Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, August 30 and 31, 2025

One of the recent encouraging trends I’ve noticed (amid a host of discouraging ones) is that Barnes and Noble bookstores keep sprouting up here and there. They’re delightful places, adjusting with the times and very customer-friendly.

I dropped by one of the newest B&N’s this week, and grinned when I discovered that whoever had charge of labeling the book sections hadn’t glued the “B” as firmly in line as the other letters. This created (temporarily until they find that “B” and reattach it) a new genre!

Of course, most books to a great extent are actually “I-ographies,” reflecting the writer’s personal preoccupations and obsessions. Nothing wrong with that, as such. But when this self-absorption ignores the reader and what he or she might find helpful, that’s bad (and not very royalty-productive.)

John the Baptist may be the Bible’s ultimate non-ego, when he said in John 3:30, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” Paul urged us in Philippians 2:3 to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” [ESV]

At this link you’ll find some more of what the Bible says about proportionally estimating your own value:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/self-esteem

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, August 29, 2025

After breakfast most mornings, I stroll a mile-long loop in our neighborhood, and Shelley joins me to continue our walk in a different direction. On my first loop, I always pass a corner property which we’ve come to think of as the Mystery House.

For years, maybe more than a decade, these same two cars have been parked in exactly these positions. The car on the left has a couple of old white boxes in the back seat, and these have never moved. The tires of each vehicle haven’t yet gone flat, but they’re sagging. The driveway is covered with layers of moss and pine needles. The lawn is mowed perhaps once a year, and doesn’t seem to be watered. No lights shine inside the house at night.

Not long ago, Shelley looked up this home’s address online, and found that it hasn’t been sold since around 1984. Bottom line: Nobody (except a mystery mower who gives the lawn its annual buzz) seems to care.

But look closely at the white frame of the right-hand garage door. Do you see the yellow piece of paper taped there? I know what it says, because the same paper was taped on my own garage door. It offers the services of a local lawncare firm. And attached to the yellow sheet is a small business card advertising housekeeping.

What an offer, right? Within a month or two, the lawn could show signs of revival, the driveway could be pressure-washed, the cars disposed of, and this house would look lived-in again.

Songwriter Stuart Hamblen once sang a spiritual parable about an old house.

This old house once knew my children
This old house once knew my wife
This old house was home and comfort
As we fought the storms of life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness
When the lightnin’ walks about

Ain’t gonna need this house no longer
Ain’t gonna need this house no more
Ain’t got time to fix the shingles
Ain’t got time to fix the floor
Ain’t got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend the window-pane
Ain’t gonna need this house no longer
I’m gettin’ ready to meet the saints

For more facts about Jesus’ coming, click the link just below:
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/second-coming-jesus-christ

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, August 28, 2025

It is fun to see when someone is passionate about something enough to paper their car with stickers. This avid birder even has a custom license plate, to which I applied a little masking to hide all the details.

Some of the stickers are too small to read. Here are what a few of them say.

“Caution, Kinda driving. Mostly bird watching.”
“I’m birding. Go around”
“Keep Honking. I also am a goose who is pretending to be a human. Fear not comrade our day will come.”
“Don’t let the muggles get you down”

(I think muggles must be non-bird watchers????)

It is kind of inspiring that people can be dedicated and put so much dedication into an endeavor. Maybe we can put more effort into understanding the core messages of Jesus. Things like treating others like we would like to be treated if we were in their shoes and taking care of our neighbors will speak louder than a lot of bumper stickers.

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, August 27, 2025

In our garden last year, we had 4 zucchini plants and had an excessive amount of zucchini that we were giving away by the handfuls. This year we felt that two plants would be sufficient. Earlier in the season, we didn’t feel like we were going to get many, and second guessed our decision. Then they started showing up — each time we would go to water the garden, we would find more. As you can see from the image, this ‘harvest’ happened over a 3-day period. Now we are back to sharing with our neighbors (and anyone that will take some). The bountiful harvest continues.

Just like this lesson in “just wait to see what happens” with our two zucchini plants, God is showing what He’s capable of doing in our lives as well. We know it’s about His timing, not ours. That doesn’t mean He won’t provide, or answer, it just means it may be a different timing then what we think it should be, or in most cases, what we want it to be.

We also know God loves us to give back what He gives to us. Do we need 12 zucchini a week? (rhetorical question). Nope. We can/should share ALL that God provides.

Speaking of giving and what God thinks of it, let’s read 2 Corinthians 9:6-8:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Here are the takeaways, I see them: God provides. It’s God’s timing (not ours). God wants us to want to give. 

Thank you, God, for all you give, and may you continue to provide me with a giving heart. Amen.

