PAX came out on a beautiful morning for a modified Cooper routine. PAX ran 1 big lap (roughly .6 miles) followed by 10 burpees 10 merkins 10 Big boy situps and 10 squats followed by another lap. Rinse and repeat we finished up running 3.3 miles!!! Way to get after it HIM!!
3rd F message
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” If I were to sum up what Jesus is saying here it would be this. “I send you” In a world of chaos, “I send you” in a world full of hatred “I send you” in a world that doesn’t accept Jesus as their savior” I send you”. To the lowly and lost in spirit “I send
you” to the friend or family member who has lost their way “I send you”. We are called to be a light in the darkness, but you can’t overcome darkness with more darkness. We have to be the light and it starts with you, it starts with I. You see we can’t wait on others to bring the light, the darkness is already here, we have to bring the light, Jesus said “I send you”. The greatest wildfires are started with the smallest spark. We can be that spark that improves the world. But it starts at home. So remember this when the world around you seems dark and full of hatred, searching for hope, and looking for a sign of kindness.
A dirty dozen (12 PAX) jumped their Fartsacks in the back alley of the Gloom and won THAT FIRST BATTLE. They’re a step ahead of most, all because of the highly anticipated Warm-O-Rama VQ by Looney Tunes. Great job on your first go ’round brother! All PAX would agree that’s not all folks–now it’s time to get rolled into the regular Q rotation. Stay tuned, there’s a new month right around the corner!
WARM-O-RAMA:
Disclaimer given
SSH – 21 IC
Windmill – 20 IC
Cherry Pickers – 21 IC
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Moroccan Night Clubs – 21 IC
Turned it over to Q, Chappie…
THE THANGITY THANG: (A few comments were suggestive of “not showing had they known what we were in for.” He! He! He! He! He….)
PAX lined up for an Indian Run as YHC gave the following Pre-Instructions:
The plan: Indian Run to hill at the base of the tower. Nice easy pace, stick together, man in back goes to front. Rinse and repeat til we reach destination TOGETHER (an Indian run is just like the Patriot Run but without the shovel-flag).
Our route: Left on Bay, Right on Behringer and take it all the way to the end. (Half-mile to destination)
THE CATCH: It’s going to be a quiet Indian Run. Everyone grab a bottle of water and will fill their mouth with water and keep it there. This is about DISCIPLINE. You have to FOCUS. Those who spit out their water or swallow it on the way, will have to watch the others do 18 Burpees once we reach the hill. If no one swallows or spits the water = no Burpees. Focus and think of your team! DO NOT spit it out or swallow it until you receive permission at the bottom of the hill. (i.e. breath through your nose) Ready…Fill ‘er up!
Only 4 of 12 PAX were able to make the half-mile mosey while keeping the water in their mouths. Those who completed the run as planned were rewarded with 18 Burpees, those who spat out or swallowed their mouthful of water along the way had to watch. A few tried to participate in the Burpees but were stopped by the Q – no reward! Like Seinfeld’s soup Nazi, only instead the Burpee Nazi…none for you! It was an interesting activity to say the least. OBSERVATION: Those who didn’t keep the water in their mouth the entire run appeared to be a bit upset with themselves, while those who succeeded and were rewarded with Burpees seemed to do them with a sense of renewed vigor. PREDICTION: The number of PAX who successfully complete this exercise WILL BE HIGHER the next time (if there is a next time). Kudos and T-Claps to the finishers: Drago, Toy Soldier, Quattro & Chappie…18 Burpees never felt so good!
At this point YHC shared the following 3rdF Message:
In his book Warriors Creed Roger Sparks tells of being a Marine Recon instructor. He said, “I was always peeling the onion with the guys. An old story I recalled spoke about the Apache spirit runners. Apache boys learned early that running went hand in hand with becoming a warrior. The young boys would have to fill their mouths with water and go for a long run, in the scorching Summer heat of what is now New Mexico, and when they got back, they would spit out the water. Only the ones who spat out the water could be trusted and trained. Those who swallowed or spit it out during the run couldn’t be trained because they didn’t have discipline. Holding water in the mouth forced rhythmic breathing through the nose, and kept the young future warriors from panting and drying out their mouths and throats. Carrying the water also required deep focus.”
