Author name: Johnny Hopkins

This One is For Mom

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Date: 05/16/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Pax: Quattro, T-Rex, Deez, Bunt, Toy Soldier, Chattahoochee, Probe, Streudel, Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Imperial Walkers – 15 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

The Thang 

B.O.M.B.S. – 50 Burpees,  100 Overhead Claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Sit-ups, 250 Squats.  After every 25 evolutions of each exercise, PAX will NUR up to Strawberry Alley from Front Street and mosey back approx. .02 miles.  Time limited the Nur and Mosey and affected the last 250 Squats.  They were completed without the Nur/Mosey “break”.  When all was completed, Pax Nur’d up the grade & moseyed down approximately .5 miles.

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 05/16/2024

THE MOTHER AND THE MONSTER

May 6, 2010

The tornado sirens went off near our daughter’s house a few nights ago. She knew what to do. She and our son-in-law quickly herded their three children into the basement until the danger passed.

Unfortunately, Nikki Carpenter lived outside of town where she couldn’t hear the tornado sirens. She and her three young sons had no time to prepare, and there was no basement in the trailer where they lived. For me, Nikki’s story seems especially moving on this Mother’s Day weekend.

When part of the storm system that hit our area moved on to Yazoo County, Mississippi, Nikki Carpenter was getting Austin (1), Ethan (2), and Layne (7) ready for their day. The tornado was a monster – an E-F4 packing up to 170 mile per hour winds and measuring 1.75 miles wide. As the tornado bore down on their trailer, Nikki grabbed a mattress, threw it over her boys, and lay on top of it to protect them.

It took neighbors more than two hours to work their way through the debris to get to that trailer – or what was left of it. Those three little boys were pulled out alive. Mom didn’t make it. Her mother said: “She saved those kids and gave her life.”

Here was a mom, doing what mothers do on a daily basis – sacrificing herself for her children. In this case, letting all the wrath of a tornado fall on her so it wouldn’t fall on the ones she loved.

And for me, a moving reminder of the One who covered me so I wouldn’t die. My Jesus let all the wrath of all my sin fall on Him, so it would never fall on me. He died; I lived.

That’s what happened on a cross on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem. Strip away all the religion and all the ritual, and that’s what Jesus is all about. The only Son God has, choosing to lay down His life to save you and me. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:11, 18).

There’s no way anyone could take the life of the Son of God. He made the tree He was nailed to and the men who put Him there. The only way He could die was if He gave His life. And that’s what He did: the brutal ripping of His body with Roman whips, the crown of thorns jammed onto His head, the spikes driven into His hands and feet, and the spear thrust into His side. Worst of all, the hell of being totally cut off from the Father, because He was carrying our sin. Nobody did all that to Him. He let it happen, because it took that dying to pay the death penalty for my sin.

That’s how much He loves me. That’s how much He loves you. He loves you too much to lose you.

So like a loving mother taking the brunt of that tornado, Jesus put Himself between you and the eternal death penalty of your sin. “God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). Jesus’ sacrifice removes all your sin from God’s book the moment you tell Him, “Jesus, You are my only hope. I’m resigning from living my life my way, and I’m pinning all my hopes on what You did for me on that cross.”

One day I chose to give my life to the One who gave His life for me. Things have never been the same, because Jesus didn’t just die for the world. “He loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)…and for you.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Toasted By Streudel

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Date: 05/07/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

PAX: Deez, Bunt, Ruxpin, Toy Soldier, Chattahoochee, Probe, Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Streudel Claps – 15 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

The Thang

Beginning at CHOP, all Pax will mosey to Wharton Street and complete Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg). Then Mosey to Federal Street and complete 20 Burpees, 20 Squats, 20 Merkins, 20 Big Boys.  Then mosey to Front Street by the PD and complete Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg).  Finally, a short mosey to CHOP and complete 20 Burpees, 20 Squats, 20 Merkins, 20 Big Boys.  A break was taken for the F3 message. All Pax will mosey to Wharton Street and complete Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg).  Mosey back to CHOP and complete 20 Burpees, 20 Squats, 20 Merkins, 20 Big Boys.  Approx. 1.03 miles were completed for the beatdown.

F3 Message – see below

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.   

