quattro

Sidewalk Doracides

Date: 12/28/2024

AO: Aegis, Georgetown, DE

PAX: Box Car, Chattahoochee, Fireplex, Pickles (down range), Probe, Pusher, Quattro, Ruxpin, Woodstock, Yukon

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20IC

Windmills – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

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.    

F3 Message 12/28/24

When God’s Promises Turn Into Life Preservers – #9792

July 23, 2024

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.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

I Can’t Hear Those Complaints

Date: 12/05/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE.

PAX: Looney Tunes, Quattro, Whirlybird, Bunt, Probe, Streudel, Fireplex

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

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.   

F3 Message 12/05/2024

Where to Take Your Complaints – #9780

July 5, 2024

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.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Chattahoochee’s Rinse & Repeat

Date: 11/14/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

Pax: Quattro, Deez, Chattahoochee, Pooh, Probe, Streudel, Fireplex

OIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 22 IC

Cherry Pickers – 22 IC

Arm Circles – 11 each direction

Windshield Wipers – 22 OYO

Mountain Climbers – 22 IC  

The Thang

YESOW/NUR TO PARK

22 BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS 11 EACH LEG (1 LEG UP ON BENCH)

22 SWERKINS

22 BIG BOYS

11 PULL UPS OR HANGIN KNEES TO CHEST

YESOW/NUR TO PARKING LOT NEXT TO BODIES

11 FLAMINGO MERKINS (BEND TOUCH TOES WITH 1 LEG UP WALK HANDS OUT DO A

MERKIN WALK BACK IN RINSE AND REPEAT WITH OPPOSITE LEG UP IS 1)

22 AMERICAN HAMMER DOUBLE COUNT

22 MONKEY HUMPERS IC

22 FLUTTER KICKS IC

YESOW/NUR TO FISHING PIER

11 ZOMBIE CRUNCHES EACH SIDE (LEGS BENT AND TO SIDE]

22 TRIPLE PUMP SQUAT (SQUAT CALF RAISE SQUAT AND JUMP UP)

22 DECLINE MERKINS

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.   

F3 Message 11/14/24

Focusing On the Falls – #8409

April 4, 2019

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!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Semi Killer

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama
15 shoulder tap i/c
15 mountain climbers i/c
15 seal waves i/c
15 hip circles oyo
15 Michael Phelps i/c
15 seal jacks

The Thang
Grab a coupon and mosey to park

Pair off, workout as a pair

AMRAP
Curls for the girls
Pull ups
Swerkins
Rows
Sledgehammer to tire
Pretzel sticks
Overhead press
American hammers w/ coupon

Timer is nur, side shuffle, and karaoke around gazebo

https://www.facebook.com/share/GKqhkusfkKiTNV5a/?mibextid=oFDknk

Don’t be confined by your environment!

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

12 HIM showed today: 2 FNGs (Manscape & Hoe N), Semi, Probe, Fireplex, Chattahoochee, Quattro, Ace, Streudal, Mr. Mom, TRex, Toy Soldier

Keeping up with the Cheer Center

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama

18 Seal jack i/c
18 Imperial walkers i/c
18 Mountain man pooper i/c
10 Hip circles each direction oyo
18 Seal waves i/c
18 Plank jack i/c

The Thang
Each HIM grabs a coupon and woseys to bank parking lot.

1 HIM pushed sled as timer as rest of PAX AMRAPS the following exercises

Sprawl and curl w/coupon
Pess jacks /w coupon
Block chop R w/coupon
Block chop L w/coupon

3rd F
Jesus led with intention and so should we.

Your team needs your hard skills; that’s a given. You wouldn’t be able to do your job without a professional understanding of the equipment and principles of your role in video, audio, and lighting. Chances are, you’re a generalist or perhaps an expert in just one of those categories, but either way, you have you “know” what you’re doing to develop your process and your team into an excellent, competent production.

But hard skills only get you so far as a production leader. You’re not just a tech anymore, but rather a steward of your house, and your team needs more than your technical expertise.

Your team needs your intention.

This means that you can’t simply show up to work and hope for the best, and it probably starts the night before your Monday office hours. In a recent chat I had with Justin Firesheets, a co-contributor here at Church Production and the head project manager for production at Church of the Highlands, he mentioned that his work day actually starts the night before. He sits down for just a few minutes and plans out his day so he can hit the ground running the next morning.

That sort of intention shows great wisdom, friends. Now, it might look a little different for each of us. Perhaps that means you spend the first few minutes of your office day doing the same thing, but whatever it looks like for you, it means that you don’t fly by the seat of your pants.

You might not think so, but Jesus lived this way. It’s a mistake to think that he was more of a hippie than an intentional leader, that he just followed the whimsical notions of the Holy Spirit in a happy, flowery hopscotch across Judea for three years.

