Esther Filbrun

Joy

June 10, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Contentment. Happiness. Hope. Peace. Thankfulness.

I believe they all have one thing in common—joy.

I could live in a sea of “woe is me” forever, and never find a bottom.

But in Christ, there is a bottom. I have the choice: Focus on my imperfections, or on His perfection. Bemoan my predicament, or praise Him for His hand in it all. Trust my own work to get me there, or trust in His.

It’s all that simple—and that hard!

But when I remind myself of God’s attributes, I find a solid rock to stand on.

He is love—and He loves me. He is faithful. His word is true. He is the great shepherd. He is our refuge. He is our strength. Perhaps best of all, He is my Father. He’s adopted me. Me! and you! Glory!

When I’m tempted to doubt, this is the space I want to come back to. Reviewing these truths refreshes my soul, and gives me that much-needed position of joy. Because on my own, I am incompetent, but in Him, I am complete.

And you are too!

What has the Lord spoken to you about today?

Month in Pictures, Week 4

June 7, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

I finally have a chance to sit down and finish this up! I had a delightful weekend—filled with visiting people and sharing life with different ones for a while. That meant that I didn’t take time to actually do much writing, but oh well. Here we are now!

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Wednesday, May 22:

We’ve had a lot of rainy weather lately, but I loved seeing the sunrise early this morning as I got to work. So beautiful—and a great reminder of God’s goodness to us, even in dark times!

Thursday, May 23:

This is what happens when we run out of mayonnaise. My brother got home from work and discovered that his favorite ingredient for snacks had been used up, so he had to make more. (Have you ever made homemade mayonnaise before? It is delicious!)

Friday, May 24:

Somewhat of a rarity—I was home today! I loved getting to see the sunrise after a light frost last night. Light has just about got to be one of my most favorite wavelengths ever! (Wait…is that scientifically correct? I’d have to ask my brother.)

Saturday, May 25:

The reason for staying home from work yesterday was to prepare for our trip today. We took a trip to Kaikoura, about four hours away from home, to visit friends. About half-way there, we stopped to stretch at a little park, and the boys loved playing on the huge rocking horse that was there!

Bonus picture: This evening, we went out on Kaikoura Peninsula. We walked around the bottom for a while, then climbed a short track up to the walk along the top, and were able to enjoy the sunset from up there. There was a cool sea breeze blowing, but that didn’t take away from the experience at all. I had forgotten how much I love Kaikoura; we came here for church for the eight years before we moved, and it’s still a very dear place to me.

Sunday, May 26:

I loved being able to get up early enough to see the light on the mountains and autumn colors this morning! I miss these mountains. They’re so beautiful, but I do love the people that live under their shadow even more!

Monday, May 27:

Home again! Got to listen to several podcasts today, and one of them, from Focus on the Family, really struck a chord with me. They were interviewing Abby Johnson (she has something to do with the Unplanned movie, I think), and she said something that struck me as carrying a lot of truth:

“When something is right, it doesn’t have to be justified. When something is true, it doesn’t have to be rationalized. When something is wrong, we have to justify it.”

I wrote it down in my Bullet Journal, but the first attempt was a flop—which allowed me to quote another of my favorite verses to cover the mistake, Psalm 139:17! Yay!

Tuesday, May 28:

Tonight, some of the family went out for a meeting, and several of us others stayed back. After getting the jobs done, we watched a couple videos. The first was Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, Vol. 1—a great movie about different animals and some of the unique features the Lord has given them! They talked about at least one animal I’d never even heard of before seeing it here! We also watched ABC Say it With Me, which shares 26 verses, each starting with a letter of the alphabet, for children to memorize. They have great skits to go along with each one, and this movie has subsequently become a family favorite! I love the fact that we can put either of these two on without worrying about having to skip bad content!

Wednesday, May 29:

Did the last picking of tomatoes today! The plants are all dead now, but we have had a wonderful growing season. Now is about the equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere’s late November, so I’m very grateful for how long we have actually been able to have fresh tomatoes!