F3 Message 05/07/24

LIGHTING UP AT THE END OF THE GAME – #3017

As a New York Knicks basketball fan, I’ve had some victories and some play-off games to cheer for. But I’ve had my share of disappointments, too. And too many of them have come at the hands of one particular opponent – a player named Reggie Miller. This man has done more to stop my team than just about anybody I can think of because something happens to this man in a close game, when there’s suddenly just a minute or two left. He’s on fire! He may or may not have had a lot of points earlier in the game, but somehow he seems to save his best for last. With time running out, Reggie suddenly becomes a scoring machine, making fantastic shots, often scoring enough points to send my team home for the season. Any player is a powerful force when he knows the end is near and lights up to makes a difference!

Well, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about “Lighting Up At The End Of The Game.”

You may be at a point in your “game of life” when you feel as if most of the game is behind you. You’ve scored just about all the points you’re going to score. You’re just sort of coasting from here to the end of the game. Well, that is no way to finish your game!

Consider Caleb from our word for today from the Word of God. He was one of those 12 scouts Moses sent ahead to check out the Promised Land before the Jews were to enter it. Ten came back saying, “Giants there! No way!” Two came back saying, “God is with us! Way!” But because of the unbelief of the people, a whole generation wandered in the wilderness for 40 more years until all the adults of that unbelieving generation were dead – except those two believers, Joshua and Caleb. Now, with the new generation taking the Promised Land, Caleb is 40 years older than his first visit there. But is he ready to hang up his sneakers and call it a game? No way!

Here it is. Joshua 14:10. “So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said.” Not bad for 85, huh?

Here is one of God’s players who is near the end of his game – but he wants to light up the scoreboard. He says, “Give me that mountain! I’ll take on those giants if they’re in the way of what God wants!” That’s the kind of fourth quarter players that God is looking for! Yes, your body may slow down some, your energy may not be what it once was, but you aren’t dead yet! God wouldn’t be leaving you here if He still didn’t have work for you to do, lives for you to touch, a difference for you to make! In the Holy Spirit’s great outpouring just before Jesus returns, God says in Acts 2:17, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”

Maybe you’ve allowed yourself to slip into a survival mentality, or maybe you’ve become self-absorbed or self-pitying. In the fourth quarter, some people just settle into a reward mindset. “Well, I’ve worked hard all these years. I’ll just settle back and relax now. It’s time just to reward myself for what I did in the first three quarters of the game.” Wait a minute! The game isn’t over yet! We’ll rest in heaven. We’ll get rewarded in heaven. But, for now, we can’t waste any of the all-too-few days we have to serve Christ. As the Apostle Paul neared his finish line, he said he was “poured out like a drink offering.” He wanted to cross the finish line having given so much for his Master that he had nothing left when he collapsed into Jesus’ arms! Don’t you want to do that?

That’s the kind of four-quarters heroes God is looking for. So make up your mind that you’re going to finish your game well. For, as Amy Carmichael said, “We will have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only a few short hours to win them.” And we are in those few short hours.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Slow the “H” Up

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Date; 04/02/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Pax: Bunt, Chattahoochee, Probe, Streudel, Ruxpin, Woodstock & Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Imperial Walkers – 20 IC  

Moroccan Night Clubs – 51 IC

Bolt 45’s – 15 squats to halfway down.   15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats

Windmills – 15 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

The Thang

We completed a Modified Burp Back Mountain at “Oh Hill No”….Pax completed 50 Burpees each.  10 Burpees, then NUR up the hill to the first light pole and run down.  10 More Burpees, then NUR up the hill and run back down.  Each Pax completed 5 rounds for 50 Burpees.  We took a break for the 3rd F message that referenced slowing down.  We completed 5 more burpees and a final NUR up the hill and a run down before moving on to the next pain station.  At the Bank parking lot, we completed a 10:40 Captain Therkin set which is 1 big boy to 4 American hammers then 5 merkins.  2 big boys to 8 American hammers then 5 merkins.  3 big boys  to 12 American hammers then 5 merkins. We completed the set up to 10 big boys, 40 American hammers and 5 merkins.

