A Smattering

So, this past Saturday Gretchen decided to use her birthday money to get her ears pierced. Since Gustav and I had no reservations, we headed off to the mall, just the girls and I. We had a great, great time!

Gretchen's other desire was to spend some more of her birthday money to sit in the little picture booth. So we did.

That was fun, too.

We are having lovely fall-like weather here (for SoCal!) I still can't say we have seasons here (sorry Karen!!), it's more like 110 and stifling OR 75 and sunny. But, we did have rain on Saturday....wonderful, thundering, sweet-smelling rain. It actually pooled in our front yard in the rose bed. It's feast or famine for those poor roses. They get virtually no water all summer and then they're sitting under 6 inches of the wet stuff.

Let's just say we all LOVED the rain so, so very much! It seemed to clean the air. Suddenly the mountains were crisp in the distance, freed from the dust that was shrouding them. Of all the things I miss about the northeast, I have to say I think I miss moisture most!

We are continuing to love our time at Grace Community Church. It's not the children's programs, the music, the notoriety of the pastor, the hordes of people, the many ministries, the bookstores, or the facilities that make it so awesome. It's the consistent, unwavering preaching of the Word of God that makes Grace Community Church such a God-honoring and, frankly, unique place. Don't get me wrong, our little Grace Church in CT is just wonderful, and very similar on a much smaller level. But Grace Community Church has been around for so long. It has remained faithful to the exposition of the Word of God so consistently over the years. It doesn't try to manipulate the message, or cater to the world in order to lure in new "customers." It. just. preaches. the. Word. Period. As Pastor MacArthur said last night, "If it's true, I say it."

And God has blessed.
And God has blessed us through it.