Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, April 19, 2026

We live near our neighborhood park, a lovely wide expanse of grass, with a basketball/tennis/pickleball court, and swings, slide, jungle gym, and teeter-totter for little ones.

It makes us smile when we walk by the park on our daily walks, seeing how many people of all ages frequent and enjoy it. With all this use, it’s easy to see how some things get left behind, usually items of clothing.

But another item has caught our eye lately, more than once. On the sidewalk that curves around the park, we’ve seen pacifiers. Were they accidentally dropped, or deliberately thrown from a stroller? Were they sorely missed, by child or parent?

The last time we saw a pacifier in our path, I took the photo you see above. I snuck my feet into the photo, partly for scale, and mostly because I liked how my blue laces echoed the blue of the pacifier, and how the touch of yellow brightened the scene.

But then, beyond my enjoyment of the color scheme, I saw something else – I suddenly saw a sidewalk Scripture!

Pacifiers make me think of peace, since their main purpose seems to be to soothe a child who might otherwise be fretful. Popping a pacifier in a child’s mouth can stop trouble in its tracks!

It must have been adding my feet to the picture that brought a Bible verse to mind, because here is what I found myself remembering:

“ . . . and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:15 NIV)

I am weary of war. I remember as a child listening to the radio and hearing about war in the Congo. Not understanding what all that meant, I was still afraid. Later, the Vietnam War filled my junior high, high school, and college years with its horrors. And now, wars continue to rage around the globe. Weary of war, I yearn for peace.

Over and over these days I’ve been turning to Ephesians 6 for comfort – even though it’s a Bible passage that talks about war. It’s comforting because God is telling us the truth about warfare, and is recommending specific weapons with which to fight:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:10-18a)

As we step into this brand new week, our prayer every morning can be, “Suit me up, God! I want You to equip me fully for whatever I may face today. I choose Your weapons, not mine.”

And another prayer floats into mind, one that has been beautifully set to music. It begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

Yes, and Amen.

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

First of all, I’d like to apologize for the picture above. I don’t know what happened, but usually my smart phone takes a crisper view of the passing scene. But as soon as I saw the sticker on the car ahead of me at a stop light this week, I knew it was perfect for a blog.

The only problem is, the sticker is hard to read. The first line, of course, says “Student Driver.” You and I see a lot of these signs these days. But in addition to the student-driver identifier, they most often say things like “Please Be Patient.” Or sometimes they take the humorous route using the picture of a cartoon cat with a concerned face and the words “I’m worried about my driving too.”

What attracted me to this sticker – and makes me gnash my teeth at how blurry it is – is that the lower phrase is “Skills In Progress.”

Isn’t that a positive spin? Doesn’t that warm your heart toward whoever is in the driver’s seat, white-knuckling their way through traffic? Because after all, no matter how many booklets you read or videos you watch about how to operate an automobile, the skills will never sink in until you spend some time on the road maneuvering your ton-and-a-half of motorized metal.

There’s nothing in the Bible about car-driving, of course, but there are hundreds of promises we can study and claim as we navigate through each day of our lives. Click this link for a good supply.

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/bible-promises

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

In my home office, parked in a corner of my desktop, I keep a large mug which I use for coins which I empty from my pockets each night. Over the course of time, the mug accumulates enough silver and copper that I pour it out on the desk, and insert the coins into coin wrappers.

A couple of weeks ago I was filling up a dime wrapper when one of the coins didn’t quite fit. After employing a bit of fruitless coercion, I took a close look at the coin. You see it above, alongside a genuine dime on the right.

The coin isn’t actually a dime, and it isn’t American. It’s a Polish 20-groszy piece. 100 groszys equal one zloty. A zloty, nowadays, is worth $3.75, which means that this coin is worth about 80 cents – 8 dimes.

Which does me no good, of course. I can’t redeem it at our bank (unless I nefariously forced it into the wrapper with the dimes and gave it to a cashier). But I was raised by a dad and mom who insisted on absolute honesty, including with every aspect of money. And the reason they felt so strongly about this was what they read in the Bible.

