Archives for 2024

North Island Trip–Manawatu to Drury

February 25, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We went to the North Island last month because we had been invited to a conference hosted by some Mennonites from the United States, Canada and Australia. It was held near Cheltenham, just north of Palmerston North in the Manawatu, at the home of some friends of ours who own a conference center. We spent three nights there, and the first morning a lot of us went to a nearby reserve where we walked a track around some native bush.

This isn’t native… but it was pretty interesting! I’ve never seen such huge bamboo. We have stands of it here on the Coast, but it’s very small.

We also stopped at the Stormy Point overlook and had a look at this amazing river valley. Below this picture is a video clip that gives a slightly better idea of the view.

When we left Cheltenham, we drove to Drury, just south of Auckland. It was really interesting seeing the scenery that was so different from the South Island. The mountains had really interesting shapes!

I think this was Mount Ruapehu, but I’m not sure–and we couldn’t see the top of it.

We stopped here and had lunch at a nearby picnic table. I thought it was a beautiful toilet block!

Miss Joy gets carsick, so we stopped for a few minutes to let her walk around. There were blackberries there!

I was startled to see this bright red soil–the first time I’ve seen that in New Zealand!

We enjoyed seeing the sculptures in a lot of towns along the way. We didn’t manage to get pictures of most of them, but Elijah grabbed this one in Ohakune. There was a giant gumboot made of corrugated iron in Taihape, colorful cows in Morrinsville, and bulls in Bulls.

We spent two nights at a community in Drury while we accomplished our other goal for the trip–applying for passport renewals at the United States Consulate. I’ll do a post soon about our day in Auckland, but here are a few pictures of Miss Joy, enjoying being out of the van. She was delighted to find a cat!

Wellington Zoo

February 21, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

After we crossed Cook Strait on the ferry, we picked Elijah up at the airport. He had spent the week at a youth camp in Dunedin. After that, we went to the zoo.

Gayle treated the children to ice creams and ice blocks. While Miss Joy ate hers, she climbed through a lizard’s throat! It was a slide.

There were a lot of sculptures scattered through the zoo. She loved sitting on them!

Otters

An agouti. The next picture shows an exhibit designed to illustrate the agouti’s habit of hoarding stashes of food!

The red panda was perched directly above our path on a high branch.

The sun bear was fed while we were there. We were amused at the way it used its foot as a table!

Miss Joy’s favorite spot was the chimpanzee enclosure. She and her daddy stayed there for a long time. She was enthralled with the baby, who was climbing around and checking everything out.

I had never seen a capybara before! We have a book about one, titled Capyboppy, so it was delightful to actually see one–although it did nothing except sleep.

The ring-tailed lemurs were fun to watch! When they walk through tall grass, all you can see is the waving tails, which stand nearly straight up.

The squirrel monkeys were a lot of fun to watch, too. We found a bench beside them, and stayed there for awhile. They were quite active.

I really liked the Wellington Zoo. It is small, but laid out in such a way that it feels quite spacious. The enclosures are fairly natural, and the animals seemed reasonably happy.

Crossing Cook Strait

February 18, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

On the second day of our trip, we got up early at our campground in Picton and went to catch the ferry. We sailed on the Bluebridge line, and our ferry was to leave at 7:45, so we needed to check in by 6:45. We made sure to be there early, and took our breakfast along with us. Some ate in the van while we waited, after we had our family worship time, and some ate on the ferry later. We had a pretty smooth sailing. There was enough rolling when we were on the open ocean that my head felt very dizzy, but it wasn’t too bad. The scenery was gorgeous while we were going through the Marlborough Sounds!

This was soon after we left Picton. We had spent the night at a campground near the bay to the left of this picture where the marina is; Picton harbor is to the right of the point of land in the middle.

One of the Interislander ferries. We followed it all the way to Picton, and passed two others going the opposite direction.

This was likely a mussel or oyster farm. There are a lot of them in the Sounds.

Reaching the open ocean! The Interislander is out of the Sounds in this picture.

We spent a little while on the viewing platform at the bow of the ship, but it was so windy that we went inside after awhile.

Nearing Wellington. There are a lot of windmills around to generate electricity!

I think this is the Baring Head lighthouse at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.

Wellington

Here is a video I put together of clips from that trip, including driving onto the ferry.

This next group of pictures are from our return trip, a week and a half later. We traveled on the Bluebridge line again, but on their other ship. Again, we caught a morning sailing, arriving at the docks just before sunrise.

