Toy Soldier

Twelve Mouths Full & A Real Indian Run

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DATE: 4/22/21

QIC: Chappie

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,

Chappie, out!

Hillacides

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Date: 04/15/21

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

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

WHY IT FEELS SO WEIRD TO BE NORMAL

April 2, 2019

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.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

Chosen Suffering

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QIC – Toy Soldier

Warmup

  • SSH – 25 IC
  • Derricks – 20 IC
  • Moroccan Night Club – 40 IC
  • Windmill – 20 IC
  • Seal Jack – 20 IC
  • Mountain Man Pooper – 20 IC

The Thang

Mosey to middle school

  • 20 Burpees bear crawl to next sidewalk
  • 40 Iron Mike inch worm to next sidewalk
  • 60 Merkins nur to next sidewalk
  • 80 American Hammers crab walk to last sidewalk
  • 100 LBCs
  • wosey to school 3rd F part 1
  • pole to pole side shuffle, switch side shuffle, mosey, jail break, mosey, jail break, mosey to Possum Point Player parking lot.
  • Arm circles 15 small forward/backward, 15 large arm circles forward/backward.
  • Merkin Routine 10 diamond, 10 regular, 10 wide fingertips forward, 10 Ranger, 10 wide fingertips out, 10Carolina Dry Docks.
  • Mosey to hotel 50 dips.
  • Mosey to eye center 3rd F part 2.
  • Mosey to Circle

COT

  • Number Rama: 18 PAX
  • Name-O-Rama
  • Announcements
  • Prayers

3rd F:

Chosen Suffering

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.

The Spartan

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WARM-O-RAMA

20 SSH

20 CHERRY PICKERS IC

20 WINDMILLS IC

20 MOROCAN NIGHT CLUBS

20 GRADY CORN

CHAIRMAN LAP

THE THANG

 THE SPARTAN

LINE UP AT IN THE PARKING LOT, DO 30 MERKINS NEXT PAX  LINE UP AND SPRINT TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PARKING LOT WALK BACK. RINSE AND REPEAT 10 TIMES FOR A TOTAL OF 300 MERKINS.

F3 MESSAGE:

And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it? ’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord !’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Luke 19:29‭-‬40 NKJV

This is my question for you? Are you getting the donkey for Jesus? In other words are you listening to what the Lord asks of you, or does life bog you down and restrict you from serving the Lord. If we are doing what the Lord asks of us he will make the way for us, could you imagine what the owner of the donkey thought about this? Could you just give away your car? Obviously not,  but because the disciples were doing what the Lord asked Jesus made the way for them.  Men we have to put aside our busy lifestyle and simply just get the donkey.

UFOS

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QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama

20 Seal jack i/c
20 Windmill i/c
20 seal wave i/c
20 mountain climbers i/c
20 mountain man pooper i/c
20 cherry picker i/c

The Thang

Frisbee golf

On this nice foggy morning green disc flew through the air. Following behind were 11 HIM completing exercises to the ‘hole’ or at the ‘hole’ depending on what the Q called out.
9 holes were played with a bonus hole to finish the morning.
Exercise completed were:
Dan Lt.
Merkins
Nur
Side shuffle both directions
Burpees
Toy soldier set 25,15,10
Lbcs
Lt. Dan
Bonus – bear crawl

3rd F

Intimacy
As men we usually think of sex when we hear that word. But there are other forms of intimacy:
Intellectual
Recreational
Spiritual
Financial
Emotional
Physical
I have been listening to a podcast called One Extraordinary Marriage. Toni and Alisia wrote a book, Stripped Down, 13 keys to unlocking intimacy in your marriage. It has opened my eyes that I need to work on other areas of intimacy with my wife. These intimacies don’t just apply to marriage, they can be used in your everyday interactions. Take F3 for an example, we come together as a band of brothers for Spiritual, Emotional, Recreational, Intellectual, and Physical intimacy. Especially in the times we are in we need this group of brothers!

