Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, January 16, 2025

The ferns growing on this small building caught my eye. I wouldn’t want plants growing on my roof. But I have heard of sod roofs where grass grows, so it seems kind of natural that ferns would grow on the roof of a building in a rain forest.

I half expected all the men who visit this area would have those long bushy beards that are becoming popular. But fortunately, I didn’t see any.

It makes me think about our true natural environment. In the Mine Craft game, it is possible to walk or run from one environment to another such as from a sand biome to an ice biome to a mushroom biome. In real life, we can drive from a forest environment to a city environment in a short time.

However, our true environment may be where we can be free to be honest, to relax, to encourage, and to find the good in other people. We can have some of those good things now, even though at times we have to be unnaturally defensive in a troubled world. When we follow God’s guiding from the Bible, we can get a glimpse of a truly natural environment.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, January 15, 2025

In our Sabbath School class, we are studying Paul’s letter to the new believers of Philippi. Throughout the book of Philippians, Paul encourages the members of the church to continually grow, learn and ultimately share that with others. In verse 9 of chapter 1 he says, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.”  This concept of growth wasn’t new, but he wanted them to understand that having information was different than truly understanding and putting that knowledge into actions.

If we go back a bit further in history, we can see this same concept being delivered to the children of Israel, from Moses –

Deuteronomy 32:1-4

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
like gentle showers on young plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
how glorious is our God!
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
how just and upright he is!”

In this instance, Moses wanted his teachings to be received and ultimately be the nutrients the Israelites needed. God knew what His children needed, and He was using Moses as the instrument in the delivery of spiritual (and physical) guidance. Just as Paul was inspired to write to the people of Philippi. God is always providing what WE all need, at the moment we need it.

Nutrients, in the form of rain and dew, (as Moses mentioned) was and is from our loving Father. This dahlia (if it could communicate) would thank God for the nutrients He has sent, let’s make sure we do as well.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Imagine yourself in the shoes of King David. He is on the verge of handing over the reins of authority and power to his son Solomon. What can he say to motivate his heir-apparent to rule in such a way that it would meet the approval of his Lord? Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that David resorted to poetry to convey his message, perhaps not the vehicle you might select, but listen to his words and see if you don’t find them inspiring. “The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’” (II Samuel 23:3-4 NIV)

Now take these same words, at least his closing ones, and see if they might also offer a descriptive picture of the Green-crowned Brilliant, a fairly large hummingbird found in the middle and upper strata of the forests extending from Costa Rica, south through Ecuador.

In proper light the glittery shade of emerald green, along with the deeply forked tail of the male, presents an image reminiscent of “brightness after the rain”. If this poetic verbiage is too much, then maybe you’ll find a better parallel in one of its other names, the Blue-throated Flying Dolphin. As for me, I’ll stick with “Brightness or brilliance after the rain.”

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, January 13, 2025

The photo is a sunrise picture taken from Whidbey Island. I couldn’t see the sunset from this spot because of a hill behind me.

I like these verses about how God loves us despite what we do and doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. It says, “As far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.”

God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud. Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. God’s love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.
Psalm 103:6-18 (The Message)

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, January 12, 2025

I don’t want to brag (well, maybe just a little) but my sister was Betty Crocker of Alaska. At a rather young age, too.

She was a senior in high school and gained this title by achieving the highest score of all senior home ec students in the state, on a written test that I took seven years later when I was a senior. The home ec teacher we shared had written hopeful words in my high school annual the year before, predicting that I would also become B.C. of A., but that did not happen.

In becoming Betty Crocker of Alaska, my sister, accompanied by her home ec teacher, won a trip “back east.” I remember their trip included stops in Washington, D.C.; Colonial Williamsburg; and New York City. True to her unselfish nature, my sister brought me home a dress from a New York City department store, and my fifth-grade soul was ecstatic.

There was no talent contest involved in her B.C. achievement, but if there had been, I’m sure my sister would have aced that, too. She could sew wedding dresses and men’s tailored suits, and everything in between. Through the years she has excelled in everything she’s literally put her hands to – knitting, crocheting, quilting, needlepoint, cross-stitch, as well as sewing of all kinds.

