Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Our neighbor sells seeds and plants to stores and plant nurseries all over the Pacific Northwest. The other day she gave us this plant. It’s a new type of dahlia that hasn’t been sold to the public yet (I don’t even know the name of it).

It’s interesting how plant growers can create different varieties of a specific flower. Changing its color, shape, size, etc. I did a little research to see how many varieties of the dahlia flowers there are, and it is shocking. Here are the facts I was able to collect – there are approximately 42 species, and within those species, there are over 40,000 varieties (and counting). That’s a lot of variations for one type of flower!

Each year, new varieties are created, and gardeners continue to add to their collection – bigger, smaller, brighter, more and more unique. One article I read mentioned the term “Dahliamania”. They are one of the most popular flowers for gardeners and florists, thus sparking innovation for creating more and more of them.

When God created us, we were a new creation – a very unique and special creation. Unlike the dahlia growers that feel the need to continue to create new varieties for consumption, God created us in His own image and was satisfied with the very first results.

Don’t get me wrong, variety can be a very good thing, but I do appreciate God didn’t feel like He had to continue to refine or improve us. He made us and He accepted us. Clearly, we all have faults, but because of His love and His mercy, we are enough. Thank you, God, for making us and most importantly, accepting us as we are.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Sunday, August 5, 2025

Even though the Swainson’s Thrush nests across North America, primarily north of the 49th parallel, for some reason it wasn’t discovered until 1840 from a bird found near Vancouver, Washington. It prefers to nest in coniferous forests at higher elevations, but will also use mixed growth forests at lower levels. Unlike many birds, it often sings during migration, which is a bit surprising since we often assume males sing to establish breeding territory which in turn attracts females. Obviously, this must not be the case here as the birds continue to move northward.

Most of our North American songbirds, including this thrush, are seasonally monogamous. But in this species the pair-bonding process is done a bit differently. This is because the females exhibit an unusually high degree of nesting site fidelity, of re-nesting near the site of last year’s nest. Since the males are the first to arrive on the breeding grounds, they may initially try to drive off the arriving females from their territory. However, the persistence of the female to remain on familiar territory will often result in multiple season pairings. It may not seem like the ideal basis for long term marriages to us, but it seems to work for the thrush.

As Christians who hold up the ideal model of marriage as the one given in Eden, we sometimes struggle to reconcile God’s willingness to “overlook” such things as polygamy and other inconsistencies we find among God’s people in the Old Testament. While I don’t think we should use birds and bees as our models, I do think God must be much more willing to use what we hand Him. His grace is so much greater than our own performance, which is the only thing that gives hope to people like you and me.

Photo ©2020 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, August 4, 2025

After selecting the image for this week’s photo parable, it seemed fitting to share these
verses about God’s creation:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his
handywork” (Psalm 19:1 KJV).

“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”
(Genesis 1:31 KJV).

“He hath made everything beautiful in his time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV).

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined” (Psalm 50:2 KJV).

The value of being immersed in God’s backcountry beauty far exceeds the physical effort
required to get to Chetwoot Lake. This photograph shows that I was there in His time,
while He shined.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, August 3, 2025

I’m on a weed watch. It’s a very focused weed watch; I’m keeping a close eye just on the weeds you see in this photo.

They’re not our weeds. They belong to people who live several blocks away from us, and we see them every morning as we walk through the neighborhood.

I’ve never before been fascinated by weeds, but these have gripped my attention because I’ve never seen dandelions this tall – their high point is up to my shoulders, and they’re still growing! But even more intriguing than their lofty height is their owners’ apparent unconcern about their existence.

I don’t know how they do it! My fingers twitch when we walk by. They are such spindly weeds. I know their kind. It would take minimal effort and thirty seconds or less to yank them out of the ground and toss them in the yard waste bin.

So why don’t the owners do that? Are they on a weed watch, too, waiting to see how tall they can grow dandelions without some brazen passerby losing control and pulling them out by their roots?

Ah, enough about their weeds. Because, as you may have guessed, I have weeds, too. Not this tall, I hasten to assure you. And I do try to pay prompt attention to them. But I know zero about the reason the weeds in my photo are allowed to flourish, so I will back away from judging their owners and simply sit in the mystery. (And continue weed watching to see if they’re still there when school starts, or when people put up Christmas decorations.)

And yes, this reminds me of Jesus. He talked about weeds more than once, using what was common and close at hand to teach truth about His kingdom. I remember the first time I read one of His weed stories, many years ago, and how it hit me as such a clear explanation of why we’re living in this kind of world. It’s still one of my favorite stories:

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.’” (Matthew 13:24-28a, NIV)

Jesus told several other stories about what His kingdom is like, but it was this story that apparently caught the disciples’ attention, and they needed to know more:

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. (Matthew 13:36-39a)

This small story of seeds and weeds describes the great controversy, the cosmic conflict, the battle between good and evil that has raged throughout earth’s history. I believe we’re about to witness the end of the age and the rage.

There is a bit more to this weed story; Jesus spoke of the harvest, when “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” (verse 41)

And then . . . AND THEN:

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (verse 43)

We’re all ears, Lord, and we’re watching . . . watching for You!!

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, August 2, 2025

This past Monday morning, on a post-breakfast walk, I spotted this little dog-stocking on a neighborhood sidewalk (I’ve put my Bic pen beside it to give you the scale). I know it’s for a dog and not a baby because of the paw-print design near the toes, and the makers have created a Scottish-tartan look to make it cuter yet.

I grew up as a farm boy with a mongrel dog who would have been intensely puzzled if I had tried to inflict a pair of these upon him. Poochie (yup, that was his name) was an outdoor dog, even in winter, and seemed serenely resigned to that kind of life.

Yet on my walks these days I see these paw-protectors every once in a while. Some of them seem to be made of leather, with tiny laces, and their wearers seem happy with them.

It’s good for a farm boy to learn one of the Bible’s most tender-hearted verses:

A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10 NKJV)

I’m not sure exactly how the verse’s second half meshes with the first (ancient Hebrew farmers probably got the point immediately), but it’s very clear that our kindness should extend even to the animals in our care.

For a few more Bible facts about nature, click the link just below:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/nature

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, August 1, 2025

This past Tuesday I approached a stop-light just behind this car. I’ve whited out its license plate, but haven’t done a thing to the two-word message attached just above: God exist

Two simple words, but a variety of possibilities:

God exist

Is the message-applier making a statement of truth? If “God exists” is the message, “exist” needs an “s.” If on the other hand you put the “s” on “God,” it’s Gods exist, and you’re signaling that there are several deities, and they all are alive and presumably equivalent.

Add in some punctuation possibilities and things get more complicated:

God? Exist? (A skeptical question, doubting if He does.)
God! Exist! (A desperate plea to the Higher Power to show Himself to be real.)

The moral of this little parable, of course, is that you have to spell out enough of your meaning to make sure your viewers get your point. Because God is a subject about whom the “true truth” is vital.

So click on the link just below, and you’ll find a lot of soul-soothing Bible clarification about God.

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, July 31, 2025

The moon was just a sliver yesterday in this scene from Rattlesnake Lake. However, I enjoyed the light and colors. It reminded me of these verses.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

With so much negative in the world, it is a good reminder that in our own lives actions matter. Let’s use what we know to share our love of God and let him shine through us.