Purposeful Learning - Purposefully living for Jesus, one day at a time.

Shelter of the Most High: Blog Tour and Giveaway!

December 4, 2018 // Esther Filbrun 2 Comments

After years of reading very few Biblical fiction stories, I think I’ve come across an author I’m going to love. Cossette writes in such a way that you are drawn into the story, and held captive there until you reach the thrilling conclusion. And one major bonus point in her direction is that while her stories have a lot of romance (something I struggle with at times!), the rest of the story outweighs it so much that I still have to give it a high rating even though I might not have otherwise! She’s an expert at the craft, and I’m thankful. (She’s also Biblically accurate, as far as I can tell, which is another huge bonus point!)

Today, I have the privilege of sharing the second book in the Cities of Refuge series with you. As I mention in my review, I loved the first book in the series as well (hopefully that review will go up on the website sometime within the next couple months), and this is a great continuation. I do recommend reading the first one before this second, because of spoilers.

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About This Book…

Book: Shelter of the Most High
Author: Connilyn Cossette
Genre: Christian Biblical Fiction
Release Date: October, 2018

The daughter of a pagan high priest, Sofea finds solace from her troubles in the freedom of the ocean. But when marauders attack her village on the island of Sicily, she and her cousin are taken across the sea to the shores of Canaan.

Eitan has lived in Kedesh, a city of refuge, for the last eleven years, haunted by a tragedy in his childhood, yet chafing at the boundaries placed on him. He is immediately captivated by Sofea, but revealing his most guarded secret could mean drawing her into the danger of his past.

As threats from outside the walls loom and traitors are uncovered within, Sofea and Eitan are plunged into the midst of a murder plot. Can they uncover the betrayal in time to save their lives and the lives of those they love?

Click here to purchase your copy!

What I Thought…

Shelter of the Most High is a delightful story! Having read A Light on the Hill earlier this year, and loving it, I couldn’t wait until this one came out! And as soon as I saw it was available for review, I requested a copy.

What a story! And what a setting! I’ve come to love Ms. Cossette’s idea of Ancient Israel—I haven’t found anything so far (that stands out to me, anyway) that is unbiblical, so that makes the story worth even more to me.

As far as the story itself, it was very well-formed.

There were quite a few times I was completely at a loss as to what would likely happen next. With two different concurrent storylines, there was a lot going on, and fairly often the tension got to a place where I had to make time to read a few chapters to get past whatever was happening then.

One thing I appreciated about this book were the different spiritual journeys. One I especially enjoyed was a character dealing with intense grief; though I felt like it might not have been quite as intense as it is in real life, I liked the place the character came to in seeing even terrible incidents as guidance from the Lord and Him using those circumstances to draw them to Himself.

In all, I enjoyed this story—in some ways, it wasn’t quite as good as the last book in the series (at least, I didn’t feel quite as sucked into it as with the other one, but it might be my season of reading right now), but all together, it was another excellent story. Some people who struggle with romance in books may find this a little much for them, but otherwise, I recommend it!

I requested a review copy of this book from CelebrateLit, and this is my honest opinion of it.

About the Author…

Connilyn Cossette is the CBA bestselling author of the Out From Egypt series. Her debut novel, Counted with the Stars, was a finalist for the Christy Award, the INSPY Award, and the Christian Retailing’s Best Award. She lives in North Carolina with her husband of twenty years and a son and a daughter who fill her days with joy, inspiration, and laughter. Connect with her at www.ConnilynCossette.com.

Giveaway!

To celebrate her tour, Connilyn is giving away…

Grand Prize: All five of Conni’s novels, including Shelter of the Most High, plus AHAVA Dead Sea Bath Salts

Three other winners will receive a copy of Shelter of the Most High!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Go here to enter.

See the other stops on the blog tour here.

Let’s discuss: What was the last historical Biblical fiction you’ve enjoyed reading? Who is your favorite author in the genre?

Following God in Our Inciting Incidents (Thoughts from My Bible Time)

November 29, 2018 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

In fiction writing, there is almost always an “inciting incident”, when the main character is called—or forced, depending on the situation—to step out of their comfort zone to change their life or work to help or save someone else.

The only reason why this is used in story is because it happens in real life. All the time! Once one has responded to the call, there is no going back—quite literally! Their life has changed forever, and there is no handy “undo” button hanging around, either.

This morning in my Bible time, I was reminded of the inciting incident when reading about Mary and her calling. For Mary, when the angel appeared to her to tell her what God had chosen her for, she had a choice to accept or deny God’s call on her life. She accepted, as I’m sure we all are thankful for, and that singular incident catapulted her into a completely new (and not necessarily very easy!) life. And it changed world history…forever.

