15 seal jacks i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c 30 merrockin night club i/c 15 plank jacks i/c 10 hip circles each direction oyo 15 seal waves i/c
The Thang
Bolt 45 with toes raised
Split into 4 groups
Timer group Jail breaks across parking lot and nur back x 2
Other groups are AMRAP of the following exercises:
Abyss merkins Swerkins Pretzel sticks
3rd F WHY DOGS LIVE LESS THAN HUMAN
Here’s the surprising answer of a 6 year old child.
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs’ lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He said, ”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued,
”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
• When your loved ones come home, always run to greet them. • Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. • Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy. • Take naps. • Stretch before rising. • Run, romp, and play daily. • Thrive on attention and let people touch you. • Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. • On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. • On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. • When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body. • Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. • Be faithful. • Never pretend to be something you’re not. • If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. • When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
That’s the secret of happiness that we can learn from a good dog.
Round 2
Timer group – side shuffle across the parking lot and back
Derkins E2K Hand release merkins
BTW for 5 chicken peckers i/c
Round of Mary Gas pumpers 4 count Freddie Flutter kick Hello dollies Crab jacks
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Pax completed a Toy Soldier set consisting of 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side, and 25 Big Boy ‘s.
Hydraulic Squats – 10 IC (6 Count)
“Chairman Lap” out the back driveway of the CHOP, to the left on Willow, left on Union and to the left back to CHOP parking lot. Approx. .25 miles.
All Pax were asked to complete a set of 21’s approx. 30 yards apart. Complete 20 merkins and bear crawl approx. 30 yards and complete 1 Bobby Hurley. Bear crawl back the @30 yards and complete 19 merkins, then bear crawl back and complete 2 Bobby Hurleys. Continue until you complete 15 merkins and 6 Bobby Hurleys. Pax took a breather for the F3 message after which they finished strong with 10 Burpees, a 30 yard bear crawl, 10 burpees, and a 30 yard bear crawl.
I’m about 5’8″. You probably know that because I sound about that tall, right? Years ago, I was carrying 210 pounds on this little 68″ body. Goodyear actually offered me a job as their blimp. But thankfully, I have weighed about 45 to 50 pounds less than that for a lot of years. Of course, I’ve still got the same metabolism that inflated this body many years ago. So, ohhh, do I know about dieting! And I also know the point at which your diet is in the greatest danger. OK, you’ve really been good…the scale has been giving you good news the last couple of weeks…your diet discipline is holding. Then somebody offers you something that you just can’t resist–let’s say, a few french fries. You consume them in one bite. So, you buy a whole order of fries for yourself. And now you feel bad. You have blown your diet. You could just get back on track right then. But no–you say to yourself, “I blew it! I’ve failed! Oh well, what’s the use? I might as well have a milk shake to wash down those fries. Hey, and anybody got the number of Pizza Heaven?” Yeah, you messed up. So you give up–and soon return to your former roundness.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “Bouncing Back When You Blow It.”
Now, it’s a shame when one or two failures make you give up on your diet. Or, more importantly, on living like Jesus wants you to live.
Maybe it’s a pattern you know all too well. Like a dieter, you’ve made up your mind to change–to do things Jesus’ way. You’re living right, you’re doing well. But one day you mess up and fall back into something the old you would do. And you feel ashamed. Now right here is the point–in dieting or being a disciple–that will determine whether or not this is a brief detour or a huge defeat. What will you do when you’ve blown it? Now, you can clean up or give up. And, believe me, Satan is gonna be right there whispering, “What’s the use? You tried this Christian thing, and look at you! You’re a spiritual lose. You’ll never make it. This is too hard for you. Give it up, man.”
Now, Jesus said Satan is capable only of telling lies–and this is no exception. But he wants to take one defeat and turn it into many defeats…to use this one detour to get you to turn back completely. And maybe you have. Well, it’s time for the truth. Our word for today from the Word of God, Proverbs 24:16, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” Notice it doesn’t say, “a righteous man never falls.” It says that when he falls, he gets right back up and starts walking again! See, that’s God’s intention for you when you’ve messed up.
