Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, April 5, 2025

Our local library has reserved a couple of tables for students needing tutoring, and two or three days a week a rotating group of three or four tutors help kids with their homework.

Usually the tables are packed with kids, and if you’re nearby you hear the confident, complacent voices of the tutors doing their best to explain math principles to the youngsters.

But today (in this case, this past Tuesday) there are three tutors, but no kids. This is very rare – all this assistance and wisdom, but nobody to learn from it. I think it was a pretty day outside, and maybe that’s why these tutors have no customers.

Where am I going with this? I’m going directly to what the Bible says about spiritual wisdom, the most important kind. What is it? Why do I need it? Where can I find it? Check it out.

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Maylan Schurch
Friday, April 4, 2025

Last Sabbath during Sabbath School I went down to the Beginners’ (ages 0 – about 4) classroom. There weren’t any kids there at that point, so I practiced some songs I needed to play later.

In the corner on a counter I noticed what at first might appear to be pizza boxes. But I knew what they really were, and a feeling of deep reverence flooded over me.

These are “felt sets,” and down through the decades the Sabbath School teachers have used them to tell Bible stories to little kids. The programs are prepared so that the teacher can select what’s needed – whether the Sea of Galilee, crowd scenes, animal scenes, Jesus speaking, and so on – and display them on a felt background. It’s unimaginable how many children of many denominations all over the world have had these scenes imprinted on their minds, accompanied by the gentle voices of dedicated saints. The figures themselves are made of felt, and are often painstakingly hand-colored by the very teachers who will use them. When presented, each lesson is a true “living Bible” event.

The Bible has a lot to say about children and their importance to Jesus. The Savior’s most bloodcurdling threats are reserved for those who abuse children (see Matthew 18:6). Let’s pray for our youngsters.

For more of what the Bible says about children, click the link just below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, April 3, 2025

The combination of colors and reflections caught my attention in this scene. With close observation you can see a reflection of the Space Needle.

Just the name “Space Needle” captures the imagination. When constructed in 1961, people were already pondering the possibility of space travel and wondering what is out there.

A symbol like the Space Needle can inspire people to look up and wonder. Another image that comes to mind with looking up is the way Jesus prayed.

And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Matthew 14:19

I sometimes wonder if Jesus looked up when He prayed to give us an example of lifting our minds from the distractions of Earth and to consider what is important to God. The immediate need seemed to be food for the hungry crowd. We also see immediate needs around us. When looking up we can ponder the immensity, the goodness, and the love of God.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Recently, I was able to visit a local farm where lambs had just been born. As you can see in the images, these two lambs were sound asleep, snuggled up against their mother. The peace you can see on the faces of these two little ones can be attributed to the safety they have with their proximity to their larger and fluffier mom. They know she will warn and protect them in the case of any harm headed their way. With that knowledge, they can drift off with no worries or concerns. They can sleep and dream with confidence. (Unclear what lambs would dream of, but they can do it with a peaceful mind).

What about you? Can you drift off to a peaceful slumber? I, for one, know that this can be difficult at times — whether we are talking about the actual act of falling asleep, or that peaceful feeling during the day as well. So many things can be running around in our minds. The “noise” can be deafening at times.

Good news – there are “earplugs” for that, and Paul tells us how to apply them:

Philippians 4:6 & 7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How about that? Our needed prescription for this peaceful slumber is bringing our concerns and situations to God in prayer. By doing this, the peace of God will guard us – both our hearts and minds. And with our hearts and minds guarded, this will allow us to quietly and calmly drift off, knowing we are protected – just like these peaceful lambs. Amen to that!

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

“Palm fronds do not a prison make” is more than figuratively true, for this Green Heron is free to take off whenever it pleases. A visual image of bars may be brought to mind by the vertical lines of leaf and shadow, but such restriction would only be in the mind of the beholder.

Nevertheless, that’s the understanding Richard Lovelace sought to convey in the first lines of the final stanza of his classic To Althea, from Prison written in 1642.

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage: . . . .

Religious liberty and freedom of speech were in limited supply in merry old England at that time. Remember, Lovelace was born just two years before the Pilgrims set out for American shores for that very reason. He wrote these lines while imprisoned as a result of his petition to Parliament; something to which they took exception. At stake was the role of the church in government, and Lovelace positioned himself strongly against the Bishops Exclusion Bill, a bill which removed the Anglican Bishops from a standing of temporal control and influence.

While we may not agree with his stance on Separation of Church and State, we can certainly relate to his belief that simply following the government’s demands does not make an individual free, nor does being imprisoned behind bars limit one’s freedom to think and reason as his own conscience demands.

Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Cheryl Boardman
Monday, March 31, 2025

I saw this little marsh wren singing its heart out as I walked by. After it finished singing, it grabbed some of the fluff from the cattail that it was perched on and flew across the path to where it was building a nest.

As I walked by I saw three nests and two of them looked like they were already completed. Apparently, the male builds multiple nests and the female will then decide which one she likes best to lay her eggs in. It is thought that the empty nests then become sort of decoys.

Now, the wren may not be singing for the same reason that we sing but I like this Bible verse about singing praises to God.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

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

Forecasters had been warning us for a couple of days of a strong storm moving in, with the potential for 58 mph winds and golf-ball (or larger) sized hail. We were counseled to move vehicles into their garages or, if our garages were full, to find a parking garage that would give protection.

We prayed that the Lord would weaken the storm, and I’m sure many others were asking Him for the same mercy. How thankful we were that the storm damage turned out to be minimal, although loud thunderclaps let us know the predicted storm had arrived on time and was passing through our area.

My photo was taken the next morning as we headed out on our post-breakfast walk, under a beautiful blue sky. This neighbors’ car, and several others, were the only reminders of the ominous forecast, of what could have been.

The other vehicles we saw were covered with large pieces of cardboard; this car won the prize for the neatest security blanket. It looked like the owners had taken great care preparing for the storm. Looking at the photo I thought, “Gotcha covered!”

The long line of English teachers in my past might not approve of the word “gotcha,” or even stoop to call it a word. But I happen to like it, at least when it’s used in a positive sense. It makes me feel like this car would feel if it had a sensitive soul – protected, cared for.

Perhaps it would ease those teachers’ minds if I eased up a bit and said, with a little less slang, “I’ve got you!” I see you, I understand, I’ll take care of this.

Several years ago I bought both mugs and T-shirts proclaiming, “God’s got this.” I gave some away as gifts to people I hoped would “get” the “got this” message.

I kept two mugs and two T-shirts for home use. I wore one of the shirts this past week, on a day when I was needing the reassurance that God was listening to my fervent prayers, was paying kind attention to me, was caring about the situation I was fretting about, and was up to something good. It helped.

But “gotcha” can also have a negative meaning: Caught you! You’re trapped! Now you’re doomed and done for!”

I think the devil plays this game of “gotcha” with all of us, hoping to brainwash us into thinking there’s no hope for us sinners who have in no way earned the right to live forever in heaven with Jesus.

He’s right about us not having earned that right, but he’s wrong, dead wrong, about how we get to heaven.

Hear the word of the Lord:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV)

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6a)

As we head out into this brand-new week, remember and rejoice: God’s got you!