Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, July 20, 2024

Friday morning at a busy intersection, the red light was so long that I had a chance to look around a bit. To my left, as part of a rock garden next to the entrance to a bank, I noticed this stone pillar.

Keeping an alert eye on the traffic signal, I snapped a couple of photos, and this is one I had to enlarge later, so it’s a bit fuzzy. I don’t think it’s truly a sculpture, just a rough-carved slab someone thought would be picturesque.

But it gave me a funny feeling nevertheless. If I were an idolator, I thought, and this was supposed to represent a god of wealth, and if I’d been trained from my youth to worship this god, how different might my life be?

As I stared at this rock, my imagination actually began searching for a figure within it. In fact, to me it looks like the image of an older man, head mostly covered with a cloak, crouched on his bent knees.

Shuddering, I blinked a couple of times and thanked God that not only did He firmly forbid worshipping other gods, but He also forbade carving images that might become objects of worship for people with impressionable minds.

And God’s Son Jesus, of course, gave stern warnings about making a deity out of our dollars. You’ll find this news among the Bible texts in the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, July 19, 2024

Thursday of this week I was ending a visit to our local library. As I strolled by an empty table, I noticed that someone had forgotten a spiral notebook with a pencil and a math answer sheet of some kind.

I snapped this photo, and later pulled it up on my computer screen and studied it. It’s been an eternity since I did algebra problems—if that’s what these are—and unless you had my intensity of math-phobia, you cannot comprehend the depth of weariness I feel as I gaze on this sheet.

And the more I scan through these answers, the “behinder” in math I feel. Take the first question at the top, for example, the first part of which I reproduce here:

2* = x+9

I understand that “x” is indeed an essential part of the torture which is algebra, but what does the asterisk mean? Back in my day (he said, hand feebly gripping his tottering cane), all they threw at us were letters of the alphabet. Yet the “*” seems to be important, because it’s present in most if not all of the other answers too.

What’s so impressive, of course, is that the diligent scholar who owns the above pencil, and who I hope is rapidly reunited both with it and its markings, did all 10 problems of Lesson 11 (“L11,”) and soldiered on through all 10 problems of “L12.” And what’s more, this was July 18 and not a date within a normal school year.

So here we have a methodical student, who for some reason is having to muscle through and master a species of math during summertime. He (the handprinting seems masculine) has my deepest sympathy. He’s no doubt beginning to understand the answers, while I have no clue about what these problems are even trying to solve, and what practical value their solutions might even have. That’s not in my “wisdom wheelhouse.”

Fortunately God understands all wisdom, and has promised that He will provide it in the kind and quantity we need. Click the link below to find Bible verses which talk about this.

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

Photo ©2024 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2024 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, July 18, 2024

The freeway heading to Spokane is very straight in a few areas. As I was driving with both hands on the wheel, I was surprised when a large urgent message popped up on the dashboard, “STEERING REQUIRED” accompanied by a steering wheel shake! Dash messages do occasionally pop up, but over several years’ time of owning this vehicle, I had never seen this message. Making it more amusing was the straight road ahead, of which my wife took the accompanying picture. There actually wasn’t much steering required and definitely no emergency. Evidently, I hadn’t needed to make any steering adjustments for a while and the car felt a need to remind me to drive. I imagine that would be a good reminder for someone who is falling asleep or distracted.

Maybe in our spiritual lives we sometimes let things follow the easy course and do not really make conscious effort to guide it. Or when the way is not so straight, we might be just navigating the terrain and not thinking about the general direction. It could be a good idea for a message to pop up reminding us to be proactive in setting our direction.

I hope your spiritual road can be straight whenever possible. Let’s remember to steer in those times too.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

You’ve probably heard the common expression, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” As we know, the meaning of this is that what one finds beautiful, another may not – it’s subjective. I, for one, am very grateful for subjectivity. Why, you ask? I’ll explain. When I think of those that live on this planet, a sinful one, (speaking for myself now) I can imagine that some wouldn’t find us beautiful at all. Riddled with sinful scars – which isn’t an attractive quality. Thankfully, we have the privilege to choose a relationship with a heavenly Father, who not only accepts us but believes we are the most beautiful thing He has ever created. Let that sink in for a bit. He thinks we are amazingly beautiful just the way we are. How lucky does that make us?

Similar to this image of a gorgeous (my opinion) light purple rose. The delicate petals. The lush green leaves. If we keep looking, we will see a blemish or two. We may even spot the prickly thorns. Honestly, this sounds a lot like us humans. We may have some great qualities (inside and out) but we also have these thorns, or sinful parts. Easily you can see that one could focus on the negative parts, basically ruling out the good parts and decide to pass altogether. Does our God do that? No way. He sees past the “thorns” in our lives and instead, sees the vibrant colors! Of course, this is all because of the sacrifices of Jesus. The ultimate sacrifice, taking away the nasty prickly parts and making us purely presentable to our King. Thank you, Jesus!