Sparks wrote: “I really liked that particular approach to training, so I used it religiously. If guys spat the water out or swallowed it, then I would have them fill their mouths with gravel. Not fine, clean gravel; I’m talking the dirt on the side of the road. I’d point and say, “Fill your mouth with that gravel. You have no discipline. Those around you will suffer because of your lack of character. If you fall out of the run, I’m going to condition everyone while you watch. You’re going to keep your boots on, and your team will finish the run barefoot.”
“We’d go on a ten-mile run with the water in our mouths. I really got behind the water in the mouth, especially after I read John Douillard’s Body, Mind and Sport. That book was about principles of human performance. If you breath through your nose when you exercise, you generally will not go beyond 50% of your max threshold for your heart rate. When I read that there was no benefit from training endurance that went past 50% of the maximum heart rate, I thought, those Apache had it all figured out. The idea that the Apache could run sixty miles a day like that only added to the allure.” (Roger Sparks, Warrior’s Creed 91-92)
I love some of the phrases Sparks uses in reference to suffering and how it trains us to be disciplined and focused; and, by the way, he wrote in terms of life, not just training in Marine Recon, the French Foreign Legion, or as a Pararescueman:
It inoculates against sensitivities/feelings of misery. YHC’s addition: Even Jesus taught that suffering pays dividends. We’re talking about chosen suffering or suffering for doing what is right (as opposed to suffering for doing stupid things –though that has the reward of learning in the school of hard knocks, if we learn from it). James teaches in James 1:2-4, that we are to, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete [mature], lacking in nothing.” Suffering always pays dividends!
Suffering produces strength of mind
Suffering brings you to a place of functioning out of virtue
Suffering teaches you to constantly embracing risk
Suffering trains you to pay attention to details
Suffering reminds you that you’re more often only an agent of something bigger
Suffering brings us to our humanity
And…that life without struggle is meaningless
Roger Sparks went on to quote a fitting samurai mantra: “If you have to choose between suffering and not suffering, always suffer.”
THE THANG, PART DEUX:11’s on aptly named Merlot Hill (Yes, there’s a story behind that. The hill may or may not have been at one time a catalyst for a previous “Splash”)
LBC’s at the bottom – Starting with 1 up to 10
Merkins at the top – Starting with 10 down to 1
Transitions up and down the hill included variations of: LT. Dans, Mosey, Nur
All PAX completed a full set of 11’s
Once completed, PAX lined up again for an Indian Run back to the AO (no water in the mouth). Round trip run = 1 mile.
COT:
Announcements:
Paintball shenanigans this Saturday @ 3 in Georgetown. Still room for more. Sign up online. Don’t forget to complete your waiver online if you haven’t done so already. Come, get “inoculated” (shot) by other PAX!
Sponsors. Keep hitting up your friends and family to sponsor you for the Roving RuckF3st for Gavin fundraiser. Let’s see how much we can raise for this great cause! Ruck will take place on Sunday, May 16th. Stepping off at NLT 12 from CHOP and Rucking to the community Gather and Give for Gavin event at Hudson Fields.
Prayers:
For the Morris family as they continue to work through the grief of losing little Beau.
For Semi as he travels
For Gavin as he prepares to return home then continue rehab and for God to do a miracle in this young man’s spine and body
For all the PAX of F3 First State to embrace suffering to learn to endure well in order to reap its dividends. To be examples of those who endure and mature so that we are more effective leaders in our homes, workplaces, and in the communities in which we serve.
