Warm-a-Rama 15 seal jacks i/c 15 mountain man pooper i/c 15 seal waves i/c 10 hip circles each direction oyo 15 windmills i/c 15 harry rockets i/c 15 Michael Phelps i/c
The Thang Mosey to Woodstock’s coupons
Single awareness 15 per side L – lunge backwards O – Overhead press, single arm V – v up, single leg E – E2K
S – single leg Squat to coupon I – irkin N – navy seal burpee G – goblet Bulgarian Squat L – lunge E – E2K
Bolt 60’s IC (4 Count) – 20 squats to halfway down. 20 squats halfway to full down. 20 full squats.
Windmills – 15 IC
Merkin Jax – OYO 10:40 Ratio. 1 merkin to 4 Plank Jax. 2 Merkins to 8 Plank Jacks. Complete through 10 merkins and 40 Plank Jacks.
Merkin ¼ Mile – each 1/16 mile Pax stopped and completed 25 merkins. Pax completed a 1/4 mile on the way to the site of the “Thang” completing 4 sets of 25 Merkins.
The Thang
Pax performed a Mike Tyson set of 11’s at the CHOP along Chestnut Street utilizing a bear crawl and a crawl bear to traverse the distance between the curbs. 10 Mike Tyson’s then bear crawl across Chestnut Street for 1 Merkin. Crawl Bear back across for 9 Mike Tyson’s and bear crawl back across for 2 Merkins. Continue until you have completely reversed the count to 10 Merkins and 1 Mike Tyson on the opposite sides of the street.
Pax finished up with a run around the block for another ¼ mile to make the total .50 miles for the beatdown.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
The scene is a high school assembly where I was speaking. I’ve asked five students to come on stage with me. One young man is blindfolded and standing in the middle of his four friends. They form a square around the blindfolded guy – one has a $10 bill to give him – if he chooses to come to their corner of the square. The problem is the other three are going to tell him they have the $10 – even though they don’t. In fact, they each have something else to give Mr. Blindfold if he comes to their corner. One has a super-soaker squirt gun to baptize him with, one has a full trash can to dump in his arms, and the other has a whipped cream pie to put in his face. This poor young man in the center knows three of his friends will be lying about having the money, one will be telling the truth – but he has to decide, sight unseen, which corner he will go to. They each make their convincing pitch for why what he wants is in their corner. Then, he has to decide which voice he will follow. Right choice – he walks away better off. Wrong choice – uh, messy ending!
Well, I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Voices and the Choices.”
You have to make those kinds of choices all the time. That’s what I point out to the kids in that assembly. You’re surrounded by voices urging you to come their direction. There’s a lot of pressure on you from a lot of directions. You may have the voices of your parents urging you to go a certain direction, your friends, your company, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your church, the culture around you, the voice of financial security. If you thought you’d lose the peer pressure problem when you left your teenage years, welcome to reality. Your whole life you have a peer group around you – and each peer group has its values and pressures – voices that are saying, “Do it our way – and we’ll give you something good.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 23:22. Roman governor is there. He believes in Jesus’ innocence but he’s facing the voices of many people who want Jesus to be treated as if He’s guilty. Here’s what the Bible says, “For the third time he spoke to them: … ‘I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have Him punished and then release Him.’ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for…murder; the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.”
Unbelievable. The murderer will go free and the sinless Son of God will be executed. Pilate knew what was right. He told them what he thought was right. But when it came down to deciding what to do, their shouts prevailed. He let the pressure push him into abandoning what he knew was right – and abandoning Jesus.
But then – haven’t we all been Pilate? We’ve caved in to the pressure, didn’t stand for what was right and sold out our Savior. We listened to a voice or voices other than Jesus. We can’t have those moments of compromise back. But we can bring them to the Lord repentantly, and claim His forgiveness. And pledge to Him that His will be the voice we follow in our choices. On your knees, in His Book with no other voice around, you ask with no conditions, “Lord, what would You have me to do?” He won’t yell like some of the other voices – but His gentle voice will say, “Follow Me this way.”
