Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, July 23, 2025

According to Wikipedia, weather vanes—also known as weathervanes or wind vanes—are instruments used to indicate wind direction. Traditionally placed at the highest point of a building, they also serve as architectural ornaments. As the wind shifts, the vane rotates to point toward the source of the wind, giving observers a chance to adjust their course if needed.

If you look closely at the image, you’ll notice there’s only one actual weathervane (hint: it’s the one without feathers). That’s right—it’s the metal frame with the compass directions, not the Great Blue Heron.

This photo was taken near the Mukilteo lighthouse. The combination of sunlight and an overcast sky created a striking contrast, casting two distinct silhouettes: one of the heron and one of the weathervane.

It got me thinking—if one vane can guide you by showing the wind’s direction, wouldn’t two be even better? But what if they pointed in opposite directions? That could be confusing. When it comes to choosing a direction, sometimes relying on a single, trustworthy guide is the wisest choice.

Isn’t that a metaphor for life? For true guidance, it’s best to lean on one reliable source—especially when that source is God. When we walk with Him daily, He reveals the next best step. One source, when it’s the right one, will always lead us to the right destination.

Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.”

Pray for daily guidance, for the voice to tell you and show you the correct direction.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

It’s easy to see why the Painted Bunting qualifies as North America’s most colorful songbird. It’s also easy to imagine why it might be kept as a popular caged bird in areas south of the United States where the bird winters and such a practice is not illegal. Doing so is made easier since it is primarily a seed eater.

But I’d like to focus on another quality it possesses that makes it such a favorite. Let’s call it tenacity. The first definition The American Heritage Dictionary offers for tenacious is “Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view”. No one could argue with the colorfulness of the bunting’s plumage, but what makes it even more commendable is that it retains this finery year-round. Unlike our ducks and many songbirds that look their finest only at mating time, the bunting holds onto its colors throughout the entire year.

A similar quality promoted in Scripture is perseverance, the quality of maintaining a consistent or adhering to a course of action. John admonishes us to: “Take care of yourselves; don’t throw away all the labour that has been spent on you, but persevere till God gives you your reward.” (II John 1:8 J.B. Phillips New Testament) If your belief is worth anything at all, it’s worth persevering to maintain it, or put another way, tenaciously hold onto what you really value.

Photo ©2016 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, July 21, 2025

When travelling in the mountains, safety demands that we observe the clouds. They are nature’s early warning system for changes in the weather. This cloud was intriguing because of its eye-like features.

As the evening progressed the sky responded to the setting sun with deeper and deeper hues. I could sense the Master Artist at work on His canvas.

Among other things, this scene reminds of the description of Christ’s return, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him…” (Revelation 1:7 KJV).

Perhaps, even the elements of nature will reveal their eyes as they welcome back their creator.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, July 19, 2025

Not far from where I live are these two houses. At first glance, you might say, “Aha. One family waters its lawn and one doesn’t. Interesting.”

And you would be right. But I know some additional backstory which, to my mind, brings this photo up to the level of a parable.

Look at the lawn on the right. As you can see, it looks beautiful. And on most days you can see not only the lush grass but a garden hose sprawled across it. And in the mornings as well as the evenings, the householder stands holding that hose, irrigating the grass to its very corners.

But roll back the video a few years, and this lawn looked quite different. Its grass was mowed short, but there were large bare patches on it. I would see the man standing out there, toiling disconsolately over those brown spots, trying to get them to grow. But nothing he tried seemed to work.

But then – and it might’ve been during the pandemic – the man hired a cheerful group of landscapers to scrape off the old grass and lay down sod. And the homeowner has determined to keep that lawn looking beautiful, and that’s why it looks way it does today. He’s made it high on his priority list.

Now shift your gaze to the other lawn. This family has three children, and neither the dad nor the mom has retired (which is the case with the man with the lovely lawn). The dad also works on the family’s cars, keeping each one finely tuned in every way. Though in past years, he or another family member could be seen sporadically irrigating their lawn, during the past couple of years he has decided to let the lawn go brown – like mine, and like my neighbor’s to the left, and like several other lawns in our cul-de-sac.

Again, it’s a matter of priorities. There are obviously no biblical commands about lawn care, but Jesus did insist that we think carefully about what’s important.

For two crisp, thought-provoking Bible verses about priorities, click the following link:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Friday, July 18, 2025

On my first attempt at using a hand drill on this plastic box, I learned that it can be very difficult. The drill wanted to wander around and then it grabbed so hard I couldn’t hold the box.

So on the second attempt I used a drill press and clamped the box in place. It provided a world of improvement because the hole was in the right place and the bit didn’t grab. It ended up producing this nice fuzzy blob of plastic shavings. In case you wonder, the round silver thing on the left side is a laser line generator like used on work tools. It will fit inside the drilled hole.

In our spiritual lives we might wonder what is the right tool to use when dealing with fear. I especially like this verse.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18

It is not easy to understand how love drives out fear. It seems worth studying. The verse indicates that just a little love is not enough, perhaps suggesting we will still have fear if we don’t fully understand love. It almost seems like the world argues against love in order to get what it wants. But that might be part of the point for why God lets people try it that way. We can see that those ways never extinguish fears but magnify them.

Fortunately, we can learn a better way, like learning to use the right tools.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday and Thursday, July 16 and 17, 2025

I spent time identifying this specific hummingbird (hopefully I did it correctly). The reason it took a bit more time is that it’s either a female or an immature (male or female). In the bird world, many of the adult males have striking and very colorful markings. In the case of these two varieties, Anna’s and Rufous, they have similar characteristics. I inspected a few different images, researched the written descriptions, and eventually listened to each of their calls. Eureka! (I hope) I identified it — Anna’s.

In the book of Matthew (7:16-20), Jesus says, “…you will know them by their fruit.” This was/is a teaching on how best to recognize true followers from false prophets. Jesus didn’t say, “You’ll know them by their words,” or “by their church attendance,” or even “by their knowledge.” He said fruit. When we reflect on the fruit that is being referenced here, we know it’s the Fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Those are action words. It’s the outward result of an inward reality.

Just like the hummingbird, appearances can be deceiving. From a distance, many birds look the same. It’s only when you get close—when you observe their behavior, their sound, their patterns—that you begin to see what’s really true. The same is true for us as Christians.

No matter what we do, people are observing us. They’re listening to our “calls,” watching our “flight patterns,” and trying to figure out what kind of bird we really are. And if we’re not staying true to what God wants us to be, we might be sending mixed signals—claiming to be one thing but living like another.

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about authenticity. It’s about making sure that what we say we believe is actually reflected in how we live.

Because in the end, it’s not just about being identified correctly by others—it’s about being known by God as His own.