Daily Photo Parable

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, June 4, 2026

This is the first time I have been to an Ethiopian restaurant to enjoy the food and community it fosters. After everyone made trips to the washroom to wash hands, we unrolled pieces of bread to use for scooping up the food.  One tray served about 3 – 4 people.

It reminded me about how spending time with people, whether it is in person, by video call, telephone, or writing serves to develop a community. Churches develop community and it is a great place to share our presence and add positive contributions of our ability to do things and encourage others.

In this Ethiopian restaurant, I could see how the staff not only contributed their talents, but they took patient time with the patrons to show they cared.  It seemed like a great example.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, June 3, 2026

I hope you have a moment to take this view in. I was in my garden, with my camera in hand, and was lucky enough to catch this bee (before it jumped to the next flower) enjoying the nectar of this vibrant flower.

I know I mention creation on a regular basis in my photo parables, but I can’t help it. Not only is it an amazing thought that OUR God is the God of the Universe and took the time to create all things, but also, each creation is incredibly creative.  The bumble bee is just one example of creativity and uniqueness.

Psalms 104:24:

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

God is good. God has and continues to ensure we are protected, loved and taken care of. We are His creations.

The next time you are walking in your garden, or out in nature, remember the creator of all things. Thank God for all that He provides for our viewing pleasure.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, June 2, 2026

There’s plenty of confusion to go around, but let’s start with the birds first.  What’s a warbler doing with a name like Louisiana Waterthrush anyway?  I thought warblers were supposed to be up in trees warbling, not down on the beach bopping up and down.  And to make matters worse, there’s another waterthrush that looks very much like the one from Louisiana and the two are hard to tell apart.  Fortunately, the Louisiana one likes to hang out along the edges of flowing streams while his counterpart prefers still waters and stagnant bogs.

And on the human side of things?  Our discussion will center around a man, or men, named Philip.  Actually there are four men in the Bible with that name, but we’ll consider just two of them.  There was Philip who was one of Christ’s twelve disciples.  Remember, he was the one who asked Christ to show them the Father.  He also calculated how much it would cost to feed the 5000 assembled to listen to what Christ had to say; a very down-to-earth guy.

The other Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the early church to assist with the distribution of goods – another practical guy.  We see him again, hitchhiking, when he was picked up by a fellow from Ethiopia.  Paul and others stayed at his house when passing through Caesarea later on in the story.  And it was this same Philip who met with Simon the Sorcerer and introduced him to Christ.  Philip’s example made a difference: “Even Simon himself became a believer and after his baptism  attached himself closely to Philip. (Acts 8:13 J.B. Phillips New Testament)  Philip practiced practical Christianity.

And is the waterthrush practical?  If its nest, which is placed along the bank of a river, is disturbed early on, she will fly off.  But after investing time in incubating the eggs, if a disturbance should occur, she will employ a distraction display to induce the intruder away from the nest.  Seems pretty practical to me.

Photo ©2011 and Commentary ©2026 by Chuck Davis
Monday, June 1, 2026

Today’s photo parable builds upon the series that I presented in May 2026. You may recall that last week’s photo was of the moon. It was taken from our campsite on Mt. Adams, shortly before I settled in for the night. I captured today’s image while still in my sleeping bag the next morning. Over the next few weeks, I plan to share more of the wonders of August 14, 2011.

The following verses begin to capture the feelings that arise when recalling the morning when I awoke to the beauty in this photo.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised (Psalm 113:3 KJV).

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV).

Sunrise is a testament to the order that God set in motion on the first day. It proves His faithfulness:

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day (Genesis 1:4-5 KJV).

On this August day, God added color to the light.

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Sunday, May 31, 2026

I always grin, or get a good feeling, whenever I see an anthill like the one above in a sidewalk crack. I snapped its photo earlier this week.

I also find myself stunned by what needs to happen for these construction projects to appear. What causes the ants to sense an impending rainfall a few days in the future? What enables them to collaborate in unity with such patience and precision?

A day or two after I snapped this photo, a gentle misty rain did indeed fall, moistening these little hills into flat smudges of mud. But they did their work when it was needed.

Fortunately, the divine Designer of these ants has some encouragement for humans who are concerned about what lies ahead, and who want to be prepared. You’ll find a lot of it at the link just below:

https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/help-bible-promises

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Maylan Schurch
Friday and Sabbath, May 29 and 30, 2026

Yesterday afternoon Shelley and I were taking a brief late-afternoon walk when I glanced at the sky. Shelley said, “Didn’t your mom tell you once that those were tornado clouds?” “Right,” I said. “The ones that are lumpy underneath.”

But we weren’t worried, partly because we’ve often seen these clouds here in the Pacific Northwest, and never once (in our presence) has a tornado spiraled down from them.

However, one windy summer afternoon on the south edge of Redfield, South Dakota, my dad and sister and I were doing a cleanup job at a little fairgrounds. The county agricultural agent had stopped by to give us instructions. He pointed to the sky and said, “Tornado clouds. You’ve got to watch out.” The Dakota clouds looked more lumpy and menacing than the ones in my photo, and the wind was certainly picking up. I remember staring at a nearby woven-wire fence and deciding that if a tornado happened along, I would fall to the ground, roll up next to it, claw it tight with both hands and hope for the best.

As it turns out, a tornado did happen that South Dakota afternoon, about ten miles southwest of our farm, but we saw nothing more than cloud lumps. And yesterday afternoon, after a calm glance at the photo-clouds, Shelley and I meandered peacefully on our way, and even made a leisurely phone call as we walked.

Context is important, right? Lumpy clouds are lumpy clouds, and if they happen in August on the Great Plains, you do indeed have to be careful, especially if they show up in areas known as “tornado alleys.” But in the skies near Seattle, they’re mostly from a non-tornado cause.

So what’s the “parable point” here? You and I need to be such careful observers of context that we’re not panicked by what seems to be dangerous but is not. When Jesus described the events of the last days, He made sure to give context:

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (Matthew 24:6 NKJV)

In other words, don’t freeze in panic when a traumatic event happens. It’s literally, and most likely, “not the end of the world.”  Instead, keep an eye on what the Bible says about Jesus’ return. Make sure you know the context.

For a lot of detailed, context-providing prophecies about Jesus’ return, click the link below:

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

Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Russell Jurgensen
Thursday, May 28, 2026

This prairie dog home caught my attention near a hotel. The stark comparison made me think about what it is we perceive God wants from us and what is really needed of us.

When we look at different activities that people take on in the name of religion, we see a lot of things that seem off target. Things like making religious-based laws that are seemingly good, but miss the spirit that Jesus conveyed. The pharisees of the Bible made plenty of hypocritical laws. Other things like focusing on our own perfection seem to direct our view in the wrong direction.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24

Why are God’s grace and love so important? They direct us to forgive and avoid judgement. When we know that Jesus forgives us freely when we ask, it makes it so much easier to love him and others back out of our own free will. Not because we are forced.

Maybe focusing on the wrong things is like living in a hole in the ground with fear. Let’s embrace the free forgiveness from God and share that light with others.