Like that young man listening to the pitches of his four friends, following the wrong voices will lead to an unhappy outcome. But there is one voice you can trust – who waits to hand you life with no regrets, no guilt, no kickback. Don’t do a Pontius Pilate – and let the other voices make you betray Jesus, the One who loves you the most.
15 seal jacks i/c 15 seal waves i/c 15 Michael Phelps i/c Side shuffle across parking lot and back Nur across parking lot and back 15 mountain man pooper i/c 15 Imperial walkers i/c 15 toy soldiers i/c 10 hip circles each direction oyo
The Thang Each PAX grabs a coupon and moseys to the park playground.
Timer is one PAX farmer carrys coupons around gazebo
Curls Swerkins Abyss merkins Small coupon Bent over flys Bent over rows – axle Hanging knee raises Small coupon lateral raise
3rd F Roll with the punches and look at the positive side of things.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 20 IC
Moroccan Night Clubs – 30 IC
The Thang
Mosey to the Fishing Pier and complete a set of Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg). Then each PAX will take a lap up the hill and back down the Governors walk. Upon arrival back at the Fishing Pier each Pax will complete a Toy Soldier set of 30 LBC’s, 20 E2K’s (each side) & 10 Big Boys. Rinse & Repeat as much as time allows. Pax were able to complete three rounds before moseying back to CHOP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer.
Our friends were kind enough to loan my wife and me their second home where we could get away for a couple days. Now, when you’re in somebody else’s home, look, you want to be on your best behavior. You know, make sure you don’t break anything, and leave it like you found it. Well, I was having a little bit of difficulty getting the front door un-jammed; or unlocked. My wife said, “What are you doing?” And I jokingly said, “I couldn’t get it unlocked, so I’m just pushing it open.” She said, “No, no. Don’t do that.” Now, there’s a reason we had that little dialogue. Yeah, it’s called history.
See, she panicked right away because she knows my history of you know, sometimes trying to make things work, and it doesn’t happen, and a couple times you know something got broken. Oh, I got it out okay, and it worked okay but she knows I have this tendency to try to make things work when they don’t want to work. So I sometimes get impatient – I’m the only guy on the planet like that, I know – but sometimes I get impatient with things that don’t work quickly. Alright, I confess, I’ve been known to force a door handle and break it. I’m growing, I’m getting better. But you probably aren’t going to lend me anything anymore, right?
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “When You Force It, You Break It.”
Our word for today from the Word of God; Genesis 16:1, “Now, Sarah, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maid servant named Hagar. So she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maid servant.” I insert here, “what?” “Go sleep with my maid servant. Perhaps I can build a family through her.’ So he slept with Hagar and she conceived.” I’m shaking my head.
Here’s the history. Abraham and Sarah had been promised a son by God. They had to wait longer than they thought they would have to wait. Apparently they thought it wasn’t working. So guess what happened. Sarah has an idea, she says’ “maybe we can force it! We’ll help God out.” And Abraham goes right along with it. Now, here’s a new verb for you: to “Hagar”. You say, “Well, isn’t Hagar like a name? Isn’t it the name of this maid servant; this surrogate mother?” Well, actually, it’s a noun, but to “Hagar”, to make it a verb, well it means to try and make it happen. I’m trying to “Hagar” this. You force it, take it from the expert, you break it.
Thirteen years after Abraham and Sarah tried to force what God had promised, the son God promised came along-Isaac. Now they had a 13-year-old Ishmael on their hands, though. And those two boys were in constant conflict. They’re still in conflict today. It’s called the Arabs and the Jews descended from Ishmael and Isaac. And many great wars have been fought over that conflict. And it all happened simply because Abraham couldn’t wait for God to do it His way and in His timing.
How easy that is to do. You know, right now maybe there’s something in your life that isn’t working like you think it should, it isn’t happening fast enough. Maybe the romance isn’t there. Maybe you think “I’ve got to help God out a little bit here.” Maybe the money isn’t there and you’re trying to figure out some scheme to help God with that. Maybe the future isn’t working out the way you want it to. So you’re going to try to make it happen. Don’t “Hagar” this! Don’t force it. Don’t grab a wrong way to get a right thing done. You’ll pay for that mistake for a long, long time.
