a diminishing ability to control their impulses. After resisting their impulses for an extended period in one area humans and dogs were more likely to give into their impulses in another area, to act more aggressively, and to have increased difficulty with problem solving. Basically, the longer they had to engage self-control, the harder it was to resist temptation.1

There is a spiritual lesson here for us humans to learn. The Bible informs us that we will face temptation in this life to do evil. Satan is constantly working to trick us into doing things we know are wrong. Paul tells us that we are in a war against our own impulses to do evil. It is something that we must fight every day. The Bible also warns us not to put ourselves into a place where we know we will be tempted. In the key verse we are warned that hanging out with the wrong crowd will make it hard for us to stick to good morals. If your friends are doing things you know are wrong, things that you are tempted to do, than staying around them is going to make it even harder for you to exercise self-control. The lesson here is that we should avoid putting our self in to tempting situations. As the study demonstrated, the longer we have to exert self-control, the more likely we will give in. We should avoid putting ourselves near temptation when possible. When it is not, God will give us power to resist. This quote states it well, “Those who operate through the Holy Spirit are more equipped to resist temptation.” – Monica Johnson

Questions

What is your favorite kind of dog?

Is it wrong to struggle with temptation?

What methods does the Bible provide for resisting temptation?

When will temptation go away?



Sources

1. Stanley Coren, “Self-Control in Dogs Is a Limited Resource,” Psychology Today online, last updated July 16, 2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201407/self-control-in-dogs-is-limited-resource.



Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: Pexels via www.pixabay.com

Outdoor Object Lesson 75: A Camel's Burden

Key Text

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 (WEB)

Lesson

What has four legs, a long neck, and a hump? If you guessed a camel than you are correct. Camels are instantly recognizable for their unique shape and iconic hump. They are truly amazing animals with features that allow them to survive and thrive in harsh, barren deserts. Camels are best known for their legendary ability to survive a long time without needing to drink water. Camels routinely go several days or more without drinking any water. Even more surprising is that they can go for several months without any food! How do they do that?

Many people mistakenly think camels store water in their humps. Rather, fat is stored in their humps and provides energy when they go without food. Camels do not have a large empty space in their body to store extra water like some internal water battle. Instead their body (specifically their cardiovascular system, kidneys, and other organs) is extremely efficient at retaining and managing water. God gave camels special tools to enable them to go without water for many days. This ability makes camels very important animals for people who live in desert places.

Camels are mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament as a means of transportation. Jesus would have been very familiar with camels. He may have even ridden one. Camels are still an important means of transportation in Israel and the Middle East today. They carry heavy burdens for their owners. But if you have ever seen a picture of a camel, then you may remember they have very long legs! Most camels are 5-7 feet (1.6-2 meters) high and are taller than many horses.1 So how does an owner put a camels burden on and take it off each day?

In the morning, the camel must kneel down so that its owner can load the days burden onto its back. A good owner knows just how much the camel can carry for the days journey. After being loaded the camel gets up again to carry his burden for the day. The camel then simply follows his owner who has the greater burden of leading the way safely through the desert. At the end of the day, the camel kneels down again so his owner can remove the burden and the camel can rest. This is exactly how it is when we follow Jesus. When Jesus is our owner he promises to bear our burdens (Psalm 68:19). In turn he asks us to bear his burdens. He will take responsibility for leading us through the desert of life. He says in the key text that when we take his burden that he will place them on us gently. He also promises to give us rest from our burdens, all we must do is simple kneel each night and let him remove them.

Questions

Have you ever seen a camel in real life? If so what did you think about it?

How do we kneel down and let Jesus remove our burdens?

What did Jesus mean in the key text (Matthew 11:29) when he said take my yoke upon you?

Do you think it is easier to bear the burden Jesus gives us?



Sources:

1: “Camel,” San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants online, accessed October 7, 2018. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/camel.



Written by David F. Garner

Photo credit: dimitrisvetsikas1969 via www.pixabay.com

Activities: Ideas To Get Your Kids Outside!

How can you get your kids outdoors? This is an important question! Recent research along with common sense suggests that today's kids spend too much time inside. Checkout these quotes from high profile sources:

“Increasing evidence demonstrates the many benefits of nature on children's psychological and physical well-being, including reduced stress, greater physical health, more creativity and improved concentration.” – American Psychological Association1

“research suggests that children disproportionately suffer the long-term developmental consequences of limited experiences in nature…” – National Institute of Health2

“The natural stimulation of being outside seems to replenish mind.... It re-energizes the part of the brain that controls concentration, checks urges and delays gratification.” – The Washington Post3

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Lack of outdoor time has become such an issue that governments and schools are acting to help get kids back outside. The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act included for the first-time Federal funding available for school programs that incorporate outdoor learning through environmental education. Many states have No Child Left Inside programs. Forrest Kindergarten programs are becoming more popular. Nearly every State and Federal Park and many local parks offer programs designed specifically for kids. Our kids seem to be going outside on their own less and less, so programs help to reverse that trend. Parents, teachers, and youth leaders can help to get kids outside. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started.

1. Create a Green Hour each day that your child spends outside, weather permitting.

2. Try different activities until your child finds something they really enjoy. Keep doing new activities from time to time.

Here are some activity ideas to try:

Take children to the park and go on a scavenger hunt. This is a great introduction for children who don't spend much time outside to show them it can be fun.

Get guidebooks that can be used to identify trees, birds, rocks, or other items in the yard. There are also apps that can help in identifying.

