Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Some questions I sometimes ask myself about a photo is “Where are the people?” and “Where is God?” I wondered about this picture of Snoqualmie Falls. There seem to be people who visit the lodge and who might be looking out the windows. There are probably people who work in the electric power generation buildings.

The next question is “Where is God?” There could be several answers to this one and you could probably point to something related to God. The one I’ll choose is the power line that crosses over the falls. More specifically, let’s consider the electrons flowing through the line.

I find it fascinating that electrons carry energy that can be used to power so many things in our households. The electrons don’t just work by themselves. They need an energy source at one end of the line and a consumer at the other end. As soon as the connection at the source is broken, the electron loses its ability to do more work.

What if people are a bit like electrons? People rely on the goodness of God to go about their daily lives of helping their families, employers, and friends. That energy passes along from one person to the next. If they don’t pass that energy to others, their lives become meaningless, and they might pursue activities that only help themselves.

I get the impression that each individual electron is not working too hard, and it does not fizzle out. So maybe people can do lots of little things that are not a burden, and it will keep the energy flowing.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Most of our snow has melted and has washed away, so these images may be the last of the “snowy shots” for a while. Before we say goodbye to the fluffy white stuff for a bit, look at my view out my office window, to the roof of the garage. As you can see, we received several inches that covered the roof for several days. The second image is a closeup shot of the snow, but I wanted to give context of where these tiny crystals were from.

To be clear, no filter was used for either image. The tiny sparkle is from the reflection of the sun rising above the rooftop, hitting the ice crystal like a prism – refracting the light, resulting in a star-like glimmer. When I saw this, it made me think of the stars in the sky and the millions spread across our galaxy. We know our galaxy is just the starting point of what God has created. He has created so much more. It’s mind boggling to say the least.

Genesis 1:14-19 (NKJV)

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

We know the account of God’s creation, but we have yet to hear all about the previous creations that took place. We will have the opportunity, in Heaven, to sit and listen to all the details. That opportunity is the very gift God has presented to us. A chance at eternal life. What a powerful and detail-oriented God we serve.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, February 1, 2025

The temptation when coming across a sandpiper is to dismiss it as being anything out of the ordinary and simply mentally dump it into a generic barrel of sandpipers and let it go at that. But there are differences that set each species apart. Take this Baird’s Sandpiper, for example. It was one of the last species of sandpipers to be described in North America. While it looks rather similar to other “peeps”, it is slightly larger than most and has long wings which extend beyond the tail. These it holds in such a way as to give the body on overall horizontal appearance.

It nests in drier habitat in the high Arctic where vegetation is sparse and stunted. They may spend their winters in shortgrass environments up to 15,000 feet in elevation. Their journey to and from these extremes generally takes them through the prairies of North America, but a few may wander to either coast. Females generally begin their southward journey before the males, followed by the young of that year. This round trip may cover 9,300 miles and be accomplished in as little as five weeks. Here in Washington the fall is when they are generally seen, and those individuals are usually immature birds.

Unlike many other shorebirds, they seldom probe into sand or mud, but pick off their prey from the ground surface or low vegetation. During migration they regularly stop at high mountain lakes where they may feed on invertebrates found on snowbanks. The female is able to lay a clutch of up to five eggs equaling 120% of her body mass in four days. And this she does having just completed her lengthy trip northward and without stored fat reserves!

Just another sandpiper? Hardly! It is unique, distinctive from all others. Not surprisingly, God spoke of the nation of Israel in this same way: “And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation in the earth? Their God went to claim a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds when you drove out nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.” (1 Chronicles 17:21 NET) And just like the sandpipers and Israel, we too are special, each with our unique successes and failures. May we avoid the temptation to look through eyes that see just another sandpiper.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, February 17, 2025

This photo is of Rustic Falls which is a fairly small 47′ waterfall in Yellowstone National Park. There were a couple of small unmarked pullouts from which you could see the falls and it could easily be missed.

I was there in May and we had a couple of unexpected (for me) snowfalls during that time. The park roads were in good condition, though, and I’m sure the melting snow added to the water in the creek going over the cliff.

I’ve always preferred places that had water to places that were dry. (I like the desert when it is blooming but that’s about it!) I prefer green plants and creeks, rivers, lakes, streams and especially waterfalls.