Four thousand years later people are still paying for Abraham’s “Hagar” solution. So, are you trying to rush it right now? Are you trying to force it? Are you trying to make things happen instead of waiting and watching your God do it? Would you let go before you break it and let God make it work in His way, in His time. Because the Bible says, as for God, His way is perfect. As for my way, it makes a mess.
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO
Merkin Mile – each ¼ mile Pax stopped and completed 25 merkins. Pax completed two sets on the way to the site of the “Thang”. Pax completed the second half of the merkin mile with two sets of merkins in returning to the Aegis.
The Thang
From the Exicon – Doracides – Two Pax worked together to reach exercise reps of 100, 200, 300, & 400 of 4 different exercises EACH. One Pax worked on the exercises while the second Pax completed suicides to three designated waypoints. The extra twist is at the waypoint of each suicide run; the Pax completed 1 burpee, then 2 burpees, and finally 3 burpees before returning to the starting point. Once all three suicide sprints were completed, the Pax switched stations until all reps of each exercise were completed. The exercises completed are as follows: 100 Merkins, 200 American Hammers, 300 LBC’s, & 400 squats.
There’s bad plaque and there’s good plaque. The bad kind is that substance that builds up on your teeth that you see in all the toothpaste commercials. They’re going to help you get rid of that. Oh, and then there’s good plaque; that’s the kind we have hanging on walls all over our house.
They’re good plaques because they have different promises on them from God’s Word. Right as you come into our house there’s been a plaque on the wall that says, “All your children will be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children.” That’s Isaiah 54:13. And most homes have God’s promises on plaques on the wall, or churches do. But plaques like that are meant to do more than hang on walls; they’re actually meant to float.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “When God’s Promises Turn Into Life Preservers.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 119. I’m going to read verse 50. David says, “My comfort in my suffering is this: ‘Your promise preserves my life.'” I love that. “Your promise preserves my life.”
Not long ago I was talking to some friends of ours who had lost a relative in a tragic auto accident. I said to them, “Was His grace enough?” You know, one of the great promises of God in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is, “His grace is sufficient.” There’ll always be enough grace.
And they said, “Oh yeah, it sure was.” And then together we began to remember some of those promises that make good wall plaques, like “Underneath are the everlasting arms.” And then it dawned on me, those promises of God are nice words, but when a storm hits and you’re sinking – like when a loved one dies for example – the promise of God becomes a lot more than a plaque. It becomes your life preserver, like someone drowning in the ocean, hanging on for dear life, and the promise is all you’ve got to hang onto.
David said, “My comfort in suffering is this, ‘Your promise preserves my life.'” All you’ve got to hang on to. And the more you hold on to that promise, the more you live as if the promise is true and the more you can handle. We’ve got to have those promises in our heart so we can rip them off the wall and hang onto them when that sudden storm hits.
I talked not long ago to a burned out Christian leader. He’s hanging on to a promise from the 23rd Psalm, “He restores my soul.” I talked to a family who was recently hit by five medical blows within as many weeks. They’re hanging on to Deuteronomy 33:25, “Your strength will equal your days.” When my wife got ill and was sick with hepatitis, in bed for nine months, I wondered, “How in the world am I going to do it without my partner?” I hung on to that verse. Every day I said, “Your strength will equal your days, Ron. Your strength will equal your days.” It did! It got me through.
So, learn those promises. They’re your source of strength. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” That means you’ll have everything you need. Maybe you need Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply all your needs.” Or maybe that plaque that becomes a life preserver is 1 Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you are able.” Or are you hanging onto Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” How many times have I hung onto Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.”
Learn those promises, and then learn to lean on those promises. When your feelings are lying to you, when your world is upside down, grab a promise off the wall of your heart and rest all your weight on it. The promises of God are life preservers.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Windmills – 20 IC
The Thang
B.O.M.B.S. – 50 Burpees, 100 Overhead Claps while doing a wall sit, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Sit-ups, 250 Squats. From the side wall of the firehouse, each Pax will complete 25 of each exercise and then run up the steps behind the firehouse and down before moving on to the next 25 reps. A break for the 3rd F will be after all the merkin reps are complete.
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.