King David’s inciting incident came when he went to play harp for King Saul (1 Sam. 16:19)—or, perhaps, when he was anointed. Probably the later more than the former, although I think it’s entirely possible that we could have more than one major call/life-change in our individual lifetimes!

The prophet Samuel, as a boy, was told to deliver a dangerous message to Eli (1 Sam. 3).

Ruth had to choose between her wishes and Naomi’s wellbeing; her old gods and the God of Israel.

Esther had to choose whether she would utilize her life circumstances, and possibly lose her life, or grow bitter by them and in doing so lose her own life.

Moses…Nehemiah…Isaiah…Hezekiah…Jael…Miriam…Jeremiah…the Apostle Paul…Stephen…all had times in their lives when the call of God came to them, some audibly, often circumstantially, and they had to decide what to do.

And as Mary of old said, “behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38), I’m praying that I, too might follow the Lord in whatever “inciting incident” He calls me to!

What have you been learning from the Word lately?

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

October 25, 2018 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

It’s always encouraging to hear from other writers. Back when I first started writing, I dived in head-first with little knowledge of story structure, character development, or even what the word “plot” or “novel” meant. That first year, especially, I spent reading everything I could on the subject. And though I’m sure I’ve forgotten most of what I learned then, I do remember the feeling of my world expanding exponentially, and the sure realization that I’d never look at anyone or anything the same way again.

There was a moment soon after I started writing for fun in longer form when I remember seeing a teenage girl being comforted—multiple times over a weekend—by an older friend of ours. Later, when I asked my parents about it, I explained that I wanted to know why she was doing that “because I might use it in my writing one day.” It turned out she had recently lost her brother, quite unexpectedly, and my heart went out to her.

But I knew then, even more than I had earlier, that life would never quite look the same again. I was a writer—was seeing life from the perspective of a writer—and that became a constant in my life.

Still, it’s good to hear from other people who are writers. They bring balance to my life.

I had forgotten how much I was missing out on until I got a chance to watch some encouragement from the last “season” of Indie Novelist Summit—which, in retrospect, I wish I had written about earlier, because wow. Some of that content is gold. I wish I could have shared it with you while it was still live! I’ve only watched one episode so far—one with Joanna Penn about writing mindset—but it’s set me down and shown me just how much I have yet to learn about the writing craft.

I love to write, love developing new characters under my fingers and watching them spring to life in gorgeous colors in my head.

However, I remember one time when I was probably six or seven, sitting at our grey, weathered picnic table under one of the biggest maple trees I’ve ever seen, a major feature in many childhood memories. I had a clean sheet of paper before me, a case of watercolor paints, and a beautiful picture in mind to paint. When I looked at my results a few minutes later, I remember feeling intense disappointment—though I had a picture in my head, I couldn’t translate it to the page.

Often, my writing feels that way too—a beauty of an idea, a meaningful thought, but poorly translated when it comes to writing.

Hearing from other creative writers refuels my tank, gives me the inspiration to keep going.

There was a phrase from Joanna Penn’s episode that has stuck with me:

“Stand on the shoulders of giants—know what has come before, so you can create something new.”

That’s what I’d like to do. I know that while my writing might not be great now, if I keep working at it, it’ll get better.

And that is why I’m thankful to still be able to write. And have the chance to learn from others who are also still learning—though obviously at a much more advanced level than me!

Who are you learning from right now? What are you learning?

Keep on Serving!

October 18, 2018 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Yesterday, my dad arrived home after a two-week trip to the States to see his sick mother. We were all so thankful he could go back to see her again, even though it cut into our family time and he had to leave his new job for two weeks.

Relationships with others—distant or close—always take time. And often, it takes time when you’ve got many other things to do, too, so it might not seem as easy to make time to pour into others.

What I’ve been trying to put in practice lately is making time for others even when it doesn’t suit my schedule. Yes, I may have to push some to-dos off for this week, but I can always come back to them next week.

I’m not saying this is an easy choice! And after the first few times of doing something out of the ordinary like this, my brain starts to complain that “you’re not getting enough done!”. But each time, I’m trying to remember the verse I read this morning in Matthew:

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:28

Right now, I’ve got a friend who could use some encouragement. I could drop something and meet up with her for a coffee. Another friend could use help with homeschooling. Another could perhaps be feeling overwhelmed, and maybe a quick note on Messenger would be helpful to her today.