Disclaimer: As the PAX circled up YHC reiterated that this exercise (success of keeping the water or lack thereof) was not the same as what Roger Sparks was teaching his Marine Recon candidates–this was an entirely different context and situation. And its results were not a statement concerning PAX’s character, per se, but merely a challenge to discipline and mental toughness in our context. We embraced the suck. And suck it did! YHC was honored to lead and bring such a challenge, but he is also ever grateful to the other HIM who bring challenges that push us all beyond our self-imposed limits. This one was definitely new…and cerebral!
Honor to lead, challenge, and suffer along side the men of F3 First State,
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
Mosey @ .5 miles to the hill by the boat docks
The Thang
Pax went right at a set of Doracides which is identified in the Exicon as follows: Two Pax worked together to reach exercise reps of 100, 200, 300, & 400 of 4 different exercises. One Pax worked on the exercises while the second Pax completed suicides to three designated waypoints approx. 30 yards apart by way of a NUR up the hill. Another 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 American Hammers, 200 Merkins, 300 LBC’s, & 400 squats. Each Pax will make every attempt to complete their half of the total exercises.
Mosey @ .5 miles back to CHOP
F3 Message – See Below
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message 04/15/21 – Gleaned from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries
My first hint that things were changing was the Storm Troopers suddenly patrolling the parking lot. Then I saw the man with the floor-length wolf tail. Followed by seeing X-Men in the hotel lobby.
And that was just the beginning. Batman, Superman, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman – and, of course, all the insects. Spiderman, Wasp, Bumblebee, The Tick. I fully expected Arnold Scharzenegger to arrive any minute as the ExTerminator. The growing invasion included all kinds of superhero movie characters and science fiction types that were from outside my universe.
The annual convention of National Religious Broadcasters was just moving out. You know, guys in suits. With briefcases.
And the annual convention of comic book, movie and science fiction folks was moving in. You know, characters in capes and masks and Spandex.
Standing in the lobby, waiting for my ride to the airport, was outrageously amusing. Two worlds colliding. Two polar opposite worlds!
Here’s the crazy part. Standing around in my jeans, shirt and sneakers, I had the strangest feeling. All of a sudden, I was the weird one. Not long before, I had been normal. But now I was surrounded by – well, what would be considered weird in most settings.
That’s when my mind started wandering into the whole culture I live in. Where the guard is changing at eye-blurring speed. Where the values and moral consensus that used to define our lives is rapidly receding.
And where it’s becoming increasingly “weird” to believe that God’s Word is the final word. Where those who are trying to follow in Jesus’ footsteps find themselves increasingly out of step with the cadence of the culture. Sometimes, even out of step with the folks at church.
It was easier to be faithful Jesus-followers when that was respected. When it was, in a sense, “normal.” But now it’s increasingly “intolerant” … “narrow-minded” … “hateful” – judgments that at times we bring on ourselves. Because, instead of holding the truth in love, we come across with anger, self-righteousness and judgment.
And while I must be against what my God is against, I want to be known more for what I’m for. I’m for love without scars, selflessness in relationships, respect for every life, compassion for the broken. I want to be the guy who is quick to listen, ready to forgive and known for integrity. That’s not “weird.” That’s rare! And what’s rare is valuable.
But even with a positive brand of purity, it’s still getting lonelier to be God’s guy or gal in an increasingly God-“dissing” world. We shouldn’t be surprised.
The Bible forecasts a day when “normal” will be a world where people “will consider nothing sacred. Evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived…People will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 3:1, 12; 4:3-4).
God’s word for His people in that world where untruths will be revered as truth is clear: “But you must remain faithful in the things you have been taught … the holy Scriptures … All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:14-16).
I really can’t afford to begin my day without first being with my Jesus. Letting the unchanging truth of His Word rekindle my love for Him so once again He’s the only One I care about pleasing. And so I can download His perspective on what I will see, hear and experience today in a God-denying culture with its pretty packages and powerful magnets.
A world that is constantly trying to get you to be like them desperately needs you to be like Jesus. You are hope with skin on – hope that there is another way to be. “Blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16).
If it seems to be getting darker where you are, remember – stars show most brightly against the backdrop of a very dark sky.