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 Message 04/02/24

SLOWING DOWN SO YOU CAN HEAR – #7864

Thursday, March 2, 2017

I hear a lot of wives complain about communication being a problem in their marriage. It sure was for my wife and me on a trip we took one summer. We had a lot of miles to cover in our van in one day – one very hot day. The day the air conditioner decided not to work, which meant we had to travel with all the windows down or have a sauna on wheels for the next 12 hours. I had a lot of work to do on this trip, and my wife enjoyed driving, so she was in front where it’s really good for the driver to be, and I was in the back of the van with my computer. Now, about communication? No way. No matter how important the information was, we couldn’t possibly yell loud enough to overcome the wind. All you could see was lips moving; it was like a silent movie. So, we had to save up anything we wanted to say for toll booths, traffic jams, and any place where we had to slow down. Those were the only times we could hear anything!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Slowing Down So You Can Hear.”

Our word for today from the Word of God, we’re in 1 Kings 19:11-13. God’s prophet Elijah has been on a fast track of activity and now he’s hit this time of deep emotional turbulence. He really needs to hear from the Lord. He does, but not in the form he might have expected.

Here’s what the Bible says, “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” That day, in a quiet whisper from heaven, God’s servant received just the word he needed from God.

God often whispers. And you’ve got to be quiet to hear what He has for your heart. We like the dramatic spiritual experiences – the winds and the quakes and the fire. And sometimes God does speak to us through the high-octane spiritual moments. But often what our heart most needs to hear comes in His gentle whisper. And like that day of the roaring wind in our van, you can only hear what He’s trying to say when you slow down.

Which you may not have done much lately. Which may explain why your soul is getting so dry and brittle and why there’s confusion instead of direction, why there’s weakness instead of power, more frustration than peace. You’ve been traveling too fast to hear the whisper of God.

God’s message to you is, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps.46:10). You’ve just got to find some time when you and the Lord can have some quality time. You’ve got to get back your daily quiet time with Him. You’ve got to get those Sabbaths that you’ve been losing or neglecting.

And it may be that God has brought some of the difficulty of recent days into your life for the express purpose of slowing you down so you can hear Him. God uses a lot of instruments as brakes on our overheated lives like an illness, an injury, the loss of your job, a financial crisis, a crisis in your family. When we won’t put on the brakes, the Father who loves us will. If He has you in a slow down zone right now, don’t fight it. Don’t just endure it. Open up your heart to your Lord to hear what you might never have been able to hear at 70 MPH.

In our high speed lives, the times to slow down become very important. They might be the only times you can really hear what God and others who love you have to say.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Merkins Make Me Mad

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Date: 03/05/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Pax: Bunt, Wood, Pooh, Deez, Semi, Woodstock, Ruxpin, Chattahoochee, Probe, Fireplex

Warm up

Merkins – 20 OYO

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

 Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Windmills – 15 IC

Imperial Walkers – 15 IC

The Thang

Super 21 Routine – 21 Merkin & 21 Big Boys, 20 Merkins & 20 Big Boys, 19 Merkins & 19 Big Boy’s, repeat until completing 1 of both.  Equals 231 of each exercise. 

Spartan Run Routine – Run/sprint 100 yards (modified to 50 yards) and drop and do 15 merkins.  Plank until all PAX are complete.  Wosey back to the start.  Run/sprint 100 yards (modified to 50 yards) and drop and do 15 merkins.  10 reps for 150 merkins for the exercise (Totals 150 if 10 reps of 15 are complete).

A total of 401 merkins for the beat down includes the 20 completed on the warm-up.

F3 Message 03/05/24

THE ANGER MONSTER – #9437

March 14, 2023

As an airline passenger, those video images from the Los Angeles airport that day were just plain disturbing: a human stampede, terrified passengers, fleeing from a gunman on the loose in the terminal.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Anger Monster.”

These explosions of violence have happened in a theater, a mall, a school, an office, a church. The bullets may start flying any place, leaving behind lost and shattered lives. And you can be pretty sure the person pulling the trigger is an angry man. Whose anger – often hidden from those who know him, one day erupts like a volcano, destroying whatever is in its path.

My sense is that there are a lot of angry people around us these days, seething inside, sinking into a darker and more dangerous place each day. You see it surface as road rage, angry parents at their kids’ games, frustrated shoppers, bullies at school and on the Internet creating anger in their victims.

Usually, behind anger is pain. Angry people feel wounded, wronged, unheard, victimized, and taking it out on whoever inadvertently pushes their buttons. Many times there are, in fact, things in their past that have left them broken inside, but never with an excuse to wound or do violence to someone else because of it.

I suppose, at one time or another, each of us is the angry person. Not on a rampage to end lives, but angry enough to inflict some serious damage on people around us. Most often the people we love the most.