Jesus was much the opposite of that. His parables were full of the thoughts of an intentional leader, so much so that scholars now believe Jesus was not a carpenter, but a stonemason business owner, something akin to a modern subcontractor. He knew what it meant to run a business and have people rely on him for their livelihood. He didn’t work in a haphazard manner.

For that matter, it’s a mistake to think that the ways of the Holy Spirit are whimsical. The intentions of Jesus were driven by an unfathomable connection to the Holy Spirit. Jesus walked into his desert fast with intention, driven by the Holy Spirit. Jesus walked from city to city with intention, driven by the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent his disciples to find a donkey and an upper room, driven by the Holy Spirit. Jesus intentionally embraced his torture and excruciating death, driven by the Holy Spirit. The pattern is unmistakable.

It Only Takes a Few Minutes

This is the crazy r and a great leader is about five minutes. Intention doesn’t take much time; it just requires a simple pause to gather tasks and priorities and organize them on paper (or tablet) into a workable plan. Ten minutes, tops. That’s a lot of bang for buck

Mosey to playground behind library

15 swerkins
5 pull ups
10 screaming lunges per leg

Mosey back to bank parking lot

Sled rounds x 2
Sprawl and curl
Curls for the girls
Merkins
Pretzel sticks L
Pretzel sticks R
American hammers
Flutter kicks
Lbcs
Press jacks
Gas pumpers

Return Coupons

Fireplex made his 100th beatdown today

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

7 HIM showed today: Semi, Probe, Fireplex, Chattahoochee, Streudal, Toy Soldier, Quattro

Killer Warrior

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama

20 seal jacks i/c
15 seal waves i/c
15 Michael Phelps i/c
15 mountain man pooper i/c

The Thang
Mosey to Woodstock’s coupons
Mosey to Allen school with coupons

Break up into 3 groups

15 swerkins
15 sprawl and curl
30 press jacks

3rd F

‭Exodus 3:1-4 ESV‬
[1] Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2] And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. [3] And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” [4] When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.3.1-4.ESV

20 swerkins
15 merkin coupon row
10 screaming lunges per leg

Stack coupons along building
Grab a bottle of water

Chappie run back to AO
Those that completed the run with water, reward of 10 burpees

20 lazy crab oyo
15 pickle pointers oyo
32 American hammers i/c

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

16 HIM showed today: Semi, Probe, Yukon, TRex, Mr. Mom, Whirlybird, Fireplex, Bunt, Motown, Pick, Quattro, Sinco, Pusher, Looney Toons, Doodle, Chauffer

Go Tell Your Dad

Date: 06/13/2024

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

PAX: Deez, Quattro, T-Rex, Whirlybird, Drago, Toy Soldier, Chattahoochee, Probe, Streudel, Fireplex

QIC: Fireplex

Warmup

SSH – 25 IC

Moroccan Night Clubs – 40 IC

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

Windmills – 15 IC

Hydraulic Squats – 10 IC (6 Count)

Mosey from the AO to “Oh Hill No”

Over the Hill Set – Modified Burp Back Mountain  

  1. Split Pax into two groups or if it is a smaller group you can complete it as one unit together.
  2. 1st round the 1st group Nur’s up the hill and mosey back down while 2nd group completes clock merkins on the incline completing 5 reps each at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, & 9 o’clock. Rinse and repeat until your partner returns.  Switch stations and repeat.
  3. 2nd round the 1st group bear crawls up the hill and mosey back down while 2nd group completes the same evolution of clock merkins. Rinse and repeat until your partner returns. Switch stations and repeat.
  4. 3rd round the 1st group completes the inch worm up the hill and mosey back down while the second group completes the same evolution of clock merkins.  Rinse and repeat until your partner returns.  Break for the message

F3 Message 

  • Final round the 1st group completes the crawl bear up the hill and mosey back down while 2nd group completes the same evolution of clock merkins.  Rinse and repeat until your partner returns.  Switch stations and repeat.

All Pax Nur up and moseyed down the hill Twice to complete the set.

Toy Soldier Set – 100 LBC’s, 50 Y2K’s x2, 25 Big Boys OYO

Mosey back to the AO for the Circle of Trust including announcements, prayer, the Count-O-Rama & the Name-O-Rama.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 Message 06/13/24

THE POWER OF A FATHER’S SMILE

June 14, 2023

It’s important for fathers and sons to do things together – like when my son helped me with the yard work so we could bond. I remember one day when my oldest son was about five. It was a hot day. I was mowing and my son was following around after me clipping. I looked over to him and I smiled. About five minutes later he came over and yelled over the mower, “Daddy, could you please do that again?” I said, “Could I do what again, son?” He said, “Daddy, could you smile at me again? Your smile keeps me going.”