Our desire to get uncomfortable is at an all-time low. Chosen suffering is a mindset. Never willing to settle for the easy way, an Elite person constantly moves toward pain to push themselves beyond their current abilities.
Growth means stretching away from our comfort zone. Nothing stays the same you either progress or regress. Growth requires pain, which is why it’s difficult to stay on top.
People matter; choosing the right ones to be with matters. Pain unifies us and love sustains us.
Elite people understand that short bursts of choosing the right way doesn’t make enough of a difference. Building habits take time. Deep rooted good habits must be formed. It’s the long term, sustained commitment that turns normal into special. Show up and give over and over. Discomfort shows its face during intense training, intense studying, rehabbing an injury, building one’s business, raising a family, managing people and so on.
The elite surround themselves with others who help them master their craft. If you’re not willing to pay a high price but are looking for a quick solution instead, you’re headed down a road to nowhere. The elite are curious, they are thinkers and problem solvers with a growth mind set. Deep suffering is far more fun to talk about than to live. Greatness is developed. Humans will get nowhere unless they compile information, make a plan, and act on it. Good to great isn’t an overnight thing. The only way to transform is to earn it.
Commitment means your life reflects your beliefs and I was committed. Spent mornings, afternoons, and most evenings in the wrestling room. The rate at which a person works is a window into the soul of what he values as priceless. There is a clear connection between effort and workload that occur when few are watching. There’s a massive chasm between believing something and committing to it.
Becoming elite is a choice, people aren’t born elite. Winning is never something we can completely control. Those who suffer the greatest do so because of their deep love of what they’re doing. Deep suffering moves us from good to great. Sense of value in our lives must be built from the inside out. Anything worth having requires suffering. Living on impulse without discipline gets us nowhere. Your goal should be to wake up better than you were today. Every great performance relies on solid training. Gratitude comes from the underlying belief that one’s life is no accident. The elite figure out what needs to get done, and they do it. Many people establish their wants, but they don’t consistently practice the habits to bring their desires to complete fruition. An elite individual understands that sustained success is the result of repeated good decisions over time. The elite don’t speak or think of excuses, they problem solve.
Falling short is painful, but pain is a gift. We waste our pain when we don’t learn from our losses and discomfort. Every person fails, but what’s more important is how we each manage the hurt. The elite assess, plan, and repeat until they’re refined. A strong plan and solid execution will increase our odds for the desired outcome.
Failure is a gift. Change happens with action. Harden oneself, but never get down on oneself. Excellence is the ability to do work every single time no matter who’s watching. Most people are unwilling to give at the required level to get what they want.
Struggle is at the center of all growth. We need people who care about us and challenge us to move from where we are to where we want to be.
The Elite work ethic is having the ability to repeatedly take yourself into chosen suffering. Eliteness comes from the absolute love for their desired outcome. Competency relies on training. You have to know that you’ve paid the price. Day in and day out you work on areas that need improvement.
Elite athletes are problem solvers. Humans say what we want, but we aren’t willing to back up with action. Instead, we offer excuses instead of taking responsibility. Successful people own their decisions and stand by the results. Hone in on the things you can control like your thoughts. Winning isn’t something we can control. However good you think you are there is always someone better. Choose each day to work alongside others who push you to greater levels of suffering. Wrestling teaches transformational lessons in humility because it’s raw and real, there’s no hiding. It’s the simple things done well and repeatedly that separate good from great. Winning is less controllable than your effort. Control what you can. Our effort should deplete us and bring us intense discomfort. We are capable of so much more that we think we are. It’s human nature to fall back into complacency to find the easy way out. As a wrestler you have to define your priceless, that objective or goal you’ll do anything to achieve. Actions speak louder than words. Too often we say we want success, but when struggling becomes more than what we imagined we give up.
Becoming elite is about letting go of the things that hold us back and pressing on. In every stage of life, complacency longs to sneak in. We must fight this natural desire to be easy on ourselves. We should be hard on ourselves, but never down on ourselves. We are built for glorious things and made to stretch ourselves. We will always need to choose suffering because it’s healing. We have a soul that long to be challenged and lifted.