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, August 26, 2025

What’s not to like? A beautifully colored bird with a long, graceful tail that accounts for nearly half its length, accompanied by a jaunty crest that seemingly hints at its outgoing personality. The White-throated Magpie-Jay is found on the Pacific-slope of Mexico, southward to Costa Rica. A closely related jay, the Black-throated Magpie-Jay, has a more limited range in Mexico. Some consider these two to be a single species as hybrids between the two species do occur which result in intermediate plumages. It’s likely that it’s the Black-throated variety that Audubon painted, as his illustration has much more black on the face, but there are other possibilities.

John James Audubon was a master at using mixed media in the creation of his paintings. He would frequently sketch the outline of the bird he was painting using charcoal, and then apply various types of paint to create the final image he desired. This is apparent in his painting of the Magpie-Jay where he applied thick layers of white to cover his mistakes around the head of the bird. While he employed several methods to obtain whites, in this case he apparently employed the use of lead white or a mixture of lead with other whites. When employed as a watercolor, lead white has a tendency to turn dark with age and appear dark gray or even black. Such is the case in the painting of the Magpie-Jay and conservation efforts to return it to the original color have been unsuccessful.

The good news is that such is not the case of the forgiveness offered by God. Psalm 85:2 says, “You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.” (NIV) And Romans 4:7 reinforces this same idea: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” (NIV) We never have to worry that the sins we’ve confessed and handed over to God will one day reappear because God’s forgiveness may have grown thin and can no longer hide our offenses. That is good news, that’s grace, undeserved merit straight from the hand of the Great Artist.

Photo ©2016 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, August 25, 2025

The Cle Elum River gains its head on the slopes of the mountain in this photograph. It roars across the Pacific Crest Trail and then slows to calmly meanders into Hyas Lake.

I have not been to the mountains of Judea and so I lack the context that David had as he wrote Psalm 23. Based on the images that I have seen of the Judean wilderness, David was seeing by faith. Today, the Judean wilderness is a barren desert, devoid of everything that a sheep needs to survive. And yet David paints a picture of green pastures and still waters, the very things that appear in the photo for this week’s parable.

By faith, David knew that when God leads, the path will lack nothing that is needed for eternal survival. Take yourself out of this pastoral scene, to a path of absolute danger. If you recognize His voice, there is no cause for alarm.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-6 KJV).

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, August 24, 2025

We were just setting out on our post-breakfast walk, getting up to speed (such as it was), when we passed a neighbor we know only slightly. We know his first name, the house he and his wife live in, his preference of electricians (not the one he noticed we’d hired), and the fact that he has a golden retriever “grand-dog” that he dog-sits and dog-walks once in a while.

On this day he was alone, wearing headphones and a smile as we passed each other and exchanged “Good mornings.” But as we continued on, we heard him call out to us, so we swiveled around and I blurted out, “Were you calling to us?”

“Yes,” he said. And then, gesturing to one of the thirty or so small boulders that rim the perimeter of our neighborhood park, he asked, “Did you ever notice that this rock looks like a lamb lying down?”

We walked back to the rock he indicated and stared at it for a moment, then tried another angle and we saw it. “Yes!” we told him, relieved that we could see what he so obviously saw and appreciated. “Thanks for showing us!”

He smiled and headed home, while we took a couple photos of the lamb. On subsequent walks we’ve discovered that it’s easier to see the lamb at some times of day, in different light, so we’ve now taken many photos, trying to capture the most life-like lamb we can.

Can you see him in my photo above, taken as if we’re standing behind him, and his head is slightly down, with dark eye and then small ear above? Even a small gray tail at the end closest to us.

What makes it most poignant to me is that I see him as a lamb lying on a stone altar. So when I see him, I see Jesus, who chose to be our sacrificial Lamb. His cousin John called out, when he saw Jesus coming toward him, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b, NKJV)

It reminds me of one of my favorite passages in The Chronicles of Narnia series that C.S. Lewis wrote many years ago. Near the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan, the lion who is a Christ-figure, is put to death by wicked creatures as he lies, bound and muzzled, on a stone table.

But because he is a Christ-figure, that is not the end of his story! My retelling would never do it justice, so I recommend you read, or reread, the story for yourself. I did it again today, with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.

Our Bibles are so rich in imagery, with so many word pictures to capture our attention and help us see who Jesus is and what He means to us. Bread of Life, Water of Life, Lily of the Valley, the True Vine, Bright and Morning Star, Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, our Rock, the Resurrection and the Life, the Alpha and Omega, the Door, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

And that’s a partial list! Two more that I love to read and think about describe Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah – even in the same scene:

Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:1-10)

See the Lion? See the Lamb?

One Day we will, and each day brings us one day closer to that Day. Until then, we keep our eyes open, reading our Bibles and reading the world around us, so that by His grace we will meet Him, smile to smile, face to face.