Ephesians 6:4 has some great parenting instructions: “Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” God says, “Don’t tear your children down. Bring them up.” A father has incredible power to be either one – to make your son or daughter feel inadequate and small, never good enough, or to make your son or daughter feel competent, worthy, appreciated, and valued. It’s clear which one God expects from a father, and from a mother.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, Paul is likening the lives of believers to a positive father. Here’s what he says, “For we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God.” Do you see the verbs there? Three words that are the godly ways of a father – to encourage your child, comfort your child, and urge him or her to live a godly life.

How are you doing? Did I just describe most of the conversations you have with your son or daughter – you’re encouraging, you’re comforting, are you urging? Think about the comments, for example, made years ago by one of President Clinton’s most impressive advisors, a man named Bill Galston. The news article I read back then said he was at the peak of his career when he resigned from his position. No one could believe it! Why?

Well, Bill Galston had worked hard trying to balance time with his ten-year-old son and his hugely significant job. He took his son to his White House office so they could talk while he worked. He even woke up at 6:00 in the morning so they could spend a few minutes together. But Bill was at the breaking point. He couldn’t do both. His son wrote him a letter saying, “Baseball is not fun when there’s no one there to applaud you.”

There’s just no substitute for a father. In the moments that matter to our children: the proud moments, the hurting moments, the amusing moments, the arriving home moments, the serious moments. And there are few sources more influential on earth than your approval of your son or your daughter. Could it be that there’s been too much emphasis on what’s wrong with your son or daughter, on what you want them to improve, on their weak points rather than majoring on the positive?

So much of the sense of security and sense of worth comes from knowing that Dad is pleased with them, that Mom is pleased with them. Focusing on the encouraging, on praising what’s good about them, on noticing even the slightest improvement, on building up not tearing down, concentrating on the things that matter to them. Realize what your most important job is. Bill Galston told the President of the United States, “You can replace me. My son can’t.”

Does your son or daughter need to hear your applause again, see your smile again? Maybe you need to make a new beginning by asking their forgiveness. Or start now to make it your daily mission to build them up, focus on their good points, and give them all of you sometime during that day. Your son or daughter is looking your way for something only you can give them; the smile that keeps them going, because a father’s smile is powerful, life-giving encouragement.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

This One is For Mom

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

Who’s in Charge

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

Christmas Explorers

Silent morning warm up….

10 hip circles each way (Delaware tornado)

20 fairy jacks 

20 cherry pickers 

20 windmill

Mosey around the blocks looking for the following Christmas decorations and preform the corresponding exercises…..

Example house has a 2 wreaths and lights

You will preform 

     25 merkins 

     25 squats

Wreath- 25 merkins 

Lights- 25 squats 

Reindeer- 25 calf raises 

Santa clause- 25 LBB

Christmas tree- 25 American hammers 

All of the above add- 10 burpees  

If we are unable to locate sufficient yards we will modify and use the towns decorations and work through in a rotating manner….

Third F….

11/28/1981 Bear Bryant becomes the winningest college football coach of all time #315 in the iron bowl……

10 Best Quotes From Bear Bryant

  1. “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: 1. Admit it. 2. Learn from it, and 3. Don’t repeat it.”
  2. “The first time you quit, it’s hard. The second time, it gets easier. The third time, you don’t even have to think about it.”
  3. “It’s not the will to win that matters—everybody has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
  4. “I know what it takes to win. If I can sell them on what it takes to win, then we are not going to lose too many football games.”
  5. “My attitude has always been…if it’s worth playing, it’s worth paying the price to win.”
  6. “If a man is a quitter, I’d rather find out in practice than in a game. I ask for all a player has so I’ll know later what I can expect.”
  7. “Football changes and so do people. The successful coach is the one who sets the trend, not the one who follows it.”
  8. “Set goals-high goals for you and your organization. When your organization has a goal to shoot for, you create teamwork, people working for a common good.”
  9. “It’s awfully important to win with humility. It’s also important to lose. I hate to lose worse than anyone, but if you never lose you won’t know how to act. If you lose with humility, then you can come back.”
  10. “You boys were eight and ten years old last time Alabama was on top. That was before any of you were paying much attention to it. What are you doing here? Tell me why you are here. If you are not here to win a national championship, you’re in the wrong place. You boys are special. I don’t want my players to be like other students. I want special people. You can learn a lot on the football field that isn’t taught in the home, the church, or the classroom. There are going to be days when you think you’ve got no more to give and then you’re going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for Alabama.”

Inspirational Quotes From Bryant

  • “Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second.”
  • “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride -and never quit- you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.”
  • “In life, you’ll have your back up against the wall many times. You might as well get used to it”
  • “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”

Continue on….until returning to the BORO to finish in a circle of silent trust…..

Prayers:

Mumford family, Quatros wife as she is just returning home, and for those who see things that people shouldn’t….

Announcements:

Memorial Day is Memorial Day, Labor Day is Labor Day, DU gun bash is in March again….

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