12 HIM posted at the aegis for some fun cardio with a flying disc this morning with a fun filled game of ultimate frisbee after a warm up at the circle
The Thang consisted of a short mosey down to the Park beside the church for roughly a 35 minute game of ultimate frisbee. Followed by a mosey back to the circle. Should of been no contact but there was just a little contact made a few times I believe mostly by Quattro not because he was being rough but because he was so into the game. Lots of good cardio losing team had to do 10 burpees winning team only 5. Hopefully good times were had by all that were able to participate.
Bolt 45’s – IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 20 IC
Mosey .5 miles to Oh Hill No
The Thang
The Super Sheldon Cooper on old “Sam Hill” with a few of my friendly animals – Complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. Nur up the hill and mosey down and complete 9 Burpees, 9 Squats, 9 Merkins, & 9 Big Boys. Dragon Crawl up & mosey down and complete 8 Burpees, 8 Squats, 8 Merkins, & 8 Big Boys. Nur up the hill and mosey down and complete 7 Burpees, 7 Squats, 7 Merkins, & 7 Big Boys. Crawl Bear up & Bear Crawl down and complete 6 Burpees, 6 Squats, 6 Merkins & 6 Big Boys.
Time did not allow us to finish, but below are the remaining evolutions as planned if you want to make your own trip back to Oh Hill No.
Nur up the hill and mosey down and complete 5 Burpees, 5 Squats, 5 Merkins, & 5 Big Boys. Inch Worm up the hill and mosey down and complete 4 Burpees, 4 Squats, 4 Merkins, & 4 Big Boys. Nur up the hill and mosey down and complete 3 Burpees, 3 Squats, 3 Merkins, & 3 Big Boys. Boo Boo Bear Crawl up the hill and mosey down and complete 2 Burpees, 2 Squats, 2 Merkins, & 2 Big Boys. Nur up the hill and mosey down and complete 1 Burpee, 1 Squat, 1 Merkin, & 1 Big Boy.
Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP
F3 Message
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers
I’ve lost my shamrock tie, and I’m bummed. Of course, everyone else is thrilled. I loved wearing it for St. Patrick’s Day every year to celebrate the part of me that’s Irish. In spite of the fact that people insensitively described the color as “barf green.” It doesn’t seem that anyone’s missing it but me.
I’m not sure what old St. Pat would make of the holiday named for him – pouring green dye into the Chicago River and parades full of green-dressed celebrants. I do know that Patrick – who’s pretty much obscured by the festivities – was quite a guy with quite a story.
His first trip to Ireland wasn’t his choice. He was 14 and got kidnapped and carried off to Ireland where he became a sheep-tendin’, pig-sloppin’ slave. But while he was there, he realized that Jesus died to forgive his sins, and he put his trust in Him to do just that. Patrick finally escaped and got back home to Britain where he, presumably, swore he’d never wear anything green!
But his second trip was his choice. A choice that should give a lot of us something to think about.
As Patrick told it, he was asleep one night when he saw Victor, his former Irish captor, in a vision. He “appeared to have come from Ireland with an unlimited number of letters.” Patrick said that the letters seemed to shout with one voice: “We ask you, holy boy, come and walk once more among us.” He “was cut to heart and could read no more.”
And Patrick did walk among them. Spreading the Good News about Jesus that had changed his life. He introduced thousands of Irishmen to Jesus. Patrick reflected on the legacy of his life this way: “I am greatly a debtor to God who hath vouchsafed me such great grace that many people by my means should be born again to God.”
People in heaven. That’s St. Patrick’s ultimate legacy. It’s like the Apostle Paul said about some folks he’d introduced to Jesus: “What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of the Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).
Which raises the question all of us Jesus-followers should be asking: “Who will be in heaven, because of me?”