Thursday, May 30:

Today was a rainy day, but thankfully I had lots of inside jobs to do at work! I snapped this picture as I was ready to head home—this is where my brother and I work.

Friday, May 31:

One of the few things that brings together our entire family every single day: Family Bible time! I’m so thankful we can learn from God’s Word together, and have an opportunity to discuss that and our everyday life together. What a blessing!

And that’s a wrap! Overall, it has been a wonderful month. It hasn’t always been easy; there have been days when I wondered what the Lord was doing, and what would happen next, but God has been faithful. I’m so thankful that He is faithful, because without His love and guidance, we would live pretty miserable lives!

What was your favorite part of this past month? I think mine was being able to hang out with my family, and being able to see the sunrise several times—something unusual for this night owl!

Book Review of A Company of Heroes by Tim Keesee (a book I couldn’t put down)

June 5, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Well, friends, here I am again with a book that has spoken deeply to me. I feel sorry for you sometimes, because I post so many reviews…but that’s my job, and I’m not going to change that! I must say, though, this is quite easily among the top non-fiction books I’ve read this year (but you are allowed to laugh, because I’ve read four excellent non-fiction titles this year, and it would be a toss-up as to which is actually my most favorite!). I don’t know if my reading tastes have changed over the years, or if I’ve just been able to find books that really, genuinely interest me, but I’ve been enjoying a few more non-fiction titles the last few years than I have in the past—a win for me!

NOTE: Links in this post may be affiliate links. Your purchase through these links helps support the blog at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Also, I did receive a complimentary review copy of this book from Crossway Publishers. This is my honest opinion of it.

About This Book:

“All Christians should read this book.” —Rosaria Butterfield

Across the globe, the gospel is advancing through the work of Christians willing to risk everything in the hardest places.

This book, written by a missions journalist as he traveled throughout twenty different countries, is filled with stories of Christians past and present whose examples of endurance, courage, sacrifice, and humility connect readers with Gods unstoppable work across the world. These heroes are simply ordinary people who have experienced the transformative power of a Savior who is alive and moving—and their stories will inspire readers to take faith-filled risks for the gospel.

My Thoughts:

Of all the nonfiction books that I could read in the world, missionary stories and biographies are by far my favorites. I love hearing about Christian brothers and sisters from ages past—and even now!—who are seeking to follow the Lord and bring others to know His wonderful love. Last year, I read Shandong: The Revival Province by Paul Hattaway, and I doubt I’ll ever forget that moment after finishing that book when another puzzle piece to the overall picture of the Church was snapped into place for me. It’s so precious to see how Jesus has worked and is working! And that’s why I keep my eyes open for other books along the same lines—so when I saw A Company of Heroes available from Crossway soon after I completed another review for them, I knew I wanted to read it, as well! I’ll share a few of my favorite quotes as we go, too.

“He said that for him the only way to break fears chokehold was to pray and then go out immediately and tell someone about Jesus—and so that’s what Aaron did. In the name of Jesus, demons are cast out—and in the name of Jesus, fear is cast out too.” —Aaron

This book is set up differently compared to some stories. Told in the form of a traveling journal, we skip all over the world and meet different missionaries in their settings. The first stop is Morocco (including Peruvian missionaries!), then there are places like the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, India, USA, England, Indonesia, and I’m sure I’m missing a good half of them! Each story has a point—something you can take away and apply to your own life, and often something you can use when you’re praying for others you know too! I love how self-teachable the lessons are here; nothing is pulled out as an example to say “this is how you should do it!” or, “think about this point especially!”. Yes, there are those, but the main part is just the daily ins and outs of life, expressed with a love for Christ and a love for those around us.

“He who religiously obeys Mahomet [Mohammed] may yet be doing grievous moral wrong; but it is never so with the disciple of Jesus: obedience to Jesus is holiness.” —Charles Spurgeon

Four or five years ago, while I was still in school, I started a church history course. One of the required books to read was From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth A. Tucker. She shares a lot of different missionaries stories from a very interesting perspective—not necessarily focusing on just their accomplishments, but their methods, and the things they struggled with. I found the book very inspiring and insightful. A recommended read!