That’s why He invites us in 1 John 1:9 to “confess our sins” because “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” It’s not Jesus standing there, condemning you for falling. God says, “there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) No, that’s your enemy trying to pull you into a cycle of defeat. Live right…then mess up…then feel ashamed…then you give up…then you mess up a lot more…and then you crash spiritually. That’s the cycle of defeat. But Jesus is saying, “One failure is one failure. And the only people who never fell down are people who aren’t trying to walk. Bring that sin to My Cross. Let me clean you up. Tomorrow’s a new day!”
So when you mess up spiritually, it’s either the cross or a crash. Bring that sin straight to Jesus’ cross, and you can get up and keep going. Believe the “what’s the use?” lie, and you’ll crash. Because of Jesus, no failure is final. If you’ve fallen, you can get up, in the forgiveness and power of your Savior.
Now take it from a veteran dieter–it’s a terrible mistake to give up just because you mess up. Today’s failure doesn’t have to sink you tomorrow. You have a Savior who makes each new day a brand new beginning.
Warm-a-Rama Side shuffle around circle, switch directions halfway 15 seal jacks i/c 10 screaming lunges per leg oyo 15 seal waves i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c High knees around circle, switch to butt kickers halfway
3rd F Play The Man • Devotional
Will Power!
Mosey to field by the church
Ultimate frisbee 3 bombjacks for team with dropped disc Scored exercises were; Screaming lunges Diamond merkins Merkins Frog burpees Burpees Flutter kicks
Mosey back to the circle 25 gas pumpers i/c, slowed tempo from 15-20
PAX at CHOP won #thatfirstbattle and posted for yet another surprise Chappie Q, who stood in the gap for Bunt who “called in sick.” YHC jumped at the opportunity and jumped into action with an oldie but a goodie–Ye Old 4×4! That is, 4 corners around the block x 4 exercises at each corner, plus the transitions from corner to corner around the CHOP’s .5 mile square. This workout has been done before and has been returned to from time to time as a bit of a measuring stick. It has been awhile, so…
WARM-O-RAMA:
YHC was all set up for a good warmup and completely forgot Roscoe was scheduled for his VQ Warm-O-Rama. Fortunately said PAX was mingling in the circle and ready to go. YHC doesn’t recall all the warm-up exercises, but kudos to Roscoe who did a great job leading. Thanks brother for being ready and NOT slipping into the shadows thinking maybe you could just do it another time. After that, off we went to get in the 4×4…
THE THANG:
PAX moseyed from the AO to the dentist office parking lot
Corner #1: Merkins (Corner of Union & Tobin)
05 Diamond Merkins
10 Ranger Merkins
15 Regular Merkins
20 Hand-Release Merkins
Transition to next corner:Lt. Danger to light pole, Mosey to corner #2…
Corner #2: Abs (Corner of Tobin & Mulberry)
20 X’s & O’s
20 E2K’s
35 4-Count Freddie’s IC – A real crowd-pleaser
60 Dying Cockroaches
Transition to next corner:Bearcrawl to power pole, Dragoncrawl to light pole, Karaoke rest of the way
**3rdF attached below was shared here after a 10-count (see below)
Corner #3: Legs (Corner of Mulberry & Willow)
18 Smurf Jacks IC
30 Calf-Raises OYO
The Bolt 45
05 Compass Squats (Omaha’d from 10 for time’s sake)
Transition to next corner:50% Jailbreak to church driveway, 75% Jailbreak to next corner)
Corner #4: Full body (Corner of Willow & Union)
10 Burpees
10 Plank Jacks (4-count)
05 8-Count Body Builders (Omaha’d from 10 for time’s sake)
10 Mule Kicks
Transition back to AO: Just a good ol’ fashioned Mosey
Returned to the AO at 0602 hrs. (apologies to the PAX). Had a few extras ready just in case there was time:
Jack Webb
Hands of Time
**3rdF shared at Corner #3:
In the OT book of Exodus, Ch. 7 begins a record Moses’ repeated visits with Pharaoh (King/Ruler) of Egypt to plead with him to “Let my people go!” God called Moses to lead Israel out of 430 years of Egyptian slavery. Each time Moses met with Pharoah he said no, or he said yes, only to turn around and recant Israel’s release to freedom.