While we were waiting to board, we could see the Beehive, our country’s Parliament building.

Our last view of Wellington! After this, we stayed inside most of the time. This boat didn’t have the nice viewing decks that the other one did, and the wind was fierce.

We passed this cruise ship as we were leaving Wellington Harbour. Two tugboats were on the way to guide it to the dock.

There was one viewing deck that was pretty sheltered, so I spent time there with the little girls at various times. The wave the ship made cutting through the water was fascinating!

Gayle also spent time outside with the girls. Here Gayle and Miss Joy are peeking in at us!

Back into the Sounds! Little Miss and I spent most of the rest of the trip here on this deck, enjoying the gorgeous day.

Lots of seagulls there!

The wake of our ship as we turned around a point in the Sounds to head into Picton.

Trip to Picton

February 11, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

On the 25th of January, we took off from home to travel to the North Island. Most of us had never been there before, but we were invited to a conference just north of Palmerston North. We decided to go, and then go on up to Auckland to get US passports renewed for six of the children. Some friends here loaned us their van, since we no longer have a van and would have had to take two cars. We were away for a total of 12 days.

On our way to Picton, where the ferry takes off for the North Island, we stopped for lunch at Lake Rotoiti, in St. Arnaud. There were a lot of eels under the pier that went out into the lake, looking for a handout. It was fun to see them!

When we arrived in Picton, we had a few hours before we needed to check in at the holiday park where we planned to spend the night, so we went to the marina. The aquarium that used to be there, which we visited a couple of times years ago, is gone–there is an empty space where it used to be. The Edwin Fox museum next door is still there, though, so we went through it. We couldn’t actually go on the ship this time, as it is being restored, but we enjoyed watching the film about its history and looking at the ship.

Mr. Imagination and Mr. Sweetie enjoyed the cutout pictures!

Little Miss enjoyed climbing on top of an anchor.

After we settled in at the holiday park, while I heated the soup for our supper, Gayle took the younger children to the pool. They loved swimming!

Book Review–Reckless Yes

February 7, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

About the Book:

Book: Reckless Yes: Exchanging Worldly Ease for God’s Eternal
Adventure

Author: Johnna Hensley

Genre: Christian memoir

Release Date: June 6, 2023

After a shocking diagnosis in 2007 sent her life in an unexpected direction, Johnna Hensley had a decision to make. Though she had walked with God for nearly two decades, she had to choose whether she would follow His leading on a strenuous journey to find the narrow gate that leads to eternal
life; or would she take the easy, wide path offered by the temporal world? As she chose to say yes to selfless love, through God’s guidance, she discovered this was the first of many forks in life’s road that would ultimately lead her to a life full of adventure, surprises, and sometimes,
even hardships.

Inspiring and encouraging, this true story of one family’s journey is intertwined with relevant teaching of who God is and why we can trust Him in the midst of life’s chaos. Through relatable storytelling, wit, and wisdom, readers will be challenged to shift their perspective toward God’s eternal adventure.

My Thoughts:

Anytime I see a Christian memoir come up for review, I take a closer look. I have often found memoirs to be inspiring and encouraging when they are written well. Reckless Yes sounded, from the description, like it might fall into that category. I was a bit surprised when I started reading it, though, because it was quite different than any other I have ever read. It turned out not to be a memoir at all, but rather the story of how a woman learned to say yes to God, when a “yes” doesn’t seem to make sense. I like the subtitle: Exchanging worldly ease for God’s eternal adventure.

I found myself very inspired and challenged by reading Reckless Yes. Johnna Hensley retells stories from the Bible in which various people were told by God to do things that did not make sense. She draws lessons for us today from the stories. Then, she tells part of the story of her family’s life, showing how a reckless yes to God resulted in great blessing. Their path led through living with chronic disabilities, foster care, adoption, and emotional issues. It is an amazing story of how one woman learned to depend on God. I was challenged to spend more time reading the Bible and learning about God myself.

