Bible Study Verses
Isaiah 35:3-7
Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you." Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, its resting place, grass becomes reeds and rushes. (NASB)
Thoughts
I think I learned the love of the outdoors as much from my mother as from my father. They were not your typical outdoors type. We lived in what we called the "country" in Western Pennsylvania. We weren't poor, but we surely had no money.
One of my parents' favorite things to do was to go to the mountains - this would be up in Emlenton country - certainly not mountains from a Westerner's point of view, but they were mountains to us.
I can vividly remember one particularly hot, sticky summer day that mom took us wading in a mountain stream. It was wonderfully cold. Mom was so enthusiastic about it. She always carried a washcloth to wash us boys up with before the days before things like "Wet Ones.".
Having lived the last 30-some years in the Arizona desert, my love of water and streams has increased more and more. There is hardly anything that I would rather do than to hike into a remote desert stream. You are so hot and thirsty by the time you get there that you think you will faint. Then you get to the stream and it is SO refreshing!
(Dave H)
Action Point
The Lord's Word can be as refreshing as a cool mountain stream. When I need to be refreshed, in addition to these verses from Isaiah, I frequently turn to the Psalms, passages such as Psalm 23 that many of us learned as children. He makes me lie down in green pastures; "He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake," Psalm 23:2-3 (NASB). Leading me beside the water, whether still or not, always restores my soul!
Spend time in God's Word and become refreshed!
Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
If you ever have to hike out of the desert and run out of water, hold up in the shade somewhere until nightfall; then hike out after dark. You will consume much less water and have a better chance of survival. This is especially true if you are not acclimated to desert climates. Always have a hat with you in the desert or make one out of your shirt. | 
