A Melodious Sonnet - Page 47 of 58 - Notes from a word-chaser

The Flow of History

June 1, 2016 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

1 Jun

If there’s one thing I remember doing in my earliest memories, it would be having our family worship time. Although the times of day when we do it has changed over the years, it’s an every day occurrence aside from Sundays. I only remember one time when we’ve actually missed having it, and that was not on purpose, believe me! This is a long-standing tradition, one that I’m sure will never stop, even after all of us children eventually leave home.

I really respect my dad for keeping it up all these years. It can’t be easy for him; often he’s had long days at work and he’s physically drained, but he always makes sure that we have our Bible time.Over the years, we’ve done at least two almost cover-to-cover read-throughs of the Bible (we’ve skipped some of the genealogies—the younger children have a hard time reading, let alone understanding, all the names!). I can’t remember exactly when we started the last read-through, but it was probably a year or two ago. We got up to 1 Kings 7 by October last year, then Dad decided to switch to Blue Letter Bible’s Chronological reading plan. Reading the Bible this way adds a whole new dimension to the stories and context, which makes it quite interesting! Currently, we’re reading in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah.

As we’ve been reading through Kings and Chronicles, I’ve noticed some interesting “threads” of history. I’m keeping track of those findings on slips of paper, and eventually I’ll transfer them into my journal for safe keeping. I thought I’d share them here today, since I find the similarities so interesting.

The Flow of History #1:

Taken from: II Kings 15, especially verses 9, 18, 24, and 28.

Zachariah, son of Jeroboam, king of Israel (not related to the first king of Israel; he was Jehu’s great-great grandson, according to the word of the Lord—see II Kings 10:30)

Departed not from Jeroboam’s sins (Jeroboam the son of Nebat was the first king of Israel, and this is who it is referring to)
Was conspired against and killed by Shallum (vs. 10; who was in turn killed a month later by Menahem)

Menahem, son of Gadi, king of Israel

Killed Shallum (who had killed Zachariah)
Died a natural death
Departed not from Jeroboam’s sins

Pekahiah, son of Menahem, king of Israel

Departed not from Jeroboam’s sins
Conspired against and killed (vs. 25)

Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel

Killed Pekahiah
Departed not from Jeroboam’s sins
Conspired against and killed by Hoshea the son of Elah (vs. 30)

IN CONCLUSION:

Jeroboam the son of Nebat set a precedent that was never overturned. He went down in history as the “man who made Israel to sin.” What precedent are YOU setting?

I found it fascinating that of the five kings in this chapter, all followed the sins of Jeroboam and four out of the five were conspired against and killed. Isn’t that interesting? Reminds me of Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Flow of History #2

Taken from: II Chronicles 21-29

Chapter 21: Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, who was the son of Asa, king of Judah (the latter two followed the Lord)

His mother’s name is not mentioned
Married Ahab’s daughter (21:6)
Compelled Judah to sin (21:11)

Chapter 22: Ahaziah, youngest son of Jehoram, king of Judah

Mother’s name was Athaliah (22:2; we find out later in the chapter that she killed all her grandsons so she could reign over Judah)
Walked in the ways of Ahab (an evil king of Israel; 22:3)

Chapter 24: Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah

Mother’s name was Zibiah (24:1)
Did that which was right all the years that Jehoiada the priest was alive (24:2)

Chapter 25: Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah

Mother’s name was Jehoaddan (25:1)
Did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not perfectly (25:2)

Chapter 26: Uzziah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah

Mother’s name was Jecoliah (26:3)
Did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not perfectly (26:4-5)

Chapter 27: Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah

Mother was Jerushah (27:1)
Did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not perfectly (27:2)

Chapter 28: Ahaz, son of Jotham, king of Judah

No mother named
Provoked the Lord God to anger (28:25)

Chapter 29: Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah (one of the most righteous kings in Judaean king history; he prayed for deliverance from the Assyrians and the Lord defeated the army)

Mother’s name was Abijah (29:1)
Did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that king David had done (29:2)

IN CONCLUSION:

The Godly mothers are named for the kings that followed the Lord. Only one evil king out of the three mentioned had his mother named, and that was because everyone knew how evil she was. We are all examples to someone, just as these mothers were to their sons. What kind of example are you setting before your coworkers, your siblings, your children, or others that you come in contact with on a frequent basis? What kind of Godly influence are YOU?

Indeed, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12

Be blessed, friend. Live for Jesus today.
-Esther

Grape Harvest

May 30, 2016 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

30 May

Well, I wrote this post a couple weeks ago and intended to add more to it later…but time has slipped away and I’ve finally decided to go ahead and publish it, even if it is a bit late. Nothing much has changed since then anyway.

During the school holidays the last week of April, we got a call saying that it was time to begin grape harvest. I first helped with the harvest five years ago, when friends of ours were managing the vineyard, and have every year since then. It hasn’t always been the easiest or most enjoyable work ever, but over the years—and the last two, especially—I think I’ve learned to enjoy it more.