Throughout this exchange with Pharoah, Moses warned with plague after plague–10 to be exact–and repeatedly we read that Pharaoh hardened his heart. But we also read the peculiar verse in Ex. 9:12 which says “the Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart.” I’ve always wondered about this, even at times fearing that God, in my own stupidity and rebellion, might harden my heart. But this goes against the concept of Free Will (the idea the we have the ability to interact with God voluntarily and NOT under compulsion).
I want to share some thoughts on this I recently discovered that helped me understand the verse. “Maybe you have your own thoughts on this verse, but let’s look at it another way–through the lens of a metaphor: Let’s say God is the sun, and let’s say Pharaoh is a leaf that IS NOT connected to the vine, and Moses is a leaf connected to the vine.
Now keep in mind the verse in John 15:5 where Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” We know the sun is the same today, forever, and always, but it will have a drastically different effect on the leaf that is connected to the vine, compared to the one that is not. The sun causes the vine and everything connected to it to flourish and to have life in itself. While on the other hand, it causes the unattached leaf to harden, shrivel up, and to eventually die. The same sun, the same leaves. The difference is one is connected to the Vine and one is not.” (Source: kingdom.story.films )
COT:
Number-Rama – 19 PAX
Name-O-Rama
Announcements: Take a look at the nation site F3Nation.com and check out the information for GRT Event coming up in D.C. Mar 24, 25, 26. This is THE premier F3 event. Sign Up today.
BOM/Prayer: Praise for the outcome/justice in the trial mention in previous prayers; strong finish for Swartz’ wrestling season and for his school work as his marking period is coming to a close; prayers for YHC’s parishioner who lost her husband to suicide yesterday; prayers for Bunt to get well soon and return to action; prayers for other requests mentioned–forgotten as of this writing by YHC, but never forgotten by Sky-Q, our great God and King who will continue to keep our hearts pliable and teachable and full of life IF we remain connected to Him through faith in Jesus.
Always honored to Q and appreciate the call from Bunt to fill in.
YHC jumped in to fill the gap as requested by Bunt who was out of town. 23 PAX won #thatfirstbattle and posted for yet another multi-station workout, which YHC confesses may have had too many moving parts. Nonetheless, those who did the work got “gassed”–says Quattro. Several PAX dressed in red to honor Cardinal from F3Knoxville, who actually collapsed and died during his VQ just yesterday, 1/11. (Forgive Streudel’s laughter in Name-O-Rama, he wasn’t aware why the PAX next to him announced “Cardinal!“) Cardinal leaves behind his M, Andrea, and 2 young children, Clay and Evie. Our hearts go out to the family and F3 PAX who were with him when he died. There are no guarantees that we’ll have our next breath…let’s live like it! And let’s be prepared for eternity!
As mentioned, there may have been too many moving parts. Still, here’s how it all went down…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 51 IC
Imperial Squat Walker – 15 IC
Tempo Merkins – 10 IC
Italian Night Club – 51 IC
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
>>>>>>Mosey to H.O.B.
THE THANGITY THANG: (WORKOUT RULES below)
PAIR UP for Stations: Run counter-clockwise aroun stations, stopping to do the workour (if bags are available)
CONE #1 • 40lb sandbags – 40 OH Presses, then go to next station; if there’s no sandbag, keep running all the way around…
CONE #2 • 40lb sandbags – 40 Sandbag Curls, go to next…
CONE #3 • Long Sit/Cross Legs – 30 reps, Single Count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)
CONE #4 • 40lb GORUCK BAGS – 10 Sandbag Burpees (clean & toss), go to next…
CONE #5 • 20lb Medicine Balls – 10 OH Squat Thrust & Catch or Slams, go to next.