Ken really felt he got a promotion when he left the business world to enter full-time Christian ministry, and I think he did. But it wasn’t so much because of the salary. Oh, I’m sure you thought it was because of the great money that he would make in Christian ministry. No, it wasn’t because of the great benefits, but his job before had been handling consumer complaints.
Now, he was definitely a candidate for a lot of antacids. Can you imagine getting calls all day long from people whose whole thing is to tell you what they didn’t like? He’s in ministry now, so Ken deals with a lot of people’s burdens, but it’s a whole lot better stress than that old job was. How would you be able to listen to people dump on you for eight hours a day? It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it, and somebody wants to.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Where to Take Your Complaints.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 142. David says, “I cry aloud to the Lord.” Sure sounds like he’s hurting. “I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him. Before Him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who knows my way.” That’s a very interesting portrayal of where our complaints ought to go. God’s Throne Room – that’s where you ought to take your complaints. David said, “I pour out my complaint to Him. It’s before the Lord I tell my trouble.” “He’s the One where I, in a sense, dump all of this hurt, anger, and frustration.”
Of course, we have a tendency to take our complaints to other places, don’t we? We complain to our friends, we complain about the other guy to everybody else except the guy, we complain to our family, we complain to our co-workers, and the only thing we accomplish is we get to drag them down with us. They were feeling great until we came along. And then, all of a sudden, this big, dark cloud came in with us. We start them thinking negatively about it too. And we sound like squeaky chalk.
Well, the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15, as believers, to “be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.” A lot of folks can’t hear our hope because they hear more about our hassles. Listen to yourself. Step outside of yourself and just try to listen. Are you becoming a complainer? God doesn’t say, “Don’t complain.” That would be denying the pain – denying your real feelings. He invites us to complain all over Him. He’s the One who can do something about it.
David said, “It is You who knows my way.” You know, that’s why people bypass the complaint department sometimes and go right to the president. They say, “Hey, I want action! So forget the complaint guy; I’m going straight to the top!” Well, that’s actually the place to go. Sometimes it’s appropriate to go to an offending person and confront them in order to seek healing. And, of course, it’s appropriate to share our burden with other people and ask them to pray for us. But first, dump all your garbage at your Lord’s feet. Go to the top! Get the emotions out before Him. Get some objectivity, some perspective that comes from being in God’s presence with all that stuff.
Hebrews 4 tells us that we can go to the throne of God’s Grace and there we can “obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” How about trading your gripes for grace? The Throne Room of God is the complaint department of the universe. So, let God deal with your complaints. You won’t get action by complaining to all the employees. Skip them and go straight to the top.
22 X-CROSS SIT UPS ( R HAND TO L FOOT, L HAND TO R FOOT BIG BOY)
22 INCLINE MERKINS
YESOW/NUR to AO
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.
I don’t have much time for TV, and when I do, I don’t usually watch gymnastics. But some time ago they were showing a sports feature about gymnastics on a plane flight. As usual, I had too much to do to get the headset that carries the audio, but I did occasionally glance up at the video part. It was a gymnastics meet between the U.S. and Russia. You can probably guess who I was rooting for. Now, I couldn’t hear any commentary, but I saw some impressive performances by these young athletes. I also saw an occasional replay. But every time they did a replay, it seems like all they showed was the gymnast’s mistakes; anything she was marked down for, and they kept replaying it. They had executed some great moves, but no, we don’t go over those – just their mistakes.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Focusing On the Falls.”
It’s not only athletes who have their shortcomings replayed is it? A lot of us are experts on going over and over the mistakes people make; the weaknesses they have. Which is definitely not what God had in mind for how we would use these mouths of ours in the lives of those around us.
In fact, He describes that in our word for today from the Word of God. It’s Ephesians 4:29. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” In other words, talk about the things that will build that person up, and stow the things that will tear them down.
Now think about how you talk to the people that you’re around a lot; your coworkers, your friends, your parents, maybe your husband or wife, your children, or the people at church. Could it be that you have a tendency to train your camera on what they do wrong, on their weaknesses, their shortcomings, the problem areas? And do you keep bringing up where they missed it – like those sportscasters replaying the gymnasts’ mistakes?
