Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, January 31, 2026 

A week ago was what you could call Cold Week in the Pacific Northwest. While saying this, I realize that people in other parts of the United States would probably have paid good money if we could have piped our temperatures into their regions. But for us, it was colder than we are used to.

It was either a week ago Thursday or Friday that Shelley and I bundled up and trudged our way along our neighborhood’s frosty sidewalks. I happened to glance down, and spotted this beautiful little leaf lying neatly between the two sidewalk slabs.

What’s so beautiful, to me, is that from one end to the other, this leaf portrays the spectrum of its entire lifecycle. The lower half is a healthy green, but the upper part, from the stem down, shows that winter is choking off the nutrients that would keep the leaf alive. I don’t know where this leaf is now, or what color it is, but it will eventually turn brown and dissolve.

Providentially, the human race need not face this same fate. Humanly speaking, unless Jesus returns first, we all will return to dust – but the Bible trumpets the glorious news that beyond our earthly fate we can all have eternal life. To find the full spectrum of God’s renewing power, scroll through the verses at the link below!

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/new-life

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Carolyn Howson
Friday, January 30, 2026 

[Note from Maylan: Today we have a guest blogger, Carolyn Howson, who’s married to Tuesday’s blogger Robert. As you’ll see, Carolyn is not only a faithful walker but also a close and good-humored observer of life, able to see spiritual value in common things. Thanks, Carolyn!]

On our morning walk my walking buddy and I came upon this tidy house, tidy yard, and tidy trash containers lined up for pick up.  This was one of those “I guess I haven’t seen it all” moments that we encounter every so often.  My curiosity was piqued enough to go home and come back for this picture to ponder.

It’s the day after Christmas and this homeowner has dutifully placed his three containers neatly at the curb for pick up with the accompanying note on each, starting with please.  PLEASE KNOCK ON OUR DOOR!  All caps and an exclamation point at the end.

My first observation:  What’s so urgent that each of the three drivers needs to get out of his truck, come up to the door, knock and respond to the homeowner’s bidding?  My second observation—will the drivers even comply—out of curiosity if for no other reason?   And I’ll probably never know the answer to either of these questions.  So, a couple of takeaways will hopefully suffice.

Obviously, the homeowner has gone to a bit of effort to attract the attention of waste management by making three legible signs and placing them strategically on each of the containers.  He has an urgent need and will be at the door when the drivers knock.  In other words, he will be ready to open the door because of that need.  A need that the driver can fulfill.

About the trash.  It is in place.  It is removable and will be removed.  It can’t remove itself.  Someone determined that it was trash and another someone will remove it.  It will be dealt with just like sin will be dealt with.

A final takeaway.  If Jesus was the garbage truck driver, He would happily comply to this directive.  He would even look at it as an invitation.  So, we can be sure that He would take the time to respond to the urgent need of the petitioner and satisfy it.  Revelation 3:20 depicts the scene this way: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…”  There is good communication from beginning to end in this scenario and satisfaction is guaranteed.  It’s a win-win.

As we go into a brand new year, it would behoove us to take inventory and then steps to properly deal with present needs we have that only our Savior has solutions for.  Let Him, with our permission, deal with them as only He can.

Photo ©2026 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen

In this mural in Seattle it seems uncertain of what it represents. Is it just a fun painting of bird houses? Or could it represent the close proximity of people living in nearby buildings? Or maybe it is a deterrent to keep pigeons from loitering because it confuses them!

After searching the web, I found a few more possibilities. Birdhouses can depict a connection with nature. Birds in general can represent peace and love, representing our common human bonds. Birdhouses sometimes represent sanctuary and nurturing for the soul.

I like this Bible verse.

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Psalm 15:1

May we make our homes sanctuaries of peace as we think of God’s word that is unchanging even with the variable environment around us.

Photo ©2008 and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday and Wednesday, January 27 and 28, 2026

How confident are you that you can tell, with reasonable certainty, when an animal is truly aggressive and when they are just excited?  Are you sure the basso profundo of that German Shepherd across the way indicates it is angry, while the soprano tweetings of the Yorkie on the other side suggest it is only trying to figure out what is going on?  We have a dog in our neighborhood that always sounds like a trombone with a plunger mute stuck in the bell.  I can never tell from its bark what kind of day it’s having.  It’s always the same.  In ages past I had a dog that felt it was his solemn responsibility to protect the home front.  When walking home I would try to change my gait so as to fool him, then, rush at him when I got closer.  I suspect he knew what was going on long before the final sprint, but think he enjoyed the game too.