Picking up nets

There’s just something about being outside, helping with the harvest, that is exciting. You see the fruits of your labors—all those hours in the hot sun working to take leaves off so the grapes can get some sunlight, lifting wires to help support the still-growing canes and keep them in their proper places, or putting on nets to protect them from birds—watching bins upon bins of juicy fruit come from that work is exciting. Satisfying.

And while I may not always appreciate or enjoy some of the things connected to the harvest, I love thinking of the symbolism Jesus drew between harvests and workers, vines and His church.

Full buckets, awaiting the tractor’s return with an empty bin.

Several times, we had to pause in our work to wait for the tractor’s return. Usually it wasn’t long; most of the time we could keep working and just piled all the available buckets.

In the spiritual world, we are all waiting for the “tractor” to come to take us home to heaven. How full will our buckets be when the tractor arrives? Will we have done our best to prepare for that event?

We haven’t quite finished the harvest yet—the grapes under the white nets in the picture above have not ripened nearly enough. Last we heard, the Brix (sugar content) was at 16 and it should be between 21 and 23. That means the juice is VERY sour, and will not make good wine. We’re waiting to find out whether to take the nets off and let the birds eat the grapes, or if we’ll be able to pick them after all (providing it’s warm and sunny enough to let them ripen more).

Sweet on You: A New Mystery by One of My Favorite Authors!

May 4, 2016 by Esther Filbrun · 2 Comments

4 May

Well, this post was supposed to go up about a week ago. But that didn’t happen, due to the fact that I didn’t even have this written yet, much less scheduled! And due to the fact that I was picking grapes last week (a job that I’m learning to really enjoy!), it simply didn’t get posted. I’ve decided that late is better than never, and since I loved the story I thought I’d share my thoughts of the book with you. But then, if you don’t like women’s fiction, or reading book reviews, go ahead and skip this post. I won’t mind!

Mom has done some launch promotion work for author Chautona Havig over the past year, and a couple weeks ago when Chautona was looking for a new launch group, I decided to sign up. And, surprise, I got to be part of it! I’ve loved her books ever since Mom introduced me to Ready or Not—the tale of a young 20-something who is given guardianship of her 8 nieces and nephews after her sister and brother-in-law die. (On second thought, it’s probably not so surprising that I liked the story since I’m the oldest of eight…it was very true to life.)

I didn’t know what to expect from Sweet on You, the first book in the Meddlin’ Madeline series, since the premise was “a young girl notices things that other people don’t, and her noticing stuff involves her in some kind of mystery”. I wasn’t disappointed, though! In typical fashion, what would be a mundane story from many turned into an enthralling adventure under Mrs. Havig’s hands.

A young man recently moved into town appears at one of the many socials. He quickly begins courting the interest of Madeline’s friend Edith, but Madeline notices certain things about his demeanor that make her wonder what he is like in real life. If he is hiding something, will she be able to figure it out before he marries Edith—and perhaps destroys all chances of the girl’s future happiness?

Through the course of the novel, little things kept popping up—until I got annoyed at Madeline for waiting so long to find out the truth! I really enjoyed the mystery part of the story, and yet I enjoyed the historical aspect even more in some ways. Through this book, I got a little glimpse into life in the early 1900s, without the glamour of modern-day retellings of Jane Austen books (now, I do like the movies I’ve seen, don’t get me wrong; but this was an interesting perspective as well). I found the few mentions of the Brownie interesting, and loved the ways Madeline used her camera—not necessarily the way Russell intended her to use it!

Overall, it’s a great story. Not as much “Christian” stuff in it as in many of Chautona Havig’s other books, but like Mom I’m looking forward to seeing where that aspect goes from here.

The Kindle version is now available—you can buy it here.

Well, turns out my review for the blog was as long as my review for the website! Eventually, we will combine my review and Mom’s review into one, but for now we’ll leave things as-is.

The Mystery Object: Can You Help?

April 20, 2016 by Esther Filbrun · 3 Comments

20 Apr

One evening this week, my ten year old brother was searching through my sixteen year old brother’s things, trying to find a lost wallet. I don’t know if he ended up finding the wallet or not, but he did discover something fascinating—an old metal thing, with the name “Nat” inscribed on the outside, and a tiny picture of a man on the inside. It is about 15 mm in diameter, so pretty tiny!

There is nothing on the outside edge that would have made it possible to put on a necklace (no little loops or anything), and it wasn’t made to snap onto clothing as a button—we tried that out, and it didn’t work.

I asked my brothers how they had found it, and the older brother said he had seen something shiny in the garden while he was cultivating, and picked it up. It was covered in dirt, so he soaked it in water and then cleaned it off. Afterward, he put it in with his other odds and ends, and forgot about it.

