Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Just by looking at this picture taken in Washington State, what reasonable conclusions could you arrive at? Let’s start with when: probably not on the 4th of July. Easter can be eliminated for the same reasons.

Can you tell where the shot was taken? The clues to answer this are more subtle. There are no rugged peaks in the background and alpine evergreen aren’t really apparent. Still, there’s that front porch to consider. What do you know about the person who lives here?

I’m guessing we’d agree that they have a strong interest in the out-of-doors after looking at the peak of the roof and the front porch. And one more question: What is the occupation of the occupant? Unless they have a very, very large family who go through equipment rapidly, it’s quite likely they are involved in some way with the ski industry.

What is missing is the story behind those 32 pair of skis, plus those two that don’t have their mate. Why did they end up spending Christmas lined up at the front porch? While I don’t think we should spend sleepless nights pondering the answer to that question, there are some questions about Christmas that may deserve our attention.

Why didn’t Joseph plan ahead and make reservations? Did the innkeeper ever become aware that something of significance must have been happening when numerous visitors showed up at his establishment? Of course we can’t answer these questions, but what we can, and must answer, is whether He is evident in our lives. If He is, He should be even more apparent than Fischers, K2s, and Rossignols.

Photo ©2005 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, December 22, 2025

Today’s photo parable features an image of the Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The beacon sits on the northernmost point of the island and in 1913, it began generating a double flash of light every ten seconds. The one million candlepower light was visible ninety miles from the air and twenty miles across the ocean. The lighthouse operated until 1976 when it was deactivated.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105 KJV).

“ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16 KJV).

The lighthouse in Ushant, France, has been listed as the most powerful in the world. It boasts an incredible five hundred million candlepower. Some say that the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in Florida is currently the most powerful with a 5.5 megacandela xenon lamp. Brazil has two lighthouses capable of being seen from fifty-one nautical miles. Of interest, the Statue of Liberty has been observed up to sixty miles. Yet, amid these tremendous human achievements, the light from God’s word is visible in the darkest corner of our planet and in truth across the universe.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV)?

Jesus commissioned us to take His light to everyone across the world. Today, He might be asking us the Elijah question: “What are you doing here?” If you find your light burning dim, open His word for a resupply of fuel. Shine brightly for Him, for you indeed are the light of the world.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, December 21, 2025

I remember bobbing for apples in a metal tub at the Stewarts’ house when I was a child. I was a shy little girl, not eager to plunge my face into cold water in order to chase and grab an apple with my teeth. (And who thought that was a good idea anyway? It seems unattractive and even hazardous to your health, especially viewed through the lens of recent global pandemic experience!)

I hadn’t thought of the Stewarts’ party for many years until last week, when we drove State Route 167 through Kent and saw hundreds of pumpkins bobbing in the flooded fields. A few days later we weren’t able to make that drive; a six-mile stretch of the road, including the route we drove, was closed both north and south due to continued flooding.

Words that have dominated the news the last two weeks include: rain, wind, flooding, forecast, dam, levee, closure, rescue, and atmospheric river. And one more word I heard several times: saturated.

Yes, our ground is saturated, causing concern that strong winds could topple trees made vulnerable by their soggy footing, and those downed trees could cause all sorts of harm.

That word saturated has lodged in my mind. I’ve turned it over and over, thinking of how I usually hear or use the word myself. I hear commentators lamenting that we are living in a media-saturated culture. I remember writing on more than one occasion that we live on a sin-saturated planet. I believe both of these things to be true.

But is there any upside to the word? Can it be positive as well as negative? Is there anything in the Bible that is described as saturated?

To answer the last question, I think of Elijah on top of Mount Carmel, challenging the pagan prophets of Baal to a test to see which God or god would answer a sacrifice by sending fire upon it. As we read the story in I Kings 18, we hear him call for twelve large jars of water to be poured over the sacrifice he has prepared, until it is thoroughly drenched in water. And then:

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” (I Kings 18:36-39 NIV)

According to vocabulary.com, saturated originally meant “satisfied . . .” It seems that in this Mount Carmel showdown, God was satisfied with Elijah’s faithful, courageous service, and the people were satisfied that the true God had showed up, and burned up, the saturated sacrifice.

No other saturated circumstances come easily to mind from my Bible memories, but I jump instead to a word that could be a close cousin: overflowing.

I think I made that mental leap because I was still searching for a positive shine on the word saturated, and the word overflowing reminds me of one of my most favorite Bible verses:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

This verse seems to be full to overflowing with wonderful words! God, hope, all, joy, peace, trust, power, Holy Spirit! I’ve discovered that I can’t read it without smiling.

As we enter Christmas week, closely followed by the turning of the page to a new year, Romans 15:13 is my prayer for myself, and for you, as we trust in Him!