What about these two juvenile Bald Eagles in the first photo? Are they fighting or playing?  And is this adult (just above) angry about something, or does that supraorbital ridge over its eye foreordain it will always have a stern appearance?  To bring it closer to home, are you any better evaluating those of your own kind by their demeanor than you are at assessing that of birds and dogs?  I know, John 7:24 is talking about a different kind of judgment when it says: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (ESV)  Still, the same kind of caution is appropriate since the way we treat people seems to often be determined by our estimate of their attitude.

Photo ©2008 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, January 26, 2026

In my September 22^nd post of 2025, I shared a photo of the Columbia River entitled Looking Home. The view was from Cape Horn on Washington Highway 14 looking east towards Stevenson, my childhood home. Today’s image is a view of the Columbia making its way through the Cascade Mountains. The photo was captured from the flanks of Dog Mountain and looks down the river to the west and is again looking towards Stevenson.

Our home was situated on the hills above Stevenson at about the same elevation as this view from Dog Mountain. So, through the front windows of our home we had a remarkably similar view of the river. My father worked on the river as a sawyer at the Stevenson Co-Ply plywood mill.

As we became old enough, we all, my siblings and I, also worked at the plywood mill. The river, in a sense, became our life. We worked around it. Our days were filled with its views, and it was also our playground, where we swam and water skied and had picnics. The Columbia River generates over 40% of the United States’ hydroelectricity. It has the largest discharge by runoff volume (~275,000 cubic feet per second) to the Pacific Ocean.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2 NIV).

Considering this passage of scripture, I am glad that the value and importance of a river will be with me through eternity. I am hoping that you will join me and my family on the banks of His River of Life. I look forward to swimming from one side to the other. Perhaps we will share a picnic under the limbs of the Tree of Life.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, January 25, 2026

When I saw this gallon of milk sitting on a trash container outside a grocery store, my first thought was, “No use crying over spilt milk!” (Or “spilled” milk, but the British “spilt” is how I first heard it.)

I’ve been musing over milk ever since I saw this abandoned gallon. As usual, my thoughts wandered over to the Bible, and, as usual, I asked myself questions: Was there any “spilt milk” in the Bible stories I’ve heard and read for lo, these many years? If so, what caused it and how was it handled?

But first I must define “spilt milk.” It was fun reading the history and current usage of the idiom, some from dictionaries and some from dairy council websites! The consensus seems to be that it refers to something unfortunate that has happened and cannot be undone, and the only decent and profitable thing to do is to move on. There is nothing to be gained by dwelling in regret.

I thought of Peter. Hours after he proclaimed he would die with Jesus rather than ever disown Him, he emphatically denied knowing Him or being one of his followers – three times. That’s not a slight misfortune of accidentally spilling some milk, but a firehose of words, spewing out cruel disavowal of friendship and followership of the One who had patiently loved and taught Him for three years.

Going back to our definition, this was something unfortunate that happened, and it could not be undone . . . but was moving on the only decent and profitable thing to do?

No. First, he needed to cry over spilt milk.

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:75 NKJV)

Reading the rest of Peter’s story, we see that these were tears of sincere repentance. We see Jesus forgiving him, reinstating him in ministry in front of his fellow disciples who knew all about his cowardly denials, and empowering him for leadership in the early Christian church.

I love the detail mentioned when an angel at the empty tomb tells Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (hands full of spices with which to anoint the body of Jesus) that He is not there; He is risen! And then:

“But go, tell His disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” (Mark 16:7)

Peter, singled out for inclusion. Imagine how he felt when he heard that message, from heaven to his heavy heart!

The story of Peter’s denial is told in all four gospels. I think we hear so much about him not only here, but throughout the gospels, because there is so much Peter in all of us.

Only after he was thoroughly repentant, and knew he was fully forgiven, could Peter move on. Otherwise, he would have lived in regret, and wallowed in guilt.

How good it is to be reminded that no matter how much milk we spill, accidentally or deliberately, we, too, can move on, as fully forgiven followers of Jesus, whose blood spilled out for us all.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, January 23 and 24, 2026 

I snapped the above photo last August, on a visit to a newish Barnes and Noble bookstore. I’m not exactly sure what the “&” symbol on the wall symbolizes, but maybe it means that the book categories beneath it are varied enough to not be able to be covered by a single word. Maybe the “&” is another way of saying “etc.”

And a glance at the white-on-black labels just above the books shows that the categories are indeed varied. “Self-transformation” doesn’t have much to do with at least the Christian version of religion, and if you could see the tiny gray tags subcategorizing “Religion,” you’d see the labels “Western Philosophy” and “Eastern Philosophy,” which take up most of the shelving on that side.

I’d like to think that if God is our creator, we really should consult His personal preferences about these topics, rather than relegating them to the “etc.” department. Here are three Bible links which might help:

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

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

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