So many times in the world we live, we hear about awful things happening to the forests and to the environment as a whole. We hear about people who cut down entire sections of trees to make way for condos or for a new hotel. While these things aren't good and destroy the environment, there's a bigger issue facing our culture in terms of the nature that surrounds us. More and more kids, young adults and otherwise are spending their time in their house not actually experiencing the natural world God has laid out for us.

As a child, I spent days in the woods for long stretches of time. At one point, my friends and I spent a night out in the woods, just on our own in a fort made out of rocks, branches and twine. The natural world is an incredible place, filled with creatures and plants that would cause most children to forgo their electronic worlds and dive into the places of the world less traveled. Sadly, right now many children are engulfed with their cell phones or their iPads. This isn't to say that it's necessarily a bad thing to have better ways of communicating, but in my opinion, there are priceless lessons to be learned from the natural world in which we live.

Experiencing nature is a gift that God has given us to take and run with. There are many places around the world where people think that nature is the most prominent, and while those places would be great to visit, many people don’t, because of the distance or the money, and they make excuses to not go out and experience nature. The truth is, nature is right around the corner and in your backyard. The truth of the matter is that there's nothing physically in this world that can't be traced back to nature. We can experience nature everywhere and all the time. We just need to get out there and be a part of it.

The things in this world that are experienced through nature are beginning to dwindle. You see more people at home on Facebook then you do outside playing in the woods. Sure, the woods can be dangerous and people use them for the wrong reasons, but we have to remember that God made the woods and made nature as a whole. In order to understand more about Him, we must first understand more about the world He created. God loves to see us invest and take care of the world that He has entrusted to us with its care.

For all of those people who want environmental destruction to stop, I want you to think long and hard about the last time you spent more than a few minutes outside and experiencing the wonderful world God has given us. We have been given a great gift. To be the stewards of the earth that God has entrusted us with. The world we live is a beautiful place to be enjoyed. Spend some time in it.