CONE #6 • X’s & O’s – 25 Single count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)
CLOSING GAME OF WAR: 2 lines/2 teams: I. De. Clare. War! Winners: No exercise Losers: Exercise on winning card.
OVERALL WORKOUT RULES:
Move in Pairs
Spread out among 6 stations/directions are in chalk at each CONE.
GOAL: Keep moving! Rule: If you see a PAX walking you may Grab a card from the deck, charge them with it (they do exercise) AND you get to exchange it with and keep the highest card from their hand (no exercise charged to you!)
If there’s no bags at a station, rock on! (Keep running till you’re able come around and complete all stations.)
After each time at the ab stations (3&6), grab card from deck, do the exercise, but keep your cards to the end. Try to get 3 cards.
Once you’ve done a station you’ve completed that station. By-pass it if already done. DO NOT throw down actual sandbags!
Bonus: RETURN TO AO WITH ALL THE COUPONS, AND WITH WATER IN MOUTH (Spit it out/Swallow it no Burpees!) Due to time no Burpees were rewarded, however, several PAX did them after BOM. Growing success—most of the PAX succeeded at this crazy exercise invented by the Apache Indians (who ran great distances while holding water in their mouths)
Wait a second! 23 PAX/24 Waters…who didn’t drink up?
3rdF shared prior to the round of I Declare War:
Navy Seal, Admiral McRaven, told this training story during a commencement address:
He said, “Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events. Long runs. Long swims. Obstacles courses. Hours of calisthenics, something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards, times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those times, those standards, your name was posted on a list. And at the end if the day those on the list were invited to a circus.
A circus was 2 hours of additional calisthenics, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, and to force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant for that day that you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue, and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult, and more circuses were likely. But at some time during training everyone, everyone, made the circus list.
An interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list: Over time those students who did 2 hrs. of extra calisthenics got stronger and stronger; the pain of the circuses built inner strength and physical resiliency.
Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD—don’t be afraid of the circuses!”
In 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul used this kind of physical training as an illustration to tell of something of greater importance—living for Christ.
“Don’t you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (More important.) Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I beat my body [discipline] and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”
The Bible gives this allegory to tell us that to cross the finish line effectively it’s going to take work. Not to earn it, but it just takes work AND because, like any athlete or any man, there will be times when we just don’t feel like putting in the work [out]. T.D. Jakes reminds us, “Your feelings will never cooperate with your dreams. Beat your feelings into captivity. Because when you beat your feelings into captivity, that is what discipline is!”
This sounds like Admiral McRaven, except that it stretches across the spectrum from physical training to the things we face in our everyday world… “Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.” IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR HOME, YOUR WORKPLACE, YOUR COMMUNITY, AND YOUR WORLD—IF YOU WANT TO BE A H.I.M., don’t be afraid of the circuses!” [Anticipate and expect to do the extra work]
COT:
Name-O-RAMA – 23 PAX
Announcements: SLT Meeting tonight @ Tequila Real, 6:30 pm; Roving RuckF3st Friday stepping off at Georgetown Circle in the Gloom; Quattro need girls clothing and school supplies for trip to girls orphanage
Prayers: Quattro as he’s preparing for mission trip to El Salvador; Cardinal’s M and children and the PAX with Cardinal when he died during the workout.
Honored to stand in for Bunt in his absence, thankful for the opportunity to Q
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 (5 each Leg), 10 Mike Tyson’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.