Mount St. Helens in Washington used to be considerably higher until she literally blew her top in an eruption one day. The eruption didn’t last long. The damage? That’s there forever. Underlying a lot of our explosive moments is this full glass thing. If I pour water into a half-empty glass, it will take quite a bit to make it spill, right? But if I’m going through life with a glass that’s already full, it only takes a drop to make it spill. And there are plenty of “drops” in a day’s time; aggravations, conflict, and difficulties.

And with the spill comes the lashing out. Usually the violence is the verbal kind. The world’s best-selling book, the Bible, describes it as “reckless words (that) pierce like a sword.” See, long after the wounder has forgotten, the wounded carries the scars of that anger.

Part of the problem is that some of us were raised to stuff our emotions. We don’t deal with them. That’s what fills up the glass. The time bomb’s going to keep ticking until we make room in that glass, which means taking a bold healing step; facing that pain that we’ve stuffed in our closet. It’s the match that keeps lighting the fuse of the anger and leaving a trail of burn victims in our wake.

It may mean walking through the pain with a counselor. Or digging deep into spiritual resources for the most liberating step a wounded person can take – forgiving. Even seeking forgiveness from those who’ve been the victim of my anger.

Maybe the kids are right. There actually is a monster in the closet, a wounded monster, who needs to be dragged out into the light so the healing can begin. Ironically, it is often the “monsters” that we can’t control that drive us to a greater power; someone who has repeatedly proven He can subdue the dark forces that control us. The dark side is what drives me to Jesus Christ.

When He was on earth, He encountered a man in the grip of forces so dark no one could control him. And it says, “He tore the chains apart… No one was strong enough to subdue him.” No one except Jesus. He expelled the “evil spirit.” And the man ended up “sitting at Jesus’ feet… in his right mind” (Luke 8). Jesus is still doing miracles like that, fixing what’s broken inside us, transforming the evil inside us. That victory over our darkness cost Him his life at the cross.

Our word for today from the Word of God, Revelation 1:5 says, “He loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.” Today He wants to bring peace into the angry storm in your life if you’ll open the door of your heart to Him. How to do that? Go to our website. You’ll find it there – ANewStory.com – and let Him begin the transforming relationship that tames the monster inside.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Dumb Spelled B.O.M.B.S.

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Date: 02/06/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

PAX: Ruxpin, Wood, Bunt, Chattahoochee, Probe, Deez, Semi, Streudel, Fireplex, Looney Tunes

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Bolt 45’s – 15 squats to halfway down.   15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Imperial Walkers – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

Mosey approx. .25 miles around the Mill Street block back to CHOP

The Thang 

B.O.M.B.S. – 50 Burpees,  100 Overhead Claps completed as a single count SSH with an Overhead Clap, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Sit-ups, 250 Squats.  PAX partnered up and worked on exercises while partner Nur’d up the Chestnut Street hill to Mill Street and ran back down.  Each PAX should try to complete their half of the listed exercises.

F3 Message  

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.   

BUFFALO RIDING – #4578

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

I love to drive through Custer State Park in South Dakota because if you’re lucky you get to see a lot of buffalo. Now, seeing them is one thing – riding them is another. We were recently in South Dakota. One important part of our ministry, of course, is reaching what one researcher called the most devastated young people in America, and we were there for an outreach among Native American young people. Reservation young people are in just great need of the Lord. We were with our Lakota Sioux Christian brother and we saw some buffalo, and we joked a little bit about hunting them, and so on. Then he said, “You know, I know someone who rides buffalo in parades and on holidays.” I said, “Wait a minute. Did you say rides a buffalo?” I can’t imagine boarding one of these wonderful wild animals. Well, somebody asked this buffalo rider, “What’s it take?” He said, “Patience.” Then he said, “If you neglect him one or two days, he won’t be tamed anymore.”

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Buffalo Riding.”

Our word for today comes from Romans 7:19. It talks about the buffalo inside you and me – a wild beast that does not want to be tamed. Verse 19: “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Verse 24, “What a wretched man I am!” Paul says. “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” It’s pretty hopeless up to this point. And then here’s the good news. “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

There’s an animal inside me that wants to go against God. The hymn writer says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it … prone to leave the God I love.” We know what God wants. We want it too, but we keep choosing to let that part of us that gets out of control run us. We can’t tame it, but we’re not without hope. There’s a Savior, not only from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin. Romans 6 says, “sin will no longer be your master.” When we surrender that wild part of us to Jesus, He begins to tame what has always ruled us. But you can’t tame it once and for all. It takes patience, like the buffalo rider said.