This is a classic problem between parents and children, for example. Let’s say your son or daughter brings home four Bs and one D. What do we spend most of our time on? The four Bs? Oh, no, we do most of our talking about the one D. Too often, we do that with every area of their life. Minimizing – overlooking what they’re doing right – and focusing on what needs improvement. And we’re trying to build them up by showing them their failings and what they need to work on, right? But I wonder if we keep doing that, aren’t we actually tearing them down?
People can slowly but surely be destroyed by a person’s critical spirit. Could that be happening to someone in your world? Remember the people around you are starved for praise. Yes, part of loving someone is to gently help them see their blind spots and to help them get stronger where they’re weak, to help them improve. There’s a place for constructive criticism, but you win the right to do that when you spend more time talking about their strengths and what they’re doing right.
Replay capability – it’s a powerful thing. But if you keep replaying their mistakes where they haven’t measured up, well, you’re going to be diminishing the people around you. If you replay their good points, you’re going to be building up the people around you, which is what God says we’re supposed to do. Help the people who you are around a lot see the worth and the value that God sees in them. How do you do that? Well you just keep pointing it out to them.
Maybe you’ve focused on their falls too much. It’s time to start replaying the good moves made by the people you care about!
Warm-a-Rama 30 Marocan night club i/c 20 Michael Phelps i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c 15 seals waves i/c 10 hip circles oyo, each direction 15 seal jacks i/c
The Thang
Each HIM grabs one large coupon and 2 small coupons
Colt 45 with small coupons, palms in
Tabata, using small coupons 8 rounds of 6 excercises
Flys (shoulders on large coupon) – palms up, palms in Bench press (shoulders on large coupon) – elbows in, palms together Holding chair chest squeeze – extended, close Overhead clap – palms in, palms forward Bent over rows – palms down, palms in Squats – butt must touch coupon – sumo, 6″
3rd F Positivity helps our spiritual hearts. Did you know it also helps our physical hearts? Our mindset truly changes everything. Which is exactly what today’s verse helps us do. Paul provides us attributes of godly thinking we can use as a quick “checklist” to guide our thought life: True: Does this align with God’s Word? (Psalm 19:7; John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17) Honourable: Does this bring respect to yourself and others? (Proverbs 22:1; Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 2:12) Right: Is it just and fair? (Micah 6:8; Romans 12:2; Proverbs 21:3) Pure: Is it free from moral fault? (Psalm 51:10; Philippians 4:8; James 3:17) Lovely: Does it promote love and compassion? (1 Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:12–14; 1 John 4:7) Praiseworthy: Is it deserving of admiration and respect? (Psalm 145:3; Ephesians 1:12; Philippians 2:3)
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).
• What are the main thoughts that guide your life? • Is there a particular area from the checklist where you feel you’re lacking? • What Scripture can you memorize to help anchor your thoughts?
Colt 45 with small coupons, palms up
Toy Soldier set 50 LBCs 25 E2Ks, each side 15 Big Boys
Number Rama Name Rama COT
8 HIM showed today: Semi, Probe, Streudal, Fireplex, TRex, Chattahoochee, Mr. Mom, Looney Toons
Warm-a-Rama 30 Marocan night club i/c 20 Michael Phelps i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c 15 seals waves i/c 10 hip circles oyo, each direction 15 seal jacks i/c
The Thang
Each HIM grabs one large coupon and 2 small coupons
Colt 45 with small coupons, palms down
Tabata, using small coupons 8 rounds of 6 excercises
Flys (shoulders on large coupon) – palms up, palms in Bench press (shoulders on large coupon) – elbows in, palms together Holding chair chest squeeze – extended, close Overhead clap – palms in, palms forward Bent over rows – palms down, palms in Squats – butt must touch coupon – sumo, 6″
3rd F Positivity helps our spiritual hearts. Did you know it also helps our physical hearts? Our mindset truly changes everything. Which is exactly what today’s verse helps us do. Paul provides us attributes of godly thinking we can use as a quick “checklist” to guide our thought life: True: Does this align with God’s Word? (Psalm 19:7; John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17) Honourable: Does this bring respect to yourself and others? (Proverbs 22:1; Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 2:12) Right: Is it just and fair? (Micah 6:8; Romans 12:2; Proverbs 21:3) Pure: Is it free from moral fault? (Psalm 51:10; Philippians 4:8; James 3:17) Lovely: Does it promote love and compassion? (1 Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:12–14; 1 John 4:7) Praiseworthy: Is it deserving of admiration and respect? (Psalm 145:3; Ephesians 1:12; Philippians 2:3) • What are the main thoughts that guide your life? • Is there a particular area from the checklist where you feel you’re lacking? • What Scripture can you memorize to help anchor your thoughts?
