Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Many of the flowers in our garden are in full bloom right now, including this cosmos plant, which is enjoying its second round of blossoms this season. As you can see, it has become quite the attraction, especially among the local bee population.

I took this photo early in the morning, just as the sun began peeking over the fence. While much of the garden was still waking up, this bee was already hard at work, gathering pollen from the freshly opened blooms.

In fact, many of the flowering plants were already buzzing with activity. I could tell simply by standing still and listening. The gentle hum of dozens of busy workers filled the air as they diligently collected what they needed for the day.

In that quiet moment, I could “see” Him. Not in the sense of a physical being in front of me, but in seeing the evidence of His design everywhere around me. God created the flower. He created the bee. He designed the flower to produce pollen, and the bee with the instinct to gather it. He established an intricate process where pollen and nectar are collected, transformed, and ultimately used to nourish the next generation within the hive. Every step reveals intention, purpose, and design.

With that in mind, consider this: How do you think God feels about you?

Take a moment before answering.

The same God who carefully designed a flower to attract a bee, who provided pollen for that bee to gather, and who created a process that sustains and grows an entire hive, is the God who created you. If He invests that much care and attention into a single insect and a single flower, how much more must He care for those made in His image?

God is the Master of the universe, yet He is attentive to every corner of His creation. Sometimes, all it takes is a moment of stillness to recognize the evidence of His love surrounding us. When we slow down enough to listen, our Creator is often ready to remind us of just how deeply we are known, valued, and loved.

Maybe today, that reminder comes in the form of a simple buzzing messenger among the flowers.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, July 21, 2026

It was close to dusk as we floated down the margins of a slow moving river.  There in the overhanging branches hunched a Nanking Night Heron, the ideal setting for this crepuscular bird.  Also referred to as the Rufus Night Heron, this name may be misleading, for it is not strictly nocturnal, sometimes feeding during the day, particularly during wet weather.   Besides Australia, this bird is also found in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Melanesia.

So why is the title “Nanking” included as part of the bird’s name?   Its range is far south of China so why should the name of a Chinese city be given as part of its title?  The answer goes back to Victorian times when cloth was imported from Nanking. This cotton fabric, known as nankeen, was buff or yellow-colored which John Gould, who named the bird, apparently thought resembled the color of its plumage.  To make matters worse, its scientific name literally means “Scottish Nightraven”, a title that strains the imagination to justify.

Contrast this with a name from the Bible which is rather familiar to us, the name of Methuselah’s father, Enoch.  We know very little of this ancient man except that he walked with God and was apparently translated, and his Hebrew name, חֲנוֹך Chanokh, meant dedicated.  Now that’s a name that’s truly easy to understand, a dedicated man who walked with God.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch

Sunday and Monday, July 19 and 20, 2026

I woke up this morning with a TV clip from long ago in my head: a drill sergeant haranguing a new batch of raw recruits with his barked out, “I can’t HEAR you!”

A rather odd way for me to start the day; usually a song is playing in my mind when I surface from sleep.

But these four words have provided much food for thought, enough that I needed two photos to illustrate what stirred in my mind. (My thanks to my husband, who willingly posed for these photos – the kindest of men!)

I thought about God, and I thought about us, and how we experience hearing each other. I remember so many times in the Psalms when a voice cries out for help, begging God to hear, to pay attention, to answer. Here’s one of the many:

Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
(Psalm 102:1-2 NIV)

Does God turn His back on us, plug His ears so He won’t be bothered with us? Does He refuse to hear us? If so, we’re sunk! As the song I learned long ago asks, “Where could I go but to the Lord?”

Just as there are many instances in the Psalms when we hear the plea to be heard, there are also many times when the psalmist speaks out in confidence that God is a good listener, unless we are cherishing sin in our hearts. Sin seems to stir up static.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
(Psalm 66:16-20)

This last verse reminded me of a quote from David W. Augsburger, a pastor, author, theologian, counselor, and teacher. I had the privilege of hearing him speak once, forty-four years ago, on how to handle conflict. He was a well-respected peacemaker.

Perhaps his most often-quoted sentence is this:

“Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable.”

Every time I read that (and I have it pinned to my bulletin board so that I see it often), I resolve once again to try to really hear people. I can think of so many, many times in my life when I felt heard, and I definitely felt loved.

Another Augsburger quote which is not as well-known, but follows the same thought is,

“The golden rule of friendship is to listen to others as you would have them listen to you.”

Looking back at my two photos makes me think of how I listen to God. Or not. I have heard myself praying, rather pitifully, “I need to hear from you, God, but please answer in a way that is not painful!” I want to hear what I want to hear! Sometimes I need to check to see if my fingers are figuratively stuck in my ears.

I never see God as a drill sergeant, but I wonder if He sometimes is saying to us, wistfully, “I can’t hear you . . .” As we step out into this brand-new week, we can confide in the One who created us and redeemed us and is coming again for us – and who waits to hear from us.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, July 18, 2026

This past Tuesday I finally decided that the orange tire-pressure light on my Toyota’s instrument display panel was not going to wink back off on its own. I’d been giving uneasy glances at the front left tire, which was almost certainly the culprit, since its load of air was obviously leaking away. I’d even re-inflated it with a small air-compressor I carry in the trunk, but the leak resumed.

