Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, October 23, 2024

This past weekend we had a chance to visit family in the Salt Lake City area. One of the days we were there was a beautiful one(as you can see). This view is of the Wasatch Range, with some early snow powdering the top of the range. The view from the cornfield and pumpkin patch (where I took the image from), shows the height of the range looming from above (just over 11,000 feet).

In this verse we see a glimpse of who our God is. We see how He loves us. We see just how compassionate He is for us.

Isaiah 54:10

Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Just like this mountain range in northern Utah, God cannot nor will not be shaken. He sees all of us from above. He is there, watching over us. He sees any issues we are about to face, any decisions we will contemplate. He is steady and all-loving. What a perfect picture of a loving Father.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Frogmouths aren’t what you’d call your average bird. Their bizarre appearance is unusual enough to catch the attention of the most blasé observer casually leafing through the pages of a glossy nature book while waiting at the doctor’s office. And that’s something of a paradox, because its look is designed to keep it from being seen, to literally cause it to blend into the woodwork.

And this Sri Lanka Frogmouth is no exception. But the photographers want us to look up and take notice, so they isolate the bird, making it impossible to miss. Under normal circumstances, 99 out of 100 of us would walk by where it sits frozen in position to keep it from being detected until evening shadows appear and it can go about its work of catching insects and getting on with life. If inadvertently disturbed, the bird may slowly raise its head till its bill is pointing upward, thus mimicking a broken branch. The deception is complete.

So how was our guide able to lead us down a pathway, cross a small stream, then stop at a clump of bamboo, and confidently point to where the camouflaged bird sat when it was so well hidden? It has something to do with the bird’s behavior and the observer’s attention to detail. While the bird is silent throughout the daylight hours, at dawn and dusk it gives its distinctive call. This has been variously described as “loud, cackly and frog like,” “loud, screechy which drops in volume and ends in a series of hiccups,” and a horrible scratchy scream.”

Besides this, it commonly uses the same roosting spot for months. This means the guide simply has to carefully note where those strange notes were coming from, and then return later on to magically pull this nearly invisible bird out of the bushes for his grateful clients.

I’m not really sure I would want to use this Frogmouth as a role model for modeling ideal Christian behavior, but maybe the guide’s attention to detail might be worth imitating. Careful study and observation can mean that at a later time one may have the opportunity to share with others something they will find to be worthwhile and even valued. Yes, I think their example is something worth copying.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, October 21, 2024

This photo was taken at Englishman River falls on Vancouver Island. It was fall so the river was not as full as it would have been in spring but it was still really beautiful.

I like the nature references in this psalm:

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
For you are the fountain of life,
the light by which we see.
Psalm 36:5-9 NLT

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, October 20, 2024

He was standing in the little garden spot between his front step and the sidewalk my husband and I were standing on, stretching a bit from the weeding he’d been doing before we stopped to greet him.

We didn’t know him well, a neighbor several blocks from our cul-de-sac, but always found him friendly. As we all enthused about the beautiful day, I told him how much I appreciated his red-leaved bush, especially against the intense blue of the sky. I’ve taken many photos of it.

“Really?” he said, and made his way through the garden to where we were standing. He gazed with us at the sight you see in my photo above. “That is nice,” he agreed. “I only look at it from the other side, so I’ve never seen it like this.”

I was amazed that he had missed a view I’d admired year after year. I didn’t ask if I could stand on his front step to see his view of the bush, but I didn’t need to. Just by turning around I could see that his view of the bush would have a background filled in mostly by the house across the street. Not as picturesque as my view. Not as lovely.

We continued on with our walk, and that was that.

Until a few days later when I looked at the photo again, and thought about our different points of view. Probably because we’re in a heightened state of polarization in our country, I thought wistfully how calm our neighborly conversation had been.

Of course, the subject of our conversation was benign, how we see a bush and its beyond. But I still wondered what it would take for me to have as congenial a conversation with someone who held an opposing view from me on much more weighty issues.

Could I be curious as to why they thought and felt the way they did, without telling them (maybe only in my head) that they were feeling more than thinking? And that they were flat out wrong? Could I talk – and listen — without raising my voice and my blood pressure?

I am fairly certain that the answer is, “No.” I don’t think I can do that, by myself. Only by the grace of God can I extend grace to someone else.