I own many of her handmade creations, including the Christmas stocking you see in my photo above. I sent her the photo a few days ago, with the caption, “The beautiful Christmas stocking you made for me many years ago!”

Her response astounded me: “I bet I was supposed to cross stitch your name at the top. Must have been clueless at the time, since it is obvious to me now.”

I turned back to my photo and I think my jaw dropped down in disbelief. Sure enough, there is a banner near the top of the stocking that is obviously empty. Obvious, except the stitcher and giver didn’t notice it, and neither did the grateful recipient. I’ve had this stocking for probably more than 35 years, and each December when I bring it out from our Christmas boxes I admire my sister’s handiwork. I never saw what I now can’t unsee!

How did we both overlook such an empty space? I don’t know about my sister, who has always been so good at detail work. For me, I think my focus has always been on the ark and the animals and my sister’s skillful stitchery. And the love she wove into it.

But it has shaken me a bit to think how I’ve overlooked that empty banner all these years. I wonder uneasily what else I’ve not noticed, maybe something or things more important than a blank banner on a Christmas stocking.

And yes, this reminds me of Jesus. Didn’t He warn about leaving something “undone”?

After brief research, I can report that, Yes, He did. Luke 11 begins with Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray, and ends with Him giving woes to the Pharisees and lawyers, including this:

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” (Luke 11:42 NKJV)

I fear focusing on the wrong things, leaving the most important things undone. How to remedy this? My love of list-making is not the answer, helpful as it is to keep me on track most days, accomplishing what I see is needful.

What I see . . . I think it’s my eyes that need help.

Lord, as I step into this brand-new week, please give me Your eyes with which to see my world, and Your grace to navigate well within each day. You know that without Your help, I may easily overlook the obvious. Help me to leave undone what is not worth my time and attention, and lavish Your love in faithful focus on what you show me is good.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8 NIV)

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, January 11, 2025

On the last day of 2024, as Shelley and I were returning home from a morning walk, I noticed what you see above (I’ve shown both the front and the back sides). It’s about four inches long, and I found it on the sidewalk of a corner house leading into our cul-de-sac. It looks as though it’s made of a cork-like wood, but there was nothing nearby which it appeared to have broken off from. I don’t even know if it’s a word at all, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be something from nature.

The reason I photographed it front-and-back is that I do not know what it is, and thought that a reverse view may have given a clue, but it doesn’t seem to. If you can identify what it says, you’re welcome to email me at maylanschurch@gmail.com with your solution.

But right now, for me at least, this is a mystery word (and maybe not even a word). It’s confusing to me because I don’t have the whole story.

As 2025 creeps inexorably under our feet, we’ll probably experience real confusion a number of times. And while the Bible isn’t going to tell me what my four-inch corklike inscription might mean, it’s a dependable de-coding manual when it comes to how to live our lives. Check out the verses at the link below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, January 10, 2025

More and more businesses, like the medical clinic where I saw the above scene on Thursday, have decided to help patrons easily recycle parts of their products which otherwise might end up in a landfill.

However, for years, the recycling options were limited to just the three boxy containers in the photo above. I don’t know about you, but I am not conversant enough with recycling to know – for example – where exactly a sandwich wrapper would go. Or the wrapper of a candy bar or some potato chips. Or what about Styrofoam? Often, I’ve noticed that the confused consumer simply guesses.

But Thursday I noticed that, for the first time, a “catch-all” or “miscellaneous” option has been added – in the form of the humble trash basket on the right. (More and more businesses are simply calling the fourth bin “Trash.” Now discarding is easier!

If the recycling label-deciders had spent a bit more thoughtful time, maybe by doing a study of the trash people actually throw away, they might have added that fourth category here. At any rate, a little more applied wisdom might have moved the project more toward total inclusivity.

As we barge ahead into 2025, wisdom is certainly what we need. And at its root, real wisdom comes from the One who created us. Check out the Bible advice at the link just below:

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