A Melodious Sonnet - Page 18 of 58 - Notes from a word-chaser

Busy Weeks

March 16, 2020 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

16 Mar

It’s been a busy few weeks—and it’s going to get even busier for me for a while! Two weeks ago, I got a message from a mother who is going to need help for six weeks starting next Tuesday, and after talking with my current boss, it became possible for me to go.

Oh, and did I mention that I was given two extra mornings of work per week a month or so ago? That’s been an unexpected blessing! After several months of looking for work, I’m really thankful to have more again!

A random picture, I know, but I’m not the only busy person around here—baby sister is very active, and loves spending time outside when she can!

Anyway, back to my upcoming time away from home: I don’t know this family very well, but I am looking forward to getting to know them better. It will be fun to get to look after some new children, and I’m hoping they will enjoy it as well. I’m also expecting it to be challenging, but that’s when God steps in to take care of what I cannot.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out what all I need to get done yet this week. I had a dress cut out but not sewed up sitting in my closet, and thought it would be nice to have that finished before I go, there are some reviews that need to be uploaded and scheduled on the book review website, and I need to make sure everybody knows how to keep my kombucha and sourdough alive while I’m gone.

Friday a week ago, I had a special treat—I found out a younger friend of mine had some sewing to do, so I got to go over to her house and sew with her all day! I didn’t get all the way done with the dress, but made a good amount of progress. It was going together very well, I hadn’t had to unpick any seams, and I was feeling pretty good about that—until I sewed a sleeve on upside down. I felt brilliant while I got to take both seams on that sleeve out again! It’s good to have a reminder every now and then that pride is not a good attribute to have. 🙂

What are you looking forward to right now? What are you working on?

Franz Josef Glacier – January 2020

February 21, 2020 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

21 Feb

Somewhere around three weeks ago now, I took a trip with some friends to do exploring around the glaciers 2 1/2 – 3 hours south of us. I’ve loved that area of the country for years, but it’s been nearly four years since I was down there last! It was a very cloudy morning when we set off—and stayed that way for quite a while—but just as we were getting close to our first destination, the Franz Josef glacier, I saw sunshine on the mountainside ahead!

This area has gotten an immense amount of rain this past year, causing quite a few washouts. I believe this was the surface of the original access road to the Franz Josef glacier, now impassable. I’m glad they built another road next to it, so we could still get there!

Walking out to the Franz Josef glacier, I looked up—and the sky was clearing! There was a little waterfall just ahead of us, too.

And then . . . the glacier itself! Pouring down a valley of its own like a blue sea suspended in space.

The walk up the Franz Josef river to the glacier is so pretty . . . all the different colors, and I never tire of watching and listening to flowing water!

Just as you get onto the riverbed, there is a gorgeous waterfall that comes down the hill to the right. It splits into several different forks at that place, and there are some large rocks to use as stepping stones across the little creek.

Then, further along, there is an interesting rock formation. I’ve found it fascinating every time I went, but what I thought was especially interesting was the fact that there are no visible horizontal scrape marks as I’ve heard are often the case on glacial sites. I had to wonder what the explanation for their absence would be—if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!

Another favorite feature of mine: The green and red lichen on the river rocks.

We made it to the top and the end of the trail! Unfortunately, due to the glacier’s melting, we were still one kilometer away from the glacier’s face—and the distance to the glacier was quite noticeable compared to when I was there four years earlier!

It’s still beautiful, though.

Looking down the valley before heading back. . . .

The vegetation here is such a gorgeous green color!

One of the girls we were with mentioned that you could see evidence of the smoke from the Australian bushfires in the snow. Sure enough—there were distinct yellow patches in the snow! I did have to wonder why some parts stayed white, while other parts were yellow!

And one last point of interest: If you climb a little track that zig-zags up a hill, you get a different lookout on the glacier. It’s a lovely view any way you look at it, but they had an interesting sign up showing where the glacier was ten years ago. What a difference!

In all, I highly recommend this walk if you come to our area. I also recommend going on a sunny day—it’s much more interesting then! And once again, I was reminded of how good our Father is to give us such beautiful things in creation to look at!

