Food of the gods

Before all the Christmas craziness began, we Wilcuts decided to celebrate on our own...at the Melting Pot in Irvine! Our friend and roommate for the next few weeks joined us as well. (Sam is home from Biola and is staying in our guest room.) By the time we had finished the four course meal of cheese fondue, salad, broth fondue with a menagerie of meats, and a chocolate fondue, we were all feeling the early signs of a food coma. We also exchanged gift between courses. What a fun and memorable evening!

Merry Christmas

The light still exists.
The light still shines.
Thousands of years later, the light is still...
The hope of the world.

"The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world."
- John 1:9

Amazing Grace

Grace. I am finally getting what it is all about, and it is changing me. All my life I have heard about God's love for me and his grace. I even taught lessons on these topics, discussed them with girls I mentored, and thanked God for them. The problem was, I hadn't accepted these things myself; I didn't experience them in my life. It has only been recently that I have been awakened to what grace truly is and what it feels like to live under it. And let me tell you...it feels mighty nice.

Understanding more about the gift that grace is, and living under it, has freed/is freeing me from my cage of attempted perfectionism and trying in vain to earn God's approval. This was my m.o. for years, and it ate me up inside. I always wondered why I was so hesitant to share my faith with others. I now realize it was because I was living under such an immense burden and subconsciously did not desire to pass that along to others. The renewal of my mind and heart has been slow, but somewhere in the past two years, my eyes have been opened. The fact that I am loved as I am, and that God will never love me less, no matter what mess I might find myself in, will forever blow my mind.

The last two days, Dan and I have been processing a rather difficult situation together. It had potential to be destructive, but grace won out. I've been reflecting lately on the idea that all things come from God--even the desire and ability to choose grace over shaming and judging. Between Dan and I, love and acceptance was given and healing has come. Want to know one of the most incredible experiences in the world? Giving grace freely and genuinely from a heart that knows what it is like to have been forgiven and loved. Good stuff.

Check out what my incredibly talented husband made...

 

 

 

 

As Dan and I were walking though South Coast Plaza one evening, we saw a table at an Environmental Furniture showroom that we both loved. We asked how much it was...$2700! Needless to say, it was beyond our budget. After the saleswoman left us alone for a bit, Dan started checking out how the table was constructed. "I could duplicate this," he told me. A month later, this moved into our kitchen. I love it!

My grandfather was also very creative and handy. My grandmother would often bring home things and he would duplicate them and then she would return them. He died when I was young, so stories about his talent seemed magical and almost too good to be true. Little did I know that my husband would have similar giftings!

Feeling uncomfortable...

Last night Dan and I finished watching the movie, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden. The basic premise is this: Morgan Spurlock found out he is becoming a father and he starts realizing what a crazy place this world is. He knows that in all the action movies, it ends up being one man who does what a whole government cannot. With that in mind, he begins his mission to make the world a safer place for his coming little one by setting out to find Osama Bin Laden.

The movie was entertaining, yet quite sobering. It sparked much conversation and provoked many emotions in me- fear, anger, sadness, and confusion among others. Dan patiently let me vent as I tried to express as best as I could how disturbing it all is...the affairs of our government (and wrestling with what to believe and what not to believe), the state of unrest among so many counties in the Middle East, how so many are living in such squalor, the devastating effects of war(s), etc. I was left so worked up and overwhelmed about what my role is to be in this vast, broken world. THERE IS JUST SO MUCH NEED. What role does the Lord desire me to play on the local, national, and international levels. I have been given so much and I want to give myself away, but what the heck does that look like?

I don't know, but with Dan, I went to God and invited Him into my fears, my confusions, my grief. He is over all and in the end, He will have the last word. How much peace that brings to my heart in this world of sinful men, corruption, and unknowns. What I do not know is how men and women can live life without knowledge of a loving, all-powerful God being over all. Talk about stress and cause for depression!

Dan and I are still left haunted and quite uncomfortable with our new knowledge. The upcoming elections have us quite uncomfortable, too. Is one candidate better than another? Would Jesus be a polical activist? Is the political arena somewhere I should spend my time?

We will continue to wrestle with these things...and invite God into them as we seek understanding and heart that are modeled after His.

It's a wonderful thing...

...getting to wake up and come home to my best friend.

One more week...

...until I get to be Dan's wife, take a much needed vacation with him, and live daily life with him. I can hardly wait!