In closing, here is a paragraph from Chapter 11 that really spoke to me: I started making decisions based on that mindset. Was there a way I could help someone? Would I look more like Jesus by doing it? Could I do anything today that would serve another person? If all of those questions were answered with a yes, I moved forward – even knowing that to the world it would look reckless, and maybe even stupid. What a challenge! This is a book that I think every woman should read. The way God works will be different in everyone’s life, but the principles are the same.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Johnna (pronounced John-NUH) is an author, blogger, and all-time coordinator of chaos. Managing her family of eight, built through biology and adoption, means there’s rarely a dull moment in her days. Through herwriting, she boldly shares the eternal hope and restoration heaven offers.
She and Ryan, her husband of eighteen years, reside in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas and are avid supports of foster care, adoption, and disability awareness and advocacy as each has impacted their family. When the chaos subsides, you’ll find Johnna spending time outdoors, enjoying an early morning workout, or on the patio of a Tex-Mex restaurant with friends

More from Johnna:

Reckless Yes is Johnna’s first book, although certainly not her last! This book was years in the making and began through blog posts where she would chronicle the insights she gained from living life caring for her disabled son. It was her insights and experiences during her son’s grand entrance into the world, and many years following, which began to shape and solidify her eternal perspective and the hope of heaven. Reckless Yes is a Christian memoir that reads nearly like a Bible study as Johnna uses a unique strategy of alternating teaching chapters with memoir chapters. Not only will you see her life unfold on the pages, but you’ll see the character of God come to life as well with Johnna’s simplistic, yet interesting, explanation of Scripture. When you’re done with this book, you’ll be asking yourself what YOUR next yes will be! You’ll be equipped and capable, ready to move your life forward into action and be reckless for the Kingdom.

To purchase your copy, click here.

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To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Book Review–Winds of Ruach

January 31, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 3 Comments

About the Book:

Book: Winds of Ruach

Author: D.M. Griffin

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Release Date: October 18, 2022

Winds of Ruach is a compilation of five novellas fictionally traversing a period in Israel’s history that spans three hundred years. God used the prophets to speak to His people during a tumultuous time when faith was challenged and spiritual discipline was necessary. Five prophets lived out the message of God in a way that girded their faith and inspired those who truly listened to God’s voice. Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah, and Malachi were God’s chosen spokesmen.

Book One: Jonah felt he had every right to be angry when tragedy struck his household. He would soon learn that anger was a barrier to a right relationship with God no matter how justified the source of that anger. What happens when Jonah realizes that his deep-seated anger might cost him everything? Will he learn to embrace his forgiving God?

Book Two: Nahum was a victim of God’s wrath as it fell on the land of rebellious Israel. Intimidated for the majority of his life with little memory about his origin, Nahum struggles to trust God for vindication. Grappling to understand why everything keeps going wrong, will Nahum surrender to the only One who can truly defend him?

Book Three: As a child, Habakkuk’s faith was pure and unadulterated. As a priest serving in the Temple, however, Habakkuk realizes that something is keeping him from experiencing the fullness of that faith. He doesn’t truly trust God’s heart toward him. Will he learn to be brave despite the circumstances that threaten the very existence of the Temple?

Book Four: Obadiah lived in two worlds while feeling as if he spiritually belonged to one. Born to an Edomite father and Jewish mother, he was constantly at war with his brother. How long would it take for Obadiah to learn that the Lord was with him in the battle? Even if he lost it all, would having God be enough?

Book Five: Malachi wrestles with what he knows to be true about God and how his life is unfolding in contrast to that knowledge. What does it mean to worship with a pure heart, not with ulterior motives? As God has the final say with His people, will they listen and faithfully wait for the promised future of redemption?

Explore the themes woven into the books of the minor prophets through these fictional journeys that reveal how mighty the Winds of Ruach (Spirit) truly are as they blow across history into today.

My Thoughts:

The cover first caught my eye when I saw Winds of Ruach offered for review. I tend to look for books that are not straight-up romance, and those are fairly easy to spot most of the time, just from the cover. With this one, it was easy to see that it was historical, so I read the description. That really caught my attention, so I signed up for it. When I sign up for tours with CelebrateLit, they send me a digital copy of the book, as well as a physical copy; the print book is sent to my mom because it costs too much to send it here. Mom holds the books for me until there is a way to get them to us in someone’s suitcase. When this book arrived, she texted me that it was quite big. Just my kind of book! I was a little apprehensive about what she would have to say about it, since she reads all the books I have sent to her, and I really didn’t know if she would enjoy this one. What a relief when I talked to her after she had read the first two novellas and enjoyed them! That made me think I would like this book, as well.