Samuel Zwemer’s story is told in some detail in From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. I’d never heard of him before reading Tucker’s overview, but his mission, goals, methodology, and results were fascinating. The part I loved about A Company of Heroes, then, was reading all these quotes from Zwemer that were highly applicable to a lot of the other content! Makes me want to go back and re-read Tucker’s snapshot of his life, as well as try to find some of his books to read. I really enjoyed having a bit of background on him when reading this book because it helped me to relate to the content a lot more. Yay for church history as a school subject!

“They have a verse of this song [I Have Decided to Follow Jesus] in Arabic that we don’t have back home: If Im put in chains, or go to prison, no turning back, no turning back.” —Tim Keesee

Probably one of my most favorite aspects of A Company of Heroes—aside from the chance to get a glimpse into modern-day missionary’s lives and struggles, of course—was the focus on missions in the difficult countries. Especially places like Afghanistan or Morocco where Muslims are the majority, and Christianity is on the edges of such societies (if not, of necessity, in hiding all together). I loved seeing how the Lord is working in such places—I’ve never heard of them as being easy outposts—but seeing His love expressed toward the Muslims through His children is very special. And inspires me to love the ones around me more, too. It’s so easy to fall into a fearful, self-protecting mindset, but that’s not God’s heart at all. And I loved the expressions of love for Him that were laid out in the daily living and sacrifices the saints of the Lord made within these pages.

“The right question to ask isn’t ‘Why should I go?’ but rather ‘Why should I stay here?’ That’s the question we really need to wrestle with.” —Danny Brooks

In all, A Company of Heroes was a great book. I loved everything that was shared in these pages, and hope I can get my own paperback copy one day. I loved being challenged to seek the Lord more and pour my life out for His sake, and how that was lived out before my eyes, so to speak, in these pages. If you wish to be challenged in your Christian walk, or want to learn more about current missions around the world, I would recommend you check out this gem!

About the Author:

Tim Keesee is the founder and executive director of Frontline Missions International, which has served to advance the gospel in some of the worlds most difficult places for over twenty-five years. He has traveled to more than eighty countries, reporting on the church from the former Iron Curtain countries to war-torn Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Keesee is the executive producer of the DVD documentary series Dispatches from the Front. Learn more at frontlinemissions.info.

What challenging non-fiction books have you read lately? Or if you haven’t read one lately, what is one that is still very memorable to you?

Month in Pictures, Week 3

May 24, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Wednesday, May 15:

A storm blew in, and I loved watching the clouds forming over the mountains that are visible from my room! The colors were spectacular, too, as different waves came through. It was sunny for a few moments, then I looked out and saw this!

Thursday, May 16:

I was amused, this evening, as the boys did a quick tackling wrestle match right before our family Bible time. #2 brother pinned #3 brother down first (#3 is on the floor in picture 1), then #1 tackled #2, and in the end #2 and #3 ganged up to get #1 brother down! It’s a wonderful life—and I love watching my brothers!

Friday, May 17:

Got a glimpse of the sunshine after a rainy day—I love seeing the rays peeking through over the mountains at work!

Saturday, May 18:

I got a shipment in with the last of the pictures for my sister’s new photo album! Mom stopped making them about 10 years ago, I think, as life got busy, so she didn’t have any printed out for my sister yet. Now I have 524 pictures to sort (that’s what I’m working on here), then put into a scrapbook! I’m looking forward to working on this over the winter.

Sunday, May 19:

It was a beautiful day for a walk—so that’s just what we did! I’ve been wanting to get a picture of this gravel pile that stretches along the local creek for a while, but the perspective of my brothers and a friend or two going along the top was too good to miss. I live in such a beautiful area!

Monday, May 20—forgot about the challenge

Tuesday, May 21:

Had some prep work to do for my driving course today, and also got to work on the photo album a bit! The latter was fun, and the former informative! It’s interesting (albeit a bit disgusting) to learn about how drugs and alcohol affect driving, and what the results can be.

