Daily Photo Parable

Photo ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, May 15, 2026

During my elementary school years I lived on a little farm which had two large cottonwood trees between our house and our barn. Every spring, those cottonwoods would sprout seed pods, which would then burst and send out thousands and thousands of these little puffballs like the one you see in this photo, which Shelley snapped of my hand this past Wednesday.

Actually, earlier that same day I had spotted the first cottonwood seed I’d seen this year. It was drifting past me, so I reached out and grabbed it. It was smaller than the one you see above, but its seed was surrounded by the same gauzy cotton-like substance. Once I had it in my fist, I glanced around me to see if I could spot a cottonwood tree, and there were none in sight.

This means that a cottonwood somewhere had ejected that little puffball, and the wind had carried it to where I was, in the hopes that a new tree would be created. That’s called influence. The original tree would never “meet” the new tree, but the powerful seed, if given the right care, would grow.

A few minutes ago I was on a phone call with a man who told me that a short while before her death, his wife had purchased a new Bible, and had gone through and underlined her favorite verses. When she died, the man eventually gave her Bible away, and he learned that someone is now reading those verses when times of depression come.

Influence. God created cottonwood trees to spread their influence, and has created you to share yours. For four Bible texts on how to do this, click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Thursday, May 14, 2026

We don’t use this little timer anymore. Technology provides us with better and more audible options with which to time our three-minute Boggle game rounds.

It’s a good thing we don’t need to rely on this timer, because it’s stuck. The little white sands aren’t faithfully filtering down. If we give it a firm tap, a few sands trickle down, then stop.

A reluctant timer is not a reliable instrument for measuring time. And being “stuck” sounds like a negative experience to me. However, I’m thinking that even though flipping this timer upside down doesn’t change much, we can flip this scenario by simply changing our words.

What if we say that the timer is simply pausing, or is a symbol of “time standing still”? Can you think of a time when you were experiencing such joy that you wished time could stand still? I can. We often take photos of such times, trying to capture them, so we can re-live them at a glance.

There are times when time does seem to stand still, to not even exist. I know when I am having a very good time, because I am unaware of time.

It’s ironic that this little timer, whose sands are stuck, reminds me of the concept of “flow.”

A friend introduced me to this concept many years ago, with a book written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, sometimes referred to as “the father of flow.” This Hungarian-American psychologist is known for recognizing and naming the concept.

Of the many descriptions I’ve read of flow, I offer this one: “Flow is a state where you are so immersed in an activity that you lose track of time, self-consciousness fades, and you feel a deep sense of purpose and enjoyment. We often identify this as the “optimal experience.” (“What is Flow in Positive Psychology?” 9 Oct 2025 by Laura Copley, Ph.D., LPC)

All this flowing reminds me of a chorus that is usually sung with energetic gestures. The gist of it is: “I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got love like the ocean, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it? It sounds both inspirational and aspirational to me, because my days are not always flowing so freely with peace, love, and joy. But I know Who is the true “Father of flow,” and I know He is eager and willing to provide what I lack.

I think Eden was full of flow. I think that in heaven we will be overflowing with flow! We have joys ahead that we cannot begin to imagine now.

But for now, we have this prayer:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NIV)

Speaking of joy, today is our wedding anniversary. How did forty-eight years flow by so fast? To quote a greeting card I bought many years ago, which may be my all-time favorite greeting card, “I wonder where the years have gone, but never how else I could have spent them.”

Happy Anniversary, my love!

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Can you see it? It’s small. Tiny, even. That’s how I know it’s my cross, not His.

I’ve thought a lot about His cross. I’ve heard about it, read about it, sung about it, and repeatedly thanked Him for enduring it.

I haven’t thought as much about my cross.

Asking myself why, I had a couple of quick answers: 1) I don’t fully understand what my cross is, and 2) I understand enough to not be completely comfortable with having one.

It’s so much easier to praise Jesus for carrying His cross, enduring its shame, all for the love of me. (Although it’s hard to comprehend how He could have counted the cost of His cross and decided I was worth it, that you and I were worth it.)

I needed to shake off my reluctance and understand more about my cross, so I searched the Bible to find all the verses that talk about my cross, not His. I was surprised that there are not that many mentions. I thought there would have been more. I read what Matthew, Mark, and Luke said, in context.

Reading the context was, as always, quite helpful. For instance, in Luke 14 Jesus is recorded as saying:

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. (verse 27, NKJV)

Who’s He talking to? What prompted Jesus to make such a strong statement?

The passage begins a few verses earlier with these words:

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them . . . (verse 25)

I think that Jesus sensed the “need to weed.” If there were great multitudes, the chances are that many (most?) of them did not understand what it meant to fully follow Him. He needed to explain, and make it plain.

So he talks about a man intending to build a tower, but first sitting down and calculating its cost, and a king planning to wage war against another king, but first sitting down and considering how his warriors match up against his foe’s warriors.

Jesus then concludes:

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (verse 33)

He seems to urge those in the great multitudes who “went with Him,” and now us, to consider our lives, to calculate the cost of fully following Jesus – not as an observer, but as a disciple.

After studying this passage in Luke, and the handful of other verses that talk about carrying my cross, I hear Jesus saying that it means I have considered my life, and that I count my love for Him as deeper and more important than my love for anyone or anything else.

How could I decide He deserves second, third, or any other place in my personal world, when He risked death on His cross to open the door to eternal life for me?