God let Patrick know He was counting on him to bring Jesus to people he had “walked among.” Which raises another question: “Who are my ‘walk among them’ people?” They’re the folks who are part of the daily network and experiences of my life. We’ve all got them – the ones who God is counting on us to rescue. He says if “you do not speak out…I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 33:8). Why? Because I knew what that person needed to know to get to heaven – and never told them.
We don’t need a vision. We’ve got orders. “You will be my witnesses, telling people about Me” (Acts 1:8).
Patrick was biographically credentialed to tell the Irish about Jesus. His life had apparently been crafted by God to make him a man who understood them, who they would listen to because of what he had experienced. But that’s not just true of the “shamrock saint.” Every Jesus-follower has been biographically credentialed to share Jesus with folks. Because of what you’ve experienced. Your personal story is your point of entry to ultimately tell them how His story changed your story forever.
So you may be able to celebrate “that many people by my means” were “born again to God.”
Patrick was in a very hard place when he made the greatest discovery of his life – a personal relationship with Jesus. By giving his life to Jesus, he stepped into a greatness he could have never otherwise imagined. It may be that the hard place you’re in right now is where you’ll finally find what you’ve spent your whole life looking for – that love relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to know how to get started with Him, I encourage you to go to our website, YoursForLife.net, and step into God’s great plan for your life.
On 25 February 2021 8 HIM beat the fartsack and posted at the CHOP for a little fun in the gloom
Warm up – 25 SSH, 20 windmills, 20 mountain climbers, 20 cherry pickers, 15 arm circles forward 15 backwards all IC except arm circles
THE THANG- mosey to the entrance of HOB
20 merkins, 20 Bobby Hurleys ,toysoldier set 60/30/15, 30 flutter kicks IC
Mosey to fishing pier- 20 wide arm merkins, 1 round of Cpt. Thor 1 to 4 ratio 1 bigboy 4 American hammers til you reach 10 and 40, 25 split jacks, 20 hello dollies IC. 10 burpees.
Mosey back to CHOP but oops the Q forgot something at the first pain station stop back at HOB for 10 burpees. Then return to CHOP
It was one of those real short nights. I had just spoken for a large youth event, and the night went late for the best of reasons: God brought hundreds of young people to faith in Christ that night. The counseling of all those kids took a blessedly long time. Now Jason, who was one of the organizers, took me to my hotel that night and he told me he would be picking me up in a few hours for my very early morning flight. I said, “I’m sorry you have to get me so early when you’ve been up so late.” He said, “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll just roll out of bed, throw on a baseball cap, and come on over.” (Which, by the way, I think is the major reason there are baseball caps.) Well, bless his heart, that’s just what he did. When we got to the airport, I asked him if we could pray together before I went on my plane. He respectfully took off his baseball cap, and we had a neat time of prayer. When I opened my eyes at the end, he still had his cap off. And a very creative hair style – I mean, it was all over the place! He even laughed about it. The cap covered what he didn’t want anyone to see-except when he was praying.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Real You, Real Prayer.”
Actually, prayer should be the time when we are willing to expose what we don’t want anyone to see or know otherwise. It’s meant to be the place where we can be 100% honest and 100% transparent. And when we are, some amazing things can happen.
Our word for today from the Word of God begins with Hebrews 4:13, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” In other words, there is no point in posing or role-playing when you’re with God. He already knows your deepest feelings, your deepest failings, your deepest struggles. Our hat is always off in front of God, whether we take it off or not. He knows everything we cover up for other people. There’s no point in trying to put a tie on for God if “everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him.” Right?
Now we might worry about how God will respond if we really get real with Him. Well, listen to verse 15. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.” The Savior you’re approaching is the one who has been here, who has been, while fully God, fully human. He gets us!
When God the Son was here, He experienced temptation from Satan himself. He experienced loneliness, abandonment, agonizing over God’s will, grief, family tensions, homelessness, excruciating pain, even dying. So you come emotionally naked to one who has lived…not necessarily all your exact circumstances, but feelings very much like yours. You’ll not shock Him with your struggles-He already knows. You won’t be rejected for your feelings-He understands.
