Daily Photo Parable

Photo ©2010 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, February 9, 2026

Near the end of August 2010, this tiny chipmunk arrested me. The trail to Gem Lake follows high above the waters of Snow Lake and this small creature, without fear, posed on a rock long enough for me to capture this image. As a volunteer backcountry wilderness ranger for the US Forest Service, I have had encounters with many of God’s creatures. Most of them scurry or gallop away. So, I was glad that this chipmunk joined my library of wilderness photography.

How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things (Psalm 104:24-28 NIV).

When we see one of God’s creatures, it may be tempting to provide them with a small snack from our lunch. This Chipmunk displayed the classic signs of frequent interactions with humans. In those moments of temptation, I encourage you to remember the above passage from the Psalms. Just as the animals look to the Creator to give them their food. We too will be satisfied when we turn toward our Creator and Redeemer in times of hunger.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, February 8, 2026

Every year when I turn the calendar page to this month, I think of the last lines of a poem that’s a friend of mine, and grin. The poem is simply entitled, “February.”¹ In eight brief lines N. M. Bodecker describes the cold, dark days of the shortest month of the year. He concludes:

how nice to know
that February
is something purely
temporary.

When I was scrolling through my February 2025 photos I was surprised to find several snow shots of our front yard and neighborhood – how quickly I forgot! So far, this year has been much milder for us in western Washington, but we know that much of the country has struggled and suffered with snow and ice and frigid cold. These folk might gain a bit of encouragement to remember that, despite appearances, February “is something purely temporary.”

I suddenly thought back to my junior high days when I had to pay painful visits to our family dentist to have my braces tightened. I dreaded those visits, and remember sitting in the chair, mouth open and nerves on edge, muttering to myself, “This, too, shall pass.” I don’t recall where I first heard that sentence, but it seemed custom-designed to get me through my dental visits.

After over three years of this teeth torture, my braces were removed, and as time rolled along we discovered, much to my parents’ and my own distress, that the teeth-straightening results of all those months turned out to be . . . purely temporary. My teeth reverted to their misalignment.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “temporary” as “lasting for a limited time.” That can be a good or bad thing. Good if it describes something bad, and bad if it describes something good!

One thing I know for sure: I don’t want my life to be temporary, lasting for a limited time. I see myself as living forever. I think I have God to thank for that:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts . . . ” (Ecclesiastes 3:11a NKJV)

I know it’s in my heart; I want to live forever! No wonder John 3:16 is the best-known and perhaps best-loved verse in the Bible, with its promise that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Everlasting life . . . eternity.

Have you heard the story of Arthur Stace? You would not have predicted his future if you had known his childhood.  He grew up in very rough circumstances—his parents and sisters were alcoholics and involved in unsavory and criminal activities.  He followed down those same paths, and by age 12 became a ward of the state, having had no formal schooling.  He was jailed for the first time at age 15.  He enlisted in World War I at the age of 26, and returned home partially blind in one eye.

He became a Christian in 1930, when he attended a preaching service in order to get the tea and food offered after.  His life turned around completely after that, and he would preach on street corners for over 20 years.

But two years after his conversion he heard an evangelist speak passionately about eternity, saying:  “Eternity, Eternity, I wish I could sound or shout Eternity through the streets of Sydney . . .”

That word kept ringing through Arthur Stace’s head after he left the meeting, and he said he felt a powerful call from the Lord to write Eternity.

Even though he could scarcely write his own name legibly, when he wrote the word Eternity in chalk on the sidewalk, it came out smoothly, in a beautiful copperplate script.

He wrote that word several mornings a week for the next 35 years, leaving home early in the morning to do it, since he wanted to avoid notice — which he did for 24 of those years.  Even after he was finally discovered he continued his one-word ministry, still getting up early to write that word all over Sydney, wanting people to contemplate their future when they saw it, and turn to the Lord.

For more on Arthur Stace’s amazing ministry and legacy, and to see a photo of his handwritten Eternity, search for Mr. Eternity in your browser and marvel at how he faithfully answered the call he sensed from His Lord.

As we step out into this brand-new week, I invite you to read these verses every morning with me, and perhaps learn them by heart:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

¹ February by N. M. Bodecker – Your Daily Poem

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, February 7, 2026

On a neighborhood walk a couple of weeks ago I angled off on a slightly different route, and noticed for the first time this amazing little tree. Notice how it starts out as an upright trunk, but then its branches suddenly shoot out in all directions, making you wonder whether there’s something wrong. Will this tree survive?

Well, if you’ll take a moment to follow the course of each branch, you see that eventually they veer back toward the center, and the taller and more mature branches have started growing shoots which (in spring and summer) will produce leaves and maybe flowers.

