Date: 01/04/2024
AO: CHOP, Milton, DE
Pax: Bunt, Quattro, Wood, T-Rex, Mr. Mom, Chattahoochee, Pooh, Probe, Fireplex, Streudel
QIC: Fireplex
Warm up
Bolt 45’s – 15 squats full up to half way down, 15 squats half way down to full down, & 15 squats full motion. All completed IC as a 4 count.
Monkey Humpers – 10 IC
SSH – 20 IC
American Hammers – 20 IC
Cherry Pickers – 20 IC
Mosey @.1 miles to Holy Hill
The Thang
1st & 10 Routine per the Exicon…Well sort of….:)…..Perform 10 burpees and 1 merkin. Nur up the hill and run down. Perform 9 burpees and 2 merkins. Nur up the hill and run down. Perform 8 burpees and 3 merkins. Nur up the hill and run down. You recognize a pattern developing here. Pax took a break for the 3rd F (see below) after completing the round of 5 burpees and 6 merkins. After the break for the message, all HIM completed the rounds down through 1 burpee and 10 merkins with a final Nur up the hill and the run down.
Mosey @.1 miles back to CHOP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Prayers were offered for multiple needs within the attending PAX, but please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message 01/04/2024
HOW NEW IS YOUR NEW YEAR? – #9386
January 2, 2023
There’s a reason so many of us grandparents are overcoming our technophobia and venturing into cyberspace. We get to see pictures of our grandkids as soon as they’re taken!
There’s that hilarious photo that our son sent me. It was a picture of our then one-year-old grandson sitting on the kitchen floor with a fork in his hand. Oh, yeah, with a lemon-meringue pie splatted on the floor next to him. He’s looking at the camera with an expression somewhere between “uh-oh” and “what’s the problem?”
Then came the story with the picture. Dad and big sis were outside, and Mom had to leave the room briefly. As she left, she said to our seven-year-old grandson, “You’re in charge.” Which apparently was interpreted as, “Keep playing your video game.” That’s when Terminator Toddler made his move to the pie on the counter above him. The law of gravity? Well, of course, that provided a very valuable assist.
That’s when Daddy – the event photographer – walked into the room. As he surveyed the mess on the floor, big brother made a proud announcement, “Guess what, Daddy? I’m in charge!” All Daddy could think was, “You sure you want to own this mess, son?” Strange as it may seem, I’m actually thinking about that little drama as a personal parable early in this new year.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “How New is Your New Year?”
I wonder how many times that would be a picture of imaginary conversations between God and me as He surveys that mess right in front of me? And there I am saying, “Guess what, Father? I’m in charge!” And He must be thinking as He looks at the damage, “Yeah, I could tell you’re in charge, Ron.”
So how new is any new year really going to be? Especially in the parts of our lives that are messy, confused, tense, and troubled? It may all depend on who’s in charge. I’ve found that the messes are usually in areas where I’ve hijacked the wheel from God and decided to take charge myself, often without even realizing it. Then I hear the echoes of a haunting question from God. It’s in our word for today from the Word of God in Galatians 3:3 – “After beginning with the Spirit” (that’s the Holy Spirit) “are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”
When I’m facing something that I can’t fix or change or control, I desperately turn to Him and I say, “Jesus, take the wheel!” But somewhere along the way, Mr. Control takes it back. And that’s where the messes come from. A new year, a fresh start, usually makes us reflect a little on things that aren’t as they should be; in our marriage, our family, our finances, maybe our relationships. Maybe it’s our lifestyle, our love life, our walk with God.
If you see a mess in a part of your life that you’re looking at right now, consider whether you have moved Jesus to the margins and said, “I’m in charge” effectively making you “Lord” of that part of your life instead of Him. That’s when He asks that disturbing question, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
The realization that I was never meant to drive my life; that’s the first step to beginning a relationship with God; the very relationship you were made for. And when you realize that the mess of your life, the guilt of your life, the shame of your life, the hurt we’ve inflicted is because we’ve taken our life and done it our way instead of His. That’s called SIN in the bible.
And you’re ready at that point to say, “I need a Savior. I need a Rescuer from this sin.” Especially when you understand that the Bible says that sin carries an eternal death penalty, which Jesus loved you so much that He paid on the cross when He died for your sin. And He walked out of his grave; He’s alive. He can walk into your life this very day at your invitation and forgive that sin, and erase it forever.
If you’re ready for that next step that makes that possible – a new you – you can find some answers at our website ANewStory.com. I hope you’ll go there. Maybe this new year is time for new management.
Respectfully Submitted,
Fireplex