Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, October 23, 2025

We took advantage of rainy weather to get a brush pile burned and I grabbed a photo of the final coals. It is hard to judge the size of this pile but is maybe four feet wide. It was still too hot to stand close enough to roast marshmallows.

The heat and intensity made me think about these verses.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21,22

It seems to illustrate the power of being kind to our enemies. Coals are not just warm things that might make a difference. Actions are powerful when we put them into practice.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, October 22, 2025

This past week, I was out in our yard before sunrise and noticed how colorful and gorgeous the dahlias are still. It’s mid-October and we had a hailstorm the day prior. These blooms have been through a lot, and yet here they are, shining their vibrant colors and standing tall.

As Christians, do we do that? In the midst of a crisis, or challenge, do we stand tall? Do we shine and reflect God’s glory and colors? Or does life get us down and we tend to be on the dull side, pulling back into the background.

These are tough questions, as I think it depends on the specific situation. I know at times, I have chosen the dull and the “less tall” route. Should I? No. Of course that’s not something I can do on my own, I need the power of our One and True God to help me. I need the push to stand tall and shine, showing who God truly is and what He is capable of.

Just like these amazing dahlias, I hope (even after a violent hailstorm) I can stand up and show off. God deserves every inch and every sparkle of color we can muster.

My prayer for this week – God, allow me to be brave and stand for you. Allow me to show others your beauty, your power and your glory. Amen.

Photo ©2025 and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take on a totally new identity? Perhaps like being put under the witness protection plan by the F.B.I.? Or maybe we should opt for something not quite as radical such as just changing your name. For many contemporaries the first thing that comes to mind might be how many cards and documents would need to be updated to fit the new you. Start with your driver’s license then work your way through your Social Security card and then, of course, there’s all those credit cards. The task could be quite daunting.

While these peripheral issues may not have been of concern to biblical characters who underwent that change, I suspect it may have taken awhile for some to make the needed adjustment. Did Abraham have to be called twice before he recognized he was being paged? What about Jacob learning to respond when the name Israel was called out? Was the Apostle Paul’s change so absolute that he never thought of himself as Saul ever again? I have to believe each of those individuals was eternally grateful for the change that took place, but were there ever flashbacks to the bad-old-days?

From 1886 until 1985 the Clark’s Grebe shown here was just another Western Grebe with some regional variations. But taxonomists enacted a split and a new species was formed. In all likelihood this made no difference in the slightest to the bird. It was the human observers that had to make the adjustment. But when those humans’ names were changed it wasn’t just a matter of getting a new Master Card. They were changed from inside out, not just a new paint job.

Photo ©2025 and Commentary ©2025 by Chuck Davis
Monday, October 20, 2025

On May 5^th, my photo parable was entitled Peaks & Valleys. Today’s photo is an expanded view of the same scene. Revisiting an area encourages a photographer to look with new eyes, to explore more deeply, to find a new vantage point. I like this new perspective.

I find it like reading a passage from the Bible again. Each time we do that, we allow God to point our mind in a different direction. We see the passage anew. We become a different person. The passage remains familiar but brings new insight.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV).

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).

I will never tire of the endlessly changing beauty of God’s creation. God willing, I will continue to explore this area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Similarly, search for something new in God’s word. Seek to be in Christ, a new creation.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, October 18 and 19, 2025

Recently Shelley and I visited a cemetery where a distant relative of hers is buried. Maybe 15 feet away from that stone was this one.

As you can see, a loved one has brought a little statue of Jesus and has parked it up close to the stone. It’s as though the Savior is waiting patiently and comfortingly for the resurrection.

I don’t know anything about the people buried at the foot of this stone, but you might be able to make out the cross engraved on the top, as well as two open books (Bibles, presumably) which testify that this was a Christian couple who lived in the hope of the Second Coming.

And I don’t know how long the little statue will remain where it is. But I do know that one day the sky will be suddenly filled with an unearthly light, and if that statue is there, Jesus’ glory will cast a sharp, Christ-shaped  shadow on the grave. And this grave will suddenly erupt in joyous release, as this planet’s long-overdue reunion happens.

Want to review – or study for the first time – the Bible verses which talk about Jesus’ return? Go to the link just below:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/second-coming-jesus-christ

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, October 17, 2025

A few blocks away from our home, yet another neighbor has decided to festoon his lawn with Halloween horrors. What you’re looking at is only a small portion of the pseudo-graveyard he has assembled. Shelley and I were walking past as he was adding still more “stones” to an already-impressive supply.

“I’m scared,” I assured him with mock solemnity, and he chuckled appreciatively.

Usually I spare a mere grin or two for such Halloween funerary items, but this time I noticed a kind of gravestone title I hadn’t before. Usually “RIP” (Rest in Peace) is the major theme, but three of the above stones say something else. “For Rent,” says the gray one. “Gone 4 Now” says the black one. The green one is hopeful in a gruesome way: “See You Soon,” which seems to be a hint that the viewer will shortly be haunted by the departed.

Actually, all three messages are somewhat true. Even the “Rest in Peace” stones (not pictured) speak solid Bible fact: Jesus called death a “sleep.” “For Rent” signals that a grave won’t be eternally occupied. “Gone 4 Now” and “See You Soon” are truer than most think.

That’s because the Bible lays to rest every disturbing myth about graveyards. Click the link below to see the good news about death.
https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/death

Photo and Commentary (c)2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, October 16, 2025

On this white post it says “PROP COR RBR/CAP”. We learned recently that the white post itself is not the property corner, but is called a “witness post” and points to the actual corner, which is steel rebar with a yellow cap on top. On closer inspection, there is a yellow cap next to the post that is hard to see in the dirt, so I didn’t take a picture of it. The caps often get covered with dirt and leaves, and the posts help find them.

I like the name, witness post. It makes me think of witnesses in the Bible and John the Baptist comes to mind.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.
John 1:7

We can be witnesses as well by sharing God’s love and talking about what Jesus has done for us.