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, December 20, 2025

Though neither Shelley nor I are ones to go all-out with exterior Christmas decorations, our style being more of a modest door-wreath and a small lighted Christmas tree in an upper window, we hugely enjoy the displays of the neighbors in our development. In fact, Shelley is able to keep in mind which neighbor puts up which décor each year, which leads to such exclamations as, “I don’t see the dancing hula-skirt Santa yet,” or “That family’s doing Seahawks-colored lights this year.”

The above display is one we’re familiar with. Actually, the only part of it I normally notice is the huge green inflatable dinosaur which lies collapsed on the lawn, probably because it’s daytime and there’s no need to waste the air-pressure electricity until night-time, when the bulbs inside the “dragon” make it glow green. Then it dwarfs the rest of the lawn figurines.

But now, in the daytime, the Santa and the deer and even the Grinch seem to be rejoicing that the dragon is no longer a force to contend with!

This reminds me of one of the Bible’s most cosmically significant chapters, Revelation 12. Read it all the way through sometime, out loud and with expression.

Revelation 20:1 – 3 [NKJV]: Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

That last sentence can be quite puzzling. Why release the devil once you’ve caught him? It’s a long but very enthralling story. For now, the good news – a few verses later the devil is destroyed:

Verse 10: The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Another puzzling sentence: tormented forever? Another long story, but the good news is that the devil will eventually be destroyed. In Ezekiel 28, the prophet predicts that the devil will finally become ashes:

Ezekiel 28:18 – 19: “ . . . Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”

Don’t obsess about Satan by all means, but if you want to learn a bit more about what the Bible teaches about him, click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, December 19, 2025

A week ago I was at our local library working on my laptop. Out of an eye-corner I noticed a flash of blue. The young man in the above photo was examining bookshelves behind me, and since I’d caught a glimpse of the message on his hoodie, I whipped out my camera in case he walked away.

This he did, and I snapped the photo. Zoom up the picture as I might, I couldn’t catch if the slogan was connected to a particular product or website. A Google search revealed that “Treasure the little moments” seems to be a general philosophy which is used in various Hobby-Lobbyesque products.

I never saw this boy’s face, but I’m sure it’s engraved in the hearts of his parents. It seems likely that they were the ones to provide him with the hoodie, either that or he was given it by someone who shares the same sentiment and hopes that he and those around him will put it into practice.

Jesus often insisted that Heaven treasures us and our every moment. It’s likely that God’s ability to number the hairs currently on your head is no exaggeration (Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7), which means that He is somehow able to value each of our moments far more than we do.

Click the link below to find a Bible tutorial on “true love,” God’s style.
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/love

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, December 18, 2025

This picture of Snoqualmie Falls was taken a few days after its peak flood level. When it is flooding like this, the normal viewing deck is nearly unusable because the spray rushes up the banks thicker than the rain coming down. Without a full rain suit, it drenches clothes in moments.

Storms remind me of turmoil that might happen in our lives. Sometimes it even storms outside while some problem happens inside. But we have hope that God sees our troubles and cares about us.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
Psalm 107:29

When things are tough, that is a good time to look for positives to change our thinking. May the storms in your life be calmed to a whisper as you find joy in your life.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, December 17, 2025

First off, as you reflect on the picture, you should be able to tell this is not my ‘usual’ style of imagery. I typically lean toward including nature images to accompany my written words. Second, it’s a bit embarrassing to share the image AND have to explain why I didn’t swap the filter out sooner!

OK – we’ve established the image you see, is a side-by-side comparison of an air duct filter. The one on the right has a much different hue to its counterpart on the left. Without zooming in (highly discouraged) I can tell you, the hue is not based on a different brand of filter, or a different selected coloring pattern. Nope, the blackness you see is . . . filth, pure and simple. It’s all the dust particles, dirt, and dog hair that were collected over the course of a 6-month period. The embarrassing part of this, besides the stark contrast, is I know better. I know to change these filters out — at least — every 3 months. What happened? I forgot, that’s what happened.

The bright white filter on the left of the screen is clearly the new, the replacement. That’s the good news; I had a replacement. I had one to take the place of the old, tired, and (quite frankly gross) one. I guess you could say, it’s the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

So, what does this have to do with a daily walk with our Creator? Everything. What happens if we forget to check-in with God? What happens when we forget our prayer time, or our scripture time or a literal walk as we bring our celebrations and concerns to our Savior? I’ll give you one guess — it looks a lot like the filter on the right. Our mind and heart start to collect the bad stuff, attempting to filter our own results in the collection of stuff we don’t want at all.

Now, what happens when we change out and replace our filter on a daily basis? You see that beautiful white as snow filter? That’s what our heart and mind can aspire to be — clean and bright.

In Isaiah 1:18, we read:

…Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

This was a promise God was making to people that were willing to seek Him, obey Him and ask for forgiveness. I truly believe that the same promise holds true for us today. We need to seek Him, obey Him and desire the forgiveness we all need, in order to see that darkness turn pure white!