Luke 9:23, “Take up your cross daily, and follow me.” If you neglect that buffalo, that animal inside of you one or two days, well, he won’t be tamed anymore. That sin has beaten you. And it has to be beaten now on a 24-hour basis. Twenty-four-hour little victories. Some of us have made the mistake of thinking that one great spiritual experience would tame the buffalo once and for all. But it keeps getting away from us again. It keeps riding over us. We miss the daily part.

If you conquer sin one day at a time, and if Jesus is the only one that can conquer it, then it stands to reason you have to be with Jesus each new day. You notice something that happens consistently when you miss a day or two of your time with Jesus. The dark side of you starts to surface again. I see it happen to me. I see traits that I was seeing less of, and suddenly I start seeing more of it again and so does everyone else close to me. It’s as if that daily surrender time with Jesus is the only dam that holds back the parts of me I hate. You miss being with the Savior from sin, and the sin starts to leak back in. You need a consistent get-together with the Lord Jesus where you again make Him Lord of your stubborn sins.

That’s largely the margin between victory and defeat because we’ve all got a buffalo to tame. Let him go unattended for a couple of days, and that sin will stampede right over you again. But you can ride the buffalo that has ridden you by daily turning over the reins to the one who died to tame the animal in you – the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Who’s in Charge

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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

Windmills – 15 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

Hair Of The Dog Or Maybe Just A Feather From Woodstock?

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Date: 12/05/2023

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Pax: Bunt, Chauffer, Drago, Fireplex, Probe, Ruxpin & Streudel

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

Imperial Walkers – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

Moroccan Night Clubs – 30 IC

Hydraulic Squats -10 IC

The Thang

Grab a block and run around Strawberry alley back to the CHOP parking lot.  Pax will complete 20 Merkins each side with one hand on the block.  Pax will utilize the block and the curb to complete 20 abyss merkins.  Pax will complete a Lt Dan for approx. 50 yards up the hill toward Strawberry Alley utilizing the block before moseying around the block back to the CHOP parking lot for 20 American Hammers double count with the blocks followed by 20 Big Boy Sit-ups with the blocks.  Leaving that pain station each Pax will complete a 50 yard murder bunny up the hill toward the Strawberry Alley corner with the block before moseying around the block back to the CHOP parking lot.  A break was taken for the F3 Message.  All Pax will mosey up the hill to Mill Street stopping at the corner to complete a Bolt 45 set with the block in cadence.  Pax will continue the Mosey around the block from Mill Street back to CHOP parking lot where each Pax will complete 10 Alabama Ass Kickers and 10 Blockees.     

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 Message – 12/05/2023

THE PAYOFF FOR THE PAIN – #3867

Tuesday, November 6, 2001

When our son was playing high school football, he looked like the tattooed man at the circus, with bruises all over his body. He always dreamed of playing football. And he had his dream, but he paid a price. As soon as practices started in August, the coaches had those players running ’til they almost dropped, and hitting, and tackling, and straining, and sweating. Some guys quit because it was just too much. Finally, the season began – and his team started winning – a lot. I remember one incredibly rowdy victory celebration on the bus home after they had managed this 20-0 shutout. He had weighed the pain of playing against the pleasure. What he concluded may help you weigh yours.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Payoff For The Pain.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 8:17-18 – written by a man with plenty of bruises for taking his stand. But when he weighs the pain of his commitment against the pleasure of the payoff, there’s no comparison. Paul say, “We are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Now that was the conclusion of spiritual warrior Paul. Now here’s what our football player concluded when he weighed the pain against the payoff. He told me, “Dad, the feeling of victory is worth all those hours of practice. You didn’t think so when you’re slugging it out in practice, but it is.” Same conclusion. The victory more than makes the pain worth it. But there is one major difference between his equation of football-suffering and Paul’s equation of suffering for Christ.

Our son said, “Unfortunately, the pleasure of winning doesn’t last very long.” That was true–15 hours of practice a week for a few hours of joy. But when it comes to the pain-and-victory comparison in Christ, the opposite is true. Paul said any hurt we have here is like minutes compared to the forever celebration of victory we’re going to enjoy.

