Summer Adventure 5-Day Reading PlanSample

I keep a book of maps by my bed. But as summer nears, I move them to the bathroom.  As days grow, so does my longing for adventure. Maps are sacred texts. They are a recording of God’s voice from when he called the mountains to rise from the water. Contour lines, peaks, and waterways read like ridges and valleys of fingerprints, left from God forming the world in his hands.  I study maps for what they reveal. But study is not wisdom, and wisdom requires action. Without experiencing God’s creation first hand, I can no more know Him then one who studies the scriptures but does not love his neighbor. 

Adventures make for good stories. The kinds we read. The kinds we live. A good adventure is as simple as a bike ride to gather pine cones in the park, or as complex as an arctic expedition. The important thing is that we go, and we take our kids with us. It’s a time when our kids have our undivided attention, and we have theirs. It’s a time for them to experience God’s handiwork. Pine trees and waterfalls, desert sunrises and ocean sunsets – they speak of a good still at work in this world. 

“There is a higher purpose of adventure. An adventure simultaneously reveals who we are capable of becoming and nudges us in that direction. Even more, an adventure does the same for our children. Before they are plagued with doubts about what they can’t do, a good adventure shows them what they can. And the more they hike the mountain, or cross the river, or stare at the stars, the more they will ask the bigger questions and believe in the bigger version of themselves. On the playground, they wonder if they have the superpowers to overcome their fears; a good adventure will prove that they do.”

We’re called to adventure. We’re made for it. It’s the stirring in our soul when we see a sailboat crossing the Caribbean, or a fly fisherman casting a line in the light of the canyon. It’s the voice that says, “Go.” Our children too hear the call. They wonder what lies beyond the known. We are their guides, helping them hear the voice beyond the wild and understand who it is that is calling them. We’re here to help our children find and live their own adventure. It starts by including them in ours.

Adventure Action Steps

Included in each devotional are simple action steps to launch your next adventure.

• Find three campsites within two hours of where you live.


• If you’re camping with children, download my free FATHER+CHILD SUMMER ADVENTURE GUIDE to help you get started.