I really appreciated D. M. Griffin’s imagination of what life may have been like for five men whom we know next to nothing about. She has obviously done a lot of research into life in Ancient Israel; almost everything rang true with what I have read from other sources. Human nature being as it is, I can sure see those prophets acting the way she portrays them—I especially saw myself in Jonah and his struggle to obey God! I think that one and the one about Habakkuk were my favorites. The story about Obadiah struck me as rather melodramatic (my mom called it anachronistic), and the way the major conflict was resolved in the story of Malachi felt too perfect. Otherwise, though, I loved his story and how he tried to maintain pure worship of God in an apostate culture.

I will have to mention, though, that some of the word choices in Winds of Ruach jarred me a bit. Several times, guards would “parole” an area, and there were a few other words here and there, sometimes repeatedly, that sounded wrong.

There were, however, so many gems in the story that I loved it despite its need for more proofreading. In the section about Jonah, an Assyrian soldier is quoted as saying, “Yours is a God who extends an invitation to life while our gods only threaten and taunt with death.” Wow! What a contrast. Or a couple of chapters on, Jonah is admonished, “Jonah, do not love God for what He gives you. Love Him for who He is.” Then there is the passage in Nahum’s story: “Yahweh didn’t understand His people’s pressing concern. If Yahweh knew the details, then His Word would be adjusted. If Yahweh knew what was happening now, He would see the foolishness of council given in the past.” Ouch! I know I tend to think that way at times. Wrong! How about this sentence, from the part about Habakkuk? “The Lord owed them nothing. They owed Him everything.” Good reminder!

In almost every chapter, all through the book, are quotes from various parts of the Bible. Most of them, of course, are from the Old Testament, but some are from the New. All are footnoted. At the end of the book are group discussion questions for all the stories. I found these helpful for thinking more deeply about each story and how it relates to my life. Winds of Ruach would be a good book for a group to read and discuss together. There is so much in each chapter about God and how He wants a relationship with us!

I recently read all eight of Lynn Austin’s books about Hezekiah and his son Manasseh, and the return to Jerusalem after the captivity and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and Winds of Ruach felt like a great companion to those books. I would say that both men and women would enjoy this book; I’ll recommend that my sons listen to it if there is an audiobook of it.

WARNING: Jonah Prologue: Woman brutally killed by Assyrians. Chapter 1: Woman dismembered, baby killed, man’s leg cut off. Chapter 3: Man going after women, caught with a married woman. Nahum Chapter 1: Prostitute tries to get a man to be with her. Chapter 3: Man beaten up. Chapter 5: Attempted rape, man knocked out, kiss. Chapter 6: Man knocked out, beaten up. Chapter 8: Man knocked out. Obadiah Chapter 4: Woman bitten by snake. Chapter 9: People shot with arrows. Malachi Chapter 5: Man beaten up.

About the Author:

D.M. Griffin currently resides in Northern California with her husband. They met in middle school a few days after she was transplanted to the West Coast at the tender age of twelve. She has three adult children who have been an endless source of delight and inspiration. She also has a precious new grandchild who brings her joy.

As a native New Hampshire girl, she fondly remembers spending her summers there as a child. Thick accents, small towns, and fascinating weather stirred the imagination of her young heart. She has always had a fondness for stories thanks to her imaginative mother who would make up wild, adventurous tales to tell her while tucking her into bed as a child.

She truly believes that a book that sits on a shelf unread is like a planted seed that never blossoms. Nothing delights her more than sharing a story.

More from D M:

I am a creature of habit who thrives on predictability. That being said, Winds of Ruach fell outside my comfort zone. If you have ever heard the phrase – if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans – you get the idea. I was deep in the throes of researching and writing a twelve-book series on the disciples of Jesus. My schedule was set. The routine was fixed. I had spent two years dedicated to The Follower Series. In between writing the first draft of book seven and editing book one, I was divinely halted. I didn’t exactly hit a block, so to speak. Instead, I was inspirationally diverted. It frustrated me for a short time.

Looking back on it now, I realize it was a blessing in disguise. At the time, my daily bible reading took me through the book of Jonah. Jonah 4:4 snagged my attention like a burr clinging to a pant leg. “Is it right for you to be angry?” That single phrase snared my heart with a compulsion to self-reflect. That meditation took me to places I had not been before. I followed the thread of anger woven throughout my life. Not the anger that manifests itself in hot, fiery outbursts but the hidden, silent anger that can turn into deadly pride or unrecognizable prejudice.

Anger wears many disguises. Some of those are loneliness and grief. I began wondering what might have happened in Jonah’s life to make him, a man of God, so angry that he would directly and blatantly disobey the Lord. The first short story was the beginning of a five-month diversion in my predetermined writing schedule.