But right now you’re in practice, and you don’t feel very victorious. It hurts. You’re under a lot of pressure; you’re trying to do what’s right but it doesn’t seem to be working. And maybe God has trusted you with the assignment to show His joy and His love in the midst of physical suffering. Or perhaps you’re paying a price for the stand you’re taking. It’s tempting to compromise, to back off, maybe to give in to despair, or even to quit.

Remember, God will record your faithfulness so He can reward your faithfulness 100 times over! If you decide what to do based on comfort or convenience, you will never know the thrill of ultimate victory.

Our son said the suffering was “worth it all.” Those words make me think of the values-clarifying words of a great old hymn. “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase. So gladly run the race ’till we see Christ.”

That kind of outlook enabled the Apostle Paul to have a very different perspective on his hurts. He says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And then in verse 37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!”

So take the hits that you’re getting in practice right now. The victory will be so glorious you will soon forget the wounds. Don’t quit now. The practice is just a little while – the party is forever!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Let’s Say Hill-O to Chet

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Date: 11/09/2023

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

PAX: Bunt, Chattahoochee, Hoss, Probe, Struedel, Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Four Count Freddie’s – 30 IC

Bolt 49’s –  I lost count but it was supposed to be as follows… 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.

Windmills – 15 IC

EMT/Firefighter Chet Reynolds walked by our workout during our time at the Firehouse.  Everyone wanted to stop to say Hello to Chet.

Mosey to Oh Hill No

The Thang 

The Modified Slugger & Toy Soldier Routine.  Crawl Bear up the Hill and Bear Crawl down and complete 20 Diamond Merkins, 20 wide armed merkins and 20 Hand Release Merkins.  Nur up the Hill and mosey down and complete Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg).    Inch worm up the hill and Nur down and complete a Toy Soldier Set 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side and 25 Big Boys. 

Mosey back to the 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 11/09/23

BELIEVING IN SPRING

Hope is hard to come by during the “winter” seasons of your life, like the loss of someone you love. Sometimes someone close to you dies suddenly, and the grief is almost unbearable. You are overwhelmed.

You are able to talk about the hope factor when your life is anchored to a personal relationship with the one who created you. You can know that death cannot ultimately win. Death is reduced to being a painful interruption. It can be very painful, but only an interruption.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 of the Word of God, it talks about those who have already died. It says, “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men,” listen to this, “who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.” Verse 17 says, “We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with those people in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Notice it says “…we do not grieve as others who have no hope.”

The winter will not last. The reunion in the spring is sure to come and will last forever. This is because Jesus died to remove the great separator of sin; the sin that separates us from God and from each other. Jesus conquered death the moment He walked out of His grave. He assures those who belong to Him that they will share His victory over death. Jesus is the living Savior who gives eternal life to those that are His.

So what is hope? It’s the confident expectation that there is something better than this. It’s what gets you through an otherwise depressing winter. There will be a spring. What you see isn’t what you get! Maybe it’s winter for you right now. The pain, the struggle, and the wounds are very real. If what you can see now is all there is, the outlook is bleak, but this is not all there is if you belong to Jesus.

The Bible describes it this way, “Christ in you, the hope of Glory” ( Colossians 1:27). Do those three words describe you in Jesus – Christ in you? Your relationship begins the day you do what the Bible says, “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name He gave the right to become the children of God” ( John 1:12). As the Bible asks so beautifully, “If God is for us who could be against us?” ( Romans 8:21).

If you’re short of hope, there is Jesus. The very hopelessness of this winter you are in could be the very thing that drives you to His waiting arms and to the hope only this living Savior can give. With Jesus you can live in real hope. The confident expectation that there will be something better than this is guaranteed by the Son of God Himself. He will bring the spring.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

They Named A Corner After You

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Date: 10/03/2023

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE 19968

QIC: Fireplex

PAX: Bunt, Chattahoochee, Drago, Fireplex, Probe, Ruxpin, Toad, Toy Soldier

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

Bolt 45’s – 15 squats to halfway down.   15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats

Windmills – 20 IC  

The Thang

Hindenburg BLIMPS from the Exicon

Modified version of Blimps. Perform exercise at corner #1, mosey to corner #2, perform exercise, mosey to corner #3, perform exercise.  Then mosey to corner #4, perform exercise, and then mosey back to corner #1.  Plank it up until all PAX are in.  That completes one round.  Round #1 – 10 Burpees. Round #2 – 20 Lunges each leg.  Round #3 – 30 Imperial Walkers.  Round #4 – 40 Merkins.  Round #5 – 50 Plank Jacks.  Round #6 – 60 Squats.