The Bible knows that money is very important. That’s why it gives lots of advice about it. Check out some verses Mom and Dad knew well, at the link below:

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

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

It is great to see changes that spring brings, like with the blossoms on this wild cherry tree. It would be amazing if every blossom produced a cherry. But if past seasons are an indicator, this tree will end up with a modest number of small cherries.

It reminds me of the following verses about a big change.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52

It is something to look forward to and trust in God for. To learn more, read the entire chapter at
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15&version=NIV

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

This past weekend, while shopping for groceries for the upcoming week, I had to stop and snap this image.

As you can clearly see, this Dark‑eyed Junco appeared to have a specific agenda — to accompany me into the grocery store and stock up.

Actually, that’s not completely true. In fact, I don’t believe he would’ve enjoyed a visit inside the store, nor did he need to stock up at all.

Matthew (6:26) reminds us:
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”

What does that tell us? If the birds of the air know they will be cared for, shouldn’t we, created with even greater awareness, have the same faith that we are loved and provided for as well? Yes, we should.

The bottom line is, we are loved, we are cared for, and we are taken care of by our Creator.

My prayer is that we would live with that kind of faith — that we wouldn’t feel the need to ensure our carts are filled on our own but instead trust God to be the One who fills them. Amen.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, April 14, 2026

The details have become fuzzy with the passage of time, but what still stands out is how clearly this laundromat modeled what our Christian witness should be like.  We were on a cross-country driving trip and for some reason felt the need to get change with a minimum expenditure of time.  It was just then that the Lost Sock Laundry came into view, complete with easy access from the road we were on.  A quick left turn and we were in the parking lot.

The name of the business provided the first principle of witnessing: make yourself easy to identify with, or, put another way, make sure you and those you’re trying to reach share common ground.  There’s probably none of us out there who haven’t lost a sock while doing the wash and were thoroughly convinced the machine was carnivorous in nature.

What cemented the deal was the sign we saw as we entered the building.  On a given Saturday they would provide the soap AND the quarters!  — Because you might need a break.  No cheap talk or moralizing, just a simple willingness to help.  What could be more genuine!  It almost made me wish we had some dirty laundry so we could support their enterprise.

This isn’t intended to be a plug for socialism or minimize the importance of personal responsibility.  Instead, it’s meant to provide a practical illustration of what Paul had in mind when he wrote Galatians 6:2 which says: “Carry each other’s burdens and so live out the law of Christ.” (J.B. Phillips New Testament) If a laundromat can do it in the Big Sky Country, it seems we should be able to do it in our own way as well.

Photo ©2011 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, April 13, 2026

Today’s image of Kaleetan Creek was captured using specific photographic techniques. The lens opening was extremely narrow, at F 29 to keep the entire scene in focus. The shutter was 1/5^th of a second to display the motion of the water. The focal length was set at 36mm to establish the edges of the scene. Most importantly, I used exposure compensation to reduce the overall brightness. This “exposure bias” changed the mood of the scene.

In the second book of Kings, chapter 5, we can read the story of Naaman, a Syrian commander who was afflicted with leprosy. We learn that he traveled to Israel in hopes that the Prophet Elisha would heal him of the disease that made him an outcast. When instructed to “wash” in the Jordan, a muddy, clay-filled river, Naaman became angry. The rivers of Damascus were clear, cold, spring-fed, and surrounded by beauty. In his anger, Naaman expressed a definite bias for bathing in the better waters near his home. But he was unaware of the special relationship that God had with the Jordan. Miraculous events had taken place in the Jordan. God knew that Jesus would one day rise from these muddy waters to begin the work of washing humanity clean of their sins and diseases.

The story of Naaman teaches us that God does not require clean water to cleanse us. The blood of Christ is sufficient to wash each of us clean. His love is the bias of the universe. Today oh Christian, if we carry any prejudice at all, let it be a strong bias towards love.