F3 Message – 01/07/23
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
When I’m on the road and staying in a motel, I’m often leaving pretty early that day for the responsibilities I have. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made and I didn’t make it! I’ve got new, clean towels! I didn’t find them. Everything’s straightened and neat. I even get these cool little soaps now that are in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I’ve seen the maid (actually I haven’t), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place. I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “God All Over Your Day.” He is, you know. It’s not unlike that maid scenario. You may not see the one who made the difference, but you can sure see the difference that He made, if you’re looking for it. If you’ve ever been to one of those church meetings where they ask people to share their favorite verses, you’ve probably heard somebody mention our word for today from the Word of God. It’s a lot of people’s favorite verse. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Notice what’s the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your heart: trying to figure it out for yourself, doing what you think is best – leaning on your own understanding. Now comes a formula for finding out what God wants you to do in any given situation. Well, we need that. Verse 6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Now, God says, “If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you’re in.” You know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you’ve gone totally un-greeted, un-noticed? Well, you were saying to yourself, “Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice I’m here.” See, God knows that feeling. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don’t acknowledge Him. The other day I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing-the dentist’s office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife-they’re both in their 90’s. He’s working very hard to care for his wife because her health is deteriorating. Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back in, really touched by what had happened in those two minutes-so touched that he brought it up two more times. He said, “When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn’t raining. And George said, ‘Isn’t it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?’ Then he just looked heavenward and said, ‘Thanks, Father.'” Now that’s acknowledging Him. That’s noticing God’s working in the details of your day. And that’s where praise comes from, where joy comes from, where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times. But you have to go into your day looking for God at work. If you don’t, you’ll miss God and you’ll miss the joy. But if you do train your heart to go on a daily God-hunt (God-sightings, you know), you’ll experience what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon talked about when he said, “He who looks for providences (or God-actions) will never lack a providence to observe.” If you haven’t been seeing God a lot lately, it’s because you haven’t been looking. You may have been focused on your circumstances, or other people, or yourself or what’s stressing you out. You’ve missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the protection, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn’t happen. I know there’s never a day where He doesn’t show up because the Bible says His “mercies are new every morning!” In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I see the results of her work. In the little and big moments of your day, you may not see God, but you can see the results of His work on your behalf because you’re His much-loved child. You’ll see God all over your day if you’re looking for Him.
Warm-a-Rama 13 seal jacks i/c 20 mountain man pooper i/c 23 Moroccan night club i/c 13 seal waves i/c 10 hip circles oyo each direction 23 Windmill i/c
The Thang Every PAX grab 1 large coupon and 2 small coupons
Tabada 20 second on, 10 second off = 1 round 10 rounds of 6 excercises Curls – palms up, hammer Flys (shoulders on large coupon) – palms up, palms in Squats – 6″, wide Bench press (shoulders on large coupon) – elbows in, palms together Holding chair chest squeeze – extended, close Abs – gas pumpers, lbcs
3rd F
2023 is about discipline Decide what you want Write that down Make a plan Work on it EVERY SINGLE DAY Your competition isn’t other people Its YOUR PROCRASTINATION It’s the knowledge you neglect Compete against that Conquer yourself Master the universe within
Round 1 at each station: 40 reps each exercise (lap and glow stick swap)
Round 2: repeat with 30 reps (lap and stick)
Round 3: repeat with 20 reps(lap and stick)
Round 4: repeat with 30 reps (lap and stick)
3rd F:
