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
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.
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.
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?
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]
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.
The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
We need to listen to wise counsel. Look for other HIM to pull up into leadership roles. We as men want to do everything on our own. We can’t. We need to ask for help or delegate so we can prosper.
Mosey to armory
10 ranger merkins, mosey up steps and back
10 diamond merkins, mosey up steps and back
20 wide arm merkins, mosey up steps and back
20 merkins, mosey up steps and back
Mosey back to AO
20 gas pumpers
20 split squats, per leg
20 derkins
Mosey around circle
Toy soldier set
50 lbc
30 e2k
20 big boys
20 squats
20 erkins
Side shuffle around circle switching halfway
10 burpees
Round of Mary; American hammers, flutter kicks, 4 count Freddie, mountain climbers, scissor kicks
Number Rama
Name Rama
COT
9 HIM showed today: Semi, Quarto, Swabby, Waler, Chappie, Toy Soldier, Cowbell, Doubtfire, Fireplex