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

11 HIM showed today: Semi, Fireplex, Chattahoochee, Quarto, Ruxpin, Woodstock, Struedel, Whirlybird, and welcome back Toad, Summit, and Toy Soldier

https://youtube.com/shorts/3O0kt3YZSi4

Your F3 Thanksgiving Rotisserie

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Date: 11/26/2020

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

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.

Moroccan Night Clubs – 20 IC

The Thang

ro·tis·ser·ie /rōˈtisərē/ noun: rotisserie; plural noun: rotisseries

1. a cooking appliance with a rotating spit for roasting and barbecuing meat.

2. F3 Definition of Rotisserie – You #$% is in for a Beatdown !!

PAX moseyed @.63 miles to the first pain station at MFD and completed 30 American Hammers in a four count cadence.

Moseyed from the FD @.49 miles to 514 Chestnut St. where we completed a toy soldier set of 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side and 25 Big Boys.

Moseyed .22 miles from 514 Chestnut to WBOC (OTS) where all PAX Bear Crawled for @8 parking spaces (@80 ft.) and completed ATM’s – 15 alternating shoulder taps (4 count), 10 tempo Merkins (4 count), and 10 fast merkins OYO. PAX Bear Crawled back (@80 ft.) and completed another evolution of said ATM’s.

Moseyed .21 miles from WBOC to 611 Federal Street where we completed a descending round of Super 21 without any recovery exercises between the rounds.  21 merkins, 21 LBC’s.  20 merkins, 20 LBC’s, etc. descending through the round of 15.  Time was a factor and Q challenged each HIM to complete the descending rounds to 1 merkin, 1 LBC OYO at home.

Moseyed 1.16 miles from 611 Federal Street back to CHOP.  Total – 2.71 miles overall mosey, not counting any mileage accrued for those that circled back to bring up our 6.

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.

Chappie hosted coffeteria for all HIM in the Church Fellowship Hall. Thanks to Quattro for donuts and extra coffee.

 F3 Message 11/25/20

TIGGER, EEYORE AND THANKSGIVING

November 25, 2014

Maybe it was the dumb voices I did. But the kids used to love it when I read “Winnie the Pooh” to them. Tigger with his irrepressible “hoo-hoo!,” bouncing everywhere. And Eeyore with his head down and his ever-present gloom.

I’d rather be Tigger than Eeyore. Maybe without the bouncing. I want to be the one who leaves sunshine in the room, not storm clouds.

That’s not so easy. There’s plenty to make us Eeyores. Overheated schedules. Grumpy folks. Medical battles. Family tension. Too little sleep. Long delays. Aggravating pain. Aggravating people.

Then there’s the antidote. Thanksgiving. Well, actually, giving thanks. That may be the difference between being the joy-bringer or the joy-killer.

The “inventors” of our Thanksgiving exemplify that difference. According to H. U. Westermayer, “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than those who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”

There’s Thanksgiving the holiday. Then there’s thanks-living, the lifestyle. It’s the difference between the dirty window and the blessing glasses.

When I look out a dirty window, the whole world looks yucky. Even the really good stuff is dimmed by all the caked-on dirt that’s coloring my view.

If you’ve decided your role in life is “victim,” it will be hard to see much that’s positive through that window. Abused … neglected … abandoned … misunderstood … passed over … wounded – that’s real hurt.

But to let those who hurt you define you is a self-imposed sentence of despair. Denying the many good things because they don’t fit the victim narrative. Living as a prisoner of your past.

Unthankfulness, for whatever reason, breeds some ugly offspring. In Romans 1, God describes how humans end up doing unthinkably depraved things – and where that downward slide starts. “They wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks … their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).

Unthankful heart -> dark mind. Bitterness … resentment … depression … anger … rebellion against God. They come from an ungrateful heart.

Yes, you can choose to go through life looking out your dirty window, seeing all that’s wrong. Or, you can choose to put on your blessing glasses. That enables you to live – not in denial of the bad stuff – but celebrating the goodness of God all around you. If you have eyes to see it.