The cross in my photo above is tiny, however it is no small thing to choose to fully follow Jesus. But any cross I bear is totally eclipsed by the shadow of His cross.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NKJV)

So we take heart, take up our crosses, and follow the One who endured all, and invites us to:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, May 112, 2026

Making comparisons is often relegated to the realm of the unacceptable.  It’s probably placed there with good intent since comparison is often done to demean or belittle another for the purpose of advancing one’s own position.  That’s understandable.  But comparisons are helpful tools if used properly.  Consider the bird feeder with its willing partakers.  In both pictures a male House Finch is present.  That, along with the feeder itself, is the constant given us.  The variables in the two pictures are the two blue colored birds also enjoying the handout.  In real life, it’s safe to assume the House Finch is relatively the same size in both pictures even though the image size may seem to dictate otherwise.

Which brings us to the identification of those two similar looking blue birds.  A superficial look might lead us to assume they are the same, but look again.  One is considerably larger than the House Finch while the other is somewhat smaller.  Don’t let the size of the image confuse you.  Remember, the finch remains the same size.  It doesn’t fly away to some bush and put on another costume to fool the observer; it’s still the same bird.  Knowing this allows us to confirm the smaller blue bird is an Indigo Bunting while the larger one is a Blue Grosbeak.

In a world that is perpetually changing, we need a constant that we can look to for assistance in finding true worth, true value. God’s law, written long ago, provides us with a standard upon which we can depend.  “Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.” (Deuteronomy 4:4)  Notice, Moses places special emphasis upon the permanence of the law; He specifically states that it is “for all time”.  That’s pretty inclusive, inclusive enough to include today for you and me.

Photo ©2011 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, May 11, 2026

It was late evening (8:26pm) on August 13, 2011, and I was on the shoulder of Mt. Adams. Looking south, I captured this image of Mt. Hood, with Mt. Jefferson photobombing in the background. To the west, I was able to see the flattened top of Mt. St. Helens.

Sunset was at 8:18pm that day. Alpenglow is the phenomenon appearing as a reddish glow on mountain summits, generally visible for ten to fifteen minutes after the sun has dropped below the horizon. Although the most vibrant colors appear immediately after sunset, light may linger through the initial stages of twilight as indirect light scatters off particles in the atmosphere.

It was a wonderful place to be while the Sabbath was waning. It felt as if God was providing a few extra minutes of Sabbath Rest. The people in the small-town church where I grew up would probably have chided me for the effort I expended in getting to this place on the Sabbath.

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions. Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28 NIV).

It was more than a Sabbath-Day’s journey, but the view was more filling than a few heads of grain.

Photo ©2026 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Sunday, May 10, 2026

On this Mother’s day, we are celebrating and appreciating mothers in our families, churches, and communities. Mothers play more roles than we realize, and many women who don’t have kids of their own also provide vital roles of a mother.  In this photo a great grandmother (my mother-in-law) sits with her granddaughter as they chat and look out the window at nature.

We might think about the question of what we can do for mothers that is above and beyond what we normally do on other days. A card with thoughtful words is nice and giving her a break from normal chores is a great idea. I have to chuckle though because would a mother want to get some peace and quiet, or would she want to be with her family? Maybe it depends on how overworked she is but here is guessing that being with family is a common choice.

Whatever you do on this Mother’s day, may it be contemplative, and from the heart. To see an example of God’s love reflected in people let’s look at mothers. If mothers love us with the kind of intensity, self-sacrifice, and long suffering that they clearly do, think of how much God loves each one of us. Like mothers, he never gives up, never stops loving, never stops hoping that we will learn and grow and find true happiness.

With utmost respect and love, Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Sabbath, May 9, 2026

Where would we be without our mothers?

Let that question sink in.

I can answer it simply: we wouldn’t be here without our mothers. It’s true. Of course, there are many elements involved in our existence, but our moms played a significant—and irreplaceable—part in the process.

Sunday, at least here in the United States, we pause to honor and reflect on our own mothers, the mothers of our children, and the mother‑figures who have shaped who we are today. To set the stage, I want to focus on the first two—my mom and my wife, the mother of my children.

Why flowers for this photo parable? Easy. Both of these incredible women genuinely enjoy flowers. It’s hard to say whether they would choose the lilac (yes, it’s technically a tree) or the tulips as their favorite—but if I had to guess, they’d likely choose both, and have both in their own gardens.

The flowers of the lilac tree are unique and beautiful, with a fragrance that can stop you in your tracks. The tulips are vibrant, colorful, and wonderfully diverse. Though different in form and expression, both are intentional, meaningful, and a reflection of thoughtful design—much like motherhood itself.

God is the creator of all things, and He allows us not only to see beauty in His creation, but also to reflect on the deeper meaning behind it.

Have you ever stopped to think about how mothers are represented in the Bible? Scripture goes beyond simply acknowledging women as mothers and presents them in a very different light than many other ancient records. I won’t turn this into a history lesson, but a brief observation is worth noting.

Outside the Bible, motherhood was often viewed primarily as a biological duty or a means of producing heirs. In contrast, the Bible portrays motherhood as a spiritual calling—one remembered by name, not merely by function. We see mothers in scripture whose faith and obedience changed history and played a vital role in God’s plan. He chose them to be part of His story.

As Jesus walked the earth, showing us how to love and live, He intentionally included mothers in His ministry and in the gospel accounts. He consistently saw mothers not just as caregivers, but as people of faith—women whose love, loss, courage, and perseverance matter deeply in the Kingdom of God.

In my own life, my mother and my wife embody that kind of selfless love. They have both sacrificed an incredible amount for their children. I saw it as a child, and I continue to see it as an adult—constantly placing the needs of their children above their own. That level of commitment and devotion does not go unnoticed. I love them deeply for it, and God does as well.

So Sunday, as we remember, reflect on, and celebrate the women in our lives, may you know this: God loves you. You are seen. You are valued. You are incredibly special—to God’s family, and to your own.