And when you come with the cover off, you leave with resources from God that can change everything. Hebrews 4:16: “Let us then (in other words, since we’re going to a God who knows all about us, who has walked in our moccasins) approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
God wants to pour out His mercy and His grace on the hardest, hurtingest parts of your heart and life. But the real God will only help the real you. You don’t come with your “cap off” to show God what He doesn’t know about. You come totally exposed emotionally and spiritually because God will only help you with what you honestly open up to Him.
So when you’re praying, don’t come to God with the official you, with the image you show everyone else, with the dressed up, touched up, covered up you. Uncover in His presence what you can’t uncover to anyone else. And let His grace; let His healing come pouring into the parts of your heart that need it the most.
Come like the old hymn says, “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me.”
#1 – 100 Jump Squats-20 Merkins Lt Dan across parking lot – Plank til 6
#2 – 100 LBC-20 Merkins Standing long jump across parking lot- Al Gore til 6
#3 – 100 Lunges (50 each leg)-20 Merkins Duck walk across parking lot- Plank til 6
#4 – 100 Calf raises-20 Merkins Bear crawl across parking lot-Crab plank til 6
Mosey back to circle
#5 – 100 Crab jacks – 10 Burpees
COT:
Number Rama
Name O Rama
Name FNG (TRex pronounced T-Rex…welcome to F3 brother!)
Announcements, Prayer Request and Prayer
Greenhouse Effect Coffeeteria: IF you have to ask: The local “Blackwatering” watering hole is closed to indoor coffeeteria’ing, so we moved to one of Aegis Site-Q, Quattro’s, greenhouses. Perfect location
3rd F (between rounds #3 & #4):
Reputation and character have been recently discussed on group me. Reputation is what people think of us while character is what we really are, what we do when no one is looking. Listen to the following and think about them, do they reflect your character?
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean, and
Reverent
On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Be prepared
Many boys learned these, the Boy Scout Law, Oath and Motto. I recited them almost every Thursday from 6th grade to age 21. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, these words were becoming part of my character. At age 39 I can still say that these words help to guide me. As a parent I can’t help but think about what I am doing to instill values in my kids as they grow to shape them into good and productive people. Throughout the next day or two think about the words that help to guide you and make you who you are? What do they say about your character? Are you happy with that answer? If not, what are you going to do about it?
Congrats to Waler for pulling off an excellent VQ Warm-O-Rama! Glad to finally get you in the line-up; great job brother. PAX can’t wait for your official VQ. Kudos to the dirty dozen who won THAT FIRST BATTLE in the Gloom and posted in the rain to do a lot backwards, hence the title of this Backblast…
Warm-O-Rama: (YHC tried to remember the details, hope this is accurate)
SSH – 20 IC
Mt. Climbers – 20 IC
Imperial Walkers – 21 IC
Merkins – 10 IC
Cherry Pickers – 16 IC
The Thang: Waler handed it over to YHC and off we went…bass ackwards
Nur to Willow Street,
Mosey to Mulberry Street,
Nur toward new entrance for H.O.B. Elementary School,
Mosey to pick up the six,
Nur to entrance of H.O.B. Elementary
Wosey to other side of storm pond, partner up for a little trip to…
Burpback Mountain:
Partner 1 mosey’s to bottom of hill, then Nur back to the top,
Partner 2 does Burpees
Partners swap & rinse and repeat until Burpees are complete
Team Goal: Completed 100 Burpees cumulatively. Just keep moving! “I hate Burpees, let’s do Burpees” was the name of the game.
PAX got a breather at 50 Burpees for the 3rdF:
Andy Stanley shared a quote this past Sunday from Albert Speer which really caught my attention; so much so that I wrote it down right away.
First, if you don’t know who Albert Speer was, you’re not alone. He served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during of World War II. He was convicted at the Nuremberg trials and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Speer later died in 1981. And as a right hand man of Adolph Hitler, we’d not typically think of him, a Nazi, as a man worthy of quoting, moreless someone to learn something/anything from.
