Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, November 30, 2025

Out of sight, to the left of the photo, is a house and yard beautifully decorated for Christmas. We always thank this several-blocks-away-from-us neighbor for the time and work (and electricity) she dedicates to “making spirits bright.” I asked her last year if she was an interior designer and she said No, she just enjoys decorating their home and yard. I assured her that all of us onlookers thoroughly enjoy what she does so well!

Even though I’m curious, and love to ask questions, I have refrained from asking her about the three little pumpkins huddled together near the back fence.

A week ago they were on the front steps, part of a beautiful harvest display. Now they’ve been sidelined. Not banished, not relegated to the yard waste bin, but definitely sidelined.

One of the online Oxford Languages definitions for “sidelined” is “to remove from the center of activity or attention; place in a less influential position.”

When you mentally skim through the pages of your Bible, who comes to mind as fitting that “sidelined” definition?

Maybe, like me, it took you only a few seconds to think of John the Baptist. One of his most well-known declarations was, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 NKJV) The “He,” of course, was Jesus.

The beginning verses of the gospel of Mark explain “the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,” and how John leads the way:

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:1-5 NIV)

John was the center of attention, a bold and fiery preacher calling for repentance. After declaring some of the Pharisees and Sadducees who arrived to observe his baptizing, “You brood of vipers!” he explained:

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11)

So maybe John wasn’t sidelined; no one demanded he leave the field of action. He knew God’s plan and his purpose in it. He was the messenger preparing the way for the Messiah, ready to voluntarily move over when He appeared.

It can be hard to play a gracious second fiddle when you’ve been very involved in playing first fiddle. How easy it would have been to let jealousy take root in your heart, and cultivate it and let it grow into bitter fruit. But John chose better, not bitter; he chose the unexpected reaction of joy:

Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.” He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:25-30 NKJV)

These are not bitter words, but the confident rejoicing of a man who knows he has fulfilled his God-given mission.

I have not confided in our neighbor the fact that her three pumpkins huddled in the shadows by the back fence remind me of John the Baptist. It’s enough for me to quietly enjoy that leap from her yard to the New Testament.

And it’s enough to encourage me to be content with whatever mission(s) God points out to me. I remember a jaunty poem I learned as a child, “Be the Best of Whatever You Are”:

If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley — but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

If you can’t be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie then just be a bass —
But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here,
There’s big work to do, and there’s lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.

If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail —
Be the best of whatever you are!

Douglas Malloch (1877-1938), public domain.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, November 29, 2025

I don’t know what kind of tree this is, but whenever I see one, it fills me with joy. I’m certainly no scientist, but I consider this an in-your-face proof of Divine creation rather than macro-evolution.

Why do I say this? Not only am I not a scientist, and not an arborist, but it’s evident that whoever owns these trees has severely cut them back by lopping off the ends of some hefty branches.

What does the tree do in response? Does it droop and shrivel in discouragement, and finally die? No. Exactly the opposite. It seems to be saying, “You can’t kill me this easily. I will survive, and I’ll do it by exploding skyward with scores and scores of new sprouts. Come back and see me next year!”

The Bible, of course, stoutly agrees with my creationist views. Or maybe I should say that I stoutly agree with the Bible. At the link below you’ll find eight Scripture assertions about this topic:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/creation-and-evolution

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, November 28, 2025

This past Tuesday I stopped by Third Place Books, a combination bookstore and community center in Lake Forest Park. I’d brought along my sermon notebook, and I had settled down to do some work on the outline, when a tall young man, who looked like a college student, drifted over and set down his water bottle and a thick paperback. He then disappeared, maybe in search of food at one of the eateries in the building.

As you can see in the above photo, the book is Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the famous Russian writer’s story about the French invasion of Russia during the Napoleonic era. I was immediately curious about why this man was reading it. Was it an assignment for a history or literature class? Had a friend recommended it?

As it turns out, I never saw the man or the book again. I headed over to the bookstore section in a little while, and when I came back, the book, the bottle, and then man were nowhere to be seen.

The subject of war and peace – whether cast in Russian terms or otherwise – has fascinated humanity for thousands of years. Why is evil present? Can evil be overcome, and if so, how and when? And by whom?

Click the link just below. It gives some Bible clues about this under the interesting heading,
“Why didn’t God kill or destroy Satan?”