When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, they got into a discussion about water and He told her:

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”
John 4:13-14 (The Message)

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, February 16, 2025

Of all the snow prints I saw this past week, this was my favorite. It’s shaped like the official flower of my beloved home state of Alaska – a little blue flower with a yellow center, the forget-me-not.

I checked to see if it might also be the official birth flower of February, but discovered that honor goes to the violet. We could be forgiven if we thought February’s flower was the long-stemmed red rose, sold in such abundance for Valentine’s Day giving.

But I think the forget-me-not would be a very appropriate flower for this month of hearts and love. All the sources I checked agree that it symbolizes true love and faithfulness, and the promise of always remembering.

Our human love is prone to flicker, falter, forget, and fail. It tends to be an “if” love – we love people if they look fine and behave well — if they are lovable.

But God. How does God encourage us finite, fallible people to truly love?

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8a NKJV)

Well. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see any resemblance! I see Jesus in those words, but not me!

Many years ago a friend phoned and said she would like to order a big batch of pencils for our church – we would then have them available for use every week and could give them away during events we hosted. She said she was filling out the order form at that very moment, needed to get this in the mail right away, and wanted to know what we wanted to have printed on these pencils, in addition to our church’s name, address, and phone number. (This was truly many years ago; there were no websites!) Space for this message was limited.

What message should we emblazon on our church’s pencils? I was home alone so could not consult with my pastor husband. I felt the burden of making this momentous decision on my own! My tendency is to overthink, to consider multiple options, to ponder a while, but under this pressure I blurted out:

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 NIV)

(Although I probably capitalized it to He, because I’ve never become comfortable with referring to God with a lower case “h”!)

Our friend happily agreed with my choice, and we soon had hundreds of shiny blue pencils that highlighted our church, and God’s love, in gold lettering.

It’s in this verse that I understand the only way I can live out the love described in 1 Corinthians 13, by accepting God’s unconditional, freely offered love for me and asking Him to give me that same love for others. It seems to me that’s the only way we can honestly put hands and feet and voice to the gospel.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands . . .”
(Isaiah 49:15-16a)

God promises to forget our sins but to remember us. In turn, He asks us to remember Him.

In the midst of this world’s chaos and confusion, what a blessed privilege it is to keep our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, and to invite others to join us.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, February 15, 2025

The other day, in a hallway in our Seventh-day Adventist high school, I paused by the poster you see above. I don’t know whether this is the office of the Spanish teacher, but the poster’s message is clear: these are important Spanish words (and English words) to be gracious citizens:

Sí. Yes! An affirmation, or a willingness to help.

No. It can be a negative word – “I disagree with what you’re saying, or what you’re trying to get me to agree to.” Or it can simply be an answer to “Is the cafeteria serving pizza today?” And it can also be a word that keeps you out of trouble if you really mean it.

Gracias. Thank you. When you use it, you’re expressing gratitude to someone who has helped you in a large or small way.

Por favor. Please. A gracious way of not demanding but requesting assistance of some kind.

De nada. (Literally, “of nothing.”) When someone tells you thank-you, it’s a self-effacing way of saying “You’re welcome.”

Words are important. Jesus thought so, and so did the Spirit-inspired Word of God. Click this link for more Words about words!

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, February 14, 2025

Our local library is well-used by all ages. Here in the teen section (labeled age 13 and older), a day or two ago, I discovered this Valentine-themed display called “Blind Date With a Book.” Looking at the labels – there are two or three per mystery package – I don’t know whether each book contains all of the listed categories, or maybe just one.

Notice the categories? They’ve all been judged on how attractive they’d be to readers of that age group. At this point I must go firmly on record stating that I do not believe in book-banning. I believe that families need to teach their teens to evaluate what they read.

But isn’t it sad to see some of the categories? Revenge, demons, conspiracy . . . Even though the very Bible itself contains all of these, and more, I would hope that the teen would have been taught discernment. I myself read widely when I was that age, and peeked into some of these topics (and sometimes suffered nightmares about them). But since then I have “put away childish things” and become more of a grownup in what I consume.

It might be good for us – whatever age we are – to review some verses the Bible includes about truth. You’ll find several at the link just below:

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