Whatever it is, recognising the ways I could be of service to others today—despite my perfectly-planned schedule or other obligations—these are the things that really count for eternity. Even if it isn’t fun. Even if it hurts.

No, I’m not good at serving. But with the Lord’s help, I’m praying I can become better at it.

Lord, please help me seize the moments and act on them!

Keep on serving others! What a beautiful way to spend our lives!

What is one way you could encourage or help someone else today, even if it just takes five minutes? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments below!

What Will be Left? (An Abandoned Gold Mine Adventure)

October 13, 2018 // Esther Filbrun 1 Comment

Last Sunday, several people in our family had colds, so we had a family worship time together instead of meeting with our normal church group. Then, since we had an afternoon to spend together, we decided to go explore some new part of our local area. We finally settled on Waiuta, a town located north and east of us, what once was a gold mining town from 1905 to 1951, when the mine closed.

The first place we explored was the township area itself, around the first mineshaft to go in, the Blackwater shaft. There was a good-sized vein of gold-bearing quartz in this area, and apparently the operations were quite profitable while they lasted—they produced almost 750,000 ounces of gold altogether!

What Will be Left 02 — Old mine air vents, we’re guessing

What Will be Left 03 — Wetas on a cave ceiling

What Will be Left 04 — Old swimming pool ruins

What Will be Left 07 — Back of the carpenter’s shop (red roof) and boiler house

After exploring around the Blackwater shaft area for a while, we went up through a twisty, narrow, bush-clad gravel track to the top of the hill. The Prohibition shaft had been dug up there, to meet up with the extension of the Blackwater shaft work–both were on the same mine, but eventually the mine had extended almost too far to make it easy to access from the Blackwater end. The Prohibition shaft ran from 1938 until the mine closed in 1951, when the Blackwater shaft collapsed.

What Will be Left 08 — Prohibition mine (up the hill from the old town), looking toward the processing plant

What Will be Left 09 — Part of the powerhouse, I believe, where they generated energy to run the Prohibition mine shaft

What Will be Left 10 — The old safe in part of what once was the mine shaft’s office

What Will be Left 11 — The view from the top of the Prohibition mine shaft—the little red-roofed building in the bottom middle of the picture is where the town of Waiuta once was.

After seeing these ruins, and marveling that less than 70 years ago, this was still a living town, it really makes one think about what kind of a legacy we are going to leave? These miners poured years into working here, building a town, having families, making a livelihood—and yet today, only a few bricks, chunks of cement, rusty iron, gangly trees, and holes in the ground are left to mark what had been their life’s work.

What kind of a heritage—physical and spiritual—are you leaving in the lives of the people in your circles of influence?

Our God Sustains

September 13, 2018 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

This post was written a couple days ago, while I was on my way home after a trip.

I’m on my way home right now. After being away for three weeks, I should be walking in my front door in about four hours.

The past three weeks have been much like I was expecting them, and totally different. I went to help out a family after complications following the birth of their youngest, who is now six weeks old. I got to be “Mum” to two lovely youngsters—both under eight—while Dad was away working and Mum was in the hospital with the baby.

And while I’m not completely unaccustomed to the position or title—you get some experience, I believe, of being the oldest of seven—it was a different experience for me, since I was in charge of the children from early in the morning until evening. It was stretching, and stressful, and exhausting, but also amazingly fun, encouraging, and satisfying.

I hadn’t known the family before I went up to, so while we were getting to know each other, I was also put into a leadership position—something that the children did struggle with some. At times, it was challenging to know what to do with disobedience or attitude issues, but something I saw in action again was the truth that the Lord sustains where He calls. I definitely felt called to help out in that situation, and while I also felt very under-equipped for the job, I was able to rely on the Lord through that and He gave me the strength and words to say even when I felt worn out.

I’ve been reading a book called The Insanity of God recently, and one thing that keeps popping out to me over and over is how much strength the Lord gives His children when they are in situations where, humanly speaking, they are feeling quite incapable.

Our God is good.

I may not have had the personal Bible study time like I like structuring into my days. I may not have had that so-important dedicated prayer time that I love to have each day. But I had the Lord. I had to be in communication with Him on a regular basis, and those days ended up being some of the sweetest, most encouraging, most God-centered, closest moments of fellowship I’ve had with Him in many weeks.

Our God is so good.

So as I head home now, winding between snowcapped peaks and dry, tussocky foothills, I’m thankful for all the Lord has done for us. And I can’t wait to see what my next adventure with Him will look like.

Let’s discuss: When was one time recently that you really felt the Lord’s presence in situations that seemed well-nigh impossible at the time?