Start a photo album or PowerPoint of pictures taken outdoors of birds, flowers or the weather. Identify and label each one.

Build a fort in the yard. Learn about wilderness survival skills and practice them outdoors. Spend the night in the fort or emergency shelter.

Make a map of your yard or community. They can make it as detailed as they like in the sand or on paper. Help them use a compass to make it more accurate.

Put up a feeder, house, or bath for birds or squirrels or insects. Bat houses are also common. Research what type of feed or houses are best for different species in your area. Learn how to make your own feeders or houses.

Collect samples of natural objects. Make a poster identifying what was collected.

Learn to identify cloud types and predict the weather. Gather some weather tools such as a thermometer to track the weather and learn to predict it.

Star gaze at night. Learn to identify the them and their movements. Consider getting a telescope or joining an astronomy club and using theirs.

Plan a camping trip in your own yard or a local campground. Learn what all you need to go camping and pack everything. If camping in your yard, consider staying out of the house until the next morning. This will make it more realistic.

Get some typical outdoor toys like a bicycle, scooter, jump rope, frisbee, basketball hoop, or trampoline for your child. Ask them which they like. These items don't have to be new.

Go for an evening or morning walk for 20-30 minutes. This is another great family activity. Play I-spy along the way.

Let your child play in puddles or in the mud. Most kids love to do this especially after it rains. Be sure use old clothes.

Plant a garden of food or flowers in your yard or in pots. Consider getting your child involved in a local community garden.

Pick your own food. At certain times of the year many farms allow the public to come and pick their own produce such as berries. Afterword make a delicious recipe.

Create nature art. Let your child collect several natural items like leaves, rocks, shells. Then do an art project such as decorating a flower pot, making a collage, or preserving them. Similarly, create art outside with sidewalk chalk or painting.

Create a sensory journal. Try to see how many different colors, smells, sounds, or textures your child can find. Have them record and describe each one and identify what made it. Don't include taste, you don't want a child to lick something poisonous.

Learn some outdoor games like hide and seek or lawn games like corn hole. Play these once or twice a week with your child or teach them to play with others. There are hundreds of games that can be played outside. Look for new ideas online or in a book. Consider enrolling your child in an organized sport like soccer.

Get your child a magnifying glass kit. Have them log or journal their discoveries. They can also draw what they see. Alternatively try a microscope kit.



Give your child some outside chores like tending the lawn, weeding, picking up trash, washing the car, or raking leaves.

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Written by David F. Garner




References:

1 Amy Novotney. “Getting back to the great outdoors” (March 2008). Monitor. 2008;39(3):52. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/03/outdoors.aspx.

2 Susan Strife and Liam Downey. “Childhood Development and Access to Nature: A New Direction for Environmental Inequality Research.” Organization & Environment. 2009;22(1):99-122. doi:10.1177/1086026609333340. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3162362/.

3 Shannon Brescher Shea. “How gardening can help build healthier, happier kids.” The Washington Post. 28 July, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/how-gardening-can-help-build-healthier-happier-kids/2017/07/17/d9047164-6599-11e7-8eb5-cbccc2e7bfbf_story.html.

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 30: Butterly Progress

Photo Credit: David F. Garner

Key Verse

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 WEB

Lesson

Butterflies are beautiful. Have you ever wondered where they got this name? It is because in England the first butterfly to hatch in the spring is completely yellow, the color of butter.₁ Butterfly’s are amazing too. Did you know they smell with their antenna and taste with their feet? It’s a good thing we don’t taste with our feet! Butterflies cannot hear though. They feel small vibrations to sense danger. The Monarch butterfly migrates over 1800 miles (3000km) every year. Butterflies are impressive creatures and important too. They are the second largest pollinators of flowers next to bees.₂ Without them we would not have as much food.

Butterflies do not hatch beautiful and colorful though. They must go through three other stages before they become butterflies. They begin as small defenseless eggs. They hatch into small caterpillars with no wings (larva stage). As caterpillars they can only eat a few kinds of leaves. So it is vital that the mother lays the eggs on the correct plant or they will die. As caterpillars they eat and grow. Then they go through a process called metamorphosis in a chrysalis, similar to a cocoon. This is the pupa stage. In metamorphosis their entire body, tissue, limbs, and organs all completely change. Then they emerge from the chrysalis beautiful butterflies.

As humans we share many similarities with the life cycle of butterflies. We are born as defenseless babies. We must be given food like the newborn caterpillars. We must be patient and grow to become something great. This is called progress. In our spiritual lives we must grow one stage at a time. Spiritual progress or growth means beginning small and growing one day at a time. We must face new challenges that will test and strengthen our faith in God. This is the only way to become a beautiful child of God.

The heroes of the Bible all grew slowly into great followers of God. King David, Job, Abraham, Mary, Queen Ester, and many others understood the principle of spiritual progress. As Paul says in Philippians 1:6, He who started a good work in you when you accepted Jesus into your heart will complete it. And he said in Philippians 3:14 that we must press on toward the goal to receive the high calling of Jesus just as the caterpillar must press on to become all that God intended it to be.

Questions

What is the most beautiful butterfly you have ever seen? Describe it.

What does spiritual progress or growth mean for a Christian?

What do we need to do to make sure we are growing spiritually?

How do we know that we are growing and progressing spiritually?

Sources

1 http://www.lbc.co.uk/why-is-a-butterfly-so-called-8558

2 http://www.wafdc.org.au/kids/amazing-facts-about-butterflies