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/why-didnt-god-destroy-satan

Photo ©2025 by Amber Jurgensen
Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, November 27, 2025

My wife and I stopped just up the street from our house for her to catch this candid photo of two Elk. It is a bit rare to spot these large animals in a residential neighborhood, so she was excited to get a little photographic evidence. One tell-tale feature of these Elk is their lighter colored backsides.

It made me think about these large animals living free in the woods even amid dangers posed by neighborhood fences, dogs, and other obstacles. What does it mean for people to be free? I’m sure there are many definitions.

One definition of freedom that stands out in my mind comes from these verses.

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.
Galations 5:22,23

When there is no law against something, then it means we are free to do it. We can go wild. Well maybe not exactly wild. But free in a natural state of being. Even though we don’t always achieve these goals, at least we can keep trying and trusting in Jesus to give us strength to be truly free.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Hopefully you read this blog’s title in your best owl voice. As you can see from the photo, it’s an owl—specifically, a Barred Owl. Don’t judge the image quality; it’s not great. I snapped it on my phone at dusk, aiming up at the branch where this beauty landed. That tree sits right in the middle of my backyard, so the owl was fairly close.

Why was it perched there? Because of our dog. How’s that, you ask? I let Taima—our 75 lb. Labrador—out for some yard time. I followed him outside, and within five seconds, Mr. (or Mrs.) Owl swooped down as if to snatch him up. It didn’t, of course. Instead, it veered off and settled on that branch, twisting its neck in those wild, almost full-circle rotations while keeping a sharp eye on Taima.

This isn’t the first time. A few times now, an owl—maybe this one, maybe a relative—has silently glided toward Taima, only to pull up at the last second. Ironically, Taima never notices. If the owl were big enough to pull off a snatch-and-grab, the dog wouldn’t know until it was too late.

Which makes me wonder: What about us? Do we see what is coming? Do we notice when sin is lurking nearby, waiting to strike? If not, how do we protect ourselves? Big questions—but the answer is simple: Jesus. Our daily walk with Him is the best protection against the evil around us. When we walk with our Savior, it doesn’t matter what’s hiding in the trees or swooping from above. Our Protector is with us, watching over us, waving off the harm that tries to close in.

I’m thankful for that walk and all it provides. I hope you have one too—with the only companion you truly need: Jesus. Amen.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Although the verbiage is a bit different than what we use today, an advertisement found in the November 21, 1863 edition of The Boston Herald promoted Thanksgiving in this way.

“Propelling for Turkey Day! All Aboard That’s Going! How Came You So?” That’s the same year that Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday, and yet, already the bird was tied to the day. It’s rather ironic that this American holiday became so closely associated with a bird named after a Middle Eastern nation, especially since the bird originally came from the Americas. But, when the Spanish first arrived in the New World, they already found Meleagris gallopavo domesticated. As plunder, they took the bird back home with them, and from there it was traded to England from which the Puritans came.

The Turkish Ottoman Empire was at its zenith in those days and many English speakers gave them credit by employing their name in recently introduced products. Maize was known as “Turkish wheat,” and pumpkins from the New World were called “Turkish cucumbers.” So maybe it isn’t surprising that the bird eventually became known simply as turkey. We even incorporated the bird’s name into expressions we use such as “talk turkey” and “quit cold turkey”.

While we here in America do have much to be thankful for, it would be presumptuous to assume we have a monopoly on reasons for gratitude. Several other countries also celebrate a day of thanksgiving as a public holiday. In others, while not formally recognized as an official day, it is still acknowledged. Perhaps the orthodox Protestant churches in the Netherlands understand it best. On the first Wednesday in November, they make it a point to go to church to thank the One who has given these good gifts.

Photo ©2004 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, November 23, 2025

You will likely encounter the Canada Jay in the winter. They often appear to backcountry travelers during lunchtime on the snow. Formerly known as the Gray Jay, they have many other names as well. Camp Robber is probably the most accurate and descriptive. Seemingly unafraid of humans, they often perch on a hand to beg. Failing success in that way, an unwary traveler will likely lose the last bits of their sandwich to a darting aerial assault.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus uses the birds to encourage us not to worry but to rely on God for our wellbeing.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27 NIV)

Are you worried by life’s circumstances? Take courage! Like He does for the birds of the air, God will take care of you.