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
Hydraulic Squats – 10 (6 Count)
The Thang
Round #1 – Karaoke around the circle switching directions at halfway and complete 10 hand release merkins. Round #2 – Nur around the circle and complete 20 LBC’’s. Round #3 – ass kickers around the circle and complete Aiken legs – 10 squats, 10 box jumps, 10 lunges (10 each Leg), 10 Iron Mike’s (5 each Leg). Round #4 – high knees around the circle and complete ATM’s – 10 alternating “merkin” shoulder taps, 10 tempo merkins, and 10 fast merkins. Round # 5 – Lieutenant Dan around the circle and complete 10 four count mountain climbers. Round #6 – Toy Soldier march around the circle and complete a set of 11’s. 1 big boy to 1 merkin, two big boys to 2 merkins ascending to 11 of each. Round #7 – mosey 10 laps around the circle and complete ascending Burp & Merks up to 10 merkins. The twist is we are going to repeat each of the previous exercises before starting the next lap around the circle.
On the first warm day of spring I can remember my son saying, “Ready for a little baseball, Dad?” Well, ’twas the season, although that early in the season we usually ended up stuck in the mud somewhere between home plate and first base. Now, he didn’t ask about playing baseball if it was fall or winter. Now, he always had a like a strong sense of season. By the same token, the first cool day of late summer, of course, that brought a predictable question, “Ready for a little football, Dad?” This is the same son, of course, that got upset when he saw Christmas items up before Thanksgiving, or phone calls when he was studying or homework that you had to do on weekends. See, this kid had and actually still does have for that matter, a strong sense of what season it is, and there’s actually a lot of sanity in living that way.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “A Strong Sense of Season.”
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ecclesiastes 3, and let me read some excerpts to you: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” It goes on with a list of life’s times, and then concludes in verse 11, “God has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Well, the message of Ecclesiastes 3 to me is this: Know what time it is. Know what season it is at this point in your life, or your month, or your week. And then really do what it’s time to do and don’t mix up your seasons. When it’s time to work, really work; when it’s time to fellowship, really fellowship. Just don’t mix everything up.
Now, I know some people who talk for half of their work day. Well, when it’s fellowship time, do that, but don’t mix that with your work and vice-versa. When it’s time to play, really play. When it’s time to be home, don’t bring your work home with you; really be home. When it’s time to be at work, don’t keep doing personal stuff. When it’s time to pray, block out everything else.
Maybe that’s why Jesus told us to go into a closet to do it. When it’s time to listen, drop everything else and focus on that person. If it’s time to finish something else before you listen, get that done and schedule a time when you really can listen. When it’s time to study, don’t talk. When it’s time to unwind, don’t study. Get the idea? It’s like the Bible says in Colossians 3, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.”
I have a friend whose employees’ wives are on the warpath because their husbands are coming home forever late from work. Guess who they blame? The boss and the company for overworking their men. Well, the fact is what the wives don’t know is that these men are taking extended lunch hours for gym time and shooting the breeze much of the day. They waste as much time as they work, and then they have to work like crazy at the other end of the day. And then, guess what? They can’t be the fathers they need to be.
I like what the Bible says again, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.” And I really like what Jim Elliott, the missionary martyr said, “Wherever you are, be all there.” See, things don’t work as well when you do them “out of season.” Each day, each week has seasons in your life. Well, do with all your heart what it’s time to do at that moment and then God makes everything beautiful in its time.
I’ll tell you, life is a lot more peaceful when you live with a strong sense of season.
