Outdoor Object Lesson 79: A Thanks Giving Turkey

Key Text

“Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; for his loving kindness endures forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭136:26‬ ‭(WEB‬‬)

Lesson

“Gobble, gobble.” That unique sound is unmistakably the sound of a turkey. Turkeys are most notably associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. If you have ever had the pleasure to see live turkeys then you know they are interesting birds. Wild turkeys live all over the North American continent. They are native to this land. They usually live in wooded habitats and like to frequent fields and meadows. They spend most of their day looking for food which includes seeds, grass, insects and most anything they can eat. At night they roost up in the branches of trees safely above their predators. You may be surprised to learn that turkeys can fly. They can run 25 miles per hour (40.2 kph) and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour (88.5 kph)!

In the spring time hens (female turkey’s) make nests on the ground often at the base of trees to raise their young. After poults (turkey chicks) hatch they grow quickly and are big enough to roost in trees at two to four weeks old. The poults join their mothers in her flock. Turkeys separate themselves into different groups called flocks based on gender and age. The mature gobblers (adult male turkey) are in their own flock, the young hens with chicks are in another, the older hens are in a third flock, and the young males are in a forth. Each flock is a close group that stick together and watch out for one another. These smaller flocks move independently through the forest but stay close to the others forming a large flock.

As the flocks roam the forests looking for food they continually gobble to each other to keep track of their flock-mates. They also work together to watch out for danger. When danger is sensed the entire flock becomes very silent to avoid detection. During mating season in the spring there is much gobbling by all the turkeys and especially the males. Their gobble is the most distinct.1 Turkeys gobble a lot to communicate about various things. It is hard to decipher exactly what turkeys say when they gobble. An interesting connection is how the weather affects their gobbling. Some recent research seems to suggest that turkeys gobble most between the mild temperatures of 60-69° F (15.6-20.6° C). They also gobble most with a light breeze between 3-6 mph (4.8-9.7 kph) and are almost silent with winds over 12 mph (19 kph). They also gobble less when the barometric pressure drops to levels that indicate rain and more when it indicates mostly clear sky’s. It’s as if the turkeys can’t help but give thanks to the Creator for good weather. They talk the most during cool temperatures with a slight breeze and little to no rain. What creature could live outdoors and not give thanks to God for every moment of good weather!2

Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from the turkey about giving thanks. It is not something to do only once a year at the Thanksgiving holiday. Nor is it something to do only when we receive a big blessing or have our prayers answered the way we want. We receive numerous blessing each day from our Father. We can be thankful for each of those blessings every day, even simple blessing like good weather. We always have a reason to give thanks to God. One good reason is that God’s love for us endures forever, just as it says in the key text. We should give thanks to God no matter what, even for the difficult things we go through (1 Thessalonians 5:18, James 1:2). God brings the good weather and the storm and he is with us in both. That is reason enough to praise him every day!

Questions

Where did you see your first turkey?

How do you give thanks to God?

Should I give thanks to God even if I don’t feel like it?

What can a Christian do when they don’t feel like God is near?



1. “Wild Turkey Behavior.” (2018). National Wild Turkey Federation online. Accessed November 22, 2018 from https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/behavior.

2. David Hart. “The Science of Gobbling.” (2018). National Wild Turkey Federation online. Accessed November 22, 2018 from https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/article/the-science-of-gobbling.

The Thanksgivings

We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here to praise Him. 

We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth. 

We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products to live on. 

We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs for our lands. 

We thank Him for all the animals on the earth. 

We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming from them for us all. 

We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows for our shelter. 

We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder and lightning that water the earth. We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun that works for our good. 

We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines. 

We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank all its trees. 

We thank Him for the darkness that gives us rest, and for the kind Being of the darkness that gives us light, the moon. 

We thank Him for the bright spots in the skies that give us signs, the stars. 

We give Him thanks for our supporters, who had charge of our harvests. 

We give thanks that the voice of the Great Spirit can still be heard through the words of Ga-ne-o-di-o. We thank the Great Spirit that we have the privilege of this pleasant occasion. 

We give thanks for the persons who can sing the Great Spirit’s music, and hope they will be privileged to continue in his faith. 

We thank the Great Spirit for all the persons who perform the ceremonies on this occasion.

Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer

By Harriet Maxwell Converse

Christian Outdoor Activity Lesson: T.A.G. Time

Key Verse

“You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 WEB

Activity

T.A.G. Time or Time Alone with God.

Note: Scouting the location beforehand is advisable.
Activity Type:

Experiential

Time:

1-1.5 hours. Include 5 minutes to brief and set scene for group, then solo time of 60 minutes. Finally, 15-20 minutes of discussion/debrief at end (this is optional).

Age Group & Size:

Participants 14+ years of age are ideal a 1-1.5 hour session. For younger participants choose a 15-30 minute session instead. This activity can be done with any group size as long as there is enough staff to supervise and keep everyone in the boundaries to avoid getting lost.

Materials:

A patch of nature. For example: night-time on a hill, sunrise, sunset, or most any natural location, especially by a river, pond, ocean or other body of water. Potentially add background music to set meditative or worshipful state. You can also pass out paper and pencils and tell participants to write something or have them use a journal or Bible. See Variations below.

Goal:

We are rarely still in nature. The goal is to encourage participants to commune with God in his creation undistracted. This is Biblical style meditation.

Instructions:

Visit a natural place that is conveniently available. Spend one hour in silence. Simply observe and be. Encourage participants to relax and enjoy the silence and connect with their Creator.

Try to ensure there are no pressing activities on people's minds (cooking, cleaning, etc.). Take care of these things in advance so participants are less distracted. Explain that participants are to spend an hour alone in nature. In today's society, just being in nature is a surprisingly rare event and most people will appreciate the experience.

Avoid giving much up front information about the experience, so that it is more "raw" and "natural". Be sure to give instructions on boundaries and distance. Tell participants to be safe and avoid being on cliff edge or up in trees as no one will come looking for them for an hour. Allow each person to find a place on their own. They can be within sight of each other or farther away and more alone depending on the space available and age group.

After approximately 1 hour, walk around and indicate for the group to come back together. Doing this is preferable to shouting as it preserves the mood for a debrief. Debrief: Form a circle and facilitate the group in sharing their experiences and thoughts about spending time in nature.

Variations:

Shorten the time to 30 or 15 minutes for various age groups or for daily personal devotions on a trip.
Have participants contemplate one or two questions. These can be connected with a theme. See this list of discussion questions and have participants share their answers in the debrief.
Play calming background music. Well-chosen music can significantly deepen the experience, helping alter people's brain waves into achieving a more calm, worshipful state. This is a great place for hymns or nature sounds music.
Allow participants to write or draw.
Besides different natural locations, try other places for an hour of silence such as church or meditation room, a playground, top floor of a building or mountain, looking over a city, etc.
Try different times like nighttime, moonrise, sunrise, sunset, etc.
Provide verbal or written "meditations", e.g., quotes, verses, etc.

For a similar activity type See Solo Walk.

Questions

How comfortable are you with silence?

Can you listen to yourself? To the Holy Spirit?

Do you recognize respectful silence?

Do you experience a silent time at home? What would it be like if you asked for some silence at school or work?

Possible lessons to draw from this activity.

Silence is an unused tool that is very effective in all kinds of ways. Most people have little true silence in their lives, yet it provides considerable peacefulness. Using the key verse talk about how being alone in nature helps to remove all the distractions that keep us from seeking God with all our hearts. Briefly describe how Jesus often spent time alone in silence and prayer with the Father, see Luke 5:16.

Written by David F. Garner
Photo Credit: lecreusois