Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, June 20, 2025

This year at camp meeting I was given a new piano-playing assignment. Actually I’ve been playing piano at camp meeting for decades, spending many wonderful evening meetings joining organist Rob Aaron in Rainier Auditorium, jamming on the old hymns to the appreciation of the crowd.

But this year I’m playing the piano for two “Beginners” programs each day. These are kids ages 0 to 4, and in order to fulfill my duty properly I have had to learn nearly 20 kids’ songs, most of which I had never heard before. To add to the pressure, I am not a good note-reader. I can do it, but need to spend a lot of time with each selection to make sure that when it’s called for, I can launch promptly and confidently into it.

This means rehearsal, and I discovered a piano in a back room of the church on the Auburn Academy campus, where camp meeting is happening. I positioned the piano bench, and settled down on it, and got ready to play.

You must believe me when I say that I didn’t fall on that bench, but just descended demurely. But the bench’s legs must have been just ready to pop, because suddenly I found it collapsing under me, and I ended up flat on my back on the floor.

Fortunately, I was not injured (can’t say the same for the bench), but looking at the above photo and trying not to shudder makes me think of a Bible verse. No pianos existed in Bible times, of course, and thus no piano benches, but here’s the verse:

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

It’s always best to look at the context of any Bible verse, and this one is no exception. Earlier in the chapter Paul is giving a history lesson on how foolish and sinful certain Old Testament people were. But he doesn’t stop with the “downer” text I’ve just quoted. He follows it with true encouragement:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Verse 13.

I again insist that I did not crash callously down upon that bench, but the fact is, I thought the structure was fine, and didn’t check it out, and sure enough, it fell.

Want to read some brisk, straight-from-the-shoulder Bible advice about temptation? Check out this link:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday and Thursday, June 18 and 19, 2025

I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating – God is incredibly creative. One of His amazing creations recently made an appearance on the side of our above-ground pool: a little amphibian who seems to have made it home.

During the colder months, when the pool is mostly empty and only rainwater is at the bottom, it becomes the perfect habitat for our frog friend. But as the weather warms and the pool is treated with chlorine and other chemicals, the frog wisely relocates to the surrounding area (including right in the openings of the pool liner, at the top).

For those curious, this little one is a Pacific tree frog. True to its name, it’s native to the Pacific Northwest, ranging from Northern California to British Columbia. One of the most fascinating things about these frogs is their ability to change color. While we often see them in a familiar green, they can shift to brown and adjust their brightness to blend into their surroundings. It’s just one more example of God’s incredible design—creating a creature that can camouflage itself so beautifully.

Add to that their oversized eyes (perfect for spotting prey) and sticky fingertips (ideal for climbing), and you’ve got what I like to call an amphibian superhero. Truly amazing.

God’s creations are such marvelous gifts. I often find myself in awe of the creatures He’s placed around us, and I hope you do too. There’s so much to discover and appreciate. And one day, won’t it be incredible to sit at our Creator’s feet and ask about all these wonderful beings—big and small? I know I’m looking forward to it.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Even though it was many years ago, I still remember when I saw my first Mew Gull. As a kid who had been fed a diet of Ring-billed and California Gulls, I was thrilled to add a new gull to my elementary birders’ list. This bird had more white in the black tips of the wings than either of those two species, but what confirmed its identity was its gentle, even dove-live appearance. I wasn’t consciously aware that this was because it had a distinctively smaller bill, it just had a different “jizz”. This term is likely unfamiliar to many but is widely used within the birding community. One writer defined jizz as “the indefinable quality of a particular species or the ‘vibe’ it gives off”. Others add an additional piece of information by stating it is a British slang term for “the total combination of characteristics that serve to identify a particular species of bird or plant”. That seems to match perfectly since possibly as high as 80-90% of this species live in Europe where it is known as the Common Gull. And now here, it’s renamed Short-billed Gull.

I like to read 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 using this same understanding. J.B. Phillips New Testament renders the verse this way: “Thanks be to God who leads us, wherever we are, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread throughout the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the unmistakeable “scent” of Christ, discernible alike to those who are being saved and to those who are heading for death.” The idea appeals to me that we should live in such a way that those we come in contact with will know there is something different about us. They may not even be able to put their finger on what it is about us that is different, but they know there is a difference. And it is that difference that will provide us with the opportunity to point them to Christ.

Use whatever term you like: aroma, scent, or jizz. If we are truly Christ-like, there will be a noticeable difference in our lives that will provide us with an opportunity to share Him.

Photo ©2008 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, June 16, 2025

Built in remote locations, on peaks that provided uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, Fire Lookouts provided a haven for the personnel that kept watch for signs of forest fires. While most lookouts lie dormant today, a few continue to serve our public lands. The U.S. Forest Service maintains the Granite Mountain Fire Lookout as an active resource.

This idyllic sunrise view of the lookout and Mt. Rainier belies the tremendous storms that routinely assail the summit of Granite Mountain. Inside the cab is a small stool with glass insulators upon which to stand during a lightning storm. Winds compress as they rise from the valley and then release unimpeded to buffet and shake the cab to its foundation piers. Alpine fir trees that cling to the ridge top are battle worn with their roots buried deep amongst the granite boulders that give the mountain its name.