So I drove gingerly down to the dealer (and made it safely), lined up in the queue of cars waiting for service, and came and stood beside the sign you see in the photo above.

As I gazed at the words, their meaning began to go far deeper than a customer-service message. Please wait here!  In other words, wait your turn! Don’t go barging up to just any customer-service kiosk you want to. Get in line. Be patient. We’ll get to you.

Isn’t that something like Heaven’s message to us, as gravity continues to clamp us to this planet’s crust? I know you’re getting weary of waiting, but hold on a little longer. Wait here – not somewhere else, not in a monastery or convent, not in a wilderness cave. Wait here . . . among My other children. Help them to join you in waiting with patience and courage.

Patience may just be Heaven’s most splendid quality. Think of the day you were born. God could have ended human history a couple of years earlier! Aren’t you glad He didn’t?

Patience, incidentally, is one of the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit. To review, or learn more about, this Godlike quality, click the following link:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, July 17, 2026

Thursday afternoon Shelley and I stopped in at a Fred Meyer store to shop for groceries. I’d just turned off my engine when a battered car rolled up in the space beside me. The guy who got out must have been in his early thirties, an intelligent-looking redhead with a crewcut. He gave me a quick, curious glance and strode into the store.

As I emerged from our car, I caught sight of something on his car’s dashboard. It was a thumb piano (also known as a kalimba or mbira). I actually have one myself, built by a relative of Shelley’s. Its flat metal “tines” are alternately arranged in a “staggered scale,” which allows the player to produce chords as well as individual notes.

Instantly, the sight of the thumb piano gave this car a personality it wouldn’t otherwise have had for me. Who was the redhead who drove this car? Did he carry this instrument around with him so he could play music whenever he wanted? And why does he leave it on the car’s dash, in the sunlight, which is probably the reason for the widening split running from the hole to the edge of the box?

The Bible tells several fascinating stories about David, whose rise from shepherd to king is a heartwarmingly complicated story. He seems to have carried his harp with him out to the pasture, and it may have been while trying to soothe his sheep to sleep with music that he wrote his most famous psalm. As you read the words, try to imagine the sound of David’s harp, as he honored His Creator in song:

Psalm 23 [NKJV]
A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, July 16, 2026

These Canadian geese are heading out for an evening swim. We saw them do this on both the evenings we were there. It might be a regular activity for them.

It is interesting to view creatures spending time together even if they are wild animals. This scene got me thinking about nature and creation.  The following verse describing Jesus has an interesting phrase related to nature.

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.
Hebrews 2:10

It reminds us that all things exist through God. We can take comfort in knowing that God has a plan for us. Even when things are stressful and problems seem insurmountable, we can step back and know that Jesus understands his creation. Hopefully there are peaceful times where we can spend time reflecting and renewing our thoughts like these geese seem to be doing.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of taking a hot-air balloon flight. If you’ve never experienced it, let me tell you, it’s not an exact science.

To put it into perspective, before we ever left the ground, the pilot filled several small helium balloons, similar to party balloons, and released them into the sky to study the wind currents. In total, we launched six balloons from three different locations, carefully watching them climb higher and drift across the horizon. Once the pilot was satisfied with what he saw, he gave the signal to inflate the “big one” and invited us to climb aboard.

From our launch site, we spent about 40 minutes in the air. We landed roughly 100 meters from our intended target and about four miles from where we had taken off. At our fastest, we traveled about six miles per hour. More than once, it felt as though we were simply suspended in place, hovering quietly above the world below.

The experience was magical.

There was no rush of adrenaline, no sense of danger or excitement. Instead, it was peaceful. Calm. Almost surreal.

For those who don’t care for heights, I understand the hesitation. I’m not exactly fond of heights myself, although I’ve never let that stop me from climbing mountains or jumping off things now and then. Even so, I expected this flight to feel more thrilling. What I discovered was the exact opposite.

Looking out across more than 80 miles of landscape was breathtaking. From our vantage point above Snohomish, Washington, we could see Everett, Bellevue, Seattle, Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, and everything in between. The familiar suddenly appeared different.

Perspective has a way of doing that.

As I reflected on the title of this entry, Onward and Upward, I couldn’t help but think about how much of life is spent navigating change. There are adjustments to make, decisions to consider, and challenges to overcome. At times, the view from the ground can feel overwhelming.

The good news is that we were never meant to navigate it alone.

We have a loving Father who walks beside us every step of the way. When we invite Him into the process, He provides something we often cannot find on our own: perspective. His view is higher than ours. His direction is clearer. His presence brings peace even when the path ahead seems uncertain.

As we floated above Snohomish, I trusted the pilot’s experience and guidance. He understood the winds, the currents, and the destination better than I ever could. My role was simply to climb aboard and trust the journey.

In much the same way, our true Pilot invites us to trust Him. He sees what we cannot see and knows where He is leading us. When we choose to follow His direction, we find the confidence to keep moving forward, knowing that He is in control.

And with Him right alongside , we can continue moving onward and upward.