What natural features in your area have you gone to see lately?

Hope After Suicide

February 10, 2020 by Esther Filbrun · 4 Comments

10 Feb

I saw a Facebook post today by an old friend who mentioned two family members who had taken their lives in as many months. He was appealing to people to reach out to others—to share their pain, so they could find help before going to such extremes.

And reading it, I saw the weight of grief behind each word. The longing that something could have changed before it was too late.

I know. I know what it’s like.

And I don’t know what to say, other than “Oh, Lord, please be with that family.”

I was listening to the Compelled podcast last week, and one of the stories (here’s part 1 and part 2) I heard was of a couple, Rob and Heidi Fuller, who were unable to have biological children and ended up adopting. They also had a miscarriage part way through their journey, which further brought them grief.

During that time, she wrote a song that has connected with me deeply even before I heard her story. This video is Rob and Heidi singing the song together.

We have to rest in the fact that He knows—even though we wish things could have turned out so very differently, He knows what’s best.

And for all of you who are struggling—reach out to someone, please. You are so loved, and so valued, even if you can’t see it. You’re one of God’s precious children. I pray that you’ll be able to find someone you can share with who will point you back to Jesus and give you His hope. Because He loves you far more than you could ever believe.

Pororari River Walk – January 2020

February 4, 2020 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

4 Feb

Two weeks ago, we had two sisters come to stay with us for a week. While they were here, they wanted to explore the West Coast, so we recommended a few places to them, and in the end, I went with them on their different day trips around. I’ve loved West Coast scenery ever since I first came over here, so it was a special treat for me to see so much of it again in such a short amount of time!

On Monday the week they were here, I went with them to the Pancake Rocks (a popular tourist destination around here—a lovely spot!). After going around the walk there, we explored a cavern in the area, took a short bush walk down to the beach, then headed back to the lovely Pororairi River, where there is a longer walk back through the bush along the river.

I’d never been on this particular walk before, so I really enjoyed it. The water was so green, as well as the vegetation—they get a lot more rain on that side of the mountains than we do. And we saw a shag!

Aside from the usual temperamental nature of New Zealand’s rivers, I think this would be a lovely river to take a kayak down. It was very peaceful the day we were there, with lovely clear water. There were a few fast-moving rapids, but aside from those, I think a trip would be quite enjoyable!

Even just walking alongside the river was enjoyable, though–the deep greens were spectacular!

And then, after walking for about an hour, we came to a crossroads and decided the swinging bridge we had been told about must be quite a distance on yet. Since it was getting late and we were tired, we decided to head back—but a Canadian couple who were coming along just then reinforced our faith in our guide’s words. Sure enough, another five minutes or so along the trail, we got to the swing bridge!

In all, it was a lovely walk, and if we have visitors come at some stage, I’d recommend it. It’s a great way to get out into the bush of NZ and still see some spectacular sights along the way. We even saw—and smelled!—some wild goats on the trail!

The day after we did this, we took a trip down to our local glaciers. But I have quite a few pictures from that, so it may take a bit to narrow down which ones to share!

Have you done any walking lately? What are some of your favorite spots in your area?

Top 10 Books from 2019

February 1, 2020 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

1 Feb

I just realized I never posted a “best of 2019” book list! I did one mid-year last year and intended to do one at the end of the year, but Christmas, then New Years, then visitors happened, so here I am now, ready to share.

It was a great reading year for me. I met my goal of 50 books by reading 55 books (some of which are not counted as individual books by Goodreads yet). I had several definite favorites, but I’ll be sharing those soon.

Total books for 2019: 55
Non-fiction: 15 (27%)
Fiction: 40 (72%)

And of those 55 books . . .
Audiobooks: 4 (7%)
For-review books: 39 (71%)
Physical copies: 11 (20%)
Most-read month: May and July, both totaling 9 books for the month

I think the review books and physical copies ones disappoint me the most, honestly. We have something like 1,000 or 1,500 books sitting on shelves here at our place, and I’ve only read (or heard) probably 50% of them. I also have shelves full of books I’ve picked up different places that I haven’t read (literally—about three here in the house, and two boxes full in storage!), as well as a shelf of mostly borrowed books. It’s an epidemic, I tell you!