Still, there are lessons to be learned even from some who’ve gained them the hard way. In his memoirs titled: Inside the Third Reich, Speer gave this profound statement: “Resist the evolution of a court.”
When you begin to understand his statement, it is incredibly powerful and poignant. It means to resist the development of a group of people around you, so-called friends, who will tell you only what you want to hear.
The Bible refers to this in reference to the end times and sound doctrine, but I also want us to apply it today in terms of that big word: ACCOUNTABILITY.
Second Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.”
In other words, men will not want to hear the truth and as a result they will hang around— they will gather a court of—those who tell them only what they want to hear and tickle their ears.
Truth is, there is no such thing as autonomy, there’s no such thing as a self-made man, there’s no such thing as a man who can fully hold himself accountable. Can you hold yourself accountable? No!
Accountability by definition requires a shield-lock with others who will speak truth to us. Accountability is about ideal relationships between men.
Here’s how Dredd started his chapter on accountability in his book F3 Q Source:
“The HIM seeks accountability because his life is not his own. No matter how dedicated or deliberate a HIM is in the building of his Guardrails, there will be some stretches of his road that he will not be able to protect through his own Bricklaying. These are a man’s Blind Spots, the hardwired gaps in his nature that he cannot protect without help.” (103)
“Because he is a servant who lives for the mission, the HIM treats his blind spots like any other obstacle in his life—as a problem that impedes movement. Because a problem can and must be remedied, the HIM does so by seeking accountability.” (104) The HIM does so by “resisting the evolution of a court.”
“Nobody likes being held accountable, held to a standard through enforcement and consequence. But accountability shines the light of hope into a man’s blindspots.” (104)
As HIM let’s strive to resist the evolution of a court; let’s strive to develop the F3 First State 2ndF (Fellowship), and let’s strive to stay out of the danger zone of [perceived] autonomy and, instead, develop ideal relationships between some of the guys in this group for mutual accountability! You’re in danger if you don’t have another man or two who can tell you the truth, brutal truth if need be.
RESIST THE EVOLUTION OF A COURT!
After completing Burpback Mountain, PAX returned to the AO…mostly bass ackwards.
Nur up Mulberry Street toward AO,
Moseyto pick up the six,
Mosey Left onto Clifton Street til PAX are together,
Prison Break for 10 secs.,
Mosey to Union Street,
Mosey up Union,
Prison Break for 10 secs.,
Nur rest of the way back to the AO
Round of [wet] Mary: (Must be in cadence)
Hello Dolly (sitting) – Compliments of Ruxpin
Flutter Kicks – Compliments of Chattahoochee
Big Boys – Compliments of Waterboy
Big Boys (Again!) – Complements of Woodstock
Crab Jacks – Compliments of Fireplex
“Reverse Plank” – Compliments of Quattro 😉
A Round of Mary
Time!
COT:
NUMBER-RAMA
NAME-O-RAMA
Announcements: PAX will be doing the Rucking Challenges “Love Your Ruck” rucking challenge for this week’s Roving RuckF3st Friday (2/12) in Georgetown. Join the fun and love your ruck!
Prayers: Praise for successful implant of Pacemaker in Chairman’s dad, Denny, expected to be released today. Continued prayers for Gavin. YHC’s son was able to visit with him for about 1 hr. on Friday. Gavin is overwhelmed at times by what the future holds, whether he will ever walk again or not. We’re continuing to pray for a miracle by the hand of the God for whom all things are possible. Prayers for all PAX that we’d make ourselves accountable to a few guys in the group so that we’re more successful at being HIM in our homes, workplaces, and the communities in which we serve. RESIST THE EVOLUTION OF A COURT!
Lots of Nur today. I.e. bass ackwards, legs will be feeling it tomorrow. But, hey, you can’t skip leg day…unless, of course, you do (shout out to the Fartsackers, you got lapped)!
Grateful for the opportunity to lead once again, and honored to introduce Waler into the Q rotation.