Each round consists of @ .25 miles – Mill Street was the block of choice.  All Pax completed four rounds through the round of 40 Merkins at each corner. One evolution of the 50 Plankjacks and one evolution of 60 squats was completed in the COT to finish the morning strong.

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 message 10/03/2023

THE HARVEST OF DOING GOOD – #9207

April 26, 2022

Our friend Mark grew up on the farm; actually on an Ozark Mountain farm. And that means rocks in your fields! One local grandfather used to say, “Every time it rains I grow rocks in my field.” Mark knows all about that. Over a period of time, his mother made him clear hundreds of rocks out of one of their fields when he was just a little guy. Well then, Mark bought some land from his mother as an adult. And as he started to work one of those fields, he was really pleasantly surprised by how amazingly rock-free it is. Then it dawned on him, this was the field he had made rock-free when he was a boy!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Harvest of Doing Good.”

Mark was reaping the good work he did many years ago, enjoying the benefits of those efforts. That’s a reminder of one of the wisest laws in the Bible, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). We usually think about that in terms of the bad consequences of the bad seed we sow, but there’s another side to that reaping equation.

In Galatians 6:8-9, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.” So you don’t just reap the bad you sow; you reap the good you sow. Paul goes on to make a very practical application, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Why do we sometimes give up on some of the good we’re trying to do? Well, because of the nature of harvesting. If a farmer plants corn on a Tuesday, he doesn’t go out and pick it on a Wednesday, or maybe for many, many Wednesdays after that. There’s a time lag between sowing and reaping, and so it can look like nothing’s going to come from it. So we quit sowing in the lives of our children, our church, our coworkers, our friends.

But we end up living today in the life we built yesterday – the relationships we built – good or bad, the reputation we built. We’re living in it today. The ways we’ve treated people. Well, you did some sowing today and you’ll ultimately get back the kinds of things you sowed. So spend the time that person needs from you. Consciously do random acts of kindness each day. Give a gift when there’s no occasion for your appreciation; just giving it for the person themself. Send those thank you notes. Give that compliment; that word of encouragement. Use the money God’s entrusted to you to lift people’s burdens and people’s spirits. Don’t be afraid to be generous. After all, Jesus said, “You lose your life by trying to hang onto it, but you find your life by giving it away” (Luke 9:24).

Scripture is full of encouragement to keep sowing good seed. “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again” (Ecclesiastes 11:1). “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more” (Mark 4:24). “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25). Don’t be afraid of what you’ll lose by giving. God has promised that you’re going to gain so much more. You don’t become richer by keeping what you’ve got. You become richer in your life in some way or another by giving it away.

So, keep scattering good seed wherever you go. Make it a daily thing, because when you do, somewhere down the road there’s an awesome harvest coming.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

“Streudel” Claps

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Flat-Bottom Gets a Flat-Top

WARM-UP

SSH – 20 IC

Moroccan Night Clubs – 20 IC

Bolt “60” – Yup 60 !!

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

“Streudel” Claps – 15 IC

Date: 09/21/2023

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Streudel MANNINGTON

PAX: Bunt, Chattahoochee, Fireplex, Flatbottom, Probe, Streudel, Quattro, Toy Soldier, TRex, Wood

THE THANG

10 Mike Tysons against the Firehouse Wall, then to the parking lot for 10 squats with a coupon. Run up the stairs at the back of the firehouse and back to the wall. 9 Big Boys. then to the parking lot for 9 curls with the coupon. Run up the stairs at the back of the fire house and back to the wall for 8 Mike Tyson’s, then to the parking lot for 8 squats with the coupon. Rinse and repeat until completing all rounds down to 1. Streudel gave us a break when completed through the round of 5 for the third F. See message below. After which all Pax completed the evolution. A round of Mary with each Pax providing an exercise was completed before the Circle of Trust..

F3 Message – 09/21/2023

Matthew 5:1-12 New King James Version

The Beatitudes

5 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the [a]earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Respectfully Submitted,

Streudel

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