Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

I like the optimism that seems to be a natural part of spring. Certainly it is much less reserved than the understatedness we find captured in the winter months. And while it may not flaunt the saturated richness that is part of summer or the mature abundance that is autumn, I still would find it difficult to exchange spring for any other season. And I believe the reason for this is the promise of the “yet to be.” Nature writer and naturalist, Edwin Way Teale, captured this sentiment in one of his books I have on my shelf entitled North with Spring where he wrote “All things seem possible in May.”

Buds swell with the promise of regeneration from seemingly lifeless limbs. From unpromising
clay emerges long-hidden shoots buried for an extended period of time yet appearing without the slightest fanfare. Even the birds seem to remember songs we thought they had forgotten since we ourselves had to re-learn to recognize them all over again.

I can’t completely agree with Victor Hugo’s remark “If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.” (Les Misérables) for I find other reasons to revel in the vernal season. One of those for which I am grateful is the reminder that it was spring when Christ rose from the tomb some 2000 plus years ago as an act of His love. New buds and fresh shoots prompt me to remember the promise of a new life if one is hidden in the One who rose again that spring morning.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, April 29, 2024

Psalm 103:15-16 talks about how we don’t live very long on this earth. We are compared to wildflowers which can be very fleeting. I’ve been to places one week where there was quite a variety of different kinds of wildflowers in bloom and then gone back a week or two later and the wildflowers that were blooming previously are totally gone, without a trace that they were ever there – except for my photos!

We tend to think of paintbrush as being very red or orange (or magenta around Paradise on Mt Rainier) but I found these pale yellow wildflowers blooming in Central Washington northwest of Omak. I’m not sure of the common name for this particular variety but they were very beautiful. They look similar to pallid paintbrush flowers pictured in my Lewis J. Clark Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest book but Clark writes that there can be as many as 40 different species of paintbrush in the Pacific Northwest (or maybe more).

I like these verses in Psalm 103 which talk about God’s love for us:

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,
Psalm 103:8-17 (The Message)

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, April 28, 2024

I’ve been reading the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament night after night, and a couple of nights ago, while doing so, I was suddenly reminded of the prize-winning, best-selling picture book, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.*

In this story, a father is trying to get his child to sleep. She begs for a story. He begins to read. A common occurrence, with a twist, because this is a children’s picture book and the little girl who is not at all sleepy is a chicken.

There’s another twist to the story, which explains the title – as the father reaches a crisis point in the story, his little chicken interrupts, warning the characters of the dangers involved and moving them quickly to a “happily ever after.”

She begs for another story, and the frustrated father agrees, begging her not to interrupt this time. But as this second story takes a turn for the worse, the little chicken jumps in again to avert catastrophe and ensure that all is well.

She pleads for yet another story, and her father implores her to, “Try not to get so involved!” But as she says, she can’t help it. (I won’t spoil the ending for you, in case you want to check out this book for yourself.)

She can’t help it, because she doesn’t want anybody to get hurt—she doesn’t want bad things to happen.

So why did I hear the flapping of little chicken’s wings when I was reading 1 Samuel?

I’d reached 1 Samuel 8:5, when the elders of Israel gather together and visit the prophet Samuel with this request:

They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (NIV)

I wanted to shout out, “Don’t do it! Don’t ask for a king! Samuel, don’t listen to them! You’ll all regret this!”

And I remembered my friend, the Interrupting Chicken. I wanted to follow her lead, jump into the story, warn of the dangers, change everyone’s choices, save the day, and relax into a happy ending.

Think of all the times in Scripture we would like to have been interrupters as stories unfolded — badly. Especially here:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 NIV)

If there was ever a time and a place to jump in, get involved, interrupt, it is here. But we can’t. It’s history, and we’re living in the consequences.

I believe in guardian angels that watch over us, and I wonder how tough that assignment is. How often does my angel friend want to interrupt my life and wave red flags of warning before my startled eyes?