I was inspired by other verses as I walked the landscape of Scripture through the books of the minor prophets.

With Nahum, I pondered how tragedy affects the trajectory of a life. With Habakkuk, I explored the difference between authentic worship and disingenuous faith. Obadiah is a short and sweet book of the bible, but it packs a punch. The theme of the resulting short story is about claiming one’s true identity as a child of God. Finally, Malachi wove the final thread into the fabric of this anthology which is ultimately about the Spirit of God moving through history to accomplish His will and purpose. Malachi is a story about knowing when to remain silent and when to ask questions of God. As I wrote Winds of Ruach, I thought about the importance of destiny and promise.

Some of my early readers asked me which was my favorite prophet. Honestly, the only way I could answer that question is to say that it is whichever story I am reading at the time. I was greatly blessed while writing Winds of Ruach, drawing out biblical themes I had never noticed before. These five prophets are near and dear to my heart. Truly, the imagination is a gift from God. And yes, I did go back to the ‘routine’ in writing. It took three and half years (half a year over my schedule) but the series I was working on prior to Winds of Ruach is now complete. God is good even in the distractions.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Garden–December 2023

January 28, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I didn’t take very many pictures of the garden in December. I spent an hour one morning talking to my sister on the phone while I weeded this patch. That was a great way to pass the time while doing a job like this!

The entire bed before I finished…

…and after the weeding was finished and I mulched it.

One of the children took a picture of these roses by the house.

They also got a close-up of some of the strawberries!

While I was working in the garden one hot afternoon, the children had a waterfight with the neighbor, using his water guns, which he offered them the use of. It was pretty funny to watch!

I took this video the second week of January.

Four Wheel Drive Trip

January 24, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Some friends came to visit over New Year’s, and they and our boys went on a couple of four wheel drive trips. Here they are taking off on the first one, somewhere around Reefton.

A few days later they went up Napoleon Hill. Simon was able to go along on that one, and Esther rode with him and documented it.

I put several video clips together. The first is from the first trip; the rest are from the other. The last two show Elijah stuck in the mud and pulling himself out with his winch.

Christmas 2023

January 21, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

For Christmas this year, we decided to go to Punakaiki and walk the Porariro River track. Some people wanted to go to the beach, but more of us wanted to do a bush walk, and this is the one that was chosen. We got there in time to eat our picnic lunch. Because it had been raining, the ground was quite wet, and of course we had forgotten our camping chairs, so we sat on the inner tubes the boys had taken along. That got pretty funny; the four boys who sat on one figured out that they could bounce in rhythm! I tried to get a video of it, but they always stopped as soon as I picked up the camera!

This is a twig that one of the children brought me.

Have a close look at how Simon parked. He was “trying to park beside us.”

The river was in flood; Esther said it was about two feet higher than the other time she walked this track. It was gorgeous!

I saw grooves on the underside of this rock from when they blasted it to form the track.

I’ve never noticed a bud on a Nikau Palm before. It’s huge!

I think this was a tree that fell over and an arch was formed for the track to go through. Gayle wanted a picture of me inside it!

The children all reached the swing bridge ahead of Gayle and I. Of course, James was bored and had to find ways to entertain himself and everyone else. This is what we saw!

We missed this. Esther captured this shot before we got there.

He quickly scooted down when we arrived–the same way he got up!

On the way back, Esther and I walked together. Gayle must have caught this picture of us going across the bridge. Everyone except the three of us walked back on a different track; we returned to the vehicles and drove around to pick them up.

I got a picture of this weka while it very busily searched for worms among the dead leaves.

As always, we enjoyed our day, and headed home quite tired. However, the boys dove right in to working on the barrel boat again!

December 2023 Photos

January 17, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

Here are the rest of the pictures from December! James worked on his sleepout for the first two days of the Christmas holidays. He and Mr. Sweetie got all the walls framed up.

Miss Joy busy doing school!

Elijah grew a beard for a couple of months. I got a picture of him just before he took it off.

The younger boys built this bike ramp and had a lot of fun doing jumps and taking pictures of it.

We’ve been enjoying watching the birds on the flax blossoms outside our windows. This is a tui; we have also see a bellbird and a lot of starlings.

We had a lot of rain the last couple of days of December, so the afternoon of the 31st, the girls and I walked down to look at the river. It had already gone down several inches.