The Old Testament book of Proverbs contains so many pithy comments on human behavior and misbehavior. Here are a few, found in Proverbs 18 (NIV) that comment on wisdom and folly concerning true knowledge and understanding:

Verse 2:
Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.

Verse 13:
To answer before listening —
that is folly and shame.

Verse 15:
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
for the ears of the wise seek it out.

As we step out into this brand-new week, may God grant us the grace of kind and clear communication, from hearts and minds curious to truly listen to others so that we may better understand their hearts and minds.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, October 19, 2024

First of all, my abject apologies for thrusting us unceremoniously into the Christmas season with the photo above. It was actually this past January that I spotted this gingerbread cookie in the bargain section of what I vaguely remember was a bookstore. (Bookstores are now famous for introducing hordes of non-literary items onto their premises, especially around the holidays.)

Anyway, here was this “Giant Gingerbread Kid,” wearing a winsome grin, still sporting candy-sized holes in his body, which under normal circumstances would have been stuffed with supplied candy pieces. But because of a mishap—maybe a careless drop on the floor by an enthusiastic child—the Kid was left behind, and didn’t make it to a Christmas kitchen table. Instead, a cruel “Reduced” sticker was applied to his midsection, and even $3.35 didn’t purchase his freedom.

Okay, you may already be guessing the “interpretation” part of this photo parable. According to the Bible, every sinner from Adam and Eve on down is broken, Satan would like you to believe irreparably. But God is in the business of healing. And once He gets to work on us, He immediately peels off the “Reduced” sticker and applies an “Enhanced” one.

Want to see, from real Bible verses, how He does this? Click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, October 18, 2024

A bit over a year ago on a morning walk, I was startled to see this dynamic red Mustang in a driveway I was passing. What startled me wasn’t the car’s model, nor its color, but the electric charging cord plugged in just behind the front wheel.

“How have the mighty fallen,” I would have said to myself if I’d thought of it. Back in my day, tough little Mustangs were the epitome of cool, their gas-powered engine generating respectable motive power. Though they weren’t exactly “muscle cars,” they roared when you pumped the gas, and they could leave visible rubber-marks on asphalt highways if needed.

I don’t see the word “hybrid” on the trunk, which means that, even a year ago, this Mustang must have been fully electric, having to confine each trip to no longer than 300 miles, during the latter part of which the driver must diligently search for a charging station, and be prepared to wait for however long the regeneration took.

As you probably know, electric vehicles are the future. As I drive through the Seattle area, it seems as though every fifth car is a Tesla. Just today (Thursday, October 17) I also saw a Tesla truck, and at least two Rivians. And if batteries can be improved even more than they have been, and we can shove ourselves over the tipping point from fossil fuel to electricity, that’s probably a good thing all around.

Know what this makes me think about? Heaven.

Back in 1968 songwriter Joe South wrote and released a wistful and often-covered song about returning to childhood scenes. But its chorus speaks to me about humanity’s true home:

Don’t it make you wanna go home, now?
Don’t it make you wanna go home?
All God’s children get weary when they roam
Don’t it make you wanna go home?

Yes, Joe, I do want to go home.

To read some heartening Bible verses about heaven, click the link just below:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/heaven

Photo ©2024 by Chelsea Jurgensen
Commentary ©2024by Russell Jurgensen

It’s not certain how this horse got hold of a carrot stick. Maybe the horse thought it was her turn to take control of the training for a while. She seems to have a playful look in her eye. As my daughter Chelsea explained it to me, a carrot stick is an extension of your arm so that you can transform your tall body into a long body like a horse and be able to communicate with horse body language more effectively. The string on the end can even act like a horse’s swishing tail. It is never used as a whip and is only used to touch a horse when trying to desensitize it to touch.

It makes me think about the golden rule.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12

Just like this horse took the initiative to get the carrot stick, does it take some extra effort on our part to do things for others that we would like them to do for us? I can remember times I went out of my way to be nice and when the person didn’t recognize it, I got mad. So, I don’t think the rule is intended as a way to get other people to appreciate us or do nice things for us. It seems that real love does not expect anything in return.

While this horse may be wondering how it can use the carrot stick as an extension of its body, we can ponder our part in taking initiative to do good things for others.