Life

Changes and Opportunities

September 16, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I got the news that due to changes where I work, I will only be working one day a week instead of the two I normally do. In effect, that means my hours are halved, which is rather major! I fully support my bosses and agree with their decision—sometimes, no matter how much we’d like things to work one way, they just can’t for a while. Eventually, perhaps, I’ll go back to working two days per week for them again, but only if they need it. Since I am a house helper, ideally the children will get old enough and competent enough eventually to be able to take over my job—so I’d be out of work then, anyway.

We’ll see!

For now, I’m thankful to still have something of a job.

I admit; I was a little disappointed when I got the news (who wouldn’t be?), but in thinking about it, I’ve realized this could be another opportunity for God to show me the next step to take. I’ve always prayed that the Lord would open the doors before me when the right time comes, and when that time comes He would show me what doors are open so I can walk through them. When one opportunity seemed to come to an end, He always has brought another along.

This opportunity for ministry with that family hasn’t fully come to an end yet, so I’m sure He still has work here for me to do. Wherever I am, I want to be able to bless others. To show them the Lord’s goodness, and perhaps be His “hands and feet” for them.

I’m sure that’s the longing of many young women—and if you’re one of them, I’d like to encourage you to keep trusting the Lord! He will bring the right next step to you in His timing. Yes, the in-between might be a little disconcerting, but trust His promises.

I always feel a sort of push-and-pull. I believe it’s necessary to find contentment where we are, but we also aren’t called to just sit and wait for something to drop into our laps. Finding a balance between the two is needed. I’m praying the Lord will show me what I should do with the extra time He’s given me—because He has a plan for that, too. Pray with me, if you think about it! And if you have something I can pray for you for, please comment below or send me an email: esther[at]learningresourcedirectory[dot]com. I’d love to hear from you!

No matter what you’re facing today, keep your eyes on Him. Watch for the open doors.

“For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.” (II Samuel 22:29)

What challenges are you facing right now?

Tripping: Punakaiki Cavern, July 2019

September 13, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Well, I intended to get this post up last month, but that didn’t happen—my baby sister was born on August 20th, and life became a bit crazy for a while after that! Here I am now, though, with some pictures of a bit of caving (or is that spelunking?) that we got to do near the end of July—I’m hoping we can go back there sometime!

First, a picture of the sign and entrance. Doesn’t look like much, does it? We didn’t expect much more than a little hole in the rocks.

When we got in there, we discovered several large rooms, and branching off from there were lots of little side-tunnels! I’m sure we didn’t explore them all, but the ones we did see were fascinating!

The boys, of course, had to find a rope and explore the upper level:

I was intrigued by the different stalactite and stalagmite formations I saw:

I think we were all thankful we took lights with us—that made the exploration much more interesting!

The main room was massive!

In all, it was a very successful adventure, and I think we’d all like to go back and visit!

Have you ever gone caving before? What was your most memorable adventure underground? I think mine was when we took a trip through Mammoth Cave in Kentucky when I was a girl! That was fascinating!

Tripping: Punakaiki, July 2019

August 15, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

If there’s one place on the West Coast that has grabbed my heart for the beauty, it’s just about got to be Punakaiki, or more specifically, the Pancake Rocks located there. I love wild scenery, and there’s nothing you can get much more wild than the ocean thrusting its way up through the rocks to burst in spray above you (or below, depending on how rough the sea is on any particular day).

When we went there with friends last month, we first stopped at an old mining equipment exhibit. I liked the brand name on several of the rims—it’s a good reminder, although I have no idea what it stands for!

I always enjoy the walk out to the blow holes, trying to spot what spray we can as we go! This time, we got a few good peeks on our way out.

Quite possibly my favorite blowhole, the Chimney Pot:

And then there is this one, the most famous and the biggest. Putai, I believe. I love watching it blow. The action wasn’t quite as good as other times that I’ve been there, but it was still enough to be enjoyable—and I was thankful for a few good ones!

Here is a video I got of Putai in action:

And then there is the Surge Pool, which is always fascinating to watch and listen to!

Watching the spray from a distance….

And then, on the way back, we had a special treat! Little sister caught my hand and said, “look! there’s an owl!” I looked, but couldn’t see a thing for a while—then, it finally turned its head and I saw it. A native morepork, I think. So small and cute—the first one I’ve seen in the wild.

