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11 Bible Verses I Pray Nearly Every Day

May 3, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 2 Comments

I’m not sure where the idea originated for me, exactly. Dad’s been doing it for years—he has a list of verses he rotates through and prays over us children every evening.

I think the idea may have clicked when I saw it being used in a prayer list made for girls on one of the Facebook groups I’m in. The subject was prayers for our husbands, and each day the admin shared a prayer to pray as well as some verses pertaining to the prayer. What amazed me was the fact that these verses—ones I’ve been familiar with since before I can remember—also could be used as powerful, specific prayers! I loved it!

Keep Going!

April 30, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

This afternoon, as I peeled onions and chopped broccoli as meal prep for tomorrow, I was thinking about my writing. As much as I love writing, I’ve been feeling rather burned out lately.

“Why don’t I just take a break?” I thought, as the pile of broccoli pieces slowly grew under my knife. “A break from everything written for even a week would be such a luxury!”

But then, I realized that if I did so, it would stretch into much more than a week. I’d rationalize it with, “I need more time to recuperate!” “I’m too busy right now!” “I don’t have any ideas!” And soon, another three years would slip by, unheeded, until a day in the future when I’d wake up and miss the joys of stories blossoming under my fingertips. I’ll mourn the years wasted when I could have been learning something—even something little every single day, like I am now—and instead just have let that part of me lie forgotten.

“I Get To!” (Life Update)

March 15, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

River Rocks

One thing that’s become clearer and clearer to me over this past week is the fact that I need to work on developing better daily and weekly rhythms. No longer am I working three-hour days; when I work, I’m doing nine-hour days! That makes a significant difference in the amount of time I have in a given week—not to mention the fact that after I get home from an 8-5 day, I don’t have a whole lot of extra energy left to do much else (yes, mothers, you are allowed to laugh).

My weeks are definitely going by a little faster than I was used to, but I’m loving it, too. 🙂 And I definitely don’t have any grounds to complain!

In the three days per week left to me to do things, I’ve been working at a myriad of jobs. Last night, I finally sat down and took five minutes to write out all the things that I really need or want to get done in the next month:

River Walk

March 5, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 4 Comments

RiverWalk01

When we moved over here a month ago, I asked Mom, “Do you think I’ll always think of the East Coast as the most beautiful side, and miss it? Or will I eventually think the West Coast is the most beautiful, and if we move back to Canterbury, I’ll end up missing the West Coast?”

She answered, “I don’t know.”

A month into being here, I think I can pretty comfortably say that I’ve fallen in love with West Coast scenery. Before we moved here, I already really enjoyed it—there’s a certain charm to the rugged beauty of this place, but I knew I didn’t like the rain. However, I’m finding I haven’t minded the rain at all (so far, anyway—better wait until I’ve gone through a couple winters to make that an absolute statement!). And we still do get a good amount of sunshine, which is lovely!

A Rich Week

February 16, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 2 Comments

Life has been very full the last little while. And I’m loving it.

Last week was mostly spent tidying up after moving, finding new homes for all our things, etc.

This week, I worked two full days at my new job (helping out a family; SO much fun!), and starting a project I’ve taken a break on for the last two to three years: School work. And, while stretching, and while I am behind (I’m working on it, I promise!), I’ve been enjoying it so much.

What Dreams May Come Review and Blog Tour

February 12, 2018 by Esther Filbrun · 5 Comments

My brother and I bounced along in the back of the truck. Praise music was turned on fairly loudly in the front, and every once in a while one of us would look back to check on our load and make sure everything was staying in place. Already, we had stopped five or six times to try to tighten up straps enough to keep the tires on top of the things packed underneath them on the loaded trailer. It was a chore to make sure that they didn’t jiggle too far out—at one point, we had ended up with a tire dragging on the road, which isn’t very optimal in a high-speed zone!

However, by now, two and a half hours into our journey, things seemed to be settling down a bit. We were all heaving a tentative sigh of relief, especially since the last stop for a check had revealed that the most recent tighten-down and re-threading seemed to have worked. Finally able to relax some, and ready to enjoy the scenery, I checked the two chickens in a cage right behind our heads one more time. They seemed to be doing fine, with their cage securely fastened by a few bits of twine string to the bars across the back window of the truck. Their feathers were being blown around some, but not as much as they had been before we wrapped a coat around the more exposed sides of the cage.

Tugging my Kindle out of my bag, I was excited to finally be able to start the book I’d been waiting for several months to read, What Dreams May Come. And as the native bush, creeks, the occasional waterfall, and rivers slid by outside (and the chickens and tires stayed in place behind us), I lost myself in the story.