Two Little Words: Shameless Audacity

Um, not that kind of shameless.
I have to admit, once my words came to me I couldn't get
William H. Macy's face out of my head.

As I said before I've been praying and thinking and 

unable to settle on one. 

I wanted to wait  for it. 

And it came.

And it's awesome. 

I was going to choose ready. 

Because I feel so ready to start this year.

 I feel like this year is going to be good

and I can't even tell you why.

But I feel ready to be open to what God has planned.

ready to get my body healthy again.

ready to stop coveting stuff.

ready to give away my gifts.

ready to live outside my comfort zone

ready to trust God with my marriage and my kids 

and my art and wait "in eager expectation"

for God's plans to be revealed.

I'm so exhausted  from the last 5 years, so broken,

I finally feel ready to lay down my plans and let God pick them up 

and do whatever the heck He wants to do with them. 

And there's such a freedom in knowing that none of this is about me doing, doing, doing.

It's about me letting go and being open to what God has.

So, my words came to me yesterday while I was sitting in church. 

2 words that I've never even noticed before:

shameless audacity

Isn't that awesome?

I've read this part at least 100 times.

How have I never noticed this before?

In Luke 11 Jesus's friends asked him how to pray. 

And he gives them the Lord's Prayer 

and then he tells this funny story about prayer:

⁵ Then Jesus said to them,

 “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 

‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 

⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 

⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. 

The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. 

I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 

⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the 

bread because of friendship, yet because of your 

shameless audacity

he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

⁹ “So I say to you: 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; 

knock and the door will be opened to you. 

¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; 

the one who seeks finds; 

and to the one who knocks, 

the door will be opened.

Reading Brene Brown's Book: I Thought It Was Just Me

last year shed so much light on the idea of "shame" for me

and the freedom that comes that from living without shame. 

shameless

No condemnation in Christ Jesus. none. 

It's a lie from the pit. 

au·dac·i·ty

[ aw dássətee ]

NOUN 

1. 

boldness or daring: daring or willingness to challenge assumptions or conventions

 or tackle something difficult or dangerous

ThesaurusNOUN

Synonyms: boldness, daring, courage, bravery, 

fearlessness, courageousness, nerve, 

guts,pluck, mettle, bottle

Isn't that awesome?!? 

That's how God wants us to come to him. 

Confidently, without shame or embarrassment. 

Asking for the desires of our heart with boldness and courage. 

So, then, the question is...

What is your heart's greatest desire?

Have you dared to ask for it

from the only One who knows?

I don't know if I have. 

But we've got all year to work this out... right?

Dear Lord,
help us to live this year, this week, this day with You,
the only one who can fill up our deepest desires.
Teach us to approach you with
shameless audacity 
seeking you at every turn, waiting in eager expectation
for you to reveal yourself to us day by day.