Henry Ward Beecher, said: “The unthankful heart … discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as a magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”

And those blessings are always there. The ever-changing masterpieces of the Ultimate Artist all over the sky, the yard, the horizon. The smile of a friend, the laughter of a child, the roof over your head. The food in the fridge, the song of that bird, the car that runs, the job you have, the person who cares. We call them “God-sightings.”

Actually, thanks-living isn’t just an option for a follower of Jesus. It’s a command. “Always be joyful” – how am I going to do that, for heaven’s sake? “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18).

When you look at life through blessing glasses, all kinds of good things blossom. Joy that’s from what’s happening in your spirit, not your situation. Peace that banishes anxiety. Faith that sees a God who’s bigger than whatever is bigger than you are.

Thanksgiving’s a great time to become intentional about collecting blessings, not burdens. Living “with gratitude in your hearts to God.” To “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).

For me, that thanks begins, not at a turkey-filled table. But at an old rugged cross. Where I once again allow myself to be leveled by the love of my Jesus. Who took my hell. So I can spend forever in His heaven.

Thanksgiving – and thanks-living – begin with the love that will never let me go.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

But I Found None!

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Did a warm up on the circle and headed to the soccer field at St. Michael. Teamed up to do 100 dry docks, 200 squats, and 300 LBCs. One PAX did the exercises while the other ran across the field and back. Then we went to the parking lot at Georgetown Presbyterian. PAX planked up and took turns running to the other side and doing 10 burpees.

The PAX special requested that I put my message up for you all.

Message Title: But I Found None!

Ezekial 22:29-31

“The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the immigrant without justice. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath.”


The Context: This was a message of judgement from the Lord to the Jewish people in Jerusalem. Murder, extortion and incest had become a prevalent and accepted part of their culture. God would judge them for the prevailing evil in their society.


The Wall: The wall here is not referring to the physical wall around Jerusalem. The physical wall would protect them against foreign forces but not against God’s judgment. The wall that need repaired and defended in this verse is a spiritual and moral wall protecting their society and culture from the judgment of God. Without a man to fix and defend it, the Jewish people were defenseless against God’s wrath. 


The Search: God was looking for a man, not a woman or child. This is because God needed a strong leader to repair the wall. In this case, He was looking for a man to stand up and say NO to the prevailing evil in the culture of Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul may have had Ezekiel 22 in mind when he wrote “Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong.”


One Man: Notice that God did not need an army or a committee. He only needed a single man strong enough to stand up to the evil in the culture and spare the city from God’s wrath. The great and shocking tragedy is that God couldn’t find a single man strong enough to do that. EVEN WHEN YOU STAND ALONE, GOD CAN USE YOU! It only takes one man with the strength to say NO!!! to the popular evil in whatever culture he happens to find himself in. Will you be that man?


The Contrast: Notice the difference between how God through the prophet Ezekial describes a strong and courageous man compared to how our popular culture does. The popular singer Harry Styles recently posed in Vogue magazine wearing various feminine dresses. Newspaper headlines around the western world were quick to give their approval. Harry Styles was declared to be revolutionary and courageous. God sees a strong and courageous man as one willing to oppose the popular injustice in the culture, even when it means standing alone. Our newspapers see a strong and courageous man as one willing to wear a dress. We all live in a culture. All of our cultures have various evils of some kind that are popular and accepted. What kind of man will we choose to be?

Post veterans day beatdown

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QIC- Chattahoochee

11 Him braved the warm rainy November weather for a post Veterans day beatdown

Warmup- 30 SSH, 20 Windmills,15 squats,20 alternating shoulder taps, 20 cherry pickers all IC.