This week turned out a bit different than expected, and it seems as if winter has moved in to stay. Today was nice and warm, but tonight there’s a chill in the air. I’m thankful for warm clothing and fires, and that our house hasn’t been too cold yet!

This weekend, we’re planning to be with some friends, which I’m really looking forward to. We’ll see how the challenge goes through that; I’m hoping I won’t forget like I tend to do when there are others around. Enjoy your last week of May, and I’ll see you next week!

Month in Pictures, Week 2

May 16, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Wednesday, May 8:

One afternoon, all the younger ones were busy playing Lego—such fun! (And I couldn’t decide which picture to keep, so you get both.)

Thursday, May 9:

The table next to my desk showed remnants of the day’s work: Time spent on some studies on American History, and my first handwritten letter in ages! (So much fun to do! I hope you get it soon, Marlène!)

Friday, May 10:

Our dishwashers. Such a fun bunch!

Saturday, May 11:

Building a shelf in the lean-to garage (for holding a car engine?). My brothers are hard workers!

Sunday, May 12—forgot about the challenge

Monday, May 13:

Our enthusiastic laundry sorter. I love this boy so much!

Tuesday, May 14:

Cake- and pie-baking, little sister style. It’s a good use of time when you’ve finished school, but everyone else is still working!

It’s been a fun challenge to try to remember to take pictures of each day—and it’s fun to look back on things that already are nearly forgotten! It’s the mundane and ordinary of life that makes up all those years we look back on…and how precious to have a few pictures to remember those moments by!

One interesting thing I noticed this week, as opposed to last week, is that it was a lot harder to remember to take pictures on the second week. Hence, several evening/nighttime pictures with not the greatest lighting. I remember noticing this before with other challenges—what is it about the second week that makes it so hard to keep up? During NaNoWriMo, if there’s one week where the going is especially hard, it’s the second week.

If there are any spiritual applications, they’re escaping me right now. I was away at work all day, and my brain is tired. It’s been very windy and rainy here today, with racing clouds overhead, and the sun peeking out for a few seconds or so now and then (“Look, guys, the sun is out! Look outside quick, because it might be the only sunshine you’ll see all day!”).

For now, keep pushing through those second weeks, and I’ll see you again next week.

What has your weather been like today?

Month in Pictures, Week 1

May 9, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Well, my grandma has inspired me once again. Last month, she decided to do a photo-a-day challenge, and I had such fun seeing pictures of her normal life! I’ve done something similar before, but it’s been a few years. Somehow, I always got caught up taking flower or landscape pictures because I couldn’t find anything else worthy of photography (or so I thought). After seeing Grandma’s lineup, and especially enjoying the pictures she shared of parts of the family I don’t see very often, I thought it would be fun to try the challenge again.

So, without further ado, here goes:

May 1:

The strip canoe project my brothers have been working on for nearly a year now—ready for more epoxy coating! They brought it out in the sunshine one afternoon so the epoxy would harden faster.

May 2—forgot about the challenge

May 3:

An impressive lump of coal a local miner gave my boss’ family! It burned for nearly 24 hours on their open fireplace.

May 4:

Several years ago, I bought our first copy of a book in the Pleasant Valley Farm series, Shadow the Barn Cat. It quickly became a favorite—a great series of picture books! I’d be tempted to replace Shadow now, because our first copy has been so well-loved that it came apart last week! Mom just ordered the last two books, to finish off the series, and my two youngest siblings were thrilled! This is their first look at the new books.

Bonus picture: Little sister helped me mix up a brine to soak a pork leg in. We’re looking forward to seeing how it turns out and if homemade ham is something we want to do again! I’m pretty excited about this project.

May 5:

Sunday evening: Playing Skipbo Golf with Dad.

May 6:

Monday evening schoolwork and reading. A fairly typical evening around here!

May 7:

Making peanut butter while sitting in the chair he made (didn’t he do a great job on that?)—and fresh peanut butter can’t be beat!

Have you ever done a photo-a-day challenge before? What has been happening in your normal life lately that might not be normal for some people?