Then our younger brother was looking for his wallet, and found it—and seeing that it was made up of two different pieces, tried to open it! After prying it apart, this is what he found. In an attempt to find out who the man was, the boys popped his picture out to see if there were words underneath, but there were none—and in the process of putting it back in, some of the picture flaked off. They decided we ought to take a photograph of it before it gets any worse!

Have you seen anything like this before? Do you know what it could be? None of us can figure any more out than what has already been stated.

In other news, I’m working on writing a guest post for my cousin Kendra Stamy at A Proverbs 31 Wife. So far, the task has proven challenging, but I’m enjoying it. Lots of interesting thoughts coming out about books and why we read what we read. Praying that I’ll be able to encourage someone through this opportunity! I’ll share the link on here once the post is published.

Also, I’ve been working on memorizing Psalm 67 the last two weeks. So far, so good—almost through the chapter now. I did get a little stuck on verse four, but I think I’m getting it. Just need to remember that verses three and five are exactly the same, and get six and seven down pat yet. I’m getting there!

I decided to put the verse on my computer desktop until I get it memorized, so I won’t forget to practice it.

I also need to get this month’s newsletter written and sent. AFTER the guest post is written! I need to send out the last giveaway prize today—just heard back from the last winner this morning—and then that job will be done. 🙂 There are a couple other emails related to the giveaway that need replies yet, but they’ll be taken care of soon.

And along with all of that, I’m trying to ignore the insistent summons from a recent fascinating story, The Destiny of a Few by Sarah Holman, to finish reading it. Hey, I just got on Amazon to get a link for you, and I see that the Kindle version is currently free! Get it now if you can! I’m about halfway through the book, and thoroughly enjoying the adventure, even though I don’t completely agree with some of the views put forward in the book. If I can hold out until my work for today is done, then I can indulge in reading. I think.

Hope you’re having a great day, and if you have any ideas about what this mystery object is, my brothers and I would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Hello, Winter! (and Giveaway Winners)

April 15, 2016 by Esther Filbrun · 1 Comment

15 Apr

Hello, winter, what a surprise!
Icicles blooming before our eyes!

Well, not quite like that. But the heavy frost did come as a surprise to me yesterday morning.

We’ve had skirmishes with frost the last couple weeks, little touches announcing that the hard one is on the way, but up until now we haven’t had anything serious. It’s been chilly, yes, but not quite to the point of freezing.

The grass close to the sprinkler was heavily iced over. It made the most delightful crunch when stepped on!

Well, two nights ago it arrived. Mom woke up around 12:30, noticed that the air was pretty cold, and turned the sprinkler on. I woke up at 6, realized that my room felt like a freezer, turned my fan heater on, and went back to bed. I got up around 7 when the room was nice and toasty.

The pumpkin leaves, beautifully encased in ice, looked almost like the plastic food look-a-likes you can buy at some stores.

Then came my morning routine–go in the house to get some hot coffee, and grab the overnight oatmeal with peaches that I had made the night before (you can’t beat pre-made breakfast!). After hearing how the water had been on for about seven hours, and seeing a sample of the icy coating on a pumpkin leaf someone had brought up, I decided that despite the fact that my coffee would get cold, I had to get a few pictures of the beauty out in our ice-encased garden.

It was more beautiful than words or pictures can describe. I guess God’s creation is normally like that, but I rarely stop to just look and stand in awe.

The most beautiful thing I saw in that half-hour out in God’s beautiful frozen paradise was the thistle flower. Showcased in a perfect sphere of ice.

The hollyhock was another favorite specimen.

I just have to wonder, looking at this…why does God choose to use cold to make such beauty? I don’t enjoy being cold. But yet, perhaps, sometimes He uses things like cold to draw us to Himself.

The really interesting thing was–once the sun came out and melted away the ice, the plants looked perfectly fine. They hadn’t been frosted. The ice itself kept the plants from dying. There’s a scientific explanation for why this works under certain conditions, and I won’t go into it now. Suffice to say that for us, this was a fascinating experiment, and it was successful this time. If you want to read up on the technical side of why this works, go here.

Last night, the sprinkler didn’t get turned on early enough, so we did get a little frost damage–it was almost as cold last night as the night before. And from the looks of it, we’ll be getting another good one tonight. But for now, I feel privileged to have been able to see the beauty in our garden, and ponder the spiritual allegories that could be derived from the experience.

And yes, by the time I was finished taking pictures about half an hour later, my coffee was quite cold. It did still taste good, though!

The intricate ways God made this world are truly incredible!

And for the giveaway winners: Please join me in congratulating Bonnie S, Ashley S, Nancy T, Ross T, and Camy L for winning the One Year Celebration Giveaway! Congratulations, friends–and thank you, all of you, for participating. I wish I could send a prize to each of you, but I can’t. I am planning to host more giveaways just because they’re so fun, so hopefully if you didn’t win this time you can later. 🙂

What was your most memorable experience with ice?