The Thang,

Mosey up mulberry st. to the fishing pier

25 merkins, 25 dying cockroaches IC, 25 American hammers,6 burpees

Mosey to chestnut st and down to firehouse

25 merkins, 30 flutterkicks IC, 25 American hammers, 6 burpees

Mosey up Union st. to front of library short break for 3rd F on the history of Veterans day

25 Merkins, 30 hello dollies IC, 25 american hammers, 6 burpees.

Mosey to CHOP for Numberama, Name-o-rama and COT

Tomb of the Unknown

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11/10/2020
QIC : Semi

Warm-a-Rama

21, All i/c
Seal jack
Seal wave
Cherry picker
Capri lap around parking lot, side shuffle up, nur across, and side shuffle down
Ssh
Plank jack
Windmill

The Thang

PAX AMRAPS while one HIM runs out and around wall in field

swerkins
Slosh pipe squats
Dock loaders
Abyss merkins
Fire hose
Tire flip
Coupon curls
Big boys
Burpee
Man maker merkins
Log row

3rd F
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=905045086538659&id=359432224433284

A chairman lap before 2 round of AMRAP. Not able to complete second round due to time.

14 HIM showed; Semi, Chappie, Quarto, Ruxpin, Woodstock, Gump, Doubtfire, Bovine, Trion, Phyfe, Strudel, Fireplex, Chattahoochee, Toy Soldier

Number Rama

Name Rama

COT

No Excuse November

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DATE: 11/3/20 **ELECTION DAY**

QIC: Chappie

Turned out to be yet another Baker’s Dozen consisting of the 13 HIM who won THAT FIRST BATTLE and posted on the first truly cool gloom workout of Fall 2020. Bad weather cannot stop these men–No Excuse November has begun!

Here’s the skinny: YHC tried to bring some new exercises to the Gloom…

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • Windmill – 18 IC
  • Imperial Walker – 18 IC
  • WTHEKS – 18 IC
    • (What The HEKS = High Elbow Knee Slide) [Bearcrawl position. Alternate raising high elbows up & over your back, twist & slide opposite knee under. Rinse & Repeat]
  • Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
  • Swartzjacks – 18 IC

THE THANG:

Legs

  • Broad Jump Squats – 10 rounds OYO
    • [BJ, squat, turn around in air, BJ back, squat, turn around, BJ, rinse and repeat]
  • Partner Pushes – 3 rounds across the lot & back, alternating who pushes
  • Lunge Thrusts – 3rounds per leg
    • [Lunge right leg, thrust high knee following lunge. 5 reps same leg. Swap. Rinse & Repeat]
  • BPJ’s, (Bad Parking Jobs) a.k.a. Line Touches
    • [Side-shuffle, touch parking line, side-shuffle back, touch parking line. Rinse & Repeat]

Shoulders

  • Curbside Carolinas [Feet together, up on curb, butt in air, Carolina Drydock] – AMRAP OYO, resting means your finished. Ruxpin was last man standing
  • Shmerkin – 5 rounds OYO
    • (Shuffle Merkins) [Plank position, shuffle right 3 “steps”, 5 Merkin, shuffle left 3 “steps”, 5 Merkins Rinse & repeat]
  • Swerkins – 5 reps, boosted to 10 Reps at half, swap w/partner, while remaining PAX ☆RR Tracks across lot, mosey back, rinse & repeat til all PAX work through the RR Tracks

☆ Mosey 30, 20, 10 around the short block

3rdF Beak in Action | YHC shared the following:

Years ago Lt. Sakowski was the leader of our Field Artillery survey team when I served in PA’s 28th ID BTRY F 109th FA. After completing a successful mission during a field training exercise, Lt. Sakowski and our Platoon Sergeants decided to reward our team’s hard work with a bit of what I’ll call a “field picnic” — after several days of eating MRE’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we were ready for a change! They’d snuck back to the PX and picked up some rolls, cold-cuts, lettuce, tomato, pickles and some other snacks, etc.

Our Lt. had scouted out an “off the grid” spot and in the midst of making our way there with 3-4 vehicles right behind his, Lt. Sakowski’s driver hit the brakes, and our Lt. stood up to extend through the top of his uncovered/topless 1/4-ton Jeep and began shouting to turn around and high-tail it back to where we’d come from. Based on the nature of his commands, the tone of his voice, and the look on his face, nobody asked a question and we got out of there fast!