Like I said, I always enjoy going to the Pancake Rocks for a look around. It’s never the same two times in a row. What are some of your favorite places to visit near where you live?

Finding Rest

August 12, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Early last week, I downloaded a scripture writing plan that had a scripture a day for this month. Last Saturday’s verses were from Matthew 11:28-30, and the special part was that these verses have been precious to me for years.

Back in 2016, I sang a song based on those words in a choir at a youth conference I went to. I’ve loved the song ever since; remembering the words and choosing to rest in Jesus at that time was an important reminder to me. My brother had just died, and the song reaffirmed Jesus’ presence with me—with us—in that time of intense grief.

Here is a beautiful choral rendition of the same composition we sang back in 2016:

Other times in life, we still have to choose to trust the Lord. To come to Him, and leave our burdens at His feet. Worries and concerns for the future may clog the pathway before us, but we must choose to remember Who is in control. It’s not me. It’s not you. It’s Jesus, and He loves and cares for us far more than we give Him credit for.

Today, let us rest in Him. Make the conscious choice to trust that His purposes are being worked out.

He is faithful.

He will give us rest.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)

What verses have encouraged you when you were struggling to trust Jesus for something in your life?

Tripping: The Nelson Post

July 25, 2019 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

The past few weeks have been busy with multiple trips to different places. I’ve been able to catch up with quite a few different people from different places, which has been extra-special! Isn’t the Lord good to put different ones in our paths?

Two weekends ago, we took a family trip over to the east coast to visit friends at a little church there. It was an encouraging overnight trip; so good to see everyone, even if the visit felt far too short! I loved the view of the Southern Alps on our way back home!

Then, a couple days later, I took two brothers with me up to Nelson. Mom is due in about five weeks, and I wanted to be sure to have a good rocking chair here before the baby comes, hence the need to go and pick one up. I didn’t want to drive something like seven (plus) hours straight, so we arranged to spend the night with friends up there before coming back the next day. It’s been probably six months or so since we last caught up with those friends, so it was pretty special to do that! Other friends from Kaikoura were there as well at the same time, which made it extra-special!

Our friends are living at a Christian campground, so we had a quick tour the next morning before we left. Here is the main community building, with the dining room/lounge on the far left, the (beautifully large!) kitchen near the middle of the building, and a three-bedroom flat on the right wing for families or “camp mums” with their children. The white-roofed building off to the right is the beginning of a long row of cabins, and the fenced-in area holds a massive blow-up pillow for the children to play on!

We also got to explore the massive maze they have set up; I started going through it, but soon everyone else outstripped me, and I decided I would rather do without the mud and be ready to go when they all got out. I was assured that you couldn’t get lost in it!

I was also quite impressed by the long obstacle course that is set up! The apparatus was quite wet when we were there, but the children assured me it was quite fun. One girl said she had gone over it about 50 times! Most of the steps looked difficult enough to me, and for several I wasn’t quite sure what you were supposed to do there—maybe things are taken down over winter?

After exploring the campground, we headed up a short hill and got a look over the landscape. Back in January, I believe, there was a terrible fire that started up in these hills somewhere. It took quite a while for the firefighters to put it out, but the special part was that though the fire was very close, the camp didn’t burn!

This is the fire line. If you follow the valley to the left of the house, you would get to the Christian camp. I’d guess it’s a five-minute walk back to the camp from there, at most. Lots of people were praying for protection of the camp when the fire was going on; this camp has been going for years, and many people have been blessed by it!

According to the report we heard, a firefighter that was working there at the time saw the fire coming—and then it got up to this spot, and stopped. He said he’d never seen anything like it before! The pine plantation there should have burned, but it didn’t. The house in this picture was part of the camp at one point, but isn’t anymore—and it just escaped being burned. God is so good!

After looking at the fire damage, we headed around over the top of the hill, and got a good view of the valley leading up to Nelson. It was a beautiful day to be out sight-seeing!

Beautiful New Zealand! Nelson city is off on the left of this picture, under the hazier part, if I remember correctly.

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed our little trip up there, and loved that we could get a little nature walk in at the same time. Grandma, I wish you could have been there; the birdsong was quite different than we have here, and very pretty!

What places have you been exploring lately? What are you enjoying in God’s creation right now?

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!