But wait! That sounds like Someone else! That sounds like part of the Holy Spirit’s mission. Jesus, hours before His death, reassures His faltering disciples:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17 NKJV)

The Holy Spirit was the best gift Jesus could give us when He went back to heaven. I believe He gets involved in our lives as much as we allow Him to. Maybe I need to let Him know that He has my full permission to interrupt me as needed and guide me to the happily-ever-after I am longing for.

As we step out into this brand-new week, may all our interruptions be Spirit-led!

*Interrupting Chicken, David Ezra Stein, Candlewick Press, 2010

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, April 27, 2024

This past Sunday on a post-breakfast walk I spotted this startling sight. I’m afraid that when it comes to my own car, I allow the automatic car wash connected with a Shell station to do the hard work for me, while I sit inside with the windows closed and the outside mirrors folded in, listening to classical music.

And though I know that the Shell machinery industriously coats my car with a soapy foam which is either blue or pink, before whipping it with the brushes and then rinsing it off, I had never before seen an ordinary citizen, in his driveway, applying such a complete top-to-bottom coating to his own vehicle. And he seems to have used a pressure washer or something to do the job.

Well, good for him. The guy loves his jeep, if that’s what it is, and wants it spiffed up. (That white blotch back by the tailgate is where I blotted out his face for privacy’s sake.) Some owners of such tough outdoor vehicles sometimes take pride in the mud-spattered look, but this guy doesn’t go there.

My blog title is “Whiter Than Snow,” as you may have noticed. That’s because this vehicle’s coating reminded me of God’s promise which He relayed through the prophet Isaiah:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

Good news, right? God cares for us, and like the man in the photo, He wants us clean.

For more about how this happens (and it doesn’t happen automatically), click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, April 26, 2024

A little over a week ago at our local library I noticed this hugely delightful book. It’s called Spine Poems: An Eclectic Collection of Found Verse for Book Lovers. It must have taken a vast amount of work, because it’s a thick book, and the contents range from hilarious to thoughtful.

The premise is simple—get a whole lot of books together and see if their spines’ titles can be stacked together in an order which means something. The above photo is my favorite of the pages I flipped through.

Even though I got a kick out of flipping through these pages, I know—and you probably do too—that this is not how to arrive at truth. And gathering a lot of miscellaneous Bible verses together isn’t the best way to arrive at God’s core wisdom.

How can we properly study the Bible? The link below gives seven principles, and goes into depth with each one. Check it out!

Understanding The Bible: How to Study It

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, April 25, 2024

In this scene overlooking the Columbia River at Astoria, ships are waiting for their next leg of travel up the river. We enjoyed watching pilot boats meeting with ships to transfer river pilots and bar pilots. When a ship is traveling on the river, they need a river pilot who knows the channels and safe routes. The way it works is a pilot boat, which looks a bit like a tugboat, carries a river pilot out to the ship. The ship lowers a ladder or small stairs down to the boat’s level. Then the pilot climbs the ladder to begin their work. It turns out to be a surprisingly coordinated process because there are two pilots. A bar pilot helps navigate the short but difficult mouth of the river, and a river pilot navigates the longer length of the river. So, there might be a transfer where one pilot boards the ship, and another pilot disembarks. There is also a little drama when the pilot transfers between boat to ladder because they are both moving.

A lot of goods are transported by ship. It reminds me again how connected we all are. In thinking about goods and our relationship to God, I like these verses.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 Peter 1:18,19

This is another way we are all connected. We rely on Jesus and God for our redemption.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, April 24, 2024

I don’t know if you ever feel this way, but I’ll speak for myself when I say, there are days I need all the strength I can get. Maybe it is due to a lack of quality sleep, or worrying about challenges at work, or concerns of family issues — whatever it is, the morning comes and I need that strength.

It’s such a reassurance that God gives us that strength. We don’t have to be concerned or worried, He’s got our back. Let’s take a look at that promise, which we find in Isaiah 41:10.

So do not fear, I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

How about that?! Right there in that one verse, we have the promise of real strength, and real help from our Creator. Amazing.

No matter what you are facing – big or small, God has you covered. He will provide the strength that is needed. Praise God!

This image was taken, at sunrise, overlooking the Massai Mara, in Kenya. As the sun peeks over the hills, it reminds me God is with us, each and every day.