Once we finally made it to the location he’d originally picked, Lt. Sakowski owned up to what he had done — he discovered he was leading our small convoy directly through the middle of an Impact Area! For those unfamiliar with what that is, it’s an area where bombs are dropped and into which Artillery and other weapons are fired during live-fire training exercises. I.e. YOU DON’T WANT TO BE IN AN IMPACT AREA!!

Outside of the fact that if you’re in there you’re a target), the moral of the story is that everyone one of us in our artillery survey team, not to mention everyone in my entire unit, would’ve followed Lt. Sakowski anywhere, especially into battle! He was a rare leader! He was a proven leader! He was a humble leader. He was a great leader who was highly respected by all. His leadership was defined by consistently leading well on all occasions, not by that single incident of taking us into an extremely dangerous area. Even in that moment he took full responsibility of what could’ve been a catastrophic mistake.

Let’s go ahead and call it “NO EXCUSE NOVEMBER,” not just in terms of posting or not posting, but in all we do. We’d all do well to stop making excuses and blaming others for failures. We’d do well to own up to OUR mistakes (and sins) so that we’re able to learn from them and grow into better leaders as a result…better leaders in our homes, in our workplaces, and in the communities in which we serve. We’d do well to take ownership and responsibility and lead even where someone else has come up short.

One biblical example of this that I’m thinking of is Peter… He exhorted the elders as a “fellow elder in 1 Peter 5:1 to, “Shepherd the flock of God among you…” Where did those words come from? See John 21 where, at a post-resurrection breakfast along the beach, Jesus pulled Peter aside and asked him 3 times, “Peter, do you love Me?” Each time Peter responded with, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” and each time Jesus responded with, “then shepherd my sheep.” Remember Peter was the one who openly denied Christ. He was a failed leader, a broken leader. In all practicality, we assume Peter’s repentance, his ownership of sin and failure. He was humbled and broken; but lesson learned he was restored and then Jesus recommissioned him with the words…follow me!

Abs

Here’s what YHC had planned next:

  • Big Boy Heal Touches
    • [Lying flat, arms extend on ground behind head. 1 knee upward toward chest, torso up extending both arms to touch both sides of same heal, back down, raise to opposite heal, back down. Rinse & repeat]
  • Crazy Dolly
    • [On six, hands in ground near hips, torso in recliner position. Feet at 6″, spread out like Dolly, bring feet together, then knees to chest, back out, spread feet like Dolly, feet back together, knees to chest. Rinse & repeat]
  • Boardwalk Big Boys
    • [Partner hold feet, six on edge of Boardwalk Bench, lay back 1/2 – 3/4, back up. Consistent motion. 5 reps, swap with partner, rinse & repeat]
  • Boardwalk Liars
    • [Partner holds feet, lie on stomach with upper torso extended over edge, hands behind head, lower down then back up. 5 reps, swap with partner. AMRAP while other PAX☆RR Tracks across lot, mosey back]

EXTRAS:

  • Rosie – AC/DC version, 05:36 mins. of Rosalita! (Extra credit if done at home)
  • Dragon Tires
  • RR Tracks across the field
  • Wall Work

We ran out of time, so Here’s what we actually did:

  • Mary – 3 rounds: 4-Count Freddies (Quattro); American Hammers (Woodstock); Flutter Kicks (Leatherman)

COT/BOM:

  • Announcements: Another fundraiser 5k coming up, Quattro to push out the details to PAX on Groupme; Woodstock likely to miss 11/5 VQ due to travels and looking to swap Q’s with another PAX. BIG NEWS: Today was last day single “reeespect” for Streudel, tomorrow the beast turns 60 and gains double-reeespect in the COT! Remember, it’s No Excuse November” so lets be HIM, eliminate the excuses we’re prone to make, and, who knows, perhaps we’ll develop some new habits that’ll carry us beyond November.
  • PRAYERS: It’s Election Day… nuf said; Chattahoochee’s 2.0, Taylor, recovering from tonsillectomy; Woodstock safe travels to pick up a plane; etc.

~Chappie, out!

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