Christian non-fiction

Now that my kids are older and don’t get quite so much stuff on Christmas morning, one of the things I try to do is find a new book for each of us. Theirs were easy and I didn’t have much trouble finding one for my husband either. But for myself? There were just too many great choices!

I saw Audacious by Beth Moore in a Lifeway sale flier and thought I’d like to read it. But I didn’t get to Lifeway and the store I visited didn’t have Audacious in stock, so I ended up getting another book instead. No big deal, I thought. I’ll get it sometime later.

Then one day right after Christmas, I heard the DJs on one of our local Christian radio stations talking about a weekly TV show with Beth Moore that would be starting in January. What?! I was so excited, because I love her teachings. There’s no telling how many hours I’ve spent over the years digging in her Bible studies and soaking up what she taught at a few of her Living Proof Live conferences that were phenomenal – for the teaching and for the wonderful women I went with.

I checked the station’s schedule and actually remembered a few days beforehand to set the show to record. The show’s description was pretty generic, just saying that she guides viewers to live and love God through Bible literacy. But I didn’t care what she’d be teaching about. I was going to have mini Beth Moore conference time in my own den!

In the meantime, I did get to a Lifeway store and picked up Audacious. I read the back cover copy, but it was still on my desk when I sat down to watch my first recorded episode of the show. Turns out, they’re airing 30-minute episodes from one of her live conferences.

And – here’s the best part – these first episodes are from one weekend when she taught about being … audacious.

I laughed out loud when I realized that. Because, in case you don’t know, she doesn’t teach on the same subject at each Living Proof Live event. Each one is different because she waits to see what God leads her to talk about. Of all the conferences she’s led, of all the topics she’s taught – audacious.

Extremely bold … recklessly brave … fearless (according to dictionary.com). In the context Beth is teaching? Audacity is being bold enough in our faith to trust and do what Jesus wants us to do, even when it’s scary or no one around us understands. It’s making up your mind to be fearless, going beyond what people might expect you to do as “normal.”

It’s having the guts to do what Jesus wants so that He gets all the glory.

I love that. And when I’m honest I have to say it’s something I need to work on, here in my safe and usually not-too-exciting corner of the world. I haven’t done too much related to my faith lately that required much guts.

God knows it too, so maybe He’s using this to wake me up a bit. Seeing the book in the flier, hearing about the TV show (which was unusual in itself because I don’t listen to that station as often as some others and never heard mention of it elsewhere), getting the book, matching it up with the show’s episodes. Seems like He’s connecting some dots for me.

Audacious. It’s a bold word just rolling off my tongue, let alone living it. We’ll see how it goes.

Your turn: What’s something big and bold you’ve done lately, that can encourage others when they’re trying to act that way themselves? Or, what’s something you can do to have a little more audaciousness in your life?