Daily Photo Parable

Photo ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 9, 2025

As a child, intent on darkening in those squares next to the bird’s name on my checklist, I felt frustrated. Frustrated that I was unable to find a Lincoln’s Sparrow, even though it was supposed to reside in the region where I lived. I looked over many Song Sparrows, trying to change them into the desired species which they so closely resembled on the pages of my Peterson’s Field Guide. I was certain that one of those common birds just must be a Lincoln’s. I finally did find my bird, and today the distinction between the two species is fairly obvious due to my exposure and familiarity with both.

But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t surprises under those feathers. I’m now accustomed to seeing them among the brambles and thickets during the wintertime near home. If I wish to see them during nesting season I need to go to higher elevations where I can find them among the alders and willows in moist areas. But that’s not where I was in April. I was in Texas and the Lincoln’s Sparrows were not where they were supposed to be. They were feeding on the ground in what appeared to me to be dry, inhospitable surroundings, very much unlike the setting in which I was accustomed to seeing them.

That same uneasiness comes on me when I read questions like this: How can we be sure we will be able to stand faithful during times of oppression? Uneasiness, because I don’t know exactly how I will react since I’ve never experienced that identical scenario before. Paul’s approach to this question is the best I can do. Philippians 1:20 states it this way: “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” (CSB) The same rule for identifying sparrows applies equally well to life experience. Faithful attention to details now greatly increases the chance of being successful in different circumstances.

Photo ©2005 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, December 8, 2025

For the past 18 years, I have led snowshoe walks for the US Forest Service. The photography snowshoe walk is one that I really enjoy.

I ask each of the photography-walk participants, “What color is snow?” 95% respond, “white”. I follow up with the group, “Why then does the snow look grey or muddy in some of my winter shots?” The answer is a follow-on to last week’s photo parable wherein I introduced the importance of light. If your snow is dingy looking, give it more light. Some photographers recommend as much as two full stops of additional light.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18 KJV).

What color is snow? Snow crystals are translucent. They reflect all the colors of the visible light spectrum. We perceive this to be white.

If your winter photographs look dingy, add more light. If your life feels dark, take another step toward Jesus. He can make you shine like the snow in today’s photo parable.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, December 6 and 7, 2025

This past Tuesday I was heading back to my car in a large parking lot beside a busy intersection. I glanced up and saw what I believe are power poles. There were six wires attached to large ceramic insulators on those poles. What I saw – and I love it when I see this – were dozens of large birds sitting side-by-side on those wires. I snapped a photo of them, and I counted them off by 10s, and I estimate that there were at least 100 birds gathered closely together on those wires.

My photo has those birds silhouetted against a bright sky, so I can’t tell what kind of birds they were (though Robert Howson, our Tuesday Photo Parable blogger, tells me with great certainty that they’re Rock Pigeons, who are a communal species).

You see, even though those powerlines stretch blocks and blocks in either direction those birds wanted to be together. They weren’t exactly touching each other’s shoulders — it looked like there were maybe one or two inches separating each one. But there they were, grouped together – yet they gave each other enough space so they could individually launch out in flight if they wanted to.

I can imagine that if Paul could look at that scene, and if the Corinthian church board happened to be nearby, Paul might’ve said to them, “Hey, church board. Look at those companionable birds. Why can’t you be like that?”

He might have gone on to say, “Sure, when they’re down in the parking lot, those birds are probably pretty competitive for any food they might find there. But here they are, gathered back together, comfortable in each other’s company. No church splits, no offshoots, no rebels, just companionable fellowship.”

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, December 5, 2025

Thursday of this week, mid-morning, I was on my way up I-405 to church to meet with someone I’m giving Bible studies to.

I had just passed the on-ramp which fed cars arriving from I-90, when I was intensely startled to see not just one but a whole line of Tesla trucks! I don’t have all of them in the photo above, because I had already passed at two, but above you can see at least five, all the same silver color.

The nearest Tesla is partially obscured by my busy windshield wiper. Beyond it are two more. Still farther away, just past a merging car of another species, I can spot two more (clue: look for the distinctive horizontal taillights). As I moved closer to them, I discovered that as far as I could tell, none of them had license plates.

Just for kicks, I Googled “Tesla truck convoy,” and sure enough, this happens quite a bit. I watched a few minutes of a Colorado sightseeing convoy which contained 31 Tesla Cybertrucks. It was narrated by one of the truck’s drivers, and we got a view from inside the cockpit. It seems like everyone was having a good time. (And the trucks I noticed had different colors and also sported license plates.)

So I’m not sure what was happening Thursday morning, but it was a joint effort, a show of unity.

Unity is a prized Bible quality, when the project is good. At the link below you’ll see two Bible texts which praise it.

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/unity

Photo ©2025 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, December 4, 2025

The things that strike me about this photo of Mount Rainier are the contrasts created by the mountain. It kind of looks like the plane from where the photo was taken has not gained enough altitude to go over the top. Later on, the plane flew over Mount St. Helens, which is about 6000 feet lower.

Regarding the contrasts which include the white snow and height of the mountain, we might compare that to our lives. I’ve heard it said that a good photo has nice contrast between the light and dark areas.

Consider the following verses.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13

The bright tones might be the zeal, fervor, and joyful hope. The dark tones might be the patience in affliction and sharing with people who are in need. But in all the tones, love is working.

So I’m thinking that to lead attractive lives, we need to practice love in all areas whether it be the grand fun areas or the lower more solemn areas. We can embrace those contrasts and not shun them.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 2, 2025

A few weeks ago, I visited Granite Falls, along the South Fork Stillaguamish River, just outside the town of Granite Falls, WA. As I was taking pictures of the river, the falls, and the surrounding area, it started to rain pretty heavily. I covered my camera and looked for any shelter nearby. I finally found a spot, literally under a small trickle of runoff, underneath a rock outcropping. I positioned myself, and had the view you see in the accompanying image.

For the most part, I was dry, until the rain subsided and I headed back to my car. While under this tiny “rock roof,” I remembered one of the many scriptures that reflect on God’s protection for us. In Psalms 91, we can rest assured of that promise:

(v. 1 & 2) Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

(v. 9 & 10) If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

In my particular situation, I wasn’t in any real danger. In fact, the only danger I was in was related to getting wet and making sure my camera stayed dry. Even so, the fact that I was able to find a small resting place, a shelter, was absolutely a God thing. That’s how He does it – before we can figure out, we need assistance, He has a solution. He knows we need protection before we know it. Thank you, God, for watching over us!

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Question for you: Is it possible to know something without seeing it? Descartes’ answer was his reaction against the empiricism that dominated the thinking of his day. “I think, therefore I am” was his contention that mental awareness of his own existence was sufficient outside of physical stimuli or any measureable evidence.

Let’s try another. Look at the two pictures shown above. Do you know what happened prior to the exposure being taken? What was each bird doing before the shutter was pushed? In the case of the Pyrrhuloxia shown in the first picture, it’s evident the bird was in the process of landing. Its legs and feet are in a position for braking and the body has not yet attained an upright stance. Momentum will take care of that. In the second photograph it’s not quite as clear, but of one thing we can be certain, the Blue Grosbeak, moments before, was at a higher elevation. We gain this unseen understanding from previous experience and prior observation.

Scripture provides us with insight concerning our limitations, especially when compared to our Father’s. “He knows about everyone, everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from him to whom we must explain all that we have done.” (Hebrews 4:13 Living Bible) And the promise to us: “and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 Living Bible) And the good news? That will be sufficient for us.