A Day Trip to Sacramento, and then off to Napa for Halloween

So this is mainly a photography and history post!  Sacramento is such a beautiful city, and Andrew and I had such a great time exploring it!  The first stop was the State Capitol Building.

Andrew and I spotted this gorgeous Catholic Church and decided to see if we could go inside.  It is beautifully detailed and so luxurious!

First, Andrew and I picked up a Starbucks and then went to check out the outside of the Governor's Mansion on H street.  Below is the mansion which is now a museum.  It was built in 1877, with 30 rooms, and the last Governor to live in it was Ronald Reagan!  It is quite exquisite, so much detail...

Ahh, beautiful Historic Old Downtown Sacramento!  I LOVE this place!!!  Andrew and I spent the afternoon wandering in and out of stores and exploring these georgeous buildings dating all the way back to the 1850's!

Then we made the 1 hour drive to Napa Valley to spend our last weekend with the Van Straatens.  Anton took the whole lot of us to various great photography spots at some of the wineries where we were all having a go at some pictures.  It was a really great outing!

Thanks for looking!!!

A Halloween Weekend in Napa

 Oh, the beauty of Napa Valley in Northern California!  This was our last trip to visit the Van Straaten Family, and we got to stay with them for a few days.  We also got to visit our friends the Whitlocks and have lunch with them on Sunday after church.  And, of course, we drove a round a lot to soak in the scenery for the last time!  We will sorely miss our friends!!!  Farewell!!!

Thanks for looking!

Fall is falling!

Jer 5:24 They do not say in their hearts, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.' 

My favorite season of the year has begun!  With cooler weather, darker mornings and of course the Fall colors on all the trees!  I am so excited!

The Woman's Fall Event

Stephanie Niednagel doing announcements

Grace Community Church really knows how to do Woman's events!!!  The highlight of the fall event is definitely the woman's Gospel choir and some of the solos that get done, absolutely world class!  But far more than all of this is the focus on the Word of God.  A large group of women come for a whole day to sit under the teaching for the Bible and to fellowship with one another.  What a privilege to be able to attend!  The events are always beautifully orchestrated and so efficient.  I have learned so much from just watching the excellence with which things are done here at Grace.  It is sad to know that this is my last conference, but I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to be here and join in!

Rosie Martinez - Guest speaker

The Gospel Choir with Logan Carr as director

 

 

The speaker this year was on of the Grace Church Missionaries - Rosie Martinez.  she spoke on the Book of Habakkuk and really opened our eyes to understand this book which very few people take the time to read!  She has such a sweet manner about her and I really enjoyed learning in the sessions.

This is the basic outline of the book: Habakkuk, the prophet cry's out to God for justice - the people of Judah are so rebellious and sinful that he calls on God to put a stop to their wickedness.  God replies and lets Habakkuk in on His plan for justice - God is going to use the Chaldeans (an evil and fearful pagan nation) as a tool of judgement against Judah's rebellion.  Instead of being comforted, Habakkuk is horrified that God would use an even worse nation to bring judgement on them.  He struggles with this in his heart and cries out to God asking why He would do such a thing.  God replies by saying that the Chaldeans too will will receive their judgement for rising up against Judah.  Habakkuk then has to struggle through his understanding of who God is and comes to realise that even when God's holy nation is devastated by this horrendous attack, God's people are to worship Him for who He is, despite Him removing all earthly blessings.

Habakkuk finishes his prayer to God with this beautiful statement: "I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. (Hab 3:16-19)