While in Church last week, some guy talking up front made a profound statement that honestly made me feel a lot better about the Christmas season, and my thoughts concerning the gift of Jesus all together. He said something to the tune of… “Jesus is the light during this season, and throughout every other season.” Id been thinking about that same thought a lot leading up to Christmas and Id been making that connection a lot ever since our family committed ourselves to following Jesus during our baptism in August. To be honest, leading up to the baptism I had this sense of complacent calm that after we publicly pronounced our faith as a family… the commitment was openly made and the path with Jesus would just appear naturally, easily, and fluidly. While some of what I thought would happen was true, what took me by surprise was the overwhelming challenge that would hit me soon after. This path was going to be rewarding in so many ways, but it would not be without it’s hurdles, because the road bumps that I once ignored and dodged, or solved by taking the easy solution, now presented them selves as an obstacle that I had to handle in a way that He would be proud of. Take for example us… we’re all members of a society in which we’re trying to do the best we can. And with that, we have a huge responsibility to be a faithful role model. And to piggy back off whirlybird… your kids (and everybody else around you both old and young) do watch you. When you cuss when you smash a finger, when you lose your temper in traffic, when you tell your wife you love her and make her tea in the morning, when you own up to a mistake, and even when you think their eyes are closed with you during prayer… They’re always watching to see what they can learn from you. The big questions is, what are you showing them? From that knowledge I think it’s important that we own, accept, and embrace the challenge of not only knowing about the Lord, but truly walking so instep with Him so that anybody who’s watching knows exactly where you stand, and the sense of security and resolve that a Christ centered life gives you. Coupled with that incredible challenge is understanding and admitting that things aren’t always easy, we screw up… and we aren’t perfect. There’s an amazing path laid out in front of all of us that leads to forgiveness and salvation. That being said, the path that is laid out will lead you to challenges, tests worse than those in a 7th grade science class, and even some rejection and sadness that will test everything you stand for. The guidance and comfort that Jesus provides can give you what you need to conquer all of that. If it’s being a leader…. His words teach about that. If it’s guiding your children…. His lessons are perfect for that. If it’s being a better husband, there’s many important lessons to learn in the Bible, and if it’s commitment to a healthier life that serves as an example to our friends, family, and community (and possibly leads to a sweet patch) there’s wisdom about that too. So what stands in our way??? A commitment to taking that next step, embracing the challenge as one that YOU need to tackle, and walking with Him in order to meet your goal. Accept the challenge, own the challenge, embrace all of life’s hardships as a chance to learn and be blessed. Romans 8:18 reads “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” A new year is upon us, and if you happen to stumble on your path or fall into darkness in 2023, Get back up into the light and move forward even faster, because He’s got your back, and those who are watching you will follow.
Workout Continued…
Finish up as many reps at last station as possible with lap and stick swap in between.
Bolt 45’s – 15 squats full up to halfway down, 15 squats halfway down to full down, & 15 squats full motion. All completed IC as a 4 count.
Hydraulic Squats – 17 IC (6 Count)
Mosey @.5 miles to Holy Hill and took a brief break for the F3Message…see below
The Thang
1st & 10 Routine per the Exicon…Well sort of….:)…..Perform 10 merkins and 1 burpee. Nur up the hill and run down. Perform 9 merkins and 2 burpees. Nur up the hill and run down. Perform 8 merkins and 3 burpees. Nur up the hill and run down. You recognize a pattern developing here. Rinse and Repeat until you complete 1 merkin and 10 burpees followed by your final Nur up the hill and a run back down.
Mosey @.5 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.
The Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri are known for their rocks. They make for some hard farming, some beautiful views, and some challenging road building. Like this one stretch of highway from Branson, Missouri, to Springfield, Missouri, that they widened. As you slowed down through those construction zones, there were some pretty impressive changes that were taking place. Some places were nothing but solid-rock mountain, but somehow they managed to blast away at those mountains and they literally made a road where a mountain used to be!
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Removing a Mountain, Making a Road.”
Now if human engineers can do that, don’t you think God can? In fact, God’s mountain-moving ability may be your only hope right now.
Let’s remember the miracle Jesus promised to us, as recorded in our word for today from the Word of God. In Mark 11:23, He says, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Obviously, it’s not the power of your word that removes mountains; it’s the power of God. The words immediately preceding these dramatic promises are these: “Have faith in God.”
But we have a God who does remove mountains that appear as if they could never be moved – in answer to the faith-believing prayers of His children. This might be one of those times when the only way there’s going to be a road for you is if God blows away the mountain that stands in the way. But you can ask Him, you can trust Him to do just that, within the boundaries of His perfect will of course.
Our mountains don’t usually come in the form of some huge rock formations. For you, what blocks the way might be a person whose heart is hard; whose heart needs a miraculous change. God does those. According to Proverbs 21:1, “The heart of the king is in His hand.” Maybe your mountain is seemingly impossible financial obstacles.