This year, I’m trying to figure out how to include more in-print books, especially the ones I’ve borrowed, but not read yet. I may just drop the Netgalley/Eidelweiss challenge, or do something similar just for myself for paperbacks. We’ll see. I’m still working that out!

So . . . top 10 books of 2019. Some of these, I know, are included in my top six from the middle of last year, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got some new favorites, as well.

My top three favorites:

Interestingly enough, I have 13 books under my “top favorites” label on Goodreads (given that label as I read each book), and of those, 8 were non-fiction titles . . . I find it fascinating that those are the ones that spoke to me the most!

Note: Several of these books mentioned today were given to me in exchange for my honest review. Also, links in this post may be affiliate links, which help support this blog. Thank you!

Favorite non-fiction: The Waiting by Cathy LaGrow. I keep going back to this one over and over, so it must be my favorite. It’s so, so good!

Favorite ARC (advanced reader copy): Blessing Bentley by Chautona Havig. One quote, especially, keeps coming back to me, because it struck me that this applies in many more areas than I tend to think about most of the time:

“I’m realizing that marriage was intended to be another way to glorify God, and, in doing so, mankind was blessed as a byproduct. [ . . . ] What I see based on Scripture, is that all of life, including and possibly especially marriage, is about glorifying God.”
—Bentley

Favorite fiction: Several stood out for this one, but I’m picking Between Two Shores by Jocelyn Green. I didn’t love everything in this book, but it surprised me in several different major ways, and I’m still pondering on the story to this day! Definitely one of my top historical fiction books of the year!

And the other top seven, in no particular order:

1. Chosen People by Robert Whitlow

I got this one right at the end of 2018 but didn’t read it until February. An excellent book; this and the sequel both show modern Israel in an unforgettable light, along with having a very strong Christian base. I’ve loved them!

2. Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson

I read this while I was in the States last January, and even though in a way it wasn’t my most favorite story ever, it landed on my top ten list because it was so good. It’s not the story you expect to read when you pick up a missionary story—but it was an excellent reminder that the Lord is in control of all situations!

3. A Company of Heroes by Tim Keesee

I feel like I read this book in a hurry, although I’m not sure why. It’s the kind of book I want to go back and re-read, though, just because there’s so much to learn from it. A fascinating look at modern missions with unusual stories, but also a great encouragement to us in our own lives to keep our focus on Christ and continue sharing the good news.

4. The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White

I had a hard time picking between this one or On Wings of Devotion, which I read this past December. In some ways, I liked Wings better, but I loved Margot’s story, and had been looking forward to it for a long time! If you like World War I fiction, or numbers, or codebreaking, check this book out. It’s a goodie!

5. Defying Jihad by Esther Ahmad

This is one of those books you read and it sticks with you for months and months afterward. I read another great book co-authored by Craig Borlase in early December, but this one was my favorite. Not necessarily because of some of the content, but because the Lord’s goodness was shown so much in here. I came away from this book very encouraged. (My review of this will be posting on my website in just over a week from now.)

6. Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

If I counted right, I read four books by Lynn Austin in the past year, and although the others got very close to the top favorite mark for me, I had to choose this one because of the setting. I adored the descriptions of rural Kentucky, as well as the piece of history during the Depression that this book showed me. It has a lovely mystery, as well as a delightful “granny” character who has more secrets and is wiser than you think at first!

7. Each Perfect Gift by Alicia G. Ruggieri

One thing I am sad about is that I only read one Ruggieri book in 2019. Perhaps I can change this year; I have several lined up that I really want to read! This one, as always, delivered a solid storyline and intriguing characters. Once you get past the multiple points of view, Ruggieri writes excellent stories. I can’t wait for the next one I get into!

Let’s discuss: What were your favorite books of 2019? Are there any books you’re particularly looking forward to in 2020?