To me, this tree is a parable of how God works with willing human beings. Haven’t you ever had a time (or times) in your life where everything seemed to go off the rails for you? And haven’t you seen the Lord patiently and lovingly urging you to return to Him, so you can grow to your fullest potential?

Click the link below for several Bible verses about encouragement. And yes, they’ll encourage you – that you might be able to encourage someone else with them!

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, February 6, 2026

A few days back my wife Shelley told me that she’d been examining greeting cards in a store, not finding any which suited her purpose at the moment. A nearby woman, who was feeling the same frustration, finally said, “I’m going over to Ace. They have a good supply.”

Shelley, and later I, were startled to learn that our local hardware store stocked this kind of item. And this Thursday, when I told her that I was going over to Ace Hardware to buy some replacement furnace filters, she asked if I could take a photo of the greeting card display.

This is what you see, above. Actually, for Shelley’s greater convenience, I snapped this photo and then swiveled the racks and took another one, and sent them both to her.

I’ll confess that I did a bit of eyebrow-raising during that store visit. I have never once entered a hardware store with Valentine’s Day on my mind. I’m there solely for furnace filters (and in Thursday’s case a roll of electrician’s tape), or duplicate house keys or that kind of thing. These display “spinners” are located right next to the paint section (notice the “Benj” of “Benjamin Moore” peeking out from behind the sale poster?).

Home repair is often why I go to Ace. But a focus group somewhere decided that what might minister to heart repair might dislodge a few additional shekels from the male pocketbook. Or from purses of the females, once word spreads about the colorful spinners.

And of course the Designer of human hearts is supremely interested in both heart and home repair. Want to read seven Bible verses about this? Click the link below.

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/marriage-and-family

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, February 5, 2026

This Cotoneaster bush (pronounced Co-tony-aster) is loaded with berries this year. I’ve read that these are not the first choice for birds to eat, although some birds can eat them without harm if they want. It is a sort of backup food source if needed. They are not edible for people, but can be healthy for birds such as blackbirds and thrushes.

When we consider the abundance of support that God provides, we might consider how we treat God like a backup instead of a front-line support. This reminds me of these verses.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:7-10

I like how Jesus offers a full life, and anything else is robbing us of that. Let’s resolve to take advantage of God’s offer as our front line.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 

A couple weeks back, I was strolling through our neighborhood when I noticed the frost on these fallen leaves. In both images, you can see how the ice crystals formed along the ridges and veins. The outer edges have a little more frost than the inner parts. It almost looks like someone hand‑painted them or dipped them into an ice bath and let them freeze.

Details. Just by looking at these photos, you can pick out all the intricate little details.

And the God we serve is interested in those very details. He cares about every detail. Think about that for a moment – the Creator of our tiny planet, which sits inside our solar system, which is part of an entire galaxy, which is only one small piece of the whole universe – is interested in the details of an icy leaf. How does that even begin to make sense?

Let’s read from the book of Luke, chapter 12, verses 6 & 7

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Maybe this helps answer the question. In this passage, we see that God is aware of sparrows being sold – and it’s called out that He cares for us so much more than these small birds. In fact,  He knows the exact number of hairs on our heads. That’s ‘detail’. And on top of knowing those details, He cares for us. Us. You and me. The ones living on this tiny planet that seems so small compared to the universe He created.

So, does God pay attention to the details? He absolutely does. And He cares about each one. What an incredibly loving Father we have. Thank you, God, for knowing each of us and choosing to care for each of us.

Photo and Commentary (c)2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, February 3, 2026

We’ve all seen hummingbirds that looked black until the instant they turned and suddenly they became a ball of glorious color. And of course we understand that is all because of the nature of their specialized feathers which reflect the light. This is because the melanosomes responsible for this in hummingbirds are pancake-shaped and filled with air bubbles, creating a more complex set of surfaces that bounce light off of it producing the iridescence we enjoy. There are however, a handful of hummers that truly are largely black. Among those is the Black-bellied Hummingbird, found only in Costa Rica and Panama.

Its name is appropriate really only for the male since the female’s belly is light gray instead of the black found in the male. Also notice the white outer tail feathers and the rufous patch on the shoulder of the wings that is apparent when folded. The white “frosting” on the forehead adds a subtle finishing touch to this understated hummingbird.

Contrast this with the superlatives the author of Hebrews 1:3 uses in an effort to describe the all-encompassing brilliance of Christ. “The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. (Amplified Bible)

This seems to be in direct contrast to the way He chose to present Himself when He walked among men on earth. Perhaps He chose to do this so we wouldn’t be so overcome with His godliness that we wouldn’t be able to appreciate His humanity. Still, won’t it be wonderful to see Him revealed in all of His glory?