That’s the kind our ministry has faced a number of times, and we were facing that as it became clear that God wanted us to build our own headquarters to better carry out His orders. We didn’t have one dollar in a building fund. We had no reserves and no clear idea of where an amount like that would come from. But in less than a year, there was the headquarters, totally debt-free. There was this mountain, and then by God’s power and grace, there was a road.
Maybe it’s going to take a change of leadership in order for there to be a way, a miraculous recovery, or seemingly impossible breakthroughs. But God does all of those. God’s allowed you to run up against this mountain so you would run to the end of you. All our lives, we underestimate and under trust the God we have. There’s way too much of us and way too little of God. And then there it is – that massive mountain looming in the way, so huge there’s nothing you can do to move it. There’s nothing any human solution can do to move it.
Well, praise God! You what? Yeah, praise God! You’ve just reached the end of you and possibly you are at the beginning of unleashing your Lord as never before. I love the promise in Ephesians 3:20, “He is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine according to the power that works in us.” I call that a 320 in Ephesians 3:20.
Looking at that mountain, you’d have to say, “No way.” But looking at your all-powerful God, don’t you ever say, “No way.” He blows away mountains and makes a road where you could have never dreamed there would be one, and then you know what? He gets all the glory!
F3 First State doesn’t have hills by comparison to some other regions, we’re on the coast of Delaware and it would be nothing short of proper to call us “flat-landers.” Nonetheless, what hills we have we try to utilize. One location was fondly dubbed “Oh Hill No!” a number of years ago; its a grassing hill that rises to the Milton, DE water tower. Another is the hill on the street adjacent to it, aptly referred to as Merlot Hill–yes, that’s the reason why–and yes, the FNG was promptly given that nickname. Anyway, today it wasn’t “Oh, hill no!” it was “Oh, hill yeah! Like YHC said, we don’t have many [real] hills, so it was simply time to embrace the suck. But…it all started with a VQ Warm-O-Rama by the one and only Deez.
WARM-O-RAMA:
Moroccan Night Club – 26 IC
Merkins – 10 OYO
Cherry Pickers – 21 IC
Merkins – 10 OYO
SSH – 20 IC
Merkins – 10 IC
Chairman Lap
Great job by a self-confessed very anxious Deez on his first time ever Warm-O-Rama
THE THANG:
PAX prepared to mosey to Merlot Hill, YHC divvied up some restrictor plates (1 40lb sandbag/2 20lb sandbags) among the normally faster PAX for making our .5 mile trek to the hill. Cool thing happened, PAX passed them around the entire journey there and back. In an act of genuine camaraderie every HIM embraced the suck.
Once at the base of the hill YHC set us up for a set of 11’s (i.e. not enough time for 21’s). Sandbags? Well, grab one whenever it becomes available either on your way up the hill or on your way down. They were vying for these things! Crazy PAX! Sandbags are for kids.
Big Boys at the bottom, 1 – Merkins at the top, 10 (Keep going until the numbers are switched 10 – 1)
For the PAX on teams participating in the @F3Alliance Merkins & Miles Challenge, the wrap up was an additional 10 Merkins to get to a total of 100 during the workout.
Midway through the set of 11’s YHC circled-up PAX for the following 3rdF:
If you’ve ever had a long year then you can probably relate to the lyrics of Toby Mac’s song titled Faithfully. Lyrics:
It’s been a long year
It almost took me down,I swear
Life was so good
I’m not sure we knew what we had
I’ll never be the same man
I’ll never feel like I felt before
It’s been a hard year
It almost took me down
Refrain But when my world broke into pieces
You were there faithfully
When I cried out to You, Jesus
You made a way for me
I may never be the same man (YHC’s commentary: Hard times change a man, for better or worse, depending upon who or what we depend…)
But I’m a man who still believes
When I cried out to You, Jesus
You were there faithfully
The song goes on to for several more verses… Refrain, Refrain, Refrain… Check out the full song here…
If you don’t know; the story behind the song is that Toby Mac and his wife lost their oldest son, Truitt, to an overdose in Oct. 2019.