Their experiences in the mountains inspired Moses and David to write. “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:2 KJV).

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, June 15, 2025

My father never read a parenting book. I’m sure of that. For one thing, I don’t think there were many (any?) such books when he became a father. And, even if there were, I don’t think he would have been interested.

He was not a perfect father; I was not a perfect daughter. Yet one thing was clear – we loved each other. How did he love me? Let me count the ways:

He gave me a nickname. He gave everyone he liked, or loved, a nickname. My mother merited several. I had a couple.

He spent time with me. Born when my older sisters were seven and nine years old, I was the baby of the family, and always available when he asked who wanted to go for a walk in the evening. I would take his big hand, and we would amble through the neighborhood, stopping to talk with friends along the way. Sometimes we went further afield, even as far as the boat harbor, where I would hold on tight to his hand as we navigated the floating walkways and admired the boats, reading all their names and homeports.

He gave me the best gifts. One of his nicknames for me was “Buttonhook.” I never questioned the reason behind that name. He said it in an affectionate way, so it felt loving to me. When I was eleven or twelve years old he gave me a genuine buttonhook with a mother-of-pearl handle. It had been in his family for many years, and I treasured it. He gave me classic books, like Little Women, in elegant editions. Money wasn’t plentiful, but he surprised me with a second-hand bike that was perfectly good – and patiently taught me how to ride it. One day, as he jogged behind me, holding onto the back of the seat while I was pumping the pedals, he let go – and I was on my own, riding down the street with the wind in my hair and joy in my heart.

He made learning fun. When we had to memorize the state capitals for school, he devoted a Sunday afternoon to acting out the names of all the capitals for me to learn. I can still see how he pretended to be shy, then pointed across the street to the house where my friend Ann lived. The state capital? Cheyenne, Wyoming!

My stories could go on and on, stretching through the thirty-five years I knew him. Memories of my father spill over into tears, as I wish I could give him one more hug, tell him one more time that I love him.

Did my father mirror the love of my Heavenly Father? Yes and No. But I know Who did, always. When His disciple Philip, after years of walking and talking with Jesus, asked Him to “show us the Father,” Jesus replied:

“Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . .” (John 14:9, NKJV)

In chapters 14, 15, and 16 John documents what was on Jesus’ heart in the hours before His betrayal and arrest; what He felt His friends most needed to hear. He talks about His Father all throughout these three chapters, and introduces the gift and ministry of the Holy Spirit. And then in chapter 17 we hear His earnest outpouring of prayer for those disciples then, and for us now.

Five words from His last message have been ringing in my mind this past week: “ . . . the Father Himself loves you . . .” (John 16:27)

And that brings me, at last, to the photo at the beginning of this blog post. It’s a partial glimpse of our refrigerator, which serves as a canvas for some of my favorite things. Also ringing through my mind this week have been the words on the well-worn card at the bottom of the photo. They are the concluding lines of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “In the Valley of the Elwy”:

God, lover of souls, swaying considerate scales,
Complete Thy creature dear O where it fails,
Being mighty a master, being a father and fond.

On this Father’s Day, I honor my father, and your father, and any fathers reading these words. I thank our Heavenly Father for being so fond of us that He wants us to live with Him forever. He, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, are walking us all the way Home.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, June 14, 2025

Shelley and I are always delighted when a new bookstore opens. Actually, the Barnes and Noble which opened a few months back in Issaquah has replaced an earlier Barnes there, which was located in a rather out-of-the-way section of town. But the new one, which we stopped at this Friday, is not far from a Trader Joe’s and a whole lot of other popular places, which means it should thrive handsomely.

Anyway, yesterday I strolled through the store looking for the “reference” section, because I know that there I’ll find books on writing, plus the latest in dictionaries and other tools.

But this time I was intensely surprised to see, directly under the label “Reference,” a two-shelf supply of Bibles! Actually, the traditional reference tools were in the shelves just to the right, but I found myself thinking, “Oh, if only humanity would turn more often to Scripture for a reference on living!”

Want to read or review some of how eternally important the Bible says it is? Click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, June 13, 2025

This past Monday Shelley and I took a day trip to a nearby town, and visited a small shop. While Shelley talked with the owner, I caught sight of this immense clock face above the door.

As soon as my eye fell on it, I noticed the minute hand twitch. Then it twitched again, and then again. Each twitch moved the hand relentlessly around on another minute. The clock was doing its job.

However, these tiny twitches launched me back in time to my fourth grade classroom, where an electric clock hung on the wall above the blackboard. I remember standing there, stricken with terror because I could see the minute hand move. No twitches there—just a slow, relentless crawl.

Again, I knew that the clock was doing its job. I knew that the minute hand moved along. I was just terrified to see it doing it. And I think that the reason was that I feared mortality. I knew that my hours were numbered, and though no one could predict my life’s end, it would be inexorable.

It’s at these times – and I still have them – that I crave assurance that God cares for me. Fortunately, the Bible gives solid encouragement in verses like the ones you’ll find at the link just below.

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