Door Creek Church Hikes Devil's Lake State Park

For the month of July, Door Creek Church is doing a sermon series titled, "Creation Calls." On our church website it reads, "In this four-week series, we'll explore how Scripture invites us to see nature not just as beautiful but as a vibrant witness to the glory of God. Join us as we learn to encounter the Creator through His creation and embrace simple, soul-renewing practices that help us connect with Him."

In his message last Sunday, Pastor Jamie Thompson said that God reveals Himself to us in two ways. We learn about God in His word and through His creation. 

The first sentence in the Bible reads, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."(Genesis 1:1) All of creation points to God and shows us His power, His holiness, and His incredible love for each of us.

As a fun way for us to experience God's Creation together,  Pastor Jamie and the Door Creek staff arranged a hike at Devil's Lake. We met at the Rock Elm Shelter on Saturday morning and received a map of the various trails, hikes and walks. Pastor Jamie began with a devotion before sending us out to explore the park.

Greg and I chose the East Bluff hike. Greg had hiked some of this trail with our son, Jamie, but it was new to me. As a bonus, a section of this trail included the Ice Age Trail so we added a few miles to those we have logged so far.  


Since it had rained Friday, the trail was a bit slippery. It was a cloudy morning so our climb wasn't too bad although we did have to deal with the humidity. The trail was rocky in spots and continued upward, giving us a good workout.  The views from the overlooks were amazing. As we neared the south end of the trail, we decided to take the Balanced Rock Trail down to the lakeshore. What a challenge that was! (Reading about this trail after we hiked it made us realize that we should have started at the bottom.) Climbing down this steep and very rocky path was quite an experience. I felt dizzy and nauseous and needed to take several breaks on our way down. Once we reached the lakeshore, we followed the boardwalk around the south side of the lake and then headed north along Tumbled Rock Trails back to the shelter for a picnic lunch. We had great views of the lake as we walked through pine forests and passed huge areas filled with fallen rocks.





Greg has travelled extensively over the course of his career. At last count, he has visited 27 countries. He has been to 46 states - the only ones he still needs to see are Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota. As we hiked at Devil's Lake State Park and witnessed the beauty of  God's creation, Greg commented, "In all the places I have been, I don't think I have seen any place more beautiful than this."


"They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."
Isaiah 61:3
 

"Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy."
Psalm 96:12






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