Tenacious, Undaunting, Fearless, Unstoppable

Those are words we heard that described competitors, as we watched the reality show, NBC's Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge.

Night before last Ryan & Shawntel made it back home after a few days out of town. After dinner we sat down to catch up on the show. Okay, I'm an avid fan of American Ninja Warrior and this "Spartan" show. The resilience and sheer determination of the competitors has always inspired and motivated me. But, now, even more so, as one of Shawntel's "Bible Study" friends, and her husband, Brandon & Allison Brickley, are in the competition with their team, "Heart of Texas" from Austin.

"Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge" raises the bar on team competitions. It's always a group of friends, families, or co-workers who must work together as they race across specially designed Spartan courses engineered to test their endurance, determination and will. Teams of five compete on one of the most demanding courses ever devised and they have to push through the pain to win $250,000. No team can get through the course and reach the finish line without working together. From rope-burning climbs to crawls through cold, wet mud, the competition culminates with some of the most backbreaking obstacles ever built. It's an adrenaline rush just watching it, but having friends in it, makes it even more exciting.

Yes, we were cheering on the "Heart of Texas" team, not only because of the friendship they have with my kids, but because of the story of the friend's husband. Brandon Brinkley was 17 years old when his home caught on fire and his entire family, except for him, perished. His story is that of rising out of tragedy to a story of grace and gratitude. Brandon's aunt adopted him and raised him with her son, Joey, who is also on the Heart of Texas team. So far, their team has won in their heats round one and two and now they've advanced to the semi final rounds. It will be interesting to see how they do, because Joey dislocated his shoulder during the 2nd round.

There are so many competitor stories of how individuals put aside pain to push through to victory -- for example the former Marine who lost his leg during combat and wears a prosthetic or the one who competed with only one arm. Last night, as I watched those soldiers, I commented "What's our excuse?"

Those words went deep into my spirit as even at this "mature" age, I don't want to have excuses for not giving everything I've got to this life I've been given. I want my story to end with "She was unstoppable!" No, I'm not planning on trying out for some ninja obstacles or apparatuses, but I do plan to continue to be God's Ninja Warrior -- taking on life's obstacles, challenges and pressures with a vengeance. I refuse to give up until I'm taken up. There's a hyphen in between the date of birth and the date of death on gravestones. What does that hyphen represent in our lives? I sure want mine to be "lived life to the fullest, didn't accept quitting, ran her race with gusto, pressed on to the finish line". What does your hyphen represent? What's YOUR excuse?

And Let the JUDGING Begin

As in every year since I was a little girl, I'll be watching the glitz and glam, seeing who wins all those scholarships and finding out who takes home the crown of the Miss America pageant this Sunday night on ABC. I was starstruck by those beautiful, smart and talented young women vying to be the next Miss America. I'd watch and "judge" from my sofa, select my favorite, and hope she'd be the winner. With great anticipation, I'd hear the names of the runners up and hope I had "judged" accurately. What an andrenaline rush it was when I was right. Then hearing Bert Parks sing "There she is...Miss America. There she is....your ideal." All that pomp and circumstance was so exciting!

In 1995, my husband and I were cheering so loud for that adorable redhead from Oklahoma who was beautiful, poised, confident and radiant. We never imagined that just a few years later THAT GIRL, Shawntel Smith, would become "the love of our boy's life"! She won our hearts in the 1996 pageant, and soon the love of our hearts forever!

I understand that those young women are scrutinized to the nth degree. Those judges carry huge responsibities. We just witnessed the Olympics where judges determined the results in many of those events. Dreams came true and others whose performance just didn't measure up, were disappointed. I think about the "reality show" talent and sports competitions where judges play a huge role in whether or not those competitors win or lose by just the smallest margin.

Many of us feel judged on a daily basis -- from our bosses, co-workers, friends, family and acquaintances -- by the way we look and the way we act. People can and will have opinions, but we should never doubt ourselves, but have absolute faith in who we are and never should we let another’s “idea” become our reality. And neither should we judge others. We don't know their reality either. That cranky cashier's world could be falling apart. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." Matthew 7:1

Many of us think of God as a judge who is always judging us. We see Him rewarding us for our goodness and how much faith we have, and punishing and disciplining us for our mistakes,

Bottom line, unlike talent or beauty or sports competitions, God doesn't scrutinize us. He always responds to us in love. Isn't that good news? What counts to Him is that we come to Him. It's true He rewards those of us who believe and who diligently seek Him. He still loves us even when our faith is weak and we doubt and worry or are afraid. All He asks is for us is to come to Him. He will give Himself to us. No, He doesn't judge us with a scoring system. He is loving, embracing and teaching us to be the best we can be -- and He's handing us much more than a crown. In Isaiah 62:3, we read that we ARE a crown...."You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."