This summer, Incarnation families are gathering weekly at Alcova Heights Park, or at home, or in another lovely natural spot for a relaxed time of family prayer and nature exploration—read this post for a quick primer. Here are this Sunday’s wonder-worthy scriptures:
Psalm 78:14
In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.
Psalm 36:5-9
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Nature focus: clouds.
Grab a comfy spot on the picnic blanket to cloud gaze, while one or more family members read through Psalm 36:5-9 two or three times.
How big is the love of God? What other thoughts arise from this sky-gazing lectio divina?
Options for wondering all week:
This is a throwback—but I love Third Day's version of “Your Love Oh Lord”!
Learn about the types of clouds and try to identify them throughout the week.
For the preschoolers and preschoolers at heart: cotton ball clouds.
For the Bob Ross fans: paint a happy little cloud.
Have a family game of spotting shapes in the clouds!
Did you know that after God rescued the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, one of the things He used to lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land was . . . a cloud? What must that have been like? How does God lead us and provide for us day to day? Together re-read the Old Testament reading that we’ll have at church this Sunday, Nehemiah 9:19-20:
Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.
P.S. Next week, on Sunday August 9, families will be gathering at Alcova Heights, but my family will be at the beach and I’ll be taking the week off from writing the Wild Wonder prompt and email. Reframe: I’m giving YOU the opportunity to choose your own wonder-worthy scripture! Ideas:
You could revisit any weeks you may have missed (all the blog posts found here).
You can check our worship page by Friday to see if any of Sunday’s readings would be a good fit. Spoiler alert: storm/sea/waves will be a good fit for us at the beach next week.
If I were you, I might re-read Psalm 104 . . . it was so good.
Give one of your older kids the responsibility of organizing prayer time.
You can go through Family Prayer (starting on p. 67 of our BCP) as written.
You can sing “Jesus Loves Me”—or hum "God is so good"—and just enjoy the sunshine!