I’ve never lost a child, and I won’t even pretend to know the pain of that experience. But he does say that Jesus was there faithfully. And I don’t know if anybody in this circle has experienced losing a child, but I can tell you this: Whatever the cause, we’ve all experienced, or will experience, some REALLY long/hard years.
I’ve pastored a church where for the first few years a small group of people wanted my head on a platter…non-stop! They were hard years!
I inexplicably went through 2 years of depression where I was immobilized, then tormented, daily, by plans of ending it all. (Thank you to Ruxpin for speaking about this recently…guys find it extremely difficult to broach this subject, but it has to be talked about.)
I’ve faced long years with each of my boys, wondering if they’d ever turn the corner
And I’m certain you’ve had long years too! Regardless of whatever it was that made that year (those years) long, the truth that matters most, and the one we sometimes need to look for to see is that…
(Refrain adapted) …when my world broke into pieces God was there faithfully | When I cried out to You, Jesus | You made a way for me | I may never be the same man | But I’m a man who still believes | When I cried out to You, Jesus | You were there faithfully
That’s Toby Mac’s testimony, and it’s so relatable because it’s ours too! Yet it’s not the promise of the song that captures us, but rather it is the promise of Scripture:
In Deut. 31: 6-8 Moses told Joshua 2x, “Be strong and courageous…God is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” (Comment: Sometimes we need to hear it from someone else.)
In 1 Chron. 28:20 David said to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; Do not fear nor be dismayed…for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” (Comment: Promises of God also have to be passed down from generation to generation. Others must hear it from us that “My God, the One true God, the God in whom I have come to trust, is with you.)
The promise is found also in 1 Kings 8:57 “May the Lord our God be with us…may He not leave us nor forsake us.” (Comment: Here it a blessing we’re calling down upon ourselves.)
And in Joshua 1 God spoke directly to Joshua and promises him 2x in the first nine verses: “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” And, “For the Lord your God is with youwherever you go.” (vv.5, 9) (Comment: While we may need to hear it from others, or while we may be speaking forth this promise to someone who needs to hear it; the greatest moments are when we hear God speaking directly to us. BUT…that means we have to be listening. These promises are for those listening and longing to hear from God, to walk with God, and to trust Him and pursue Him with their whole heart. They are not for those pursuing a life without Him. …long silent pause…)
We find the same promise(s) in the NT:
In a passage referred to as the Great Commission, in Matt. 28:20 Jesus’ parting words to His followers included the same promise, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, “Go therefore [in My authority] and [as you are going] make disciples [followers of Christ] of all nations [people groups], baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you,” and here it is: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
One last place the promise is found is Hebrews 13:5 “…for He [Jesus] Himself said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
Anytime something is repeated, it’s because we need to hear it [again!]. And I don’t know who needs to be assured of this today, or who will need to hear this promise’s echo in the future, but it is God’s promise to us; one that we can all likely attest is true, that when everything breaks into pieces, when we’re in our darkest hour, and when we’ve come to a place of pain that we’ve never felt before, or when it has just simply turned into a long year, Jesus will be there with us faithfully. For “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” HIM rely on the Lord [especially] during those times.
After PAX wrapped their remaining rounds of 11’s, we grabbed the restrictor plates and headed back to the AO. Again, in a genuine display of camaraderie PAX were vying over the sandbags. Gimme, gimme, gimme…in a very unselfish and selfless way!
COT:
Number-Rama – 19 PAX won THAT FIRST BATTLE and posted in yet another glorious Gloom
Name-O-Rama
Announcements:Turkey Day workout will be a full hour (05:15 – 06:15 hrs.), followed by Coffeeteria at Quattro’s, followed by a few hours of killing targets. (BYOG – Bring Your Own Guns & BYOB – Bring Your Own Bullets, or just show up and get a feel for shooting. Ah…I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning! …sorry, there will be no Napalm.)
PRAYERS: For Rob; for the family who lost their 21-yr-old son to a heart attack; for a couple of other requests slipping YHC’s mind as of the writing of this Backblast. Nonetheless, God knows, He remembers)
