Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, September 17, 2024

With all deference to the greats like Ansel Adams, the world would be a poorer place without color. True, we’d still have texture and pattern to enrich our lives, but somehow things wouldn’t be the same. Because many of us think, and even dream in color, we tend to project that ability onto others. For example, when the bullfighter furls his red cape at the bull we tend to think this excites the bull into charging, when in truth it only sees motion, not the color. The festive red is there for our benefit, not for the bull’s. And your dog or cat would not be impressed with the vibrancy of the colors flaunted by the thistle and butterfly in this picture.

True, other creatures, such as most insects and birds, have the ability to perceive color. In fact, some insects’ color vision extends far beyond ours, extending into the ultraviolet hues. This color vision is thought to enable them to find ripe food more easily as well as aiding in the selection of a mate.

As humans we’re not too different. If you’re a fan of the NBA, it’s likely you recognize purple and orange as the colors of the Phoenix Suns. And in the collegiate ranks the Clemson Tigers also sport those same team colors. But they’re not colors you usually think of as naturally going together.

Just as a true fan would never think of hiding his team’s colors, so we too must let it be know what side we are on, and this is most clearly revealed during times of testing. “You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” (James 1:3 The Message) May we delight in all the colors of the Lord.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, September 16, 2024

I saw this zinnia growing in a park a couple of weeks ago. It was actually surrounded by a lot of other differently colored zinnias all making a very nice display. This one looks like it has a circle of flowers within the flower.

Sometimes we don’t stop to see the flowers because we are so busy with our lives and daily concerns that we just kind of hurry on about our days.

I like Psalm 46:

Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
Psalm 46:8-11 (The Message)

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, September 15, 2024

Haven’t you found that it’s an honor to honor someone? That’s how it always seems to me, and that’s how it was yesterday, when we had the privilege and pleasure of honoring our dear friend Marion on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

She didn’t want any fuss, so it took a fair amount of persuasion before she agreed to let us, during our worship service, highlight her years of service to her church and community. I think the turning point came when we told her this would be an opportunity for her to shine the light on the Lord she loves.

And so she did, sharing her “lost and found” journey, when the Lord rescued her in a time of great confusion and darkness. She was living these Bible verses:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
(Colossians 1:13-14 NIV)

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
(Psalm 18:19 NIV)

As I thought about Marion’s words of encouragement for us to trust completely in the Lord who has rescued us, I remembered a photo I’d taken last week, the one you see above. My eye was caught by this tremendous tangle of roots. It looks like my life has felt at times – a bit chaotic, with no seeming pattern or plan.

But the tree is standing tall, and growing green and flourishing, because there are roots unseen, anchoring and nurturing the growth from underground.

Marion’s life has seen plenty of challenges during her 90 years, but she has sunk her roots deep down in a love that is deeper still. As a result, she can testify to a God who has been with her every step of her pilgrim way.

One of the ways her congregation thanked her was with this gift of 90 roses, beautifully arranged by her longtime friend Denise. (Yes, there are 90 – it’s a full, 360° arrangement, so you’d have to walk all the way around it to admire and count all 90!)

Because Marion has sunk her roots deep in a loving relationship with the Lord, her life has blossomed beautifully. When we honor her, we honor the Lord who delights in her.

As we step out into this brand-new week, may we sink our roots even deeper in the Lord’s love, letting Him nourish us and make us flourish for Him.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, September 14, 2024

A couple of weeks ago in a used-book store I went to one of my favorite areas, the art technique section. There I saw the usual type of instruction guide such as the ones in the photo: Drawing Animals, Drawing Expressive Portraits, even a book on drawing fantasy dragons.

But next to them was a large book which caused me to grin: Character Sketches. Its title had led an inattentive staffer to stock it here. As I think back, I realize now that I should have taken this book to the counter and told them that it belonged in the religion section. I haven’t owned a copy for probably 20 years, but back when I was in seminary, the Christian world regarded this book, and its author, with respect. (However, in recent years this organization has been mired in scandals which have caused the founder, now 81, to step down.)

Character Sketches, as I remember, looked at the lives of Bible people and endeavored to draw life principles from them, which of course is a worthwhile goal. But we don’t need this book, because we have the Bible. Scripture stories are fascinating, because as we read them we see that people who lived thousands of years ago aren’t all that different from we are.

Click the link below and you’ll find a few verses about Bible characters, plus a list of those whose lives are especially meaningful.

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

Photo ©2024 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2024 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday and Friday, September 12 and 13, 2024

This recently-built observation style treehouse hovers about 15-feet above the ground. It is high enough to provide a great view, but not so high that it is difficult to climb up to it. It was constructed by my wife’s brother and his sons who are great fans of nature. Once up on the platform, it feels like a national geographic research station where someone can observe the fauna and record activity for science. Although I think this treehouse will just be used for a pleasant diversion.

It reminds me of how the Bible gives us a unique overview of history from a spiritual perspective. We can see how through history, selfish influences have undermined good things. On the other hand we can see how God works to bring light to darkness.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

This is just one example. Let’s let our view of what is important balance our perspective of the world around us.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

When you look at the calendar, it says 11 more days of summer, at least in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the sunniest of summers this year, but we’ve had moments of heat and sunshine. As you can see in this image, the cucumbers and zucchinis would not be deterred by the lack of constant sun and heat – they produced more than we could possibly consume. The beauty in the “over production” was the ability to share with others – many others. The chance to share with others what God has provided, is a wonderful feeling. It truly puts real meaning to Paul’s words in Acts 20:35:

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than receive.’”

I’m sure we’ve all been on the receiving end of something. Someone gave you a gift, did a good deed, or was there to give you advice. We’ve also been on the giving end of situations, sharing a meal, donating to a good cause, or helping someone in need. The feeling you gain in both scenarios can be positive. I clearly remember, as a child, that receiving a present on a special occasion far outweighed my excitement than when I was asked to donate some older toys for those that didn’t have as much. Fast forward to my “more seasoned” age, I now feel so much more joy in the giving act. Part of that change is years I’ve experienced and part of it is knowing our God better. His love has shown me what that true joy feels like.,

Now, back to our garden. We may only have another couple weeks of summer and about the same amount of time to continue harvesting from our vegetable plants on a daily basis. The good news, even when the veggies run out and we can’t continue to share out, we have something even better to share – the love of Jesus. That’s a gift we all can give year-round! The next time you have an opportunity to give or take, consider giving – you’ll feel the effects for a long time.

Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Almost like two peas in a pod. You’d be hard pressed to find visual significant differences between these two members of the flycatcher family. But classed they are as two separate species, the Western Wood-Pewee and the Eastern Wood-Pewee. Neither is particularly distinctive in their drab olive-gray plumage and their life-style patterns are similar as well, except that as their names describe, they live in two separate regions of the country. Any differences you might think you see are due more to lighting and photographic variables than differences in the birds themselves. Why then would taxonomists separate these two into two distinct species? Remember, this was done long before we had the ability to look at their DNA structure which might confirm the separation.

The answer centers around their voice. The name pewee is derived from one of the calls of the Eastern species, a good onomatopoeic word if there ever was one. The Western equivalent simply took on the pewee name because of the other similarities they share.

So, what characteristic do you share with other believers that would qualify you to be correctly classified as a Christian? Certainly our languages are as diverse as our nationalities. Appearances vary widely in any given congregation, and worship styles range from the most reverent to the most demonstrative. If pressed for an answer, the best we might come up with is a common devotion to and adoration of a central figure, the person Jesus Christ.