This stunning rose bush is just a short distance away from our garage, in our side garden, in beautiful Clearview, WA.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, July 16, 2024

We frequently overlook that which is right in front of our eyes, not because it isn’t interesting or even beautiful, but because we are preoccupied with things we imagine being more important.

Although this species was first described six years before the American Revolution started, it had evaded my notice until relatively recently. How could I have entirely missed seeing that sparkling sphere on that deep green leaf or the red/green insect that produced it? The insect is a Candy-striped Leafhopper; and the sphere, liquid shot from the rear end of the leafhopper to rid itself of excess fluid. These insects must take in large amounts of fluids, primarily from the xylem of woody plants, in order to obtain sufficient nutrients. Excretion of these fluids may even be accompanied with a popping sound. This fluid may retain a sweet quality which in turn may attract other insects like wasps and flies.

Just because something is interesting or beautiful does not mean it does not have negative consequences. This insect can often be found on blackberry bushes, which might be fine with you, but it also dines on roses, rhododendron, and other ornamental plants you might not want harmed. An infestation by this species may damage them beyond recovery. Even worse, they serve as a vector in transmitting Pierce’s disease which can destroy trees like elm and oak. Once infected, there is no known treatment for this disease.

We listen to the daily litany of the woes of the earth on the evening news and are tempted to think only man is affected by the blight of sin, but consequences go far beyond us and our bad decisions. It extends into all of nature as well. “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!” (Romans 8:20-22 J.B. Phillips New Testament)

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, July 15, 2024

These are a couple of sea urchin tests (the outer sea urchin skeleton found under the spines) I recently got on the Internet.

Normally, you can find sea urchin tests on an ocean beach. When a sea urchin dies, the spines fall off and this is what’s left. (If you find more remains inside the test, you can check online to find out how to clean it out completely!)

The one on the left is a sputnik urchin and the one on the right is an alphonse urchin. You can get a lot of other colors or combinations of colors. The variety of patterns is amazing!

The raised dots are where the spines attached.

“Lord, you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small that cannot be counted.”
Psalm 104:24-25 NCV

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, July 14, 2024

It’s not my birthday. If it’s yours, I wish you the happiest of birthdays and a new year brimming with God’s blessings!

I have birthdays on my mind. Three friends celebrated their birthdays last week, my husband celebrated his recently, and today is the birthday of my dear friend Mary, who was born 24 days before me. She lived across the street from me all our growing-up days. She has walked life’s path before me, but only a few weeks before.

When I met and fell in love with the man I would marry, I acquired an immediate bonus blessing – the loving friendship of his mother, whose birthday was the day after mine. We often arranged our summer vacation so we could celebrate our birthdays together in South Dakota.

It was lovely, and comforting, to have back-to-back birthdays. I remember when I turned 40, which seemed such a daunting number to me at the time. My mother-in-law scoffed, “Shelley, 40 is nothing!” She turned 65 the next day, so she had walked the path a quarter century before me.

And then Maylan’s brother and wife had a baby girl, Angela, the day before my birthday. So there we were, three birthdays in a row, going up a generation each day.

Angela and I haven’t had the fun of celebrating our birthdays together for many years. If we did, I could scoff at her current number of candles and tell her it was nothing. I’d already been there, I’d tell her.

Or would I? What would I most want to share with someone, from my vantage point farther down the path?

I immediately thought of this: Jesus has been with me on my path. He’s kept company with me every step.

I am a person who loves words, and I tend to use a lot of them, so I’m sure I could elaborate. I could tell stories of how I know He’s been with me. I could speak of the unexpected turns the path took, the views I encountered, the lessons learned along the way.

But mostly, that Jesus has been with me.

One year, for my birthday gift, I asked my mother-in-law if she would write down some of the stories she’d told us about how the Lord had led in her life, how He had guided and provided, over and over again.

She sat down and wrote out 111 pages in a spiral-bound notebook. We treasure this notebook and turn back to its pages when we want to remember our heritage of faith, and God’s faithfulness.

She had been a widow for 3½ years when she chronicled her walk with the Lord for me. One of the 60 experiences she shared is entitled, “The Saddest Day of My Life,” describing the day her husband died.

But there are many happy experiences she shares, as well. The thread that runs through all her writing is a heart posture that shines out of this passage: “There is a wonderful strength found in putting complete trust in our dear Lord. He has all the answers to our fears and doubtings. The more we commune with Him the greater peace and contentment we have.”

She knew Jesus was with her on her path, and called it good. That’s what she wanted us to know.

As we step out into this brand-new, untried week, it’s good to know that the God